Otherland: River of Blue Fire

Chromatic, already a reviewing fixture and well-known AfterY2k junkie, has sent us a quick review of the latest book in Tad Williams' Otherland series. This book is Otherland: River of Blue Fire, which is the book after Otherland: City of Golden Shadow. Click below to learn more. Otherland: River of Blue Fire author Tad Williams pages 675 publisher Daw, 09/1999 rating 9/10 reviewer chromaticsummary ISBN 0886778441 summary Tad Williams explores global conspiracies surrounding a perfectly realized virtual world in the continuation of his Otherland saga.

At the end of Otherland: City of Golden Shadow, Tad Williams had dumped most of his protagonists into the convincing virtual reality known as the Otherland. In this playground for the rich, the reclusive, and the powerful, the small band was shocked to learn that it was trapped. It would be only a matter of time before the shadowy Grail Brotherhood, masters of Otherland, could discover the intrusion and act to protect their secrets.

Frightened and confused, the party's only chance for survival is to follow the quasi-metaphorical river that flows through each simulation, connecting the private domains of each member of the Brotherhood. It's a quest that will take them through a land of giant insects, Venice, Ancient Egypt, a twisted Kansas under invasion from decaying Oz, and other exotic, imaginary locations.

The real world is packed with intrigue too, as the forces opposing the Brotherhood (both knowingly and unknowingly) plan and plot and move their pieces into position. Reality and Otherland start to feed off of each other as dark secrets come to light and the Grail project enters its final stages.

As fits the second book in this series of four, some mysteries are solved and many more are discovered. Plotwise, the motivations of and divisions within the Grail Brotherhood are explored, and partial explanations of sleeping sickness are given. True to Williams' plot-twisting style, these bring up new questions. On the whole, there is less action than in the previous book, but more plot.

While there's still a lot of action, it's divided between five major groups of characters and settings (the latter given a very loose interpretation) and at least five other, minor threads. Consequently, even in a book of nearly 700 pages, four chapters may separate sequential events. This can be frustrating, as the most intriguing character receives the least attention. (In the introduction, Williams promises his fans that he will try to avoid the sort of cliffhanger ending that the first book had. To his credit, a plot diagram of River of Blue Fire would fit the traditional form much more closely than one of City of Golden Shadow.)

Williams fans may notice themes also present his "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" series, which itself expanded on ideas present in his debut work Tailchaser's Song. You'll find ancient conspiracies, shady deals with unknown forces, enlightened groups of scholars working in the background, and the question of responsibility. It's refreshing to see him choose a less-than-superhuman antagonist (though the Heliopolis simulation and the Other may turn out to be more important -- and less "human" -- in the end).

Philosophical and literary analysis aside, is it entertaining? Quite so! The mixture of enigma and revelation, imagination and technical whiz-bang makes a very satisfying texture. For a thoughtful, less-dystopian-than-cyberpunk but still epic take on virtual reality, identity, and conspiracy, check out the Otherland.

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