The Black Tower (The Dungeon)

First 2 books of this series, now collected in one volume are pulpy, wonderful scifi fantasy at its best. Middle 2 are decent. The very last however is so bad that it effectively destroys the purpose in purchasingBuy this volume, and STOP. It will be hard, because they are wonderful. Trust me - come up with your own ending

In this reissue of 1988 Jose Farmers' The Dungeon .. not only does Richard Lupoff write but also Bruce Coville whose talents are worth an extra review. His contribution "The Dark Abyss" leads us to believe that Neville can be found and everyone can find a way out, his journal is leaving unsuspecting messages and clues but hope is short lived. Major Clive Folliot and his companions accompanied by new allies including his great-granddaughter Annabelle Leigh and friends will descend through a trap door in a cave with the help of Shriek.. a large spider woman that can change her inner self (which makes her a deadly addition to this group) spins a silk line to descend upon a world of vast oceans were there are people who live beneath the surface of that great body of water and there are islanders' populating a tiny portion of land. Here they meet Mr.Green who will reveal to Clive a key to the mysteries of the Dungeon and ancient races who play a game beyond rational comprehension. During all of this Sidi Bombay has been incorporated with a worm that feeds on what a person is, in return they make that person part of them. He is rescued and discovers the experience has made him young and vital again. Yet despite the fact that they have survived this long the worms are the only creature powerful enough to travel within the tunnels of the dungeon and they will learn to use that ability.

The first book of the Dungeon series is terrific. Very exciting and interesting, it sets the way for the rest of the series. Characters are fairly well developed, and many plot hooks, unexplained events, characters, and ideas are introduced. This leaves much for the rest of the books in the series. The rest of the books are important for a sense of closure and understanding. The Tower is a great first book. The series is a wonderful idea, a playground for the authors. They build upon each other, creating a world and keeping a complex plot on a track the develop as they write. Some aspects of the characters do change from book to book, but that is to be expected with multiple authors. The last book is a great letdown, awful to tell the truth, but the other five make up for it. I read them over and over, some of the ideas are so fascinating and adventures great. I definitely recommend.

I have read the entire series. (More than once!) The characters are all very memorable. The adventures are awesome. It almost makes you want to get lost in the Dungeon. It's only weakness is the final 6th book. But after the first awesome 5, you won't care!

This is a very enjoyable book with plenty of fantacy and adventure. The plot keeps you interested with many twists and some mystery. Only problem; good luck finding the entire 6-part series anywhere. I have yet to read the last two due to unavailibilty.