by Tad Williams

The funny thing about writing this review can be summarized in three points: (1) the book is nearly a dozen years old, (2) it is the first novel in a four-part series, and (3) I’ve now read it twice. That might seem like reason enough to ditch the effort altogether and forget it, but having invested a whole thwack of time in pouncing once again upon this massive tome of a novel — and presumably its siblings — I thought I would give my reasons as to why I did so. Fact is, I’m not a particularly big fan of William’s fantasy works (though to be fair, I’m not much of a fantasy fan in general) but having used his skills at weaving epic plots full of rich characters into a readable bit of near-future speculative fiction, I might be persuaded to say I’m a fan of Williams… in general. As I write this I’m a little torn as well. I read all four books a while back — shortly after their release — and didn’t think much about them. They were solid. Interesting. Complex and twisting, with interesting ideas strung through their plots, the way I tend to like novels to turn out. And then, sorting through my bookshelf a month ago (or so) I pulled the yellowing paperbacks from some side stack and realized that the novels had really stuck in my head. I’d pulled up some of those ideas into my own thinking, particularly about information and politics, and it seemed very appropriate to give them another go, this time with a mind a little more yellowed itself with an understanding of what has happened in the field of information and ideas since their writing. And all I can say: solid. Read it.

Best enjoyed…

…in long, dedicated stretches when you have lots of time to absorb yourself in the complex web of story.

This work tells the world…

…that information wants to be free. Or something. And that someday we’ll probably all have computers tapped directly into our brains that will control every aspect of our lives, including our realities.

Borrow, Buy, or Avoid?

Seeing as how it’s such a big committment — and a bit of a niche novel, to boot — you might want to borrow it and give the first few parts a trail run before you jump in and buy all four novels. But do get it somewhere.