Always annoying.It took me a while but I finally managed to wade through the four volumes of Tad Williams' Otherland series. * As a final point – the cover art is attractive, but seems to have nothing to do with any of the stories. Overall, good for serious Tad Williams fans, but not recommended for others. Unfortunately, as so often in this book, the ending is too simple to sustain the story. This had promise, though it’s desperately slow to start, and the intrusive ad snippets are as irritating to the reader as to the protagonist. And Ministers of Grace – a trained killer prepares to take out his target, and finds himself.The resolution is vague and undeveloped, but the ending works reasonably well emotionally. As a story, the frequent references to background music are obstrusive, though I know and like most of the songs mentioned. Mostly, I got the feeling that this could have been an effective film. Written as a screenplay, which is handy in signposting the rapid changes in perspective and time frame. Black Sunshine – old friends meet up again to relive a horrible episode of their youth.This one reminded me vaguely of Jack Vance – primarily due to the characters and situations, rather than the language. Omnitron, What Ho! – a young aristocrat tells how he acquired his automated butler.Mildly humorous, but told in a clever patois that isn’t nearly funny enough to hold the story for so long, and there’s not that much else there. A Stark and Wormy Knight – a dragon tells her son a good night story.There are a lot of bits that could and should have been funny (the creation of the platypus), but didn’t quite make it. This was a good idea that didn’t quite take off. Every Fuzzy Beast of the Earth, Every Pink Fowl of the Air – God’s daughter interferes in the Earth’s creation.
Uninteresting except for one little flourish at the end.
This is one of the best stories in the book. Three Duets for Virgin and Nosehorn – a priest, a maid, and an artist accompany a stuffed animal to its destination.Well told, but again the ending is a bit of a letdown – too much buildup, too little impact.
I liked the fact that Williams seemed to have actually read beyond the first book, and be a genuine fan of Oz the Glass Cat is a key character. The Boy Detective of Oz: An Otherland Story – a sequel of sorts to the Otherland series, starring Orlando Gardiner, now a resident troubleshooter in Otherland.Good, but too long for the ending to really work well. Child of an Ancient City – tales within tales within tales, with a vampire at its heart.I like this one quite a lot for most of its length, but the end was disappointingly simplistic and cheapened the rest of the story. The Stranger’s Hands – a pair of mysterious strangers can grant wishes, but there’s something dark behind their power.This stands out for the unusual tone of its ending, which I liked. The Storm Door – a demon hunter finds evil close to home.Light-hearted and fun, but not very deep. The Old Scale Game – an aged dragon and an equally aged knight find common cause.Few of the stories really stand out as good, though there are a couple that are pretty weak. The writing is good, but not compelling, and the narratives are relatively simple. Still, Williams puts together familiar elements in an interesting way, and I thought it would be interesting to see what he can do when forced to a less epic scale. Much of the content is overwritten, and not highly original ( The War of the Flowers was good). I’ve found the quality to be profoundly mixed.
#Tad williams otherland cliff notes series#
I’ve read most of his novels, including his three massive series – Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Otherland, and Shadowplay. I’ve only read one of Tad Williams’ short stories before – “Child of an Ancient City”, included in this collection, but previously published as a novel.
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