Customer Reviews

Echoes of the Well of Souls (Watchers at the Well, Book 1)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I think of science fiction/fantasy there is one author and series that comes to mind. Jack L. Chalker and the Well of Souls were the beginning of my infatuation with science fiction. When I read that first book as a teenager almost 20 years ago, little did I know the hours and hours of enjoyment that I would have. This series has been in my collection since that time, and with each re-reading it grows more enjoyable. The wonderful plot twists, the mystery, the fabulously rich description and characters grabs your imagination and draws you into a very unusual world filled with sorcery, science and awe. A must read for anyone who wants to get lost in a book of riches of the imagination

I read the original pentology in high school, and had fond memories of it. More than fond, really: part of the personal archive. I recently reread it and, you know? It was pretty good! The first book (Midnight at the Well of Souls) remains a classic rollicking fine adventure. The other two pairs are pretty good, maybe a bit unsubtle in some ways, but heck I'm able to channel my inner fourteen-year-old and still enjoy em. (My girlfriend, on the other hand, liked the first one, couldn't finish the second.)

I'm digging the series, and I want more, more! So I ordered all the books in The Watchers Of The Well. Big mistake.

The trilogy is fifteen hundred pages long, but easily has enough action to fill four or five very very short stories. Endless endless pages of description of nothing, just nothing. Mavra gets turned into a creature, everyone's trying to get to the Avenue. Nothing ever happens!

If you really just can't get enough, I recommend this: just skip to the third book, Gods of the Well of Souls. Seriously. It's tedious all by itself, and recounts endlessly the events of the first two, but at least you can get a conclusion in just one book.

Jack L. Chalker's return to the Well World universe was much anticipated, and in the end pretty good. This new trilogy, Watchers at the Well, starts with Echoes of the Well of Souls, continues with Shadow of the Well of Souls, and concludes with Gods of the Well of Souls.

Long locked away in an ancient prison, a completely alien force found a chink in its prison cell the last time Nathan Brazil, the immortal keeper of the Well World where control of the universe lies, reset the universe. Now it wants out so it can have free reign of the universe and control of the Well World itself.

Alerted to the danger at hand, the Well World summons Nathan Brazil and Mavra Chang, his new co-Keeper of the Well, but will they answer the call? Brazil is weary, very weary; keeping watch over the universe for all eternity has taken its toll on him and his is just too tired to deal with it anymore. And Chang, who is now estranged from Brazil, never wanted the responsibility that forced upon her.

As the threat to the safety of the universe and the Well World grows and Brazil and Chang ignore the call, the alien entity grows stronger; and, the computer at the heart of the Well World must stop at nothing to get the undivided attention of its keepers before it is too late!

If you loved the original Well World series (and who wouldn't?!?), you will want to read this series; if you haven't, then stop and read it immediately. Then pick up this second series and devour it as well.

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A Guide to my Book Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

Very fast and clean read. The author has taken an old story concept and expanded upon it to create an incredable world. Very fascinating. I never once thought to put the book down, I was hooked! Very good discriptive power.

I read this book 19 years ago, and the impression was so strong that this is the only book I've ever reviewed(of my own volition)! Mr. Chalker finds the perfect balance between his mesmerizing setting desriptions and his nail-biting action. After 19 years, I still get a familiar "feeling" when I think or hear about the author or his work. This book has the quirky subtleties of Detective Columbo, the relentless action of The Terminator, and, creates and fosters the need to know "why" as manifested by the success of the British TV cult classic - The Prisoner. No amount of plot description seems appropriate for The Well of Souls series. Suffice it to say that if you have a good imagination, you like to read, and you love adventure with a wonderfully developed protagonist, you'll be sending me a thank you letter. (That is, if you'll make the time from reading all the Jack Chalker Well of Souls' books you can find.) Brian D. Allen, M.D.

I highly reccomend this book, and the rest of the books in this series! It was a wonderfull journey from earth to a fantasy world where many have gone before