Customer Reviews

The Sea Is Full of Stars (Well World)

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

 

 

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.

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.

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

If for no other reason, Jack Chalker deserves his place in science fiction for having invented the Well World. [Side note: I'd never write a Star Wars or Star Trek novel, but if Chalker ever asked me to write a Well World novel, he wouldn't have to ask twice.] Every Well novel has been brilliant; the last three were superior, but read much like variations on the original theme. Now he has integrated new scientific & technological knowledge into the Well mythos AND done something completely new with the concept. Besides that, virtually no one besides Chalker of whom I know has done so well in making aliens both understandable to us and at the same time so clearly not like us at all. I am awaiting the sequel.

An interesting variation of the same original well world series. The first book is only an introduction to the second book. The characters are well disguised remakes of his previous characters. Almost all Well World series have Drug Lords with their planet fortresses, Evil Conquerors ( and their guilt ridden proteges ), body swapping and its psychological repercussions. But then thats what we all like about the well world series. So if you are a fan, go ahead and make your day.

Must read the other Well World Series by Jack Chalker to appreciate this book. I think this series is one of the greatest works in the Sci Fi field. Unfortunately, Jack Chalker has passed away so there will not be anymore books in this series. If you liked the Well World series you will enjoy this one also.

What can I say...this man has got some serious SF skills! To tell you anything is to ruin it for you, but I will say read the intro that Chalker wrote. And you can be sure that this book begs for a sequel!

I am an avid fan of Jack Chalker and have read all the previous Well World series with great enthusiasm but this latest two book set in the series was a major disappointment. The author creates detailed and interesting back story on all the major characters in book one and then practically dumps it all in book two in what amounts to a rush to finish the story. The point at which Wally steals the straight gate piece is amateur. And the ending when Ming and Ari are resolving basically the rest of their lives after their personal and emotional ordeal on the Well World and then end up in a tryst to end book 2 tells me that Chalker cared less for these characters than a non-fan. It almost feels like the author was limited to 2 books on this story and cut corners accordingly.

This is classic Chalker at his best. If you enjoyed the original Well World series then you have to read this.

My only disappointments are that it takes the whole book to get to know the characters and to get to the Well World, and the final couple of chapters are all that's left to wind up the novel -- a bit of an anti-climax. In fact, you will have to buy the next one to find out how the story really ends as this is just an episode in a bigger plot. So, it is not really a stand alone novel at all.