River of Blue Fire (Otherland, Volume 2)

Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: an absolutly wonderful tale that includes adventure, suspence and intrege.Also his imagination of the ever expanding world of IT could be spot on. overall thought, get the softback version of book 3 out asap!!!!! Nice one tad. Also anyone who could give some pointers on writing a fantasy novel drop us a line!cheers jim

Rating:
Summary: For once, I`m speechless
Review: Usually I give a detailed review, but this time-- wow. The first book was fascinating; this is simply breathtaking. Tad Williams has the most incredible imagination I`ve ever encountered, powered by gorgeous writing. I can only hope the third installment will be able to meet such lofty standards.

Rating:
Summary: Homer of virtual reality novel
Review: This is the book on VR I was waiting for.Real epic of the imagination.Renie ,Orlando and Paul Jonas are the Heroes of a new mythos.Bizarre imagination,sense of wonder,the everlasting struggle between good and evil.And meanwhile,an astoundingly convincing vision of the world in the new millennium.Many are the debts of Tad Williams whit Jack Vance (The World Thinker),Philip Jose' Farmer (The Universe Maker Series) whit Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash and the Virtual City),whit Robert Silverberg (Sailing to Byzantium),whit Dan Simmons (The connecting River) but he has combined all those factors in a marvelous portrait of human imaginations and potentials for good and evil.Oh,I was forgetting William Gibson.But who cares what happen to his totally unsympathetic charachters?He was great,but Tad Williams,in my opinion,has superseded him.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful read, but appealing only to sci-fi lovers
Review: Tad Williams' second Otherland novel takes place immediately after where the first novel left off. The main characters are now trapped in the virtual network known as Otherland, created by the Grail Brotherhood. The plot thickens as the characters realize that if one dies while in Otherland, their "real" self could very much die. Character development is very apparent here, as Renie, !Xabbu, Ontario, Fredricks, Mr. Sellars and others are thrown again and again in new experiences. The action is non-stop and Williams continues to introduce new characters into the story. This book is very much an excellent read, but i failed to give it five stars because this book is not for everyone. If you like science fiction and fantasy epics, however, pick this one us right away.

Rating:
Summary: Williams' best yet!
Review: In River of Blue Fire Tad Williams elaborates and expands on the story and characters introduced in the first book, City of Golden Shadow. Where City was slow and often confusing to me, River of Blue Fire kept me enthralled through all 700 pages. The worlds inside Otherland were more exciting, dangerous, and inventive than ever; from the distorted land of Oz to the Kitchen populated by Chief Strike Anywhere and the freezer pirates. Now I can't wait until Mountain of Black Glass arrives in paperback. Once again, Williams leaves the reader begging for more.

Rating:
Summary: B-O-R-I-N-G-! Very Slow
Review: If Tad Williams had condensed his 3 books into one, it would have had some potential. The author stretches things out SOOO much that I finally gave up 1/3 into it. I don't quite remember the last time I gave up on a book...

Rating:
Summary: Good follow-on but starting to get tedious
Review: The first book was riveting - you could not put it down. This one is almost as good - I found I could not put it down but I was getting little tired of yet another VR world. The detail and depth that Tad goes to really brings the worlds alive which I think carries the book through the repetitive "and then they came to world #25". I am hanging out for the next installment and hope we start to see things move along a little quicker.

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular and Breath Taking
Review: This can only be decribed as a masterpiece. I have read the first two books and am waiting for the third to be published and it is agonizing! This story just grabs you and emerses you in the richness and vibrancy of Tad Williams' world. But with the parallel that this could be our near future adds intrigue and the suspision of our fellow man. In other words a must read.

Rating:
Summary: Just as good as the first -- it even broadens my view.
Review: I don't know what some people expected from this novel. I loved it, and I can't wait for "Mountain of Black Glass" to come out. Some people think Williams writes too much and over-does his details (I have to admit: one novel in 4 parts is a real mouthfull) but I personally like long stories. I would rather have this than some 400-page novel that is shallow, whose worlds are not as vibrant, alive, and intriguing as the worlds Mr. Williams creates in Otherland.

Rating:
Summary: Otherland: Again
Review: I was so excited waiting for the second book in this series to be published. The first one was compelling, intricate, fantastic but had a great sense of place - both RL and virtual. I'm nearly done with the second book and I'm somewhat disappointed. It feels like I'm stuck inside some kind of loop. I'm enjoying the adventures and the details but there are some sections which I find tedious and it feels a lot like the first book all over again. And just when the story starts to feel new it becomes another dangerous world all over again with different creatures but the same results. I think an editor would have helped.

Maybe the concept wasn't grand enough? It would have been interesting if each world were developed into it's own novel sort of like an old fashioned serial about 400 or so pages for each one. That would be interesting in think and it could have gone on forever. It's all about the trip isn't it?

Right now though I'm feeling a like Rennie - beaten up and tired and wondering how long it's going to last before I find some answers.