Otherland

The Otherland series is my personal alltime favorite!I loved so many of the concepts~the game/vr world being nearly indistinguishable from reality,the close friendships,the diabolical Felix Jongler(probably spelled wrong but I forgive myself!)I enjoyed the fact that he's the oldest,yet most powerful man in the world.Everytime I watch the Simpsons I think of him & how Mr. Burns is like a younger version of him.The children's minds supplying the energy for this undertaking was interesting also_One mighty fine series if you ask me!I'd like to find more books like these.I read Neuromancer around that time also(William Gibson)& liked it too but had to read the rest of the Otherland series immediately upon completion whereas I never read any more of Gibson's work after that I recall anyways.This is such an intersting forum & I'm so glad to have found it!Happy New Year Everyone!!!
 
im reading river of blue fire, and its great. City of golden shadows was excellent. Though, it was weird reading sci-fi because i always have read fantasy or fiction, and this was transitino.
 
Tad Williams can write beautifully!!! MS&T is definately up there with my faves, but i had trouble getting into otherland, i think it comes down to it being more sci fi than what i'm used to reading... I did finish the series, but i dont remember much of it except that it left me feeling a bit confused instead of satisfied like i usually do after i read a good fantasy.
 
I am a big fan of TW. One of the things I really enjoy about his work is that it actually does span different genre's.

Since he writes different kinds of stories, with separate tones and styles as well as across genre's, not everyone will like everything he does. Otherland is very different from WarOfFlowers which itself is far from MS&T.

I personally enjoyed the Otherland books tremendously. I was a big cyberpunk fan in the early days, but felt it quickly became stale. So much of it was locked into a specific tech-noir style and everything felt the same. With Tad's Otherland I feel he quickly demistifies the technology and lets you live in the varied worlds he creates. He created this near future, cyber-vr world that is vibrant and colorful and creative in ways all the dark, dirty noir cities of day's past never could be.

Plus on just an overall thought, Tad's entire on-line Shadowmarch experiment was refreshingly ambitious. He really tried to do something new and hopefully those books will benefit from it.

Not every experiment will succeed, but I always thought Tad as pretty cool simply because he tries to do new things ... some are better than others, but at least he is always trying to improve and branch out.
 
I read Otherland because I liked this author. Now I think I like this author because I've read Otherland :)
Yeah, I've just read the last chapters and afterword. Like Seanie said, "it comes down to it being more sci fi than what i'm used to reading" (we have even similar nicks! ), but I find Williams'charters and their fates very interesting - they're so alive! My english isn't very good - I must say it's just terrible - so I've a read problem, but I love these books and this author very much.
 
I read the whole series some time back, and recently brought the books out again so that I can read them again in the near future...currently finishing up a Stirling book...but I was blown away the first time I read them. It's a river story, like Huck Finn, and a total adventure.

I remember reading some boring critic's review of the series back then, and this guy had totally missed the point and really trashed the books, but I thought they were fun and interesting.
 
I just finished the Otherland series this week...

Got to admit, I think it was awfully padded out - 4 thick volumes with so many scenes following this pattern:

They appeared in a strangte world, nearly died from something, felt tired, cried, fell in some water, cried some more and felt more tired.

In the end it left me feeling...tired!

I was really pee'd off about Jonas, though - he starts the series and you follow him through trials and tribulations, and then at the end I just felt cheated - as though he was never an important character.

Overall, Otherland is really thick with character and the series is very well written - but it feels so padded out, with too many characters and too many repetitive scenes.

2c.
 
I tend to agree with Brian on his assement but I applaud Tad for attempting to take this project on board. It's his most ambitious project IMO but not his best effort. You should try his Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, in what is his best work or the War Of Flowers novel, both recommended.
 
I know I've read City of Golden Shadow, but I can't remember if I finished River of Blue Fire or not. I think I got bogged down somewhere in it and didn't finish it. I did like the concept of the storyline, though it was confusing at times. Maybe someday I might give this series another try.
 
I've read the whole series all the way through twice and to be honest I've not bothered with it since. I have to be in the mood for reading it which hasn't come round for awhile. Its still a good read :)
 
I like stories like Otherland simply because it will make people think. Through works like this, people like Tad Williams are able to inspire. What I mean by that is the idea of Otherland is in many ways similar to the internet that we all use today. From stories come ideas, and ideas for some people also mean invention. Yes, I mean some genious in the future happens to read Otherland and says, "I can create a simulation just like that!"

I am not saying it will happen exactly like Tad has described it in Otherland, but I really do believe that these Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games that are so prevelant on the internet today, they are just the beginning.

Stories like Otherland can provide the inspiration that is needed for someone, someday, to create something similar. That is why I really enjoyed the series.
 
BEST.SERIES.EVER!
Yes, i do recognise that there are flaws, repetitiveness etc. But i just love the mixture of genres into something new, alongside the rejuvenation of old stories and themes that make it something truly special and unique. Yes, there have been other novels of this genre (i've heard the term cyberpunk tossed around) but none could be as truly epic as Otherland. And as i was just saying about Memory, Sorrow and Thorn:
I just love the mystery element that Tad Williams injects into his books, that most other fantasy authors seem to lack, or use only sparingly. Tad on the other hand has such a complex world and plot line that by the time you get towards the end your'e left thinking theres no possible way he could tie up all the loose ends and mysteries that your'e dying to unravel. But as with Otherland, my fears were once again allayed - he manages to tie up everything (or just about) in what I found to be a really satisfying (and still believable) manner.
Click to expand...
It also helps that I love ancient history and my two favourite cultures/stories are Egypt and Troy both of which play dominant roles in the series:D
 
It was pretty cool that he used the Egyptian theme and the Illiad part in Otherland. It was a really difficult read, because of the repetition, ect. but overall I enjoyed it because of the ideas that were in it.
 
I read the Otherland series a while ago and I loved these books! The world building was what got me. I really found the story and characters to be very different than anything I had read before at the time. Maybe sometime I will reread them. The War of Flowers was also very good. I never got around to reading Tad Williams' fantasy stuff, any recommendations for where I should start?
 
I loved this series. I read his MST books first then picked up Otherland. I wasn't really into the whole simulation thing, but this got me interested. I kinda felt like Xabbu! did, trying to understand the technology Williams presented in the story. I liked all of the main characters, especially Christabel, Paul, Rene, Xabbu!, the blind woman, the old man (can't remember his name), Orlando as well (one of my favorites). I thought the David and Goliath feel of the story was compelling. All the different worlds were fun also. ***Spoiler****Next... I liked the ending as well. I would have liked to see how Jonas reacted to meeting everyone again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
Y Otherland as good as MS&T? Tad Williams 15
J Otherland - ending Tad Williams 5
Brian G Turner Otherland Tad Williams 30
Suzakk Otherland or Shadowmarch? Tad Williams 7
L !Xabbu (in the series Otherland) Tad Williams 5

Similar threads


Back
Top