City of Golden Shadow cover art

City of Golden Shadow

Otherland, Book 1

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City of Golden Shadow

By: Tad Williams
Narrated by: George Newbern
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About this listen

The first book in best-selling master storyteller Tad Williams' Otherland series.

Otherland, a universe where any fantasy can be made real, but which is ruled by Earth's wealthiest and most ruthless power brokers, the Grail Brotherhood. Shrouded in secrecy, it is home to the wildest dreams and darkest nightmares.

Vast amounts of money have been lavished on it.

The best minds of two generations have laboured to build it.

And somehow, bit by bit, it is claiming Earth's most valuable resources - its children.

A novel of dazzling ideas, nonstop adventure and irresistible characters, City of Golden Shadow is the first part of an epic series and a masterpiece of imaginative fiction.

©1998 Tad Williams (P)2014 Penguin Audio Fantasy Fiction

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All stars
Most relevant  
I didn't find myself liking any of the characters enough to care what happened to them... And not much happened to them... The book feels very much like a prelude... A setting of the stage not a finished story...

There is a lot of potential but it never quite works...

Maybe it is because the book is relatively old and the real world has caught up...

Ok... But not great

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I really wanted to like this book. I did up to a point. Good ideas, interesting characters and mystery. But it just does not get on with the plot. You are always left wanting more and it just does not happen. Very, very nearly excellent. Will I read or listen too the next part - yes but not for a while. I need something with a much lower page count to freshen me up.

It's just too long.

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I have been trying to read this book for over 2 years. The difficulty was not necessarily because I didn’t like it. I was interested, especially to find out how the various threads connected, but the hardcover I had been given as a gift was just too huge to carry around and read when I had a moment like I would normally. Therefore other books kept gaining ascendancy. How happy I was when the audio book was announced. And indeed, it helped me finish it.

It took way too long for the threads to start to come together and of course the end is not an end, but a beginning. I will read the next one, because now I’m hooked.

The narrator is excellent, doing a good job with accents to make the various characters more clear. An audible sound or more silence when the scene changed would’ve gone a long way toward making it clear this is what had happened. Instead, it was as though nothing were different and I often had to go back to get it straight in my head.

Audiobook a big help

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Absolute genius story telling. I'd read the four books years ago and the audio version was no disappointment.
Highly recommended

One of the best books I've ever read

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numerous different stories, all perfectly melding into one fantastic construct! I can't recommend it enough, I feel at the end of the book like I want to be able to submerge myself into every piece that had been created by this marvelous author. Don't miss out on what I can only describe as a cyber punk delving conspiracy developing marvel.

Elaborate plot with insane world development!

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I read this series many years ago and was delighted to hear this again. The story is gripping and in many ways has proved prescient with the way VR and games are evolving.

There is even reference to constantly mutating virus epidemics causing lockdowns.

Fans of science fiction will thoroughly enjoy this epic. Very well read if occasionally a few dodgy accent attempts but builds the tension beautifully.

Will be pressing straight on with volume 2 to cover my next month or so of dog walks.

Excellent

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I read this book a good ten years ago and always struggle with pace on an audio book (chiefly because I fall asleep listening), however this production had me listening every evening. it is a long book, and towards to end I did feel the odd accent dropped out here and there but overall the narrator distinguished clearly between characters.

good solid listen

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I've read the series a few times and for me Otherland is one of the best reads ever. This was the first time as an audiobook and George Newbern did a great job narrating such a long story with an endless number of characters. I'm sure I will listen to it again in the future.

Great story

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the first time I read the story, it took me years between books. A story this complex takes careful introduction of the characters and their story line, but it did make for a thick book with slow progress.
In audiobook format, it is a lot easier to get into the flow of the story.
If you're new to it, don't be discouraged: it is well worth it.

The narration is clear and not dull, and also without unnecessary frills.
I'll surely listen to the next ones.

much better as audiobook

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There were a lot of words! Some of them.even seemed.to go places and explain things. Unfortunately many words don't necessary make a book, nor do many chapters.

This reads like a mind mapping (brain storming) session on Spice!

Will the author eventually flesh these ideas out, assemble them in a coherent pattern, and eventually form a storyline that travels from a beginning to an end?

If I had bought this title, I would have returned it without completing it. As it was, I listened to the whole thing in a semi-fever delirium hoping it would eventually come together.........

a lot of words!

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