Total Class (Mountain of Black Glass - Tad Williams)

Name: nlingwood

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Mountain of Black Glass - Tad Williams
Date:	22/09/00 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Best yet, superbly convincing worlds

Disadvantages: Having to wait for the conclusion

Tad Williams can't count. He can write, and wonderfully. But it seems that his maths skills aren't up to his other talents. Why? Because his mighty Otherland series, like his previous series Memory, Sorrow and Thorn has spilled over from the traditional trilogy to fill four books.

After that, I should explain that the story is worth any number of books. Williams might not be able to pick up a pen without filling thousands of pages, but his imagination and story telling will carry you through them and leave you hungry for more. Hours slip by unnoticed.

The Otherland books are set in the mid- twenty first century. Mountain of Black Glass is the third in the series, and sees the cast of characters developing. After stumbling into a sinister global conspiracy (covered in City of Golden Shadow), they are drawn into a vast virtual reality net that is alarmingly real. The dark forces from the second book (River of Blue Fire) are moving towards an incredible ambition. Synopses of these are included at the front of the book, but to really appreciate the story I would suggest starting at the beginning. Williams' descriptions of the world, and the characters' personalities, need to be appreciated to enjoy the entire arc.

By Mountain, several characters have fallen casualty - although in the tradition, most of the main characters remain. Central are Renie, a South-African VR specialist, an Englishman Paul Jonas and Orlando Gardiner, a US teenager. Each of them has been drawn into the artificial world created by a cabal of the rich and powerful. This has sinister aims, but most unpleasant are the methods and tools they are using, including an Aboriginal serial killer named Dread.

The world of the books is convincingly created, and frighteningly possible. Globalisation means the UN is the only real authority, but real power is in the hands of corporations and the super-rich. The Net is a vital part of society, at once business,
entertainment and an alternative to harsh existence. Advertisement and exploitation run unchecked, while people are divided by wealth or lack of it. The Net is both the heart of the book, and a method to tell a vast, twisting story. During their experiences, the characters are carried through bewildering surroundings, the main one in this book being a version of the Trojan War. This is well told, with references for the classically educated and enough explanation to keep it exciting for everyone else. There is also a fabulous, Gormenghast-like House that covers the world.

It drives home the size of the book when I've written this much opinion on the broadest themes. The real depth in the book is as a whole, and you enjoy it most as the story unfolds. It doesn't leap out with quite the brilliance of Lord of the Rings or Neuromancer, but your enjoyment does grow with time. Like cultivating a garden, or a good wine. Otherland takes a lot of time, but not a lot of effort, and is every bit as absorbing and addictive as the Virtual world it describes.

Summary: