Shadow of the Well of Souls (The Watchers at the Well, Book 2)

• Publisher:   Del Rey
• Number Of Pages:   352
• Publication Date:   1994-07-31
• ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0345388461
• ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780345388469

Immortal, unchanging, the eternal survivor, Nathan Brazil had tired of his long duty as the guardian of the Well World and had enlisted Mavra Chang, space pilot and adventurer, as his companion and equal, sharing with her the godlike power to control the universe's destiny. Now the Well World is changing, and Brazil and Chang have drifted apart . . . but they must work together one more time to stop a new threat to the Well World -- the greatest threat of all . . . .

Jack L. Chalker's return to the Well World universe was much anticipated, and in the end pretty good. This new trilogy, Watchers at the Well, starts with "Echoes of the Well of Souls", continues with "Shadow of the Well of Souls", and concludes with "Gods of the Well of Souls". Long locked away in an ancient prison, a completely alien force found a chink in its prison cell the last time Nathan Brazil, the immortal keeper of the Well World where control of the universe lies, reset the universe. Now it wants out so it can have free reign of the universe and control of the Well World itself. Alerted to the danger at hand, the Well World summons Nathan Brazil and Mavra Chang, his new co-Keeper of the Well, but will they answer the call? Brazil is weary, very weary; keeping watch over the universe for all eternity has taken its toll on him and his is just too tired to deal with it anymore. And Chang, who is now estranged from Brazil, never wanted the responsibility that forced upon her. As the threat to the safety of the universe and the Well World grows and Brazil and Chang ignore the call, the alien entity grows stronger; and, the computer at the heart of the Well World must stop at nothing to get the undivided attention of its keepers before it is too late! If you loved the original Well World series (and who wouldn't?!?), you will most likely want to read this series as well; if you haven't, then stop and read it immediately. >>>>>>><<<<<<< A Guide to my Book Rating System: 1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

These three books are OK. The first sequence (midnight to twilight :) ) are the best and I'm not even going to bother with the other 'Well World' books after these.

My major problem with these is the author seems to have forgotten (or arbitrarily changed) things that happened in Echoes. In Echoes he has two of the entries (by inference Tony and the Colonel) going to specific hexes, but in the Shadow, suddenly Tony is a Dillian (when it was definitely stated only the girl went there in E) and the Colonel is a Leeming.

Also why have the inhabitants of Hakazit changed from the first series? They WERE giant armoured red-eyed lizards and now they are man sized mosquito's. Did Chalker re-read his old stuff?

That's the major problem. There's no consistency. And I've only pointed out a couple of the stuff up's.

This is a pretty good yarn, and Chalker's gift of invention is displayed very well here - unlike in the first book of this series, which took place on Earth for the most part. Here we are back on the beloved Well World, and as usual, much of the enjoyment lies in discovering new alien races. Chalker's plot is not nearly as intense as the original Well series, though - the whole race to the Well seems forced and lacks urgency. Altogether an enjoyable read, but hardly a classic. Not even a pulpy, guilty-pleasure classic like the original series, which I highly recommend.

Jack Chalker's original Well of Souls series (Midnight, Echoes, Quest, Return, Twilight) are classics, possibly the finest science fiction series I have ever read. The three books in this series are horrid, and I don't just mean in relation to the originals. Like many other writers, his energy was spent after the first few series and books, and he has degenerated into rehashing formaulaic bad prose over and over. Where he used to "show" what was happening, he now spends endless pages "tell"ing in justification of the poor choices his characters make in far fetched plot. The outcome was thoroghly predictable. The plot was the most forced plot I can ever remember reading. The lectures at the end were insufferable. Please avoid. And please read the originals - not to be missed!

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