Product Description

New York Times bestselling author Tad Williams presents...

The mass market edition of Volume Two...

"A powerful, near-future cyberthriller."--Booklist

"Williams proves himself as adept at writing science fiction as he is writing fantasy....Fascinating." --Publishers Weekly

"An exciting addition to the growing virtual reality literature."--Library Journal

* A bestselling author--New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, London Times, Publishers Weekly

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62019 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 704 pages

Amazon.com Review
Tad Williams began his Otherland series with the massive City of Golden Shadow and continues it with the equally hefty River of Blue Fire. Williams says it will require four (big) books to tell his complex, multithreaded tale, and at the rate that the plot of this second novel moves, readers will see what he means. Not that the book is a slow read; in fact, River is as much a suspenseful page-turner as the first book.

As River opens, we join up again with the ragtag bunch of searchers trapped in an astoundingly detailed and frightfully dangerous virtual world known as Otherland. Lurking in disguise among the group is the brutally vicious serial killer Dread, trying to find information that will help him overthrow his Grail Brotherhood masters. The group follows a ubiquitous river through world after world, unable to go offline, and subject to the increasingly terrifying certainty that things in this supposedly virtual place are all too real. Meanwhile, Paul Jonas, an amnesic (but somehow pivotal) character fleeing from two sinister beings, finds more and more of his memory as he does his own Huck Finn river trip. As in the first novel, each new world that the characters enter, from Paleolithic Ice Age to something suspiciously like Oz, is fully realized and completely unpredictable.

Williams is a master at parceling out information to the reader in dribs and drabs, which is frustrating yet tantalizing, like a particularly good computer game. When the group is split up and the adventure divides further, the reader senses the author as a puppet master, following some incredibly complex flows of information. The best course is just to hang on and enjoy Williams's deft characterizations, lush descriptions, and wildly divergent plot. If you've ever been white-water rafting, you'll recognize the feeling. --Therese Littleton

From Publishers Weekly
In his first work of SF, Otherland: City of Golden Shadow (1997), bestselling fantasist Williams (To Green Angel Tower) introduced one of the most impressive virtual-reality landscapes ever created. Otherland, a gigantic realm consisting of untold numbers of virtual universes, is the creation of the mysterious and evil Grail Brotherhood, a cabal of billionaire capitalists, ruthless gangsters and corrupt government officials. Bent on discovering the secret of eternal life, they will stop at nothing to achieve their goal, even the deaths of hundreds of children whose minds have been trapped on the Net. City of Golden Shadow told the story of a small band of virtual explorers who dared to enter Otherland without permission, some for adventure, others to save the children ensnared on the Net. In this second volume of a projected four-book series, the quest continues. As often happens with middle entries in a series, there are a few problems. Despite a six-page summary, readers unfamiliar with City of Golden Shadow may have trouble figuring out the complex backstory. Further, with little to tie the various plot threads together at either end, the book lacks an obvious structure. Still, Williams is an exciting and endlessly inventive writer whose character development is particularly strong, and his fans should roundly enjoy this volume while looking forward to the remaining installments. Editors: Betsy Wollheim and Sheila Gilbert.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Trapped in the top-secret virtual world known as Otherland, a small group of online explorers travel along a river of possibilities in search of a way back to the real world. This sequel to OtherWorld: City of Golden Shadow (LJ 11/15/96) delivers a kaleidoscopic array of dreamscapes and nightmare worlds that form a setting for a complex tale of conspiracy and betrayal. Williams displays a prodigious talent for spinning multiple variations on a theme as he alternates between real and virtual worlds. This fast-paced, ambitious blend of fantasy and sf belongs (along with its predecessor) in most fantasy collections.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Perfect! Excellent for the Imaginative!
River of Blue Fire (Otherland, Volume 2) is an excellent follow up to A City of Golden Shadow. This book absorbs you into a new world with its own culture and people. Tad Williams does not disappoint when it comes to description or world building. The book takes virtual reality and fantasy and makes them believable.

The book follows the characters and the plot is derived from them, who are many and varied. Characters are well thought out and perfectly made. You won't be wondering why the made stupid decisions or thinking stupid things. The book goes at a slow pace and fast pace, all when necessary, but generally, you will be mystified about what will happen next, and where things are heading. Some people find the vagueness infuriating, but the suspense is strong and you will be totally absorbed by the storytelling.

Tad does not lack for imagination. The main concept of the book's virtual reality is common, but his implementation of it and description of its use is downright believable and perfect. You will follow the characters through so many difficulties and experiences, it will feel like a mental roller coaster. This book will feed your imaginative side, if you have the patience.

Many people could find this book boring, and read it skeptically. The book is much less enjoyable when read this way. You really need to be able to fall into the character's experiences to fully enjoy the book, and some people read books with a detached attitude. Readers like this or who crave action-action-action will not find the book enjoyable. I recommend this book to anyone with an imaginative side that needs feeding. This story will not dissapoint.

Not Free SF Reader
After our intrepid group of investigators get deeper into the
conspiracy, they discover the vast, artificial computer network that is
involved. When they dive in, from their various locations, they find a
serious problem. They are not able to disconnect from their
environment, and are now on a quest to stay alive.

They meet more people on the way, but they do not know that a
psychopathic assassin is among them, with more control of the
environment, and an affinity for machines.

Pretty bad compared to the others
As a person who is in the middle of reading book three I can say that this is the weakest of them. This may sound strange, but I really recommend to only skim over any chapter that involves Orlando and Fredricks on the river with the Chief (trying to keep it vague to prevent spoilers). It's 4 or 5 chapters worth of absolutely boring content. I can't really even remember what it was about. All of it but the last chapter of the story line you should skip because it's a lot like Huckleberry Finn, but they never leave the boat and nothing interesting happens.

I almost lost hope and almost never went onto number three. I'd give the other books 5/5. This one really gets a three and a half, but there's no option.