Tad William's Otherland

[ghost]

Any commnets on this series?

I have read the first one but am having a really hard time with the second one. The writing is good but the story is progressing at a crawl.


POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!






The world jumping and fragmentation of the group is getting a little tiresome. Seems like its more about world building than actually progressing the story. Not sure I can get through the series.

[MJR]

I found the series to be very imaginative. Some great ideas are in the book, but there is a sense of the author not knowing where to go with the story. Lots of stuff going on. The climax of the story was an anti-climax for me. A bit dissapointing in the end because the possibilities were so great. This being said, I do think it is some of Tad Williams' best work to date. I do suggest finishing the series, if just to see how it ends.

[ghost]

Totally agree with you that the books seem to have a lot of potential. I think you nailed the problem I am having with these books. It is that I am starting to feel that the author is not entirely sure how to handle and where he wants to go with the story. Hopefully I can put this aside and keep going.

[chandy]

I barely finished the first one. It started off really cool, but I guess it just went where I wasn't expecting it too, or wanting it too. I never looked at the others.

C

[Everydayislikesunday]

Got all the books, together and cheap. Was planning on reading them all but in the end never bothered. I am thinking of reading them this summer, but who knows........

[Bob]

I've only read War of the Flowers, and if I'm to be truthful, didn't like it all. I found it all very cliched and predictable. Perhaps I've not read the best example of his work, but it put me off exploring anymore.

Think it's worth persevering?

[MissDreamy]

I'm finding it very difficult to finish 'War Of The Flowers' Which is a shame, because it had many good and imaginative ideas - the most interesting parts are his descriptions of the city and its various inhabitants/customs and venues. It doesn't help that the main protagonist Theo Vilmos is, quite frankly, an irritating git. Always thinking about himself in lots of italics and the consequences of his own actions - the book would have been half the length had he just got on with it and not faffed around. Applecore had the right idea by kicking him the arse when he needed it - mind you she was bloody irritating as well, with her 'Oirish' accent (why do fairies always speak in Irish or Scottish dialects? - I know that some types come from the Celtic Isles, but phewee! :roll:)

Looking at the Otherland books and their intimidatingly fat spines on the bookshelves of Waterstones, etc, I think they could be as overlong and meandering as 'War Of The Flowers' Unfotunately, I'll be staying away from them too. God, I sound like one of those bad reviewers in the Evening Standard 8O

[Anonymous]

The Otherland series is worth a read. There is a lot of excellent imaginative and entertaining sections of the story, however there is a lot of chaff as well. It's like Tad had a stack of ideas and wasn't sure which ones people would like and which they wouldn't so he just threw them all in. The story doesn't feel tight, there is a lot of content that feels like it's in there just to fill up space and doesn't advance either the story or the character development.

That being said, if you push through the odd boring bit it really is an enjoyable read with some great ideas.

[Alisa]

I really like them, waiting for the last (fourth) volume to arrive. Very imaginative idea and plot but... very weak characters in my opinion, very typical "good vs evil". All these cliche of personalities of his other fantasy series (which I didn't like much) are here. But again, the plot overcomes it, so I still keep reading these books :).