awry_diamond's review
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
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
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
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
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.
thaumata's review
2.0
You would think that because a) I’ve spent a ton of time in Second Life and b) really liked the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, that this would have been a home run for me. Instead, I felt like it slogged on forever and with no satisfaction at the end. You basically get strung along with a mystery only to be told in the last chapter that you don’t get the answer, just now, at the very end, you got together the whole gang that will figure it out.
Also how did Williams write such an unlikeable ape in Kabo (sp? I listened to it) when chars like Binibik were so amazing?
I won’t read the rest. This one just didn’t do enough for me.
Also how did Williams write such an unlikeable ape in Kabo (sp? I listened to it) when chars like Binibik were so amazing?
I won’t read the rest. This one just didn’t do enough for me.
evelyne_crowe's review
2.0
I tried to like it. People keep telling me it's good, but I just could not get into it. Perhaps it's because it's a little to sci-fi for my tastes, I don't know.
beccajreads's review against another edition
3.0
At over 900 pages this is a very long book and as such took me a very long time to read.
This is a book that I find hard to describe. Set around a future society where Virtual Reality is the norm (as a way to play games or access the net, or talk to others etc.) this novel takes a number of different stories that eventually interlink, but that you don't understand how they will or why the will until you are way over halfway through! The writing is excellent and William's imagination is brilliant to be able to fit everything together but to also keep everything so separate and mysterious throughout - even now after finishing there are things that don't quite make sense of fit together. But I suppose that is what the next 3 books are for!
I will admit I had to read shorter 'easier' read books when reading this because it's so long and at times felt like it would never end!
This is a book that I find hard to describe. Set around a future society where Virtual Reality is the norm (as a way to play games or access the net, or talk to others etc.) this novel takes a number of different stories that eventually interlink, but that you don't understand how they will or why the will until you are way over halfway through! The writing is excellent and William's imagination is brilliant to be able to fit everything together but to also keep everything so separate and mysterious throughout - even now after finishing there are things that don't quite make sense of fit together. But I suppose that is what the next 3 books are for!
I will admit I had to read shorter 'easier' read books when reading this because it's so long and at times felt like it would never end!
leftylauren's review
3.0
3.5
Not bad, but longer than necessary. Kinda attenuates the story so much that it gets a little boring. Good female character and lots of ideas and representation that were ahead of their time for the 1990s.
Not bad, but longer than necessary. Kinda attenuates the story so much that it gets a little boring. Good female character and lots of ideas and representation that were ahead of their time for the 1990s.