The Sea Is Full of Stars (Well World) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jack L. Chalker (Author)

Book Description

Series: Well World | Publication Date: December 7, 1999

This exciting, action-packed novel marks Jack Chalker's triumphant return to his celebrated multivolume saga: The Well World. The Sea Is Full of Stars explores an unknown interstellar civilization, stars an all-new cast of characters, and reveals fresh secrets. But of course, The Well remains . . .

After three passengers--Ming, Ari, and Angel--embark on an elite starship journey into the Realm, they unwittingly become ensnared in one man's bloodthirsty vendetta that will alter their very beings. That man is Jeremiah Wong Kincaid. He vows to destroy Josich Conqueror Hadun, the evil genius who has wreaked unspeakable havoc throughout the universe. It is an obsession that will take him to lands of demons and strange races--and into a deadly new cyberworld where humans are mere pawns of the godlike computers they have created.

But it is only after Kincaid and his unwitting fellow travelers enter Well World and discover the water hexes that he confronts the mad tyrant--and learns their universe is threatened by something far, far worse . . .

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

This exciting, action-packed novel marks Jack Chalker's triumphant return to his celebrated multivolume saga: The Well World. The Sea Is Full of Stars explores an unknown interstellar civilization, stars an all-new cast of characters, and reveals fresh secrets. But of course, The Well remains . . .

After three passengers--Ming, Ari, and Angel--embark on an elite starship journey into the Realm, they unwittingly become ensnared in one man's bloodthirsty vendetta that will alter their very beings. That man is Jeremiah Wong Kincaid. He vows to destroy Josich Conqueror Hadun, the evil genius who has wreaked unspeakable havoc throughout the universe. It is an obsession that will take him to lands of demons and strange races--and into a deadly new cyberworld where humans are mere pawns of the godlike computers they have created.

But it is only after Kincaid and his unwitting fellow travelers enter Well World and discover the water hexes that he confronts the mad tyrant--and learns their universe is threatened by something far, far worse . . .

About the Author

Jack L. Chalker was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 17, 1944. While still in high school, he began writing for the amateur science fiction press, and in 1960 he launched the Hugo-nominated amateur magazine Mirage. A year later he founded Mirage Press, which grew into a major specialty publisher of nonfiction and reference books on science fiction and fantasy.

His first novel, A Jungle of Stars, was published in 1976, and he became a full-time novelist two years later with the major popular success of Midnight at the Well of Souls. Chalker is an active conservationist and enjoys traveling, consumer electronics, and computers. He is also a noted speaker on science fiction and fantasy at numerous colleges and universities. He is a passionate lover of steamboats, in particular ferryboats, and has ridden more than three hundred ferries in the United States and elsewhere.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (December 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345394860
• ISBN-13: 978-0345394866
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jack Chalker was back on form in 1996, December 9, 1999

By 

Nathaniel Karas "DocuApe" (virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sea Is Full of Stars (Well World) (Mass Market Paperback)

I was going to say that chalker is back on form, but the book was actually written three years ago. Hopefully, the spate of "new" chalker books coming soon will be just as good as this one. In The Sea is Full of Stars the author has blended the familiar elements of all Well World books with novel ones to create just the right tone, keeping you comfortable but interested. While the last Well saga was well written, it was mostly the same sort of story as the first set. Here we have the usual disparate group of seekers from the larger galaxy, but Chalker has definitely thought through some new concepts and problems for the planet/computer/ecological system that is the Well World. Ond day Del Rey may miss him; then again if media novels make bucks and that's all they care about, maybe they won't.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well, here we go again..., January 6, 2000

By 

"fxgovers" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sea Is Full of Stars (Well World) (Mass Market Paperback)

The instant that I saw that Jack had a new Well World novel out, I snached it off the shelf. The rest of the series had been so wierd and wonderful--would this new one match up? It certainly is a "must buy" for any Well World fan, although be warned that this is the first part of a two-parter and don't expect much resolution in this volume -- things just get to a fever pitch (in best serial-book fashion). This Well World novel has a whole new feel to it compared to the others -- a bit darker, but also with a bit more depth. The starting scenes in the space-going freighter and the new characters of Angel and Kincaid (and later Ari and Ming) are interesting and well-drawn. The villians in the piece are kept far in the background, and we only see them through the sometimes distant effects they have on the main cast. A quick plot synopsis: A missionary traveling between the stars meets her fellow passengers. One is a man on a quest to kill a genocidial dictator. Others are mobsters, collectors of rare gems, with a few "management consultants" thrown in. The captain of the ship is killed by a bizzare, water breathing creature, and some sort of heist is underway. As with any Well World novel, you can be sure that no-one will be in the same body (and sometimes even the same mind) by the end of the book. Of course this group all ends up on the Well World, home to the Well of Souls, Mr. Chalker's strange, hexagonal environment where the creators of our universe, the Markovians, experimented with over 1900 minature ecosystems, each with its own dominant, sentient race. We get to go to the other side of the Well World in this book, and meet some of the water-breathing, and flying inhabitants of the Well World. There are truly some new plot twists here, and even though I have read all of the Well World novels to date, this one still has me guessing. Congratulations, Jack, on another "Well-done", entertaining adventure.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His Best In Years!, May 27, 2000

By 

Daniel J Holden - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sea Is Full of Stars (Well World) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been Chalker fan since the publication of the first Well World novels, and have read every book he has ever written. That being said, I have found the recent attempts to revive the Well World to be sorely lacking. Until The Sea Is Full Of Stars, that is. I have found this to be the most enjoyable book that Chalker has written in years (I found Watchers At The Well to be less than satisfying). This book, however, seems to capture the spirit and adventure of the original novels. Which makes it all the more unfortunate that the second book does not live up to its potential