Rating: 
Summary: Awww! It's over!!!
Review: I had to nurse a headache for months when, realizing I would have to wait a year until the next and final edition in the Otherland series would be released. Now that I have read it, I am ashamed to say I am sad that it is finished. Gladly, I was not disappointed by the end results. This book was as good if not better than the first book (City of Golden Shadow). And much, much better than River of Blue Fire.But of course it was much better because it was the end! Well,not exactly. Tad Williams could have rushed this book and given us all the answers to our nail biting, hair pulling questions in under 200 pages, but that would not be Tad and this would not have been a book from the Otherland series. Many critics complain about the length of his books, but as with all his books in this series, and including this one, Sea of Silver Light, those who admire his work are definitely willing to trudge along through the many pages. And this book (over 900 strong) has many pages indeed! That said... This book is rich and thought provoking; yet the concepts are simple and in your face. We have a basic struggle between good and bad with our crew of misfits Renie, Sam, T4-B,Xabbu, etc., and the complex Felix Jongleur and his horrible protoge, John Dread. There is also a love story of sorts but that is all I have to say about that! And as always there is the race against time issue. I like Sea of Silver Light because it is more evident in this book than the others; the characters are not perfect and many of them make irritating sometimes very stupid mistakes. The bad guys are not clear cut; and the good guys don't necessarily win in the end. Although the book is very long, it is much tighter than his other novels. Much of the book ties off loose ends for "us" the Otherland fanatics. The rest of the book gives some real personable qualities to characters that seemed minor or inconsequential to the story. If you have never read any of the Otherland books-start today! If you have read them but haven't gotten Sea of Silver Light-What the heck is wrong with you-run to the library/bookstore quickly!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Satisfying conclusion, but....
Review: Tad Williams' journey into cyberspace concludes with this book, and while it's a worthy end to the series, I wish I could have given it five stars instead of four. In my review of volume 3 of this series ("Mountain of Black Glass"), I mentioned that the character of Johnny Wulguru/Dread was one of the major weak spots of the story. With "Sea", Williams has remedied that situation, but there are some resolutions that just didn't satisfy. For example, the "fate" of Long Joseph, Jeremiah Dako and Del Rey - the story explains what happened to them, and how they wound up where they wound up, but there was a whole chunk missing from the story that would have helped with the narrative. The only explanation I can come up with is that perhaps Williams (or his editors) thought that sequence might be a bit too gory. Also, the resolution of the Calliope Skouros story was, to put it bluntly, underwhelming. But most of the threads of the "Otherland" quartet were resolved very well. Felix Jongleur turned out to be the epitome of self-indulgence. Though he was perceived as evil by most of the other characters in the story, he truly was not. He was corrupt, yes - but there is a difference between corruption and evil. Kunohara turned out to be an interesting character as well - he was also corrupt, but unlike Jongleur, still retained enough of his humanity to do the right thing when it counted. The saddest part of "Otherland" is the ultimate fate of Olga Pirofsky, and her relationship with Jongleur and the being known as "the Other". I won't mention anything more about it except to say that even though there were hints in all of the previous books in this series, I never saw it coming. Two more characters need to be mentioned. Mr Sellars, who in the first three installments was a behind-the-scenes manipulator, comes into his own here. He turns out to be very altruistic, but he came by his altruism at a very high price indeed. Finally, why on earth did Williams feel the need to include a group of characters like the Wicked Tribe in his story? Throughout each of the four volumes they were nothing short of annoying, and the series would have been much better without them. All told, however, this is a very worthy conclusion to an excellent series. Warts and all, this is still a quartet that is well worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: A satisfying conclusion to an intruiging story
Review: The Otherland set of books gets a grand final with this book, the largest of the four. The story has slowly unfolded throughout the first three parts, reaching a climax at the end of the third book. In this book, the purpose of the whole story is finally revealed. The sheer complexity could be a little overwhelming to readers who have 'forgotten' the story so far (thankfully, a splendid synopsis for each of the previous books is given), but it's all worth it. To describe the story is to give away the plot, I suggest you discovery Otherland for yourself. On many levels, it is a terrific cross between science-fiction, fantasy, and cyberpunk. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying conclusion to a very enjoyable series
Review: I had not read a sci-fi/fantasy book in a long time, and the first book in the Otherland series by Tad Williams was an impulse buy for me. I quickly became enthralled with the story, and let the author's imagination sweep me along. With most books I find myself impatient for the author to "just get on with it". With the Otherland series, there are beginnings and endings happening all the time, and dramatic tension is tightened and relieved over and over again. While books 2 and 3 had some storylines that didn't move the main story forward very much, those detours were just so darn imaginative that I didn't mind at all. Having waited over a year for Sea Of Silver Light to be published, I wondered whether I would find it easy to become immersed in the story again. Not to worry - it quickly seemed like the climax from book 3 happened only yesterday, and off we went. Considering how many subplots the author had been juggling, perhaps the most amazing thing is that he brought virtually all of them in for a plausible landing. Of course, "plausable" in Otherland requires the reader to not look very critically at the science of the thing, but, if you aren't able to go with the flow in that regard, you probably would have hopped off the ride back in book 1. All in all, this is a series that I highly recommend. There is just something extra special about the writing, and I bet every reader would have a slightly different take on just what it is that makes it work so well.
Rating:
Summary: A superb-if slow-ending for a masterpiece
Review: I think there are works whit resume and give the spirit of an Era,and even foresee eras to come.Homer's Odissey is one. Otherland series is another(pardon me if I omit the ones in between).This conclusion to Otherland Series is highly symbolic and catarthic.No less than a vindication of the poor consideration today's world powers have of children. T ,that our grownup culture too embossed in money and power has neglected.The unformed unfinished lands that our heroes trudge on are a symbolism of the insecurities of life...that someone overcomes often too late.As for personas,Paul Jonas is the Arhur Dent of Otherland ,but my favourite persona is Orlando.A Paladin who meets its Roncisvalle, a veritable HERO of the Net.Renie is the Principle of Reality,you need it to make a life,and !Xabbu is our deepest ancestral roots.As for the "bad guys"? Well,Jongleur is a murky being who's overcome by fear.He hires two repulsive minions to defend him,but he cannot cope whit its final reckoning.Did you read Fafhrd ang Gray Mouser's adventure "The Howling Tower"?(by the way,Tad gives a somewhat sardonic homage to this beloved fantasy's odd couple.Say where?Somewhere in Otherland...find for yourselves!)And Dread? He is to Otherland what Quinn Dexter is to Night's Dawn Trilogy...the Night who lurks in human nature.The monster who is overcome by innocence.And the conclusion,the summing-up is beautifully crafted.Otherland's a wonderful commentary of this fin-de siecle and beginning...
Rating:
Summary: Great Conclusion!
Review: The Otherland series really amounts to about a 4,000 page novel and with Sea of Silver Light we out with a BANG! SoSL is a very satisfying and well written denouement. This is by far the best book of the series, as it should be given that it's the concluding volume. SoSL is especially rewarding because we continue to learn more about all the characters' character. Williams has done an especially good job of fully exploring the motivations and personalities of all the major players and a few minor ones as well. And despite the over 900 pages of text, the story moves along at a brisk pace as it builds toward the reader's understanding of the /big picture/ which is the background of the novel. It does not suffer from long, meandering, somewhat meaningless wandering around in the plot as some of the previous volumes did (especially River of Blue Fire). In previous volumes Williams got a bit carried away at times with playing around in the little virtual worlds he creates. Here the writing is, for the most part, much tighter and engaging. If you haven't read the previous novels DO NOT START here. The series is definitely worth wading through and much of the depth of SoSL relies on the groundwork laid before. And if you get through River of Blue Fire and feel disappointed -- don't stop! It's the weakest of the four books and suffers from the "middle book in a series." It also is the book that could have lost about 300 pages with no damage to the plot.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing end to a great series
Review: First let me say that I really really wanted to like this book. I loved the rest of the series and I consider Mr Williams to be one of the greatest current authors of sci-fi/fantasy, but with Sea of Silver Light I was let down. For the conclusion to a long series SOSL does everything that it must. All of our questions are answered and all the sub-plots brought to an end. Some of the answers to our questions, however; are better than others. And others still take a deeper suspension of disbelief than anything this reader was prepared to give. What bothered me the most about SOSL though was that Mr Williams, after 4 volumes and something close to 4000 pages seemed in a hurry to get to the end. I cant imagine how difficult it must be to bring such a long vision to a close but it seems that it was beyond even Mr Williams considerable talents in this instance. A couple examples: at one point were told that Jongleur was concerned with having his own source of electrical power so he had a nuclear plant built nearby, however; a piece of equipment of even greater importance was launched into orbit where any number of things would destroy it (space junk, sunspots, difficulty to perform maintenance etc) without explanation of how Jongleur's megomaniacal need for control was able to accept this set-up. The best evidence of hurry however is in regard to the Next Ones, a whole new plot twist previously unmentioned that is introduced to the reader AFTER the climax of the novel, in the last 200 pages. A great great series but a very disappointing end.
Rating:
Summary: Impressed!
Review: Wow -- This was an awesome ending to an incredible series. The first book drew me in, but I've got to admit, by the time I'd finished the third book, I was getting a little tired of Otherland. I picked up the final installment half-reluctantly, but ended up hardly able to put the book down. Rarely have I read such a satisfactory conclusion to anything -- this series was fantastic. Maybe in a few years I'll tackle it again, and see what it's like to read it all at once.
Rating:
Summary: An Ending Worth the Wait
Review: Like most of Otherland fans, I was a bit worried that this book wouldn't be able to pull off a satisfactory conclusion--no more worries! Read this in one night and I almost wish I were a bit slower at reading. The most wonderful part about this series is that it is so original and unusual. Usually the fantasy and SF I read tend to be familiar enough that I know where they're headed, but Otherland kept me guessing right up to the end, and then manages to pull off an ending that is neither confusing nor disappointing. Wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: Astounding!
Review: After having read the first three of the series last summer, I was entralled. The life that Williams puts into his chracters is astounding! While the first two books were great, I was a bit disappointed by the third, as it didn't resolve what several of the plotlines that had hungover from the second, and the book itself dragged compared to the first two. The finale however, does not. After purchasign it was with great glee, I begin heading back into William's Otherland, which is truly amazing. The incredibly imaginative settings that Williams creates throughout the series are whimsical, terrifying and magical. This stays true with this book as well, with the majority equalling that of "River of Blue Fire," the second in the series (which has argueably the best settings.) However, what sets Sea apart from the rest of the series is the integration of plotlines and characterization. (I almost wet myself when the connection between Paul Jonas and "The Angel" was revealed). These are done creatively, and I was on my toes throughout the book. One recommendation that I have to people reading the finale is to have the other three copies handy to look back to, especially if you haven't read them for a while. Seemingly unimportant passages from the other books come strongly into play in this one. If you buy this book (or any of them in this series for that matter) be prepared to lose sleep. Even though the book is over 900 pages, I read it nearly cover to cover because I was hooked. However, I have two problems with this book. First, as I said before, the settings (you'll understand once you start into the book) are not as good as others in the series. However, sheer character development and plot make this a non-issue, especially in the last half. The other problem is that since this is the last one in the series, there are no more adventures to be had! Hopefully Williams will create a set of sequels to this series. It was fantastic!
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