City of Golden Shadow

Otherland Book 1

By: Tad Williams

Narrated by: George Newbern

ANYONE CAN GO THERE... COMING BACK IS ANOTHER STORY.

The first in a four-audiobook series, Otherland: City of Golden Shadow is a complex suspense novel of the near future, where virtual reality has expanded to encompass all aspects of society -- and national, physical, and mental boundaries are limited only by the virtue or darkness of the imagination, offering an entirely new level of freedom to people in all walks of life. But a blood-chilling conspiracy involving the world's most powerful individuals now threatens to shatter this world to its very core....

You will want to listen to the Otherland series

You are probably reading this review wondering if this book or series is worth your time and money. YES! The Otherland books is one of my all time favorites and I am not easy to please. Have patience this book takes a little time to get into and is confusing at first with it's many story lines but by the time you get to the end of Sea of Silver Light the 4 the book in the series you will sit back and go WOW! I never wanted the story to end it was so much fun. I felt like I was saying goodby to close friends. This is worth your money and time and will be a story you can return to time and time again with great enjoyment. A true classic.

Excellent metaverse fiction

Tad Williams takes on many threads and characters but manages to make them all work. His exploration of virtual worlds is not altogether original, but nevertheless well handled.

Complex story

Had to go back a few times, I. normally listen at 1.5 speed this one had to be on normal speed since it has diverse story lines and I was getting lost. towards the end I got used to the plots and what was happening.

even better than reading it to myself!

I've read it before, but listening to it was even better! Treat yourself to this listen - but be prepared to hear the whole series!

Probably better on audio

This is the first of the Otherland books. By the end of this volume, we are only just beginning to understand the Otherland project. We have met some of the people behind it, but don’t yet really understand what their objective is. We do see a little of the political infighting going on among the backers of the Otherland project – some are mega-wealthy businessmen and some represent military or other segments of various governments. We also see that some of the people who originally coded the project are trying to sabotage it in various ways. Some of these people are working for good, or at least for their own ends without trying to hurt other people. But the top people appear, at least at this point to be very evil. Probably they don’t see themselves that way but from the viewpoint of the common person that is how it looks.

Renie, a South African computer instructor, and !Xabbu, a bushman who is her student and appears to have a crush on her, get involved in trying to investigate the Otherland project when Renie’s younger brother suddenly falls into a coma after getting into a virtual reality environment he should not have entered. Renie investigates and discovers that many young people all over the world have suffered similar fates. She solicits the help of several people she knows to try to help her penetrate this mysterious VR environment and evidently draws the ire of the people behind Otherland long before she has discovered even the name of the place. One of her friends is killed and her apartment building is burned down well before she has any real clues what is happening as well. But these things only make her more determined to find out what is going on.

This volume is long, and there is much in it that is confusing. I think listening to the audio version was actually helpful in getting through all of that. It did not feel long, painful, or boring. The narrator, George Newbern, did a great job handling all the voices of the different characters from all over the world, old men, and fantastic virtual beings very well.