Mountain of Black Glass
Mountain of Black Glass is the third volume of Tad Williams' highly acclaimed four-book series, Otherland. A truly unique reading experience combining elements of science fiction,fantasy, and techno-thriller, it is a rich epic tale in which virtual reality could prove the key to a whole new universe of possibilities for the entire human race—or become the exclusive domain of the rich and the ruthless as they seek a technological pathway to immortality....
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She brought that message to Paul Jonas in a dream. He knew her so well—her oddly beautiful winged form, her sad eyes—but although the woman who described herself as a "shattered mirror" was achingly familiar, Paul's memories of who she was and what she meant to him had been stolen...Yet her cryptic messages to him were his only hope to survive the incredibly complex virtual reality network known as Otherland. "All of you have been called. You will find that which you seek as the sun sets on Priam's Walls." Orlando Gartner had learned this from the mysterious sleeping woman. But what did it mean? And how could a terminally ill teenage boy, defending his life in a simulated Egypt where gods and mythical creatures were waging bloody war, possible answer this summons? "The Grail Brotherhood has built the most powerful, sophisticated simulation network imaginable. At the same time, they have manipulated and injured the minds of thousands of children." This proclamation from the mysterious Mr. Sellars confirmed what Renie Suluweyo had feared to be true when she first broke into Otherland network in a desperate search for the cause of her brother Stephen's deathlike coma. Now Renie, the Bushman !Xabbu, and their companions find themselves navigating a treacherous and ever-changing course—from a strangely unfinished land, to a seemingly endless labyrinthine House—pursuing a sociopathic killer who has abducted one of their group. To Renie's despair she is no closer to uncovering the secrets that could save Stephen's life, and now it appears that something may be wrong with the Otherland network itself. As Paul Jonas, Orlando, Renie, and the rest gather at Priam's Walls, in the heart of Troy, they know that their quest is running perilously short of time. For the Grail Brotherhood has finally set the date for the Ceremony when they will make their bid for immortality, and thereby seal the fate of the Earth's children forever. But before Renie and her allies can hope to stop the Brotherhood, they must first solve the mysteries of Otherland itself, and confront its darkest secret--an entity known only as the Other...Publishers WeeklyEpic in scope and size, this near-future cyberspace adventure has likable characters, heinous villains, a plethora of classical references and a slew of powerful action sequences that propel its many-tiered plot forward. Paul Jonas, a mysterious man with no clear memory of his past, is trapped and hunted inside the Grail Project, an artificial intelligence network run by the ultra-wealthy Grail Brotherhood. This third installment of the Otherland series (City of Golden Shadow; River of Blue Fire) reveals that the Project has been designed to provide cyber-immortality to its rich owners: it does this, at least in part, by stealing essential elements from children's psyches and leaving them comatose. Renie Sulaweyo has lost a sibling to the Grail Brotherhood's machinations. While Renie's body is watched over in the real world, her consciousness has been transferred inside the network, where she works with a motley band of reluctant adventurers trying to save the children and themselves. Stalking them is the brilliant psychopath Johnny Dark, who knows secrets about the Project and has his own evil mental twist that can hurt it. While Williams has a rather conventional take on power and prejudice in his "real" world, he lets rip inside the network, working with environments that include Homer's Odyssey, an ancient Egypt where the gods are somewhat less than omnipotent and a gigantic House in which Linen Closet Sisters are kidnapped by boys from Cutlery. As his "real" characters encounter computer-generated simulacrums who express compassion and have their own dreams and desires, the line between reality and fantasy blurs. Though the sheer weight of the series is daunting, Williams fills his pages with the sort of stories and characters that readers of epic fantasy are sure to love. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
\ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly\ Epic in scope and size, this near-future cyberspace adventure has likable characters, heinous villains, a plethora of classical references and a slew of powerful action sequences that propel its many-tiered plot forward. Paul Jonas, a mysterious man with no clear memory of his past, is trapped and hunted inside the Grail Project, an artificial intelligence network run by the ultra-wealthy Grail Brotherhood. This third installment of the Otherland series (City of Golden Shadow; River of Blue Fire) reveals that the Project has been designed to provide cyber-immortality to its rich owners: it does this, at least in part, by stealing essential elements from children's psyches and leaving them comatose. Renie Sulaweyo has lost a sibling to the Grail Brotherhood's machinations. While Renie's body is watched over in the real world, her consciousness has been transferred inside the network, where she works with a motley band of reluctant adventurers trying to save the children and themselves. Stalking them is the brilliant psychopath Johnny Dark, who knows secrets about the Project and has his own evil mental twist that can hurt it. While Williams has a rather conventional take on power and prejudice in his "real" world, he lets rip inside the network, working with environments that include Homer's Odyssey, an ancient Egypt where the gods are somewhat less than omnipotent and a gigantic House in which Linen Closet Sisters are kidnapped by boys from Cutlery. As his "real" characters encounter computer-generated simulacrums who express compassion and have their own dreams and desires, the line between reality and fantasy blurs. Though the sheer weight of the series is daunting, Williams fills his pages with the sort of stories and characters that readers of epic fantasy are sure to love. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalTrapped in the exotic virtual simulation known as Otherland, Paul Jonas, Orlando Gardner, and Renie Sulaweyo continue their separate explorations into the heart of the reality that surrounds them. As they confront puzzles and obstacles in re-creations of ancient Egypt and Homeric Greece, they come closer to the black glass mountain that may offer them the key to the mysterious Grail Brotherhood that controls the passages to and from Otherland. Synopses of the previous volumes (City of Golden Shadow; River of Blue Fire) of Williams's ambitious epic provide enough information for newcomers to the series, but the entire story is best read in sequence. Filled with complex plot threads, a wide variety of virtual and "real" characters and vivid descriptions of numerous worlds, this series belongs in most sf collections. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ Magazine of and Science FictionThis is the best thing Williams has ever done, and it deserves attention, time, praise. More, it deserves to be read.\ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsThird chunk of Williams's enormous four-part doorstopper (City of Golden Shadow, 1996; River of Blue Fire, 1998) about the eponymous virtual reality. Otherland was created by the rich, powerful, and ruthless Brotherhood, who have plans to rule the real world too. After various children enter VR, only to become ensnared, assorted good guys—a WWI soldier, a teacher, a blind researcher, a mysterious renegade, etc.—have hacked into the supposedly impregnable Otherworld in search of the children. But they too end up trapped. Worse, they're being stalked by the Brotherhood's assassin, Dread, not to mention another mysterious entity known as the Other, possibly Otherland's sentient operating system. Williams's synopses are as abstruse and overcomplicated as the yarn itself. So if by this point you have even the vaguest idea of what's happening, why, and who's involved, then keep reading and good luck. Newcomers: try something—anything—less absurdly overblown, labyrinthine and inconsequential. (Author tour)\ \
