Book 11: River of Blue Fire: Otherland volume 2

Tad Williams says on his website that he doesn’t like writing middle books. But he does a wonderful job with this one, letting us get to know the characters and the settings.

Unfortunately, not a lot happens to advance the actual, y’know, plot. Basically, our merry band of adventurers, (who I have been trying to equate to various members of Lord of the Rings since there are a few paralels) continue going through the Otherland network that they learned about in the first place. They visit a weird upside-down creepy version of Oz, a cartoon kitchen (which was my favorite part of the book because Williams and I apparently share a sense of humor), Renaissance Venice, and H. G. Wells’s London after Martian attack. The group gets separated, and only sort of reunites a little near the end.

I’m hoping that some of the relevant plot threads start to come together in the third book… Because while this one was entertaining, the lack of significant plot development until the end drove me crazy.

However, to end on a positive note, you remember those slashy subtexts I mentioned in my review of the last book? They’re still there. And Williams also increases my respect for him because he’s very queer-positive, portraying both a gay man and a lesbian cop in what I think is a very sympathetic manner.

All in all, a very good read, and I can’t wait to dive into book 3.

Rating: 96/100