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Otherland: City of Golden Shadow Bk. 1 [Paperback]

Tad Williams (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
RRP: £10.99
Price: £7.58 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Book Description

Publication Date: 5 Mar 1998 | Series: Otherland

In our own near future, a global conspiracy at the highest levels threatens to sacrifice our Earth for the promise of a far more exclusive place - Otherland, a universe where any fantasy can be made real, but which is ruled by Earth's wealthiest and most ruthless power brokers, the Grail Brotherhood.

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 laboured to build it. And somehow, bit by bit, it is claiming the Earth's most valuable resource - its children.

Only a few have become aware of the danger. Fewer still are willing or able to take up the challenge of this perilous and seductive realm. But every age has its heroes; unusual times call for unusual champions and destiny awaits them in Otherland.

Frequently Bought Together

Otherland: City of Golden Shadow Bk. 1 + Otherland 3: Mountain Of Black Glass: Mountain of Black Glass Bk. 3 + Otherland IV: Sea of Silver Light
Price For All Three: £24.75

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Product details

  • Paperback: 960 pages
  • Publisher: Orbit; paperback / softback edition (5 Mar 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1857236041
  • ISBN-13: 978-1857236040
  • Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 5.3 x 17.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 107,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon Review

Tad Williams made his name in fantasy with the immense "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" trilogy (1988-93). His "Otherland" quartet, opening with City of Golden Shadow (1996), is mid-21st-century SF set in an ultra-sophisticated software universe containing countless worlds. This episode features a deadly nature reserve of giant insects, a poisoned Oz, a madcap cartoon reality, London as in The War of the Worlds, 16th-century Venice, Xanadu, ancient Egypt, the Odyssey's Ithaca and the Drones Club. Otherland is the playground of the monstrously rich and unscrupulous Grail Brotherhood, who hope for on-line immortality and are abducting children's souls into their VR system. Opposing them is the enigmatic "Circle", plus a handful of ordinary folk who've penetrated Otherland and are trapped there, floating from world to world on the digital river of the title. There's a spy in this group, though; Otherland's operating system is becoming unstable; the Nemesis program that hunts down software anomalies seems murderously out of control...

Williams writes fluently and evocatively, conjuring up a vivid succession of virtual realities as he manipulates numerous storylines inside and outside Otherland, climaxing with multiple cliffhangers. It's slightly frustrating, though, that halfway through the series we've learned little more--especially about the tantalizing suggestion that Otherland is a metaphysical threat to "real" reality--than emerged in book 1. Next volume: Mountain of Black Glass. --David Langford --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

True speculative grandeur (Time Out )

The ultimate virtual-reality saga, borrowing motifs from cyberpunk, mythology and world history (SAN FRANCISCO Chronicle )

On an epic scale . . . a big colourful new novel full of real-world conspiracy and virtual reality wonders, with characters worth caring about (LOCUS )

One of the best works of science fiction I've ever read (Katharine Kerr )
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece 20 Dec 2000
By A Customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Although I am a big fantasy books fan, I usually avoid science fiction books, since a large percentage of them are just cyberpunk nonsense and very badly written and it is hard to get hold of a real masterpiece once you read the classic ones. Having read (and loved) the Williams fantasy books, I decided to give Otherland a try and never regretted it: the book stands among the (say 10) best I ever read (classic literature included).

Williams is really talented and the book is exceptionally well-written. The author takes great care to set up the characters and the background,while there are some great ideas in the book. Being a computer scientist, I am happy to say that this is one of the few books where even most of the wildest technology-related ideas manage not to sound silly and have an actual basis. Williams is perhaps a bit influenced by other SF books, but the result is a very original and gripping story that stands out from the usual SF stuff. Just one advice: be prepared that all four Otherland books should be considered as one book in four volumes, after finishing each one of them the story does not come to any kind of end, you must be ready to get the next one.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good.. 23 July 2001
By Mr. M. DODKINS
Format:Paperback
I bought Otherland for around £2 second-hand (and knowing aboslutely nothing about Tad Williams) and I have to say it's much better than I'd expected.

I've been systematically avoiding Tad Williams for fear of disappointment (not being a huge fan of the newer Fantasy / Sci-Fi novels) but this one blew me away - it's superbly written with plausible plots and characters (a rare combination) in addition to some truly horrific and breathtaking moments. I swam through the book in three days and loved every last word of it.

I can understand the technological criticisms some have levelled at it but, as a programmer, I cannot personally see much which is not conceivably achievable (besides, sci-fi ought to be, at least in part, fantastic :) It *is* cleverly done though - not once in the book did it seem, in any way, to be a detached experience.

Is it flawed? Absolutely... almost all books are. However, the flaws it does have in no way detract from the experience of reading it. Give it a try - personally I hate the idea that I might have never read this one.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Otheradventure 19 Aug 2009
By Jakob Rydahl Rasmussen
Format:Paperback
I've just finished the last page. At first I would like to say that this is a gerat adventure. Williams borrows from Tolkien, George Lucas, Ridley Scott , Disney etc. The story is very original and has some great suspence. But I am only giving this book 3 stars because I think that Williams could have mad it shorter. And I think that characters should have met earlier. I think that !Xabbus stories about his ancestors is taking up to much place in this story and it is slowing it all down. All in all I think that this book is too long and I am going to have a break before reading the rest of the Otherland books.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Bit of a Classic
I read this book first and read the first, third and fourth in the series afterwards. This is my favourite. Read more
Published 6 months ago by I Simonius
2.0 out of 5 stars A sad mistake.
Haveing read the Dragon Bone Chair I was very excited to have another Tad Williams
to look forward to. Unfortunateley it did not come close to my expectations. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Rosie Blake
4.0 out of 5 stars Pure escapism.
Haven't read a Tad Williams book since the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Trilogy. Otherland has generally compelling characters, the one I was most intrigued by was Mister Sellers... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Orlando Larsson
1.0 out of 5 stars "Otherland"
These books came highly recommended to me by somebody who had read them all. I imagine they read the first when it was initially published, and felt compelled to stick with the... Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2009 by David Brookes
5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible story
This four-book series remains the best I have ever read. The complexity of the plot and how it is handled by Tad Williams speaks volumes about his literary talent. Read more
Published on 14 Oct 2009 by Ken
1.0 out of 5 stars Not delivered
having ordered this item in never arrived. Contacted sellers and have to say they appeared upfront and willing to help, Contacted Amazon and sent a non delivery claim. Read more
Published on 14 April 2009 by kennyboy
5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional SciFi/Fantasy hybrid
Modern Fantasy, and I do classify this as Fantasy more than Science Fiction, is mostly, with some notable exceptions, truly appalling: derivative, badly plotted, dreadfully... Read more
Published on 2 Nov 2008 by R. Sharpe
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
I started reading this book after it being recommended by my Dad; he's not one for reading, but couldn't put this book down. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2007 by Ginger_Ninja
5.0 out of 5 stars Otherland: Volume I - City of Golden Shadow
City of Golden Shadow, the first volume of Otherland, is a masterpiece - assuming that you can easily handle the fact that you'll need to buy the other three books 'and' aren't... Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2004 by Craig A.H.B. Mackie
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but desperately in need of editing
I have slogged through the series and can't really recommend it unless you speed-read, otherwise you'll get bogged down. Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2003 by "n_m"
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