Steven Wu's Book Reviews: The Otherland Series (Tad Williams)

Although it takes a few hundred pages to get good, this series is utterly gripping after the first three-quarters of the first book. After a few days with City of Golden Shadow, I finished the last three books in only about a week. Williams's characters are distinctive and well-drawn; the interaction between !Xabbu and Renie, in particular, is humorous and never repetitive. Sam and Orlando Gardner also have many good scenes. And Williams manages to sustain these relationships throughout the course of all four volumes (well, just about--but no plot spoilers here).

The central mystery of the book--namely, "What the hell is going on?"--is also well done. Williams knows exactly when to reveal a piece of the larger puzzle and when to hold back. The revelations came naturally--except for the end, when one of the characters makes an overly long speech that ties together far too much--and each bit of new information made me hunger for more. The final explanation of everything is stunning, although it too makes sense, and the ending of the book is explosive (both physically and emotionally).

However, this book hits a few low points along the way to its conclusion. The second book in particular is weak; the characters seem to jump from one exotic locale to another without any real explanation about why they're there. Fortunately, the last two books really pick up the beat again. The third book in particular moves things along quickly.

I would have given the book an 8, but there's something about it that struck me as...well, non-cohesive (to coin a new word). The plot is good, but it is not quite strong enough (or fast-moving enough) to be breath-taking; the characters are fun but not quite realistic enough to be compelling; and the settings are well-described but not quite vivid enough to be fascinating. So, this is by no means a great series. But it's fun, and somewhat memorable, and somewhere in the middle of the first book it becomes quite gripping. If you're looking for a long series to tide you over for the next George R.R. Martin or Robert Jordan book, this could be it.