A review by yak_attak
City of Golden Shadow by Tad Williams
3.0
Tad's done an odd thing with City of Golden Shadows. An impressive, brave, and singular thing, and I could see it paying off in the books to come, but this book in and of itself is... kinda there. Part world spanning mystery, part prequel, Williams leads us through a very large, diverse case, each with their own perspectives, concerns, plots... and none of them meet up until the very end (if even then). This is 1,000 pages of unexplained setup, and whether you can make to the good stuff presumably in the sequels fully depends on whether that descriptions sounds like an absolute hell or not.
There are individual parts that are extremely well done, chapters or scenes, which hooked me and made me think 'maybe I'm coming around on this' - but it's all individual scenes. Time jumps, actions taken off screen, or other changes disrupt the narrative even within the lines of the particular characters, so even they're fractured a bit. Williams performs this massively ambitious, plodding juggling act, but the payoff is far too little too late.
What comes along the way, if it's paid off, hints at the strengths to come though. With this fantastical VR world, Williams demonstrates how much freedom that gives him to go anywhere, do anything. Probably the best part is just finding out what off the wall scene you'll stumble into next when the world shifts and he has to start over again. World War I. Martian Crocodile Men. Talking Breakfast. It's always unexpected, delightful, and well presented.
I sound mostly down on it. And I am, it's not a great book. But I get the feeling that enough of the cards Tad was holding close to his chest are now on the table, that the next book he will have no such restraint. This is but a glimpse, and I'm still quite excited to find out what's to come.
There are individual parts that are extremely well done, chapters or scenes, which hooked me and made me think 'maybe I'm coming around on this' - but it's all individual scenes. Time jumps, actions taken off screen, or other changes disrupt the narrative even within the lines of the particular characters, so even they're fractured a bit. Williams performs this massively ambitious, plodding juggling act, but the payoff is far too little too late.
What comes along the way, if it's paid off, hints at the strengths to come though. With this fantastical VR world, Williams demonstrates how much freedom that gives him to go anywhere, do anything. Probably the best part is just finding out what off the wall scene you'll stumble into next when the world shifts and he has to start over again. World War I. Martian Crocodile Men. Talking Breakfast. It's always unexpected, delightful, and well presented.
I sound mostly down on it. And I am, it's not a great book. But I get the feeling that enough of the cards Tad was holding close to his chest are now on the table, that the next book he will have no such restraint. This is but a glimpse, and I'm still quite excited to find out what's to come.
Wicked wicked wicked.