Rating: 
Summary: Clearly, the best science fiction / fantasy series around.
Review: When I recieved this novel as a birthday present I was doubtful as to its purported greatness my friend claimed, as I had read oodles of science fiction and fantasy novels over the past few years and failed to find many that I did not consider "cheesy". However, I was bored out of my mind on march break and curled up with it. Five hours later I finally put it down, wanting more but having raced to the last page. There was a depth of imagery in the words I had not found before and the science and equipment used in the novel did not seem too bargain basement or unrealistic, in fact i found it quite plausible. I went out the next week and picked up books two and three and devoured them as well, if you want a read that draws you into the character's lives and leaves you hanging, waiting for the fourth book (oh why did he let Orlando die?!?!!?!), read these books!
Rating:
Summary: But 5 stars is probably relatively speaking....
Review: Don't get me wrong...This isn't among the greatest stories ever told. Yes, there were moments where i considered just abandoning this very long book, which is part of a much longer series. i read this knowing that i had three more just like it to get through before i reached the conclusion. This made the task a bit more daunting, but also more exciting. Some say that there's no action at all in this book, and i must disagree. There isn't a lot, but it's not totally dead, either. Certainly it's not easy to set up such a long story (Otherland, when it's all completed, will amount to about a 3,000+ page novel) and some people complain about Tad Williams' overwhelming cast of characters. I must say, after attempting The Dragonbone Chair, this book was a breath of simple, fresh air.Dragonbone Chair, now that's a book that doesn't go anywhere, has a pointlessly long list of characters, and is just plain difficult to will yourself to read. I abandoned it after about 300 pages, because even halfway through the book, it didn't feel like it had even started it. I feared it would never really "start" and that the characters would just fumble about for the rest of the series, leading to a drippy conclusion that just refers back to something that happened at the beginning. Maybe one day i'll finish it, but not today or tomorrow. I didn't hold this against Williams, though, and decided Otherland deserved a shot as well. I like the seemingly unrelated plotlines (Paul wandering through nightmare world after nightmare world, Orlando and his mysterious dying RPG character, and Renie and Xabbu and her brother, not to mention a couple more still) because it makes you wonder how they'll tie together, and you know they will. I expect a grand finish to this series, and I don't think i'll be disappointed In any case, Williams' virtual world is limitless, you just know that anything can and will happen, and it will just seem right. He's created a world in which he has complete and utter control to do anything he wants at all. Certainly, most of the best parts of the book take place when one person or another is in the virtual world, and when they're back in the real world, you just want them to hurry up and plug back in already. this can't be seen as bad...Williams just outdid himself with his virtual world, he can't be faulted with not being able to keep up with it in his real world. All in all, I admit it started slowly, but have patience. I tore through the last 600 pages or so, and am currently about to begin Volume Two, about the Blue River or The River Of Blue Fire or whatever it's called. I forget.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Slow!
Review: I had heard good things about Tad Williams going in, but mainly about his "Dragonbone Chair" books. I picked this one up with high expectations, and was utterly disappointed. The plot was very slow to develop, and never really got going. There was virtually no action or suspense in over 700 pages of text. It never held my attention for more than an hour or so, and it seemed like it would never end. The only positive I can give Williams is his concept of a virtual reality system was well thought out and realistic.
Rating: 
Summary: Too big for its own good.
Review: I really wanted to like this book, I really did. I had read Williams' 'Dragonbone Chair' and was really looking forward to this 'cyberpunk' fantasy. Unfortunately 'Otherland's ridiculous immensity was too much to handle. Don't get me wrong, I love a good big book. King's 1100 page uncut version of 'The Stand' is fantastic, as are the Moorcock collections and other large, good books. 'Otherland', on the other hand, is not a good book. There are literally hundreds of characters in this book alone (just the first in a long line of bricks...excuse me, books) and not an interesting one among them. The bushman character especially was a ridiculous addition to the story's population. And the five or so storylines that are plodding through the 1000+ pages are all dull and seemingly purposeless. To make matters worse for the reader, each one exhibits a radically different style and structure from the other ones, leaving the book directionless and unfocused. This was a book that I would dread to read. Just seeing the big black and yellow block on my shelf made me cringe. I would have to take a break every 200 pages or so and read another book, but when i came back to 'Otherland' it's was almost like going to work. The book probably would be pretty good if the author did some major editing to the content. Tad Williams is an excellent writer, and cutting some of the fat off would make a leaner, purposeful story. Instead we get a bloated, overweight tale of only God knows what.
Rating:
Summary: A talking breakfast
Review: I plodded (forced) my way thru 3/4 of this book, but when I got to the scene with the TALKING PLATE OF BACON n' EGGS, that was when I put the book down and never picked it up again.
Rating:
Summary: A truly original novel
Review: At first glance, one might take this book to be just another "rag-tag group struggles against insurmountable odds to defeat unspeakable evil" story...and they would be right. It's a good premise; it's worked before and it will work again. But it's also much more. William's uses high-tech in a way not previously seen. While the real world is utterly believable, it is in the virtual realm that this book shines. He imagines a world where technology has made unbelievable flights of fancy possible in deadly earnest. I hesitate to give away too much, but Williams has created a world where technology allows an infinite number of storybook adventures. This is a truly wonderful start to a great series. The characters are well drawn and display a wonderful range of emotions and background. Above all this novel truly captures both the science fiction and the fantasy elements in the "science fiction/fantasy" categorization.
Rating:
Summary: Visions of land of the future...lands past... and Otherland
Review: This book's brilliant imagery and concepts are worthy of the most profound fantasy, the most surreal works of Caroll and Lovecraft, the most devilish pick-a-path books. Without solidifying on a single plot and growing stale, the book smoothly flows between the refreshingly original settings:the foreseeably near future- a Virtual-Reality-literate South African Republic of mid-21st century, where a young university professor must unravel the hideous mystery of an elite virtual club that offers sensations- even to users without the equipment for it; as far as can be deduced, the grotesque establishment triggered coma in thousands of young children; the virtual fantasy world of Middle Country, where a pair of users suddenly discover something amiss, a subtle shift indicating an intrusion of a great power; a covert military base, where an unwitting girl visits a silly old man with strange eyes and many ferns around his house - a house he never leaves... is he a devious assassin for an online circle of the most powerful mysteriarchs on Earth? And the distant past of the foggy, chlorinated trenches of World War I, where a soldier finds his bleak front life interrupted by fleeting, semi-real dreams of something more believable than his nightmarish surroundings, until he flees into the shadows, away from his comrades who have become nightmares. And there is always Otherland, the great mystery. Williams does a great job of engaging the reader with lively, descriptive language, the high originality of content, and chapters of manageable length. Whichever mileau the reader is currently in, he will be at a loss to sum it up with a single word. There are few enough main characters to develop them well and make them close to the reader- Renie, Orlando, and !Xabbu quickly become faces that can be summoned up on a moment's notice. Williams has a highly precise knowledge and understanding of the guiding forces behind history and man's behavior and emotions. His future is quite believable (as well as the horror of his trenches, and the hollow feeling evoked by the castle in the clouds, and the high-powered arguments in the Abydos-That-Was). There are a few highly macabre scenes (luckily, not much blood-and-gore, Williams is well beyond that), but they fit the book's surreal atmosphere well. Highly recommended reading, stylized, unique, and bridging several sub-genres. Do not miss this inspiring beginning of a quartet.
Rating: 
Summary: Intermittant Page Turner
Review: I enjoyed the book, but there were several times I had to force myself through some sections. The story is interesting and Mr. Williams is pretty good at setting the environment and developing realistic characters. When I was finished, I wanted to but the next one right away!
Rating:
Summary: Well Written and Enjoyable
Review: Ok, I'm going to be up front about this - this review is, in all likelihood, extremely biased. Tad Williams has been one of my favorite authors since I was 11 and reading the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Trilogy for the first time. With that said, I must emphasize that these books are similar to Williams' earlier works; one can see the parallels between Xabbu! the bushman and Binabik the troll. This type of thing occurs in other writers works (compare David Eddings' Belgariad and Elenium trilogies - most characters are the same with different names). Thankfully, Williams manages to avoid this trap - characters are similar, but not the same. The plot and storyline to these novels are engrossing and interesting. I found it extremely difficult to put this book down, even though, to be honest, the writing bogs down in parts - it's my feeling that this book (and the others in the series) could have used a really good editor. All things considered, this book does not disappoint - the characters (and villains) are interesting and like(hate)-able. The dialogue is well written and consistent. Overall, this is definitely worth a read, especially for the author's view of that the world will be like in 100 years.
Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: I made no title, because a short string of words cannot possibly express what Williams has done. I write this just after having finished volume 3, but I wish to expound my thoughts here. Where to begin? This is no ordinary sci-fi tale; it's not even what some would term "science fantasy." Williams has gone far beyond creating a new world to play in; with the utter complexity of Otherland, he has created an infinity of new worlds, each as rich and beautiful as the individual worlds created by Asimov, Tolkein, and their spiritual desendants. Not only that, he has placed it square in the middle of a world so like our our own it is haunting. And, unlike so many other VR parables, he has turned it into something not unlike Otherland itself, a whole greater than the sum of its parts. This is quite possibly the greatest achievement in imaginative fiction in this century. Williams has brought together the whole of both genres and merged them into something amazingly beautiful. As I said words cannot describe it. If you consider yourself in any way a lover of a well-told story, then you must read Otherland.
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