sweetpeppah's review against another edition
5.0
another epic story from Tad Williams, without the minor constraint of a sticking to a consistent world. Fascinating, dense with ideas. A valiant foray into concepts of digital reality, community, identity, and government. I loved the main characters, but a lot of the side characters don't get developed as much as in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. He perhaps gets a bit carried away with the various digitally created worlds, and the plot twists and false leads. but the philosophy and over-arching plotline are brilliant and important. I still love this series and re-read it for the adventure, mystery and carrying on the tradition of political sci-fi/speculative writing.
made_in_dna's review against another edition
5.0
Otherland, is the story of several key players based in different parts of the world, who race to understand the virtual reality system--and the people who rule it--that has incorporated itself into the world at large, including the third-world: a woman consumed in finding a cure for her brother within the VR, a man trapped within a separate version of the realm seeking a way out, an aboriginal man on a quest, a wheel-chair confined man under house arrest, and others. The VR world is a vast, unlimited, golden realm of play and fun, it is also a dark and horrible world as possibly envisioned in the mind of Clive Barker; will the secrets hidden within be worth the sacrifices the protagonists have to make?
Tad Williams is a sharp writer of wit and thought. Richly written, this book will keep you enthralled for hours on end, which is saying a lot, considering the thickness of the book, and the volumes the complete story covers. Highly recommended.
Tad Williams is a sharp writer of wit and thought. Richly written, this book will keep you enthralled for hours on end, which is saying a lot, considering the thickness of the book, and the volumes the complete story covers. Highly recommended.
annahlee's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
catpabalate's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
awry_diamond's review against another edition
4.0
I originally ready this series in 2006 and enjoyed it immensely. It’s incredibly engaging and original, and it has wonderful 3-dimensional characters set in a world that is both fantastic and utterly believable.
And yet, the first time I read this first instalment, I nearly didn’t continue! It is a very long book, and Tad Williams spends so much time setting the scene for the rest of this series that it can feel like a bit much. I enjoyed it at the time but also wondered if it was worth continuing with such a time investment. Thankfully a good friend encouraged me to stick with it and I am so glad I did.
City of Golden Shadow is a great introduction to an incredibly complex world, and I promise the world building is worth it! The action really amps up in the following novels and the whole series benefits from the pain-staking efforts Williams puts into this initial introduction. If this book was a ‘like-but-not-love’ for you, then I urge you to give book 2 a shot and see what you think.
A few comments on the audiobook (narrated by George Newbern):
I’m still getting into audiobooks and as a result I’m a little picky about them! The last one I listened to was Timiat’s Wrath, and Jefferson Mays performance was just SO flawless, I think it may have spoiled me a little!
Newbern does a commendable job with what must be an incredibly difficult body of work to bring to life. The characters hail from many different parts of the world and many walks of life and some accents were always bound to be better than others. I suppose I can’t really hold this against him; however I did feel that certain voices, especially the women, did get a little same-y. That said I also felt that he became better at differentiating some characters as the story went on. Newbern’s overall style isn’t my favourite, but it did grow on me enough to stick with it, especially since I adore these books.
And yet, the first time I read this first instalment, I nearly didn’t continue! It is a very long book, and Tad Williams spends so much time setting the scene for the rest of this series that it can feel like a bit much. I enjoyed it at the time but also wondered if it was worth continuing with such a time investment. Thankfully a good friend encouraged me to stick with it and I am so glad I did.
City of Golden Shadow is a great introduction to an incredibly complex world, and I promise the world building is worth it! The action really amps up in the following novels and the whole series benefits from the pain-staking efforts Williams puts into this initial introduction. If this book was a ‘like-but-not-love’ for you, then I urge you to give book 2 a shot and see what you think.
A few comments on the audiobook (narrated by George Newbern):
I’m still getting into audiobooks and as a result I’m a little picky about them! The last one I listened to was Timiat’s Wrath, and Jefferson Mays performance was just SO flawless, I think it may have spoiled me a little!
Newbern does a commendable job with what must be an incredibly difficult body of work to bring to life. The characters hail from many different parts of the world and many walks of life and some accents were always bound to be better than others. I suppose I can’t really hold this against him; however I did feel that certain voices, especially the women, did get a little same-y. That said I also felt that he became better at differentiating some characters as the story went on. Newbern’s overall style isn’t my favourite, but it did grow on me enough to stick with it, especially since I adore these books.
toddbert's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
saskiasauce's review against another edition
4.0
Reread this and liked is as much as the first time. It is a lot. A lot of pages. A lot of information. A lot of characters. But this concept of a simulated world is still so interesting and well executed. It still has me thinking about it regularly.
rhganci's review against another edition
4.0
This book, and indeed, this series, is huge. There are a lot of words in Tad Williams’ series, and most of them are pretty interesting. It took a while—a long while—for me to get interested in this novel, and if it were not for the repeated encouragement and assurances about the series’ quality, I wouldn’t have made it past the first part break. I don’t have a favorite character yet, but I do really like !Xabbu and Fredricks, because they’re the only real dynamic characters in the story so far. Renie really is all about saving her brother, Orlando is struggling to overcome his illness via success in a virtual realm where the rules of his illness don’t apply (even though they apparently do in Otherland), and Osiris is a sick frak. Long Joseph is interesting too, but the mystery and excitement of this story so far for me really center around Mr. Sellars. I thought him a dirty old man with creepy tendencies, but the last hundred pages of the book really lend themselves to portraying him as a hero-type. Williams will have to reconcile the destruction of his home at the base when we find more out about Mr. Sellars. The other cool storyline in this book is with Paul Jonas, and his mystic romance with Vaala. I really hope that comes to fruitition in the later stories, his pursuit of her through the different layers of the net. Maybe she has something to do with Osiris and the role Paul (unknowingly) is playing for the Grail Brotherhood. I get the distinct impression that if the second 75% of this story is really REALLY good, that upon a second reading this one will read similarly to A Game of Thrones did after I had finished A Feast for Crows. Onward!
heather_g's review against another edition
3.0
Everyone spends their time in a simulated world, VR before ready player one was written. Good characters, I think the book is so long in order to build up an army of characters.
I listened to the book so was sometimes confusing jumping between multiple story lines.
The ending leaves a lot of questions which means I have to get the next book in the series. Hopefully the next one isn’t a 28 hour audio book!!!
I listened to the book so was sometimes confusing jumping between multiple story lines.
The ending leaves a lot of questions which means I have to get the next book in the series. Hopefully the next one isn’t a 28 hour audio book!!!
cheyenneb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book took me over two months to read. While it did drag in some parts, I think Williams did a great job making all of the points of view interesting and important. It was great seeing how some of then weaved together at the end of the book. This really was just an introduction to this story and to this world. I am looking forward to diving into book 2.