The second book in the Tad Williams Otherland series (some would say epic).
Otherland - a Sci-Fi series, highly similar to William Gibson's Necromancer, is based in a world of VR inspired networking, with cross cultural elements into the real world. The premise for these particular stories is about our group of heroes who they have all lost child friends (or loved ones) and are searching for them in a 'new' and secret component of the VR network.
Book one introduced us to the major characters, and book two feeds us more of this world's mysteries. The reader is drawn down a number of divergent paths and storylines, a few of which seem to have little or no bearing on each other. It is these broad storylines, in a well created world that continues to keep the reader enthralled and struggling through the large text, that Tad seems to churn out.
Without giving away any
major plotlines a few of the side interests are (these should be specific enough to persons reading the books, but gives NOTHING away); The
Australian police have started to track down Dread;
!Xabbu and Rennie gain an understanding of the
otherland network; the discovery is made over which 'sim'
Dread is using; Paul Jonas gets a clue; Del Ray and Rennie's Father team up.
Well paced and intriguing, this book swaps characters and storylines with good frequency and should continue to satisfy many readers' requirements.