Midnight at the Well of Souls

This is the book that launched Jack Chalker as an SF heavyweight and it's easy to see why. Full of fun characters, a brilliantly realised world and a fascinating plot it's a terrific adventure from a master story.Other reviews will give you the plot in more detail. I simply want to recommend Chalker the writer. I've read pretty much everything he's published and I always look forward to his new books. This, though, is certainly one of his greatest. It's a great shame that mainstream SF critics have ignored or impugned his work because it's as good or better than a lot of the dross that's out there (and I include some of the so-called masterworks that have been swathed in awards). Thankfully he has a loyal legion of fans that have followed his career.And this is also a great prequel to the War of the Well which is told the four volumes that followed this one. You don't have to read them all, as this a stand alone novel, but if you enjoy this one as much as so many others have then you'll certainly want to read more about Well World and the War of the Well novels are also superior entertainment on a large scale.Basically, try anything of Jack Chalker's. He's an underrated master of the fantasy/sf genre.Look also for The Four Lords of the Diamond series, The Rings of the Master series, the Dancing Gods novels and his lone short story collection, Dance Band on the Titanic.The War of the Well is told in Exiles at the Well of Souls, Quest for the Well of Souls, The Return of Nathan Brazil and Twilight at the Well of Souls.Dont wait. Go seek them out. You won't be disappointed.

Jack Chalker's "Midnight at the Well of Souls" is a science fiction adventure tale that one could describe as an ambitious epic, yet written with an often whimsical sense of fun. The novel is full of colorful characters, weird locales, and imaginatively conceived alien species.The story's hero is freighter captain Nathan Brazil, a human male who is noted to be a maverick and a loner in "an age of extreme conformity." While carrying a motley collection of passengers on his ship, Brazil answers a distress call. Soon he finds himself on the Well World, a bizarre planet divided up into hundreds of biospheres and home to hundreds of different civilizations. Oh, and each newcomer to the planet can expect to find him- or herself transformed into a different species! "Midnight" charts the odyssey of Brazil, his allies, and his enemies across this strange and wondrous world as they seek the answer to an ancient mystery."Midnight" is a novel of ideas as well as a fun and exciting adventure; Chalker deals with such issues as history, drug addiction, crime, social organization, literacy, and more as the story unfolds. Chalker cleverly delves into the life cycles and sexual behaviors of the various Well World species, which include intelligent plants, a centaur-like race, and many more. The motif of transformation, including gender-changing, is intriguingly handled throughout the story.Chalker makes reference to "Alice in Wonderland" at one point in the book, but the book, curiously, reminds me more of L. Frank Baum's classic Oz tales. And Chalker's vision of science, civilization, and history reminds me a bit of a less horrific, more light-hearted H.P. Lovecraft. Overall, a lot of fun, and written in a very engaging prose style. If you like this book, try "Lord Valentine's Castle," by Robert Silverberg.

Book 1 of the 'Well World' series This story could be set in the far future -- or a parallel one. I think Chalker wrote this as a stand-alone story, but it has grown several sequels (like warts) that might be viewed as detracting from this one. Taken on its own merits, though, 'Midnight at the Well of Souls' is a fun tale with a novel explanation for the existence of Existence. Warning: Though this book contains nothing explicit, some of the themes are definitely adult in nature. I'd give this a 'PG' rating.

While reading this book, something strikes you - you just have to read on! This (these?) books are simply just great. You are slowly getting sucked deeper and deeper into the plot. As another one said, Chalker is great at alien sociology - this book deals with a huge number of totally different races, and he manages to keep them different, to make them fit into the plot, and then makes the book end with you wanting more (which there fortunately is!) - if you're into sci-fi, and you haven't read this yet, you'd better get started!!!

Although just about anything by Jack Chalker is good, the Well World series is my favorite. The plot is excellent and you really get to know the main charecters. The book is well thought out and very fun to read.