Customer Reviews

Mountain of Black Glass (Otherland, Volume 3)

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

MoBG is the third volume in the Otherland saga, and I actually enjoyed it even more than the first two books in this series. Williams combines his usual terrific writing skills with some fabulous visual images of different worlds taken from ancient folklore, such as Egypt and ancient Greece. I especially liked the fact that, while there are many more secrets to be revealed in the final volume of Otherland, some information is finally disclosed to the reader and there is a climax of sorts at the end of the volume. I actually enjoyed the ending immensely, though I can understand if others were mystified by it. Of course, Williams has a Herculean task with the fourth novel, Sea of Silver Light. I counted at least twelve developing subplots without answers yet, and so I'm hoping that Williams doesn't fail to provide a great finish to this powerful and exciting series, as so many other fantasy writers have failed to do in the past. Of course, it goes without mention that you must read the first two volumes in this series to understand this book. Ignore the Kirkus review above, unless you really have a problem with reading books over 400 pages. However, if you like detail, well-developed characters, and powerful visual images, then you must read this book. It's the best fantasy novel I've read in the last two years. Here's hoping that Williams finishes Otherland on the same roll!

City of Golden Shadow, the first book in the series, set the stage and introduced us to the Otherland world, set sometime in our near future. In the second installment, River of Blue Fire, our various heroes found themselves spread out across the virtual realm of the Otherland virtual network. Now, in the third book, Williams has managed to up the ante, and things actually happen. I felt the first book was excellent as an introduction, but the second fell off as nothing of any real import seemed to occur. Now, in Mountain of Black Glass, Williams has paid off on the promise he made in Golden Shadow. The first two books are must-reads to understand this masterpiece, but the payoff is worth it. Williams' ability to create another world is unmatched, and his capacity to weave an ever-increasing number of storylines into a compelling and coherent narrative is startling. Well worth the read, though this lengthy series is not for the faint of heart or short of attention span.

Well, I have been greatly enjoying this series and I don't mind the character development that people have mentioned as being a problem. I feel that the stories of the people themselves are as interesting as the main plot (though some might very well see this as a problem). The prose is good and the plot complex. In many ways it reminds me of Donaldson's 'Gap' series in the interweaving of characters with groups of power and attempting not to be crushed by them. However... Just as in the second book, Williams managed to irritate me somewhat. In the second, I was not pleased with the jarring attempt to keep people from guessing the identity of Dread when he controlled one of their party. In this novel, it seemed _very_ obvious to me that he extended the series by changing the previous ending (there were originally only going to be three novels) in one key element, therefore being able to continue. I do admit that it's preferable to the Robert Jordan method of continuing a series by adding more and more words and descriptions in less and less 'book time', but it was still jarring and seemed to cheapen some of the sacrifices made by characters. Still, I look forward to the final book in the series.

Mountain of Black Glass is the third volume in Williams's "Otherland" tetralogy. The fourth and final volume, Sea of Silver Light, is scheduled to be published in hardcover at the beginning of next year (March 2001, UK date).

I read "Mountain" immediately after finishing George R.R. Martin's A Storm of Swords, and must admit I had some difficulty becoming interested again in Williams's parade of virtual worlds after Martin's gritty and intelligent tour de force.

Still, after only a few hundred pages - hmm, wonder why that sounds sarcastic? - I found myself enjoying "Mountain" quite a bit more than its prequel, River of Blue Fire.

The problem with "River" was as simple as it was devastating: there is no plot development to speak of and the entire book is simply one long, ineffectual succession of different virtual settings. In terms of narrative, it is, bluntly put, bad. But although this flaw has, in part, spilled over into "Mountain", this third instalment has one important redeeming feature: as the book progresses, the themes introduced by the first (and quite excellent) volume are taken up again and things start to move forward once more. If you are able to more or less forget "River" and can still manage to be convinced by Williams's creation, "Mountain" is rewarding. Not awesome, not masterful, but rewarding. And that's in spite of the extraordinary but quite incomprehensible ending.

Bottom line: if Williams's and Martin's next volumes were to be published more or less at the same time (fat chance!) I'd change the order of reading them around. First Williams, then Martin. That way, you go from good to very much better.

Bottomer line: Martin is writing his masterpiece. Williams is drafting.

I must say that I am really enjoying Tad Williams' "Otherland" series quite thorougly. "Mountain of Black Glass" was no exception; it was, in my opinion, a fine addition to series, and helped resolves several plot points while beginning several more. Being one of the 'in-between' books in the series, it is largely concerned with furthering the plot until the conclusion of the tetralogy, but still things that *should* get done in the plot do. And, of course, the author throws in enough new and suprising material tho satisfy--and confuse-- the audience. By the end of the book, the reader is as clueless as to what is really going on as the hapless characters are themselves. The suspense and tension only add to the book's appeal, as Williams is making us all wait patiently for the final volume for all our questions to be answered.

I must applaud Tad for once again creating some fine fantastical worlds for his characters to play in. Seeing Paul struggle through ancient, Homeric Greece or Rene and the Gang struggle through the House was very entertaining. Tad has done a remarkable job on developing his characters; the reader grows to care for them, and when an unfortunate few do not make it to the last page alive...well, I must say I felt a bit distressed, to say the least.

The only real complaint I have about the book is that the numerous character perspectives can be quite confusing at times. There are literally dozens of separate players in this little drama, and when each is given their own time in the spotlight, things can get a little muddled at times. But I feel that that problem is overcome by the wonderful variety of the characters and the interesting perspectives each one brings. Rene, Dread, Cristabel, Jongleur--each is different in their own way, and each brings something different to the narrative. I can hardly wait till the end of the series just so I can see how everything is finally resolved!

I'm only halfway through this volume but I have to write since I've had one thought running through my mind for the last 300 pages -- no, make that 500 pages since the feeling started in book 2: this is just a vehicle for Tad to indulge himself. The central storyline is great, don't get me wrong, and it's the reason I'm still willing to slog through hundreds of pages of those wild, wacky adventures that do nothing to advance the plot and to endure "exposition" of the most meaningless sort. Do we really need to know about the childhood of someone who could charitably be called the twentieth-most important character in the book (Dulcie)? Do we really need yet another different world, the story of which reads like any other fantasy novel you could find on the shelf? Does Paul Jonas need to endure every single trial of the Odyssey? I hate to say it, but simply adding a one-off sentence at the end of a given chapter where (take your pick) a> the bird lady shows up, b> the Twins show up, c> the Other does something enigmatically sinister or d> yet another of those weeeeeird Otherland phenomena somehow manifests itself doesn't mean that that chapter moved the plotline ahead.

I'll say it again -- the overarching plot is quite interesting and I love the concept. But the more I read this, the more I'm finding that each chapter is likely to be essentially a self-contained and not particularly rewarding short story. I _never_ speedread or skim, but I'm starting to because pages pass where _nothing_ important, interesting or particularly novel happens. Stick to the main plot, Tad, or at least keep the tangents worthwhile. I'll stick the series out but my enthusiasm is waning. If you're looking for bloated epics, Jordan's are better-written and more interesting. This is fun, sure, but you can only meander so much before it hurts the quality of the work.

I _am_ still curious to see how it ends.

If you want to read a wonderful balancing act of sci-fi, excellent characters (and characterization), satire, mythology ,with some philosophical questions wavering the scale of good vs. evil...this book is for you. Be warned: people with a short attention span will find this book difficult (the writer of the Kirkus Review comes to mind). If you like to be challenged by your choice in fiction-by all means read this book! Williams reminds me of John Barth in his manipulation of mythology and the human condition

This review is an open call for editors to once again return to practicing their craft. Many writers are by natured delighted with the sight of their own prose and it's is an editor's job to hack and slash all those lovely words back into a decent story (or at least to send the writer back to do their own hacking and slashing.) Mountain of Black Glass might have been about 100 pages in length if anyone had bothered with a simple concept like pacing and action moving the story line forward.

As it stands now this book is not only boring it actually bordered on being silly. All these tours of one virtual reality after another with the characters in jeopardy, with little or nothing to gain from the adventure.

I love long stories with multiple plots and interesting characters which is why I began Otherland in the first place. After reviewing my notes on the last 5 or 10 500+ page novels I've read I've realized that they're all bloated with what at best amounts to well written filler and at worst is simply meaningless drivel.

I'll probably eventually read book number 4 and I have confidence that Mr. Williams can bring his story to a successful conclusion. I just wish he'd settled for a two book series instead of a 4 book series, because my guess is that's all the material he really had.

I have to agree with the other reviewers in that it seems that the series is a bit bloated. While I hesitate to call for an end to such an engaging vision, I found myself often skimming through less interesting detail to find out what was going to happen next. By now, probably everyone knows what's going on and is longing for something else to pique the interest.

I was happy to find the characters exposed a bit more. Dread, T4B, and Florimel are more real, and various love relationships have been developed. The end was surprising, both in that it wasn't the end and that more threads have been exposed for development in the next book. I can't wait to read it.

The promises Williams laid out in the earlier volumes begin to cumulate in the third and second to last installment of the mammoth Otherland 'novel.'

The beginning part of the novel stars off a little slowly, which is good I guess, to help get the readers re-familiarized with the characters. Once that is out of the way though, about 1/4 of the way into it, the plot lines begin to come together and the story really shifts into overdrive. There are a good deal of surprises that come about as this volume closes that were hinted at in the earlier volumes.

Williams does a good job of summarizing the first two volumes in the front matter before he we get into this volume. It is helpful, since there has been over a year since the last volume was published. Renie, !Xabbu and the rest of their group are still stuck in the massive House simulation, Orlando's life signs continue to weaken as he progresses through different simulations in his attempt, along with the gender confused Fredericks, to reunite with Renie's group, which he was seperated from in the 'River of Blue Fire'

Paul Jonas' character and his past continues to come to the light, as the reader discovers his identity at the same time Jonas does. Jonas joins up with the mysterious Azador who was part of Renie's group as the companion of Emily. The mysterious angel who has helped to guide him through the simulations to "Priam's Walls" has her true identity revealed. Paul wanders through different simulations until he finally arrives in the Troy simulation from Homer's Odysey

Outside in the 'real' world, we learn more of Felix Jongulear and his Grail Brotherhood, just how powerful they really are. The assassin Dread is further explored and roots of his early life are discovered.

As this volume draws to a close, the question of Otherland attaining Self Awareness is opened up and the path for the final volume is clearly set and looks very promising. Williams very cleverly interweaves many different myths, and traditional stories into the futuristic evironment of the Otherland VR world. I particularly enjoy the 'tribes' of the House simulation, Sisters of the Linen, etc.

This is not a book that you can really get into unless you have read the earlier volumes. Newcomers tread hesitantly. If you have read the earlier volumes this obviously is a must. If you enjoyed Williams' "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" series give this a try.