River of Blue Fire

Actually more interesting than the first. The main story actually moves at an even slower pace than the first, but who cares! Since the journey istelf is so fascinating. Our heros who had finally come together (mostly) at the end of vol. I are quickly seperated in Otherland and find themselves in sim worlds resembling an ice age, a twisted version of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", a world where scientist study giant insects (or are they tiny scientist) and many others. Don't expect to much to be explained in this book, just enjoy the ride.

Never have I hungered for a book more than this. After consuming City of Golden Shadow like it wasn't really 770 pages,I was hooked. I could hardly wait to find out what Renie and !Xabbu, Orlando and Fredericks, not to mention Paul and Gally were facing. Tad Williams continues to fascinate with an endless array of brilliantly diverse characters and settings. Read the editorial review for a synopsis, but trust me when I say you cannot put this book down. The bags under my eyes attest to the sacrificed sleep as I breezed through this volume. Williams continues to weave a murder mystery, a future shock tale and a "this could happen, if we aren't careful..." reality check into a homogenous story that twists and turns. Only the too brief appearance, and too convenient disposal of Dread's victims and the death of Renie's mentor seemed contrived. The rest of the book fairly flew through my brain nightly. I am already set to begin volume three. It is easy to see why it will take four books to complete this story. Tad William's characters are like a spice rack full of different, tasty flavors waiting to satisfy your mental pallette. Enjoy it!

For those of you looking for a nice book to pick up and read front to back and be done...go elsewhere. This book, as mentioned by the author within the contents itself is merely a continuation of his ideas within the first volume. Otherland: City of Golden Shadow. Williams himself views the Otherland series as ONE novel in 4 seperate sections, so as not to kill himself over writing it, publisher's deadlines and all. Williams is a wonderously imaginative author who has a tremendous skill for having infinite relevant subplots. For those who have read Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn get ready this is even more expansive in texture. For those who've never read Williams before, read the first volume before this one, or wait until all four are out and go hog wild through all four in a massive assault on your sanity. All in all. Tad Williams is one of the greatest living writers of this time, in my opinion.

The much criticised "cliffhanger" ending from Volume One serves as a springboard which launches the increasingly fragmented group into a wild variety of different interactive worlds. Dread, the warped and treacherous minion of the Grail Brotherhood has betrayed his masters and assumed the guise of one of the invaders. This volume offers a spectacular insight into his gruesome, sadistic mindset as well as the haunted and increasingly unhinged mind of his rich-as-creusus master. Previously, Tad Williams has made little effort to explore the personalities of his evil characters, but this novel changes all that. The wild adventures among the simworlds are perhaps a little predictably akin to cartoon adventures in which characters are always saved from dire fates by flukish luck or the last gasp entrance of another "good guy", but perhaps Tad intended this and is sending up this genre from within as it were. Whichever it is the repetition of this "last gasp escape from danger" theme becomes a little tiresome. Again, information as to the nature and motivation of the grail project is passed out strategically, and yes!, dammit, slowly. But don't be in a hurry. Enjoy the wealth of imagination and the beautiful writing and just let the book swing you around from world to world. Underlying the wild adventurers and imaginative passages is a slow building feeling of imminent disaster and the darkness which underlies the whole project. This was a Great Book, a spectacular combination of the technological, the fantastic and the insane. Awesome stuff.

Tad Williams is, simply, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) among the writers currently toiling in the genre of fantasy/science fiction. In fact, I am hesitant to even think of the OTHERLAND books as part of the genre; in no way can it be compared to the usual tripe: Eddings, Goodkind, or the run of the mill Dragonlance filler. Having this opinion, I approached River of Blue Fire with some hesitancy, remembering what I disliked most about his previous series Memory, Sorrow and Thorn--while the first volumn was captivating, the pace and structural backbone of the following two books slowed to a crawl and became, at times, needlessly complicated. Happily, the second volumn of OTHERLAND does not suffer these (small) fallicies; in fact, though enormous and complex, the above review by Kirkus is astonishing. I found my time and attention consumed by this book--at times I forgoed sustience and rest to explore deeper the bewitching qualities and hidden beauties burried within. One scene I will use for an example is where Dread finds the 'dreamtime.' Though the actions are horrific, Tad portrays the charicters psyche so well that I found myself in collaberation with this sick serial killer, lusting, feeling, tingling with the rush of ardrenilene... This book is a marvel, full of vivid imagination and clever prose. On the surface River of Blue Fire is a deliciously overwhelming adventure that is threaded with the subtle themes of humankind, of how we interact with the world around us and winthin us; themes interwoven in any great novel. At completion I wondered how Tad planed to finish this monster in simply four books...