Product Description
Rite: Short Work gives ample evidence of Tad Williams as an accomplished practitioner of the short form! Within you'll find a knockout novella later expanded to novel length (Child of an Ancient City), riffs on the great fantasist Michael Moorcock (The Author at the End of Time, Go Ask Elric), along with excursions into some of his most popular creations and beyond. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Tad Williams' Rite - A must have!
All of the stories here are awesome, but a few stand out!!The one with the cybergeeks chatting on line and the Otherworld story are incredible works.I don't want to give anything away, just add my two cents that if you like Tad's work, you really should get this book!!!

I highly recommend!

All the best,

Jay

Tad's first collection
Tad's first collection of short and non-fiction is not just a collection, but also a career retrospective. RITE includes material from a twenty-year career and is certainly a must-buy for any Tad Williams fan. The stories collected here can show a broader range of topics, styles, moods and themes than his long and complex novels, because Tad could experiment more within the confines of a small story, but some of Tad's classic themes are still there. In some stories Tad also pays hommage to writers that influenced him (Peter S.Beagle and Michael Moorcock most notably). Tad introduces each story and explains its origins. The intro "Why I Write What I Write" explores what drives Tad to write.
The book is beautifully designed and features many b/w illustrations by Mark A. Nelson. The print-run is limited to 2000 copies each signed by the author. Get yourself a copy while they last!

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Customer Reviews (7)

Short, simple, and shallow compared to other Williams work, but well-executed and mostly enjoyable
Simple and shallow, this one isn't at all like Williams' more popular epics like Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Otherland, or Shadowmarch.This short novella, about a jaunty group of Arabs getting lost in unfamiliar territory and being harassed by a story-loving vampire, lacks the complexity and emotion that have made Williams' other work so popular.Instead, in this one, you get a mostly light-hearted (even with Death as a constant companion) story composed mostly of other smaller tales told within the major tale, as undeveloped characters attempt to distract a tormented (but curious) vampire by wracking their brains for entertaining stories so that they don't get eaten.One positive note, this is the first Williams book I've ever read that wasn't in dire need of a critical editor!The chiefest complaint I've had with his books in the past is that he tends to unnecessarily drag his stories out.Still, I've always enjoyed the complexity and seriousness of his work, and couldn't help feeling a bit let down by this simple story.I think most readers of his will have a similar reaction.

Nonetheless, this is actually an interesting theme and was executed effectively by Williams and Hoffman.I'd still recommend it, especially as it could be read in a single sitting, and won't take too much or your precious time.

So . . . So . . .
A "Arabian Nights"-era group who are taking gifts from their Caliph to a "Cauccasian" prince, are hunted by a "Vampyr".In order to survive, they accept his wager to tell a tale that is more sad than his.
* POSITIVE ELEMENTS: Self-sacrifice plays a large role in the book.When one of the men is seriously wounded in a fall, the others will not leave him, though it will slow their flight from the monster.At the end of the story, though the monster is getting ready to kill him, one of the protagonists cries for the beast's neverending lonliness.
* SPIRITUAL CONTENT: The majority of the characters are Muslim and constantly offer praise to Allah.Two of the characters claim to be Christian, but flee their faith because the Church won't allow them to marry.They are relatives.The main character speaks of Muslims preaching in front of Christian churches and converting many of them to the "true faith."This is somewhat disconcerting from a Christian perspective, as this book is obviously written on a grade school level and may affect young minds.
* SEXUAL CONTENT: .The book doesn't have any sexual content, per say, though the main character refers to the act by a crude term.Another character, while telling a story, mentions that he, as a young man, was following a girl who had promised sexual activity before disaster strikes.Two relatives marry, leaving their homeland and, presumably, their Christian faith to do so.One of the illustrations shows an Arabian woman in revealing attire.
* VIOLENT CONTENT: People are killed in a number of ways.One man is bludgeoned in the head, another's throat ripped out.Blood is shown to be virtually non-existent on corpses, as the creature that is stalking them feeds on it.
* CRUDE OR PROFANE LANGUAGE:One word.One man uses the phrase, "Am I a Christian or a Jew?" as a swear phrase.
* DRUG AND ALCOHOL CONTENT: The story is being told at a celebration where many of the characters are drunk from too much wine.At one point, a servant drops (and destroys) a barrel of wine.
* OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS: The book leaves one loose end.The main character mentions, in a story that he tells, that he regrets never having seen what was in a package that he delivered to a wealthy woman in his youth.We never find out what this item is.Also, the resolution seems a bit forced.The villain's story is predictable, at best.
Another thing to take into consideration is that this book deals with rather mature subject matter, considering its reading level.I'd say that a sixth grader would be able to read it with full comprehension.The violence and religious viewpoint should be enough to give Christian parents pause.
* CONCLUSION: For an adult, a decent, somewhat unfulfilling read.Not for the kids, though.

Not bad
I've only read _Caliban's Hour_ by Tad Williams but I liked that much better than this book.I've also read some shorter works by Hoffman which I've had mixed feeling on.This seemed more like a long, short story.It did seem rushed because there was a lot in the story. A main setting of some men having dinner and then one of them telling a story and then the characters in that story telling many stories.

As confusing as that sounds it wasn't a confusing read.I like the arabian setting and it was funny at times but nothing really impressed me about it, except for one of the stories told within the main story.

I think it would be more impressive for someone just getting into fantasy as opposed to a veteran.Though as the last reviewer mentioned it may not correctly represent Williams' 'normal' style of writing.

Caution
Hi all,

I'm an absolutely _huge_ fan of Tad Williams.I've read everything out there from Talechaser's Song to Mountain of Black Glass (and read MST three times).I've read both of his shorter works: Child of an Ancient City and Caliban's Hour.In reading Child, I found the prose weaker than what I was accustomed to with Tad: perhaps this was due to the condensed nature or perhaps it was that much of the text was actually written by Nina?I'm undecided.On the whole I enjoyed it more than Caliban's Hour.I would recommend this book to fans of Tad but not to the uninitiated.

A great little read
I am a big fan of Tad Williams Dragonbone chair series. This is different but still very good a nice variation on the traditional vampire story. ... Read more

Product Description
Word count: 1336. ... Read more

Product Description
This stunning finale to the gigantic Otherland tetralogy (City of Golden Shadow, etc.), a brilliant fusion of quest fantasy and technological SF, is sure to please Williams's many fans. Otherland, a complete universe co-existent with the real world, incorporates elements of the Arabian Nights, the Alice and Oz books, the Neanderthal Age, the Trojan War, rewritten Roman history (Hannibal returns three centuries after his death to crush Rome, without elephants), as well as numerous nursery rhymes and fables. An enormous cast of courageous humans confronts monstrous insects, unimaginable dangers and all the appurtenances of fantastic adventure. At nearly 700 pages this is a mighty mouthful to swallow, but a well-crafted if convoluted plot sustains interest through the lengthy climax, which explains the inexplicable. ... Read more

Product Description
A masterpiece of the imagination, THE WAR OF THE FLOWERS is a truly epic novel which once again pushes the boundaries of fantasy fiction into new and unexplored territory. In the great city, in the dimly lit office of an impossibly tall building, two creatures meet. Gold changes hand, and the master of the House of Hellebore gives an order: 'War is coming. The child must die.' In our own world, a young man discovers a manuscript written by his great uncle. It seems to be a novel - a strange fairy tale of fantastic creatures and magical realms. But it is written as a diary ...as if the events were real ...as if his uncle had journeyed to another world. For the young man, the fantasy is about to become reality. Find out more about this title and others at www.orbitbooks.co.uk ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Free SF Reader
A pleasant change to get a decent, stand-alone fantasy novel. Perhaps
urban fantasy lends itself to that more. A normal human, unaware of
some of his heritage or the realms around him, is summoned by a young
fairy into a dangerous other world, and must learn to cope. Politics,
power and a conspiracy are at the heart of this novel of a different
sort of Faerie.


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Product Description
It is June of 1999 and a strange phenomenon has suddenly appeared throughout the world's major cities: giant mirrors which split the cities in half.Dividing natural parkways and cutting buildings in two, these mirrors, are as dangerous as they are beautiful.For soon after it is discovered that people can step through them and enter foreign worlds, it becomes clear that a trip through the Earth's Mirrors is a one-way journey.The mirrors work in only one direction.What started out as a curious odyssey becomes a permanent exile.

Yet despite the imminent threat of banishment, people still cross over the bridge of Mirrors - some to find loved ones stranded on the other side, some to challenge new frontiers, and some to reverse the horrors of what is swarming through the Mirrors to challenge the course of civilization.

For, back on Earth, huge predatory insects are pouring through the Mirrors, killing or carrying away anything living in their path.The Bugs, as they become known, are a deadly plague with which the world I forced to reckon.A plague which both challenges and fuels the Earth's relationship with the Mirrors, as organizations such as the United Nations become involved, symbolizing the harmonious response of the world's nations and many peoples.

The story of the mirrors is revealed through the eyes of Dancer, hero of Mirror World.Thoughtful and brave, Dancer passionately explores the fantastic worlds of the unknown.As he travels through newly established territories such as the city states of Shades and Looking Glass and the downtrodden land of Darklea, we see that the mirrors have created not only an alien civilization but also a new world built upon a the future of hope, love, and a prism of dreams.Amazon.com Review
Only two issues of Tad Williams's popular TechnoComics MirrorWorld series were ever printed--issues 0 and 1. Mirror Worldlaid down an imaginative alternate history for Earth worthy of such anunpredictable and original author: Just before the turn of themillennium, giant mirrors sprang up all over the world, and an army ofsuper-sized insects poured out, capturing countless thousands anddragging them back through the mirrors into the unknown. The mirrorsstuck around, and eventually some humans made the (one-way, theyrealized later) trip to the other side, to an Earth-like--andmysteriously superbug-less--parallel dimension. A number of theseintrepid souls were souped-up "biotroopers," sent by the UN in pursuitof the giant bugs. These biotroopers were the focus of MirrorWorld, and they also provide the common thread in this release.

Strangely, Williams didn't write any of the three stories in therichly illustrated Tad Williams' Mirror World. While he didhand-pick the book's authors, none is quite the equal of the talentedand creative Williams. The writers clearly understand and appreciateWilliams's world, though, and while not entirely polished, theirefforts show enthusiasm and innovation. This book would definitely beat home on the bookshelf of any Mirror World fan, with dozensof illustrations and computer-readout-style dossiers on notablebiotroopers. --Paul Hughes ... Read more