Otherland (Bk. 1) [Paperback]

Tad Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 5, 1998 | Series: Otherland

In our own near future, a global conspiracy at the highest levels threatens to sacrifice our Earth for the promise of a far more exclusive place - Otherland, a universe where any fantasy can be made real, but which is ruled by Earth's wealthiest and most ruthless power brokers, the Grail Brotherhood. Otherland, surrounded by secrecy, it is home to the wildest dreams and darkest nightmares. Incredible amounts of money have been lavished on it. The best minds of two generations have laboured to build it. And somehow, bit by bit, it is claiming the Earth's most valuable resource - its children. Only a few have become aware of the danger. Fewer still are willing or able to take up the challenge of this perilous and seductive realm. But every age has its heroes; unusual times call for unusual champions and destiny awaits them in Otherland.

Editorial Reviews

Review

True speculative grandeur Time Out The ultimate virtual-reality saga, borrowing motifs from cyberpunk, mythology and world history SAN FRANCISCO Chronicle On an epic scale ... a big colourful new novel full of real-world conspiracy and virtual reality wonders, with characters worth caring about LOCUS One of the best works of science fiction I've ever read Katharine Kerr

About the Author

Former singer, shoe-seller and radio show host, Tad Williams is now a full-time writer. His MEMORY, SORROW and THORN series established him as one of the most internationally popular fantasy authors of recent years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 960 pages
• Publisher: Orbit & Abacus (March 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857236041
• ISBN-13: 978-1857236040
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 2.1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,455,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Former singer, shoe-seller, radio show host, and inventor of interactive sci-fi television, Tad Williams is now a full-time writer. His 'Memory, Sorrow and Thorn' series established him as an internationally bestselling fantasy author. The series that followed, 'Otherland', is now a multi-million-dollar MMO launching in 2012 from dtp/realU/Gamigo. Tad is also the author of the fantasy series, the 'Shadowmarch' books; the stand-alone Faerie epic, 'The War of the Flowers'; two collections of short stories ('Rite' and 'A Stark and Wormy Knight'), the Shakespearian fantasy 'Caliban's Hour' and, with his partner & collaborator Deborah Beale, the childrens'/all-ages fantasy series, the 'Ordinary Farm' novels. Coming in September 2012 are the Bobby Dollar novels, fantasy thrillers set again the backdrop of the monstrously ancient cold war between Heaven and Hell: the first is 'The Dirty Streets of Heaven.'

Tad is also the author of 'Tailchaser's Song': his first novel spawned the subgenre of cats and fantasy that we see widely today. 'Tailchaser's Song' is currently in preproduction as an animated film from Animetropolis/IDA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Before you buy this book, read this!, April 3, 2008

By 

Jeremiah W. Wilder "Voodstoc" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: River of Blue Fire (Otherland) (Bk.2) (Paperback)

I bought this book based on the back cover and read it straight through. It was a very interesting book based on a virtual simulation created by using a mutant human brain to create unprecedented realism. The network hosts hundreds of "worlds." These worlds are the meat of these books and the author has put forth some very imaginative scenarios.
BUT this book is actually 1/4 of a book and you have to read all four as though they are a single volume. It may sound intriguing, but these are large books and by the end of the third book, I was tiring of the large amount of filler. Don't get me wrong, the characters are very strong, but much of these books I now realize I could have skipped entirely and not missed much at all.
Now that I have finished the fourth book, I have come to the conclusion that you may be able to get away with reading only the fourth book, since the author thoroughly summarizes the three previous books at the beginning of the fourth.
And actually in the fourth book, I really didn't get a feeling of interest or the customary "answering of the mystery" until the last fifty pages or less. I don't want to ruin it, but suffice to say that ending was anti-climactic to say the least.
So, if you enjoy slow moving reads where you really don't have much sense of what is really going on as the questions pile up, this may be your book. If I had to do it over again, I would not have bought this book, as interesting as the worlds are.
~J