Tad Williamsª Mirror World: An Illustrated Novel [Hardcover]

Tad Williams (Author, Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0788168851 | ISBN-13: 978-0788168857 | Publication Date: December 1, 1998 | Edition: First Printing (stated)

It is June of 1999 and a strange phenomenon has suddenly appeared throughout the world's major cities: giant mirrors which split the cities in half. Dividing natural parkways and cutting buildings in two, these mirrors, are as dangerous as they are beautiful. For soon after it is discovered that people can step through them and enter foreign worlds, it becomes clear that a trip through the Earth's Mirrors is a one-way journey. The mirrors work in only one direction. What started out as a curious odyssey becomes a permanent exile.

Yet despite the imminent threat of banishment, people still cross over the bridge of Mirrors - some to find loved ones stranded on the other side, some to challenge new frontiers, and some to reverse the horrors of what is swarming through the Mirrors to challenge the course of civilization.

For, back on Earth, huge predatory insects are pouring through the Mirrors, killing or carrying away anything living in their path. The Bugs, as they become known, are a deadly plague with which the world I forced to reckon. A plague which both challenges and fuels the Earth's relationship with the Mirrors, as organizations such as the United Nations become involved, symbolizing the harmonious response of the world's nations and many peoples.

The story of the mirrors is revealed through the eyes of Dancer, hero of Mirror World. Thoughtful and brave, Dancer passionately explores the fantastic worlds of the unknown. As he travels through newly established territories such as the city states of Shades and Looking Glass and the downtrodden land of Darklea, we see that the mirrors have created not only an alien civilization but also a new world built upon a the future of hope, love, and a prism of dreams.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Only two issues of Tad Williams's popular TechnoComics Mirror World series were ever printed--issues 0 and 1. Mirror World laid down an imaginative alternate history for Earth worthy of such an unpredictable and original author: Just before the turn of the millennium, giant mirrors sprang up all over the world, and an army of super-sized insects poured out, capturing countless thousands and dragging them back through the mirrors into the unknown. The mirrors stuck around, and eventually some humans made the (one-way, they realized later) trip to the other side, to an Earth-like--and mysteriously superbug-less--parallel dimension. A number of these intrepid souls were souped-up "biotroopers," sent by the UN in pursuit of the giant bugs. These biotroopers were the focus of Mirror World, and they also provide the common thread in this release.

Strangely, Williams didn't write any of the three stories in the richly illustrated Tad Williams' Mirror World. While he did hand-pick the book's authors, none is quite the equal of the talented and creative Williams. The writers clearly understand and appreciate Williams's world, though, and while not entirely polished, their efforts show enthusiasm and innovation. This book would definitely be at home on the bookshelf of any Mirror World fan, with dozens of illustrations and computer-readout-style dossiers on notable biotroopers. --Paul Hughes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In 1999, enormous mirrors appear around the world, creating gates into the mysterious Mirrorworld. At first the mirror-portals are two-way, allowing explorers to return at will, but then the gates within Mirrorworld itself disappear, leaving the explorers trapped. Meanwhile, giant insectoid aliens called "Bugs" begin using the mirrors to invade Earth. Thirty-seven specially bio-enhanced UN soldiers are sent through the portals to find the source of the Bugs and stop the invasion?but Mirrorworld turns out to be a mere stepping stone in an unknowable chain of planets connected by the mysterious mirrors. With no way home, the "biosoldiers" and others must band together for safety, in this setting invented by Tad Williams (Otherworld) and here sharecropped through lengthy stories by, respectively, Kreighbaum (The Eyes of God), West (The Broken Crown) and Helfers. Kreighbaum's "Mirror in Time" is a jumbled tale of a biosoldier whose lack of closure over his mother's death years ago hinders his determination to prevent two fellow soldiers from causing havoc in Mirrorworld. In Helfers's "Serpent in the Garden," a biosoldier must hunt down a fellow trooper whose enhancements have driven him insane. West's "Childhood's End," the most thoughtful piece of this generally weak trio, depicts yet another biosoldier, one whose silence harbors a grim past. These stories provide only a lackluster introduction to Williams's setting, merely hinting at wonders and mostly ignoring the much larger population of mundane folk who struggle to survive in this universe without superhuman reflexes or special training. Full-color border art throughout, plus 50 pages with full-color illustrations.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 170 pages
• Publisher: HarperPrism; First Printing (stated) edition (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0788168851
• ISBN-13: 978-0788168857
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,055,437 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.