City of Golden Shadow (Otherland, #1) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Aug 16, 2007 Lasairfiona rated it liked it · review of another edition

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The concept is very interesting. I couldn't put it down. However, the series is very, very, very long and it draaaaaaaags. I attribute my not being able to put it down to the cool basic idea and me being a touch crazy. A good editor would have been helpful. It would make an amazing movie. ...more

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Jan 15, 2008 Tom rated it it was amazing

I loved this first installment of the Otherland series, but grew a little tired with the sequels. I love seeing how old sci-fi ideas have have materialized in the present to some degree. Therefore, the most interesting aspect to me was seeing how close some of Tad Williams futuristic imaginations are to modern MMO's like WoW. I doubt that the future of an actual "Middle Country" is that far away. While earlier frameworks of MMO's were available (Ultima Online) in the late 90's, I still found Wil I loved this first installment of the Otherland series, but grew a little tired with the sequels. I love seeing how old sci-fi ideas have have materialized in the present to some degree. Therefore, the most interesting aspect to me was seeing how close some of Tad Williams futuristic imaginations are to modern MMO's like WoW. I doubt that the future of an actual "Middle Country" is that far away. While earlier frameworks of MMO's were available (Ultima Online) in the late 90's, I still found William's vision to be very prophetic.

The premise involves the existence of a virtual reality network created by a mysterious corporation that kidnaps kids minds in the virtual world leaving their bodies comatose irl. A wide range of characters search in and out of the virtual world for answers and eventually get stuck in nightmarish dream worlds invented by the rich for their personal pleasure/adventure/perversion/motives.

While the first book completely immersed me, the sequels dragged a bit. Some of the answers to the mysterious questions of the plot were unsatisfying and felt contrived. I like having mysteries float through plot without ever being explained. It's like the new Star Wars movies explaining scientifically that the force is made up of metachlorians. That was poppycock. Often, letting a supernatural phenomenon stay supernatural and mysterious is more powerful than trying to explain it scientifically. That may be why I preferred the first novel to the sequels. It sets up the mysteries. It asks questions without answering them. To be fair to Williams, this is a work of science fiction, and one of the main differences between sci-fi and fantasy is that sci-fi authors need to explain their phenomenon. I guess that when an author imagines a futuristic machination so big, mysterious, and complicated as the Otherland Network, trying to explain the whole thing is bound to leave some readers unsatisfied.
Tangent aside, I have to admit that the City of Golden Shadow truly drew me in from the first nightmare on the first pages. ...more

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Jul 29, 2007 Duchess rated it it was amazing

There are 4 volumes to the "Otherland" series, but really you need to read them one after the other, because its more like one huge novel than anything else.
Captivating, vivid, fast-paced story with a huge gaggle of characters. Pretty much takes place in a fantastic and huge virtual reality world where kids are being snatched and left in comas in the real world, while back in the real world you've got like a cyber-punk mystery to follow in reference to said world & kidnappings.
Beware the 1st boo ...more

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