A review by the_pale_woman
Mountain of Black Glass by Tad Williams

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

4.0

I found this book to be more enjoyable than the first two books in the series. It benefited from more structure and a tighter focus. This whole series revolves around a VR world called Otherland, but that setting wasn't utilized to its potential, in my opinion, until this book. The second book takes you to many worlds, but it feels too predictable and too chaotic all at the same time. It even acknowledges its use of old ideas, so that particular story aesthetic was very much intentional. While I understood and gained insight with that intent, it failed to add any enjoyment to that sequence of worlds and events. 

This third book felt much more imaginative even though it only visited a few worlds. The use of existing worlds was more satisfying as well. You might even enjoy it more than me if you're more knowledgeable about the Odyssey and the Iliad. Beyond that, this book felt more rounded, more thought out, and more substantial. It has me excited to continue and conclude this beast of a sci-fi series.