'City of Golden Shadow' by Tad Williams is the first installment in the 'Otherland' series, a sci-fi multi-genre tale that introduces a diverse cast of characters embarking on a quest within a virtual reality world. The plot revolves around a group of individuals from different backgrounds investigating mysterious comas affecting children, while also delving into a cyberpunk mystery in the real world. The writing style is described as ambitious, detailed, and rich in world-building, blending elements of science fiction and fantasy seamlessly through the use of virtual reality.
Genres:
Tropes/Plot Devices:
Topics:
Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The book includes themes of violence, psychological trauma, and complex moral issues.
Has Romance?
Romance exists within the narrative but is not the central focus; it plays a significant role in character development.
From The Publisher:
"Tad Williams is the brightest and best of the fantasists." -Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods
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 labored 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, and unusual times call for unusual champions:
Renie Sulaweyo, a teacher and the backbone of her family, proud of her African heritage, has fought all her life simply to get by. She has never wanted to be a hero. But when her young brother is struck down by a bizarre and mysterious illness, Renie swears to save him. When people around her begin to die, she realizes she has stumbled onto something she is not meant to know, a terrifying secret from which there is no turning back.
!Xabbu is a Bushman, come to the city to learn skills which may save the spirit of his tribe. With the heart of a poet and the soul of a shaman, he will journey with Renie on this quest into the very heart of darkness.
Paul Jonas is lost, seemingly adrift in space and time. As he flees from the bloody battlefields of World War I to a castle in the sky, and onward to lands beyond imagining, he must not only evade his terrifying pursuers, but solve the terrible riddle of his own identity.
Fourteen-year-old Orlando is also the invincible barbarian Thargorm, but only in his imagination. However, youth and frailty are not enough to get you excused from saving the world.
And Mister Sellars, a strange old man on a military base, a prisoner of both the government and his own body, may be the greatest mystery of all. Is he part of The Grail Brotherhood? Does he oppose them? Or, as he sits like a spider at the center of a vast web, does he have ambitions of his own?
The answers will only be found in Otherland.
Ratings (9)
Incredible (4) | |
Loved It (3) | |
Liked It (1) | |
It Was OK (1) |
Reader Stats (29):
Read It (10) | |
Want To Read (15) | |
Not Interested (4) |
1 comment(s)
The good: I devoured this book. I spent more time reading this book than I have reading other books per day and, despite its length, I think I got through it pretty fast.
The writing is superb and the world-building well fleshed out. The characters are in-depth and you start to feel for them.
Why you may ask am I taking a star away, then?
The bad: This 800-page monstrosity is just the prelude. I kid you not. Nothing is resolved in this book and everything is amped up toward the end. On the plus side, it makes me want to read the sequel. On the minus side, it makes me wonder whether the sequel will work out any plot lines either or if it'll just drag along for four books.
What can you read after
City of Golden Shadow?
About the Author:
Tad Williams is a California-based fantasy superstar. His genre-creating (and genre-busting) books have sold tens of millions worldwide. His works include the worlds of Otherland, Shadowmarch, and Osten Ard-including the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, and The Last King of Osten Ard series-as…
When you click the Amazon link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commision, at no cost to you.
