Rating: 
Summary: Way too long
Review: I have loved Tad William's fantasy trilogy which is one of the best I ever read. So when the Otherland series was completed I bought book 1 as a start. Once again I was gripped and book 1 is just excellent. Now, in book 2, the story goes splitting more and more in many different ways. Too many in fact. And progressively, the adventure starts to be cut in so many pieces that you feel like being dragged from one place to another. Moreover, splitting the story again and again breaks the whole atmosphere or suspense which he tries to build up. So I liked half of the book hoping for a more action packed book 3. I started it (book 3) and after half of it discovered that the story was going on and on in the same direction, splitting even more what was already too much. So, unfortunately I must admit I gave up and did not finish it. Sorry for Mr Williams, the idea of the book is great but way too long. 3 books was the maximum. Too many details, too many little parts and finally I completely did not care about what was happening. Too bad. Please come back to fantasy !
Rating: 
Summary: This is a wonderfully satisfying read! But be prepared...
Review: I have read and enjoyed the entire book now... That is to say, all four books of this one immense volume. That is why I say to be prepared! The first three books do not have clean 'everything gets resolved' endings. They are simply somewhat random stopping points for this character rich tale. But as you finish the final volume, Mr. Williams brings everything together masterfully, with a suspence that rivals the most twisting of mystery novels. It is also believable sci-fi, without the need for 'galaxy far-away' civilizations and incomprehensible alien technologies to make it work. Otherland is a testament to the sci-fi genre.
Rating:
Summary: THE SERIES IS HEATING UP
Review: If you have made it this far then I don't have to tell you that the series thus far has been complicated and at times tediuous. If you are reading this review to find out if you should continue then I have to say that you need to read "Mountain of Black Glass". It is much more compelling than either of the first two novels and it definitely leaves no question that you want to read the series finale.It takes some time to get through this one just like iot takes time to get through the other two in the series, but this novel is better paced and filled with the same imaginative situations. RECOMMENDATION: A MUST READ FOR TAD WILLIAMS FANS
Rating: 
Summary: Why do I keep doing this?
Review: Okay, it's a decent series. But... WHY? Why are so many authors with essentially good ideas feeling more and more obliged to write 10,000 pages of "story" when it could be 1,000 or even 500 pages? There seems to be no end in sight to this series, and I'm starting to lose interest. There is a genuinely interesting basic plot and scenario here, but the serious lack of progress simply kills my desire to plod on. Like a soap opera, you are continually tantalized by the interspersed parallel subplots in which anything that actually furthers the story itself is a rarity. The author seems to believe that we'll go "wow!" every time the characters fall into a new scenario (of which there seem a never-ending supply) and in the meantime forget that we're not finding out anything new about their predicament and not seeing them progress towards a resolution. I have to wonder if the author attended classes at the Robert Jordan school of creative writing. Anyone interested in writing a Cliff's Notes version of this series so I can skip the cruft and get straight to the story? Removing the fluff and leaving behind only story would probably result in something too short even for Cliff's Notes though. Please, oh please, Mr. Williams, make book 4 the last!
Rating:
Summary: Ahhh, back on track
Review: Otherland pt. 1 was amazing. Part 2 could have been better. But part 3... part 3 is what I was looking for. I read this book quickly and with vigour. I suggest it to anyone who enjoys good sci-fi. I cant wait to read part 4.
Rating: 
Summary: Work of Art
Review: This is a magic trilogy. I loved it, but the ending was a little dissapointing. And not just because it was over. I would still reccomend reading it if you like SF. The characters are very real the setting very strange.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not quite on par with first two books.
Review: Tad Williams continues his great Otherland saga in Mountain of Black Glass. This book is a good read and very hard to put down. However most of that comes from getting hooked on the series from the first two books. The existing plotlines are further developed, but not much new comes your way. A lot of "yeah, that's what I thought" happens while reading. I found myself slightly impatient with the last half of the book, as you wait for what you know is coming. With that in mind this is still a good book. The side stories hinted at in the second book are executed herein, and are well done. Tad Williams is a great writer and I eagerly await my UPS delivery with the final book, Sea of Silver Light.
Rating:
Summary: fabulous
Review: Joe Jacco already wrote an excellent review (see below), so I'll keep this one short. Some have written that they'd grown tired of the amount of simworlds that were thrown at them, but I certainly haven't. The House-world alone is worth five stars. The chapters about the destruction of ancient Egypt and the madness of the Trojan war are chillingly real. The climax of the book is just too good to capture in words. I was so curious to know the ending I read it too fast the first time, & had to read it again immediately after to let it sink in. This book doesn't answer all your questions (obviously, since it is not the final volume) but it provides some answers, and comes up with new questions. Enough to leave you breathless and wanting for book four.
Rating:
Summary: This series continues to amaze and amuse. . .
Review: To quote a phrase from one of the sim worlds that we've visited in this series, things just keep getting "curiouser and curiouser". In this installment of the extended novel "Otherland", many of the mysteries raised previously are solved, yet many other are introduced. We learn more of the natures of both the "Other" and the "Circle". We visit more fantastic sim worlds, including ancient Greece and a House that would be any realtor's wildest dream. The main characters are reunited, or in some instances, united for the first time, albeit for only a brief time. We learn the identities of the enigmatic Emily and of Paul Jonas' "Angel" (or do we?), though many mysteries still remain. We get some ideas of the ambitions of both the Grail Brotherhood and of the evil Johnny Dread, though both are still left hanging into book four. . And, still, we are left to wonder, who exactly is Azador? At the same time as the adventurers are loose in Otherland, however, much is happening back in RL (Real Life, to the uninitiated). Two detectives in Sydney are heating up a once cold trail in a murder that occurred years ago. Renie's father and old flame find themselves unexpectedly united against a sinister enemy. The military family, the Sorensons, find their lives have decidedly taken a turn for the weird. A retired Uncle Jingle begins to hear voices and is drawn to a destination she can't quite explain. Two families of children lost in a world they can't imagine continue their lonesome vigils. And an ordinary lawyer from Washington, DC, finds himself connected to almost all of the others. The characters and their interrelationships continue to grow. The poignancy of the relationships between Orlando and Fredericks and Renie and !Xabbu deepen to the point of bringing tears to the eyes of the less jaded among us. Florimel and T4b likewise become more real to us. But to me, the added value of this book and a certain maturation of the plot occur as Tad Williams adds a philosophical bent to the tale. The validity of war as a solution to the world's problems is questioned. The questions of corporate greed and the profit motive are raised as multinational conglomerates trample the needs, values, and lives of the masses of humanity. And, a little more esoterically, ethical questions are raised concerning the rights and existences of AI constructs, sort of a "where does life truly begin" dilemma. As the two books before this one, it is definitely not a stand-alone. But, if you've made it this far, you're into the home stretch and I am confident that the ride will be worthwhile!
Rating:
Summary: The end of part one, the beginning of the future
Review: The third book is, from the outset, a far better read than the previous book. The plot becomes much clearer with the main character groups been drawn together as the story draws towards its concluding volume. If you found the previous volume a little too much like a walk through fairly land the third book will justify the second. A fanatasic read, I have been counting the days until the (hopefully) final volume is released.
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