Review: Sea of Silver Light (Otherland #4) by Tad Williams

Sea of Silver Light by Tad Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An exciting conclusion, I loved it.

Everything falls apart at the close of Mountain of Black Glass (Otherland #3), and now the unlikely heroes of the Otherland system are scattered far and wide in the heart of the dying operating system and beyond. Renie, !Xabbu, and Fredericks are stuck with unlikely allies in the evil Felix Jongleur and the brain damaged Ricardo Klement. But even this tenuous partnership is shattered when the virtual world shatters, and Renie finds herself stranded in an amorphous landscape with the doddering Klement her only companion.

Martine, Paul Jonas, T4b, and Florimel find themselves back in the already terrifying bug world, made even worse with horrifically human-bug mutations on the loose, mutations whose sole desire is to rip them limb from limb. Not even the benevolent Kunohara seems to be able to hold off the writhing masses for long.

In the real world, things are becoming truly scary for little Christabel. Her daddy learns of Mr. Sellers and now the entire family, plus Sellers, the boy Cho Cho and the lawyer Catur Ramsey, end up on the run together. But they can't run forever...

Meanwhile Dulcie Anwin awakens from her fledgling crush on Johnny Dread into growing unease and fear, even as he begins to show her the romantic attention she has long desired. Dread himself revels in both the virtual destruction of the Otherland realms and the terrorization of the Other itself, the effects of which are felt keenly by those still trapped within the system.

Finally, Long Joseph, Jeremiah, and Del Rey find themselves under siege, the military stronghold under the mountain no longer the sanctuary they'd thought it to be. It's only a matter of time before Dread's mercenaries break through the base's defenses, and all the three have to defend themselves are a single gun with three bullets and none among them skilled enough to make them count.

This is perhaps the most edgy installment of the Otherland series. Everything seems to be falling apart and danger stalks the heroes and the villains at every turn. No one is safe, and still the children lie comatose in their hospital beds. Will the destruction of the Otherland network spell their doom?

I love this book and the series that spawned it. You'll find no plot holes in this series, everything, even those things that seemed insignificant in the other books, finds a purpose in Otherland #4. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves sci fi and has the time and patience to tackle such a massive work.

View all my reviews

Missed my reviews for Otherland 1-3?  Check them out here:
City of Golden Shadow (Otherland #1) by Tad Williams
River of Blue Fire (Otherland #2) by Tad Williams
Mountain of Black Glass (Otherland #3) by Tad Williams

Have you read this series? Let me know what you thought in the comments.