City of Golden Shadow - Tad Williams

The Otherland series is set in the future, the mid twenty-first century, a version of out world shaped by forces already active today. This is a departure for Williams, after his Fantasy writing, but he slips into the world of cyberspace and conspiracies without a glitch. His previous creations include a fantasy epic series, Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, and are notable for their addictively enjoyable storytelling. As the first chapters of City show, the book shifts between realities and worlds. This is achieved by the Net of the future, where computing power and programming have created an existence as convincing as reality. Indeed, the huge computer system that we ...  Read the complete review

The first in Williams' nw series about a virtual reality universe set up in the near future. This begins the tale with a computer lecturer and a student from a culture where the technology hasnt reached yet. Williams sets up the future in a believable extension of where the internet is now: People all have VR equipment, depending on how wealthy you are depends on the quality. Everything is done over the internet, people run businesses, have meetings, learn and teach online. The basic plot is that there is a group of bad guy businessmen, who remain just mysterious enough to keep you intrigued but not so hidden that they are wasted, who are setting up a set of ...  Read the complete review

This book (and its sequels) is one of the most underated books in recent times.This volume is the start of a massive story. As the author has aid himself it is one book published in four parts.Why you may ask? The sheer size is the reason.The first volume is about 600 pages long.The next longer and the third is about 1000 pages. But back to this volume. Children are falling sick and noone knows why.It appears to be realted to the internet(or the furturistic equivalent of it).The story follow the investigation of a number of different parties into what is happening and they are doing it for different reasons.This book has very good chracterisation and also ...  Read the complete review

In a word I found this book facinating. The book is set in the future where then net is far bigger than now, the sort of thing everyone's talking about but we don't actually have. Full live TV, completley intereactive shows and locations full virtual reality allowing people to be totally submerged in the net, through harnesses and suits or even through a direct connection to then brain. The brother of Renie, a young South African woman, falls into a coma which she believes was caused by something on the net. So the book, the first of four, tracks her progress as she and her friend Xabbu try to find out what causing these problems. I'll say no more read ...  Read the complete review