Otherland: City of Golden Shadow

Tad Williams

Jan 1998 · Penguin

About this ebook

Otherland...
Surrounded by secrecy, it is home to the wildest dreams and darkest nightmares. Incredible amounts of money have been lavished on it. The best minds of two generations have labored to build it. And somehow, bit by bit, it is claiming the Earth's most valuable resource--its children.

Ratings and reviews

Perhaps the best virtual reality fiction ever created. At this point, I find the genre rather dull (SAO was just down hill after the first half of season 1) and repetitive but I was fortunate to have read this book in 2010, a couple years after I read Piers Anthony's Killobyte, another good VR book. Written in the 90s, Otherland provides a great glimpse into the world that currently exists, and what may be coming. One great example is the prevalence of tablet computing depicted in the book. The book starts off very slow, but it is necessary in order to get into the story. There is a very large roster of diverse characters and the author takes great care developing them. There is also a lot of mystery and Intrigue, most of which is resolved by the end of the series. If you are adverse to reading such long books, but are interested in the story I would strongly recommend the audio books as a substitute.

wonderful language and great concept. but so long and so over done. endless descriptions of journeys through magical lands, but there's no point to any of it. i kept reading because some of the storylines would grab me for a bit, but then we'd return to the endless "otherland" and I'd fall asleep. i can't believe there's 3 more books. sorry, sir, but I'm not going to be able to follow...

This is many stories all rolled into one and is a book that you simply can't put down and will have you rushing to the next volume. That's right, volume. It is a book divided into 4 parts. I have never read anything so unlike anything else in the genre. Truly unique!

About the author

Tad Williams has held more jobs than any sane person should admit to—singing in a band, selling shoes, managing a financial institution, throwing newspapers, and designing military manuals, to name just a few. He also hosted a syndicated radio show for ten years, worked in theater and television production, taught both grade-school and college classes, and worked in multimedia for a major computer firm. He is cofounder of an interactive television company, and is currently writing comic books and film and television scripts as well. Tad and his family live in London and the San Francisco Bay Area. You can find Tad Williams at tadwilliams.com.