Midnight at the Well of Souls

By: Jack L. Chalker

Narrated by: Peter Macon

Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

At the heart of a bizarre planet lay the goal of every being that had ever lived.…

Below average in height and unprepossessing in appearance, Nathan Brazil is an unassuming if cynical starship owner, carrying passengers and cargo for a living - hardly the sort of person to hold the fate of the entire universe in his hands.

But when Nathan detours from his route to answer a distress call, a hidden stargate hurls him and his passengers to the Well World, the master control planet for the cosmos. Billions of years ago, a godlike race unlocked all the secrets of space and time and remade the universe according to their grand design. Then they vanished and left behind the Well World to maintain the pattern of the universe.

Now someone is searching for the planet’s hidden control room - the Well of Souls - to seize control of the cosmos. Nathan must stop them, but this planet causes bizarre metamorphoses in visitors, changing them into centaurs, mermaids, and giant insects seemingly at random. As a result, Nathan no longer recognizes his friends, let alone his unknown enemies. His task seems hopeless - until his long-suppressed memories begin to return and he realizes who he really is.

©1982 Jack L. Chalker (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A big, bold book that takes traditional science fiction and turns it upside down!" (Leigh Brackett, science fiction author and screenwriter on The Empire Strikes Back)

Unique and timeless

Very good story and performance. The alien races were well thought out and truly alien in form and mind. I was about half through when I looked when it was written and was amazed it was 1977. It does not read like book written 4 decades ago. Scifi can get dated pretty easily by that much time but this could have been released this year. Recommended. I will definitely be continuing the series as well looking at other works by Chalker.

well done. fifteen words. no. 5 stars i enough. 15

15 words my arse. you want a rating take it. want 15 words minimum? screw it. 5 stars. done all is said

A good first draft.

As the title suggests, this book has the makings of a great book, but is very rough and requires rethinking on some major plot points. In a nutshell, there are too many pointless twists that add nothing to the narrative and do very little in terms of character development. I think if Mr. Chalk was given another year, and perhaps some sober advice on following through with reader expectation, this could have been a great book. As it stands it is passable, but what strikes me the most is the wasted potential here. On a side note, there is also a disturbing penchant to explore taboos that would make the most jaded erotica fanatic blush. Where the story shines most is in the existential and philosophical ideas that the author conveys, unfortunately, the climax fails to follow through with its promised moment of catharsis. The protagonist is perhaps the most mistreated Gary Stu since Christ, which upon further consideration turns out to be a rather apt analog.

great main character

Chalker spins a good tale in this series. Highly recommend. His non well world books are also a good reed

Finally! Chalker's Best Series!

This is the first book in a wonderfully imaginative series that takes me back to my early teenage years when I first discovered it. Chalker creates a weird and detailed setting for the novel and the characters are memorable. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys intelligent science fiction stories.

Classic Sci-fi

I love the concept here where there is a master world split into many separate hexes that are a proving ground for biological beings. The rules of this universe are masterfully established and once accepted allow for an interesting series that keeps you guessing where it's ultimately going to go.

Decent Science Fiction

I found it a little hard to follow, maybe because of listening vs. reading. I didn't find myself getting sucked in to the story. The narrator did a good job but I found his deep voice to be distracting at times.

Should be a Movie

As with most good works of literature it will probably never be made into a movie due to the cost of CG. To bad as it's a well written story and Chalker is a master storyteller!!!

Very strange

if not included 8n my membership I don't think i'd ever hear this one. but now I think I'll keep going at least the next one. like the narrator will look for more of his work.

Just as food as I remember.

I read the book back when I was a teenager around 1990. It was my favorite book for a very long time even though I have only read it once. When I came across it here, I had to listen to it of cause. I did not remember most of the plot and characters, but I was not disapointed . It was just as good and exciting as I remember. I love the idea of the World.