Past Midnight

Okay, that took a little longer than expected, but I started reading Thoreau's Walden also.  (I'm bad for reading two or three books at the same time.  Sometimes four or five.  My record, which included an audio book, was seven.)   I was going between chapters for a bit, but finally just sat down today to finish Midnight.

How sould I put this?  Um . . . Wow, comes to mind.  When last we parted, I told you about the hook with Nathan Brazil.  Anyway, this grand construct of the Well World, in fact, becomes just an ordinary setting (well, as ordinary as an artificially created world can be).  All the mysteries around Brazil are slowly revealed in the grand quest to make it to the legendary Well of Souls.  Everything that I hypothezied about the character wasn't just wrong - it wasn't even close.  He truly must be one of the most unique and remarkable characters ever created.  I cannot believe I waited so long to read this book.

Speaking of which, Midnight at the Well of Souls is the first of a series, but it can be read as a stand alone novel.  I don't know if Chalker wrote this book then the others to hook into the enthusiasm of his readers or if there was a grand plan from the beginning.  Whatever it may be, this is one of the great books that has a definite beginning, middle, and end, that isn't afraid to explore incredible ideas.  I highly recommend it.  Highly.  And while I desperately want to dive into the second book, I do not feel cheated or compelled to read it the way a lot of authors today get their readers to do by having cruel and obvious cliffhangers.  I can now finish my other reading, while merely looking forward to seeing how, and if, Chalker was able to top himself.

Unfortunately, I think this book is out of print.  I know Baen picked it up a few years ago.  But as I said before, the do have the ebook available, and you don't have to buy the whole series.  Hold a sec . . . yep, I was right.  You can get Midnight for $4.00.  It is a very worthy investment. 

Here's the link to save you some typing:  Midnight at the Well of Souls.

Enjoy!

My First Visit to the Well World

About twenty-five years ago or so, a friend suggested I read Jack Chalker's Midnight at the Well of Souls.  I was on a strick diet of sword and sorcery at the time - Howard, Leiber, Moorcock, and the like - so, sadly I never got around to it.  I believe I even bought a copy at the time.  Anyway, I was browsing the ebooks over at Baen.com, and lo and behold, what do I find?  The complete Well World saga.  I bought every book and have started reading the first.

All I can say is that I could kick myself for waiting so long.  Well, I guess I should qualify that I'm only approximately 50% through the first book (Midnight), but I can tell I'm going to be reading the rest.  I like Chalker's style a lot.  I find it easy to read, even when he's talking about ancient super-computers.  Initially, I thought it was going to be a lot like Niven's Ringworld in that the setting is the prime attraction.  Now, let me say I love Ringworld, and it remains one of my favorite science fiction novels.  But sometimes it seems that the characters are there primarily to explore the setting.  I don't have a problem with those types of books at all as long as the setting continues to fascinate.  The first half of Midnight did that for me, but it was at that halfway point that Chalker hooked me for the rest of the ride. 

The main character, Nathan Brazil, was interesting enough up to the mid point.  There were some hints that he was definitely different from everybody around him, but now, it's like - BAM! - he's different from anybody in the entire galaxy.   I hated setting the book down this morning to go to work.  Don't want to give any spoilers - but what a hook!

Quite Quotable

"The only thing that makes something impossible is ignorance."

Jack L. Chalker, Midnight at the Well of Souls