OTHERLAND: Vol. I: City of Golden Shadow

by Tad Williams ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 6, 1996

Another doorstopper fantasy from Williams (The Dragonbone Chair, 1988, etc.), book one of a projected tetralogy large enough to satisfy the most gargantuan appetite. In the near future, a conspiracy of the super-rich and super-powerful has created an exclusive and impregnable virtual reality called Otherland, where the participants adopted the appearance and attributes of Egyptian gods. This Grail Brotherhood seek a McGuffin, the key to whose location is bewildered Paul Jonas, a man plucked--apparently--from the battlefields of WW I. Even though he can't remember anything and has no idea what's going on, Jonas plunges through various weird computer realities, somehow just evading capture. But the Brotherhood's split into factions, one of which is stealing children's minds from ordinary cyberspace. Teacher Renie Sulaweyo--her brother is a victim--and her Bushman friend, !Xabbu, along with various others stumble across the conspiracy and force their way into Otherland. And who is mysterious, crippled old Mr. Sellars, now a prisoner on a military base? Well, after 782 pages of flabby confusion, readers, like most of the characters, will have only the vaguest idea of what it's all about. If, for whatever reason, you intend to absorb the entire tetralogy, you'll need your reading spectacles, a cool hundred bucks, a prodigious memory, and unlimited patience.

Pub Date: Nov. 6, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 782

Publisher: DAW

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1996

Categories: FICTION