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tome15's review against another edition
4.0
Chalker, Jack L. Midnight at the Well of Souls. 1977. Well of Souls No. 1. Baen, 2002.
Jack Chalker’s first novel, Midnight at the Well of Souls, was an immediate hit and elevated him from a fan and hobbyist to a professional at the top of his field, a position he maintained for more than two decades, powered mainly by the Well World series. Science fiction fans knew him as one of their own. Protagonist Nathan Brazil is a grizzled old freighter captain ferrying his cargo and a few passengers between stars. A distress call forces him to land on an uncharted planet, where he discovers a group of murdered humans. Then his shuttle disappears, and he and his party are led into a labyrinth of multiple biospheres run by a planet-scale AI with the ability to alter their bodies and transfer their consciousnesses at will. Nathan Brazil, it also turns out, is not what he seems. Chalker’s influences were many. Among those he cites are Jack Vance, with whom he shared a penchant for blending myth and science. Like most science fiction authors of the time, he was also influenced by Robert Heinlein, from whom learned something about giving his characters individualized voices. He also notes the influence of James White, with whom he shared the ability to create precisely described alien biology and large-scale artificial habitats. Midnight at the Well of Souls was published just a few years after Larry Niven’s Ringworld and Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, both of which offer models for large-scale multiple biospheres. Brazil is a wonderful character, and I remember that when I first read Midnight, I became impatient whenever he was offstage. Chalker is not as much read these days, but I enjoyed getting reacquainted with him. Four stars.
Jack Chalker’s first novel, Midnight at the Well of Souls, was an immediate hit and elevated him from a fan and hobbyist to a professional at the top of his field, a position he maintained for more than two decades, powered mainly by the Well World series. Science fiction fans knew him as one of their own. Protagonist Nathan Brazil is a grizzled old freighter captain ferrying his cargo and a few passengers between stars. A distress call forces him to land on an uncharted planet, where he discovers a group of murdered humans. Then his shuttle disappears, and he and his party are led into a labyrinth of multiple biospheres run by a planet-scale AI with the ability to alter their bodies and transfer their consciousnesses at will. Nathan Brazil, it also turns out, is not what he seems. Chalker’s influences were many. Among those he cites are Jack Vance, with whom he shared a penchant for blending myth and science. Like most science fiction authors of the time, he was also influenced by Robert Heinlein, from whom learned something about giving his characters individualized voices. He also notes the influence of James White, with whom he shared the ability to create precisely described alien biology and large-scale artificial habitats. Midnight at the Well of Souls was published just a few years after Larry Niven’s Ringworld and Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, both of which offer models for large-scale multiple biospheres. Brazil is a wonderful character, and I remember that when I first read Midnight, I became impatient whenever he was offstage. Chalker is not as much read these days, but I enjoyed getting reacquainted with him. Four stars.
bdplume's review against another edition
5.0
I got SO into this series; very imaginative and I love the characters.
jwells's review against another edition
Enjoyable page turner with a wild setting. It reminds me a bit of [b:Titan|49838|Titan (Gaea, #1)|John Varley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388244043l/49838._SY75_.jpg|2777504], which also starts out clearly within the realm of science fiction, only to gradually develop the feel of a fantasy quest, with a small party on a great quest. (They both even feature centaurs. Were sexy female centaurs a fixation in the 70s?) People sometimes talk as if mixing sci fi and fantasy were a new innovation, but clearly folks have been doing it for a while. Maybe it's a trend that comes and goes.
I appreciate this book's decent (for its time) LGBT representation: It's not a major feature of the book, but it's progressive compared to some sf/f of its time.
Reading some of the other reviews here, I have to agree that
* the prose of this book is clunky. I stayed with the book mostly for the fabulous world.
* Chalker has a weird thing about pointing out vaginas in descriptions, and describing them weirdly. (A vagina doesn't typically look like a gaping hole or "cavity," Jack...? )
* I saw one big "reveal" coming miles away ( was pretty obvious) but I still kept reading because I wanted to see what Chalker's endless inventiveness would throw into the book next. I'm planning to read more of the series for the same reason.
* I hope if I ever go to the Well I end up as a centaur, or at least a mermaid, not a freaking GIANT BUG UGH
I appreciate this book's decent (for its time) LGBT representation:
Spoiler
Nathan casually says he was married to men as well as women in his past; WuJu mentions her same-sex attraction to her wife within her polyamorous centaur marriage, and later she wishes to be a man (and gets her wish!).Reading some of the other reviews here, I have to agree that
* the prose of this book is clunky. I stayed with the book mostly for the fabulous world.
* Chalker has a weird thing about pointing out vaginas in descriptions, and describing them weirdly. (A vagina doesn't typically look like a gaping hole or "cavity," Jack...? )
* I saw one big "reveal" coming miles away (
Spoiler
the identity of Cousin Bat* I hope if I ever go to the Well I end up as a centaur, or at least a mermaid, not a freaking GIANT BUG UGH
carolined314's review against another edition
4.0
This book has lots of fun thought experiments, and enough of a plot and sense of character to pull it off. It's got some marvelously alien sensual descriptions--the process of sentient beings rooting at night made me laugh out loud.
ryano1124's review against another edition
2.0
Changes pace far too often to be an "easy read" and pretty blatantly rips off Ringworld.
wrencameron's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It is a highly intelligent novel that uses the freedom in settings, time and species a Science Fiction offers to explore philosophical questions about the flaws of mankind, it's destiny and it's potential entertainingly embedded in an adventure story.
naturalistnatalie's review against another edition
3.0
A middle of the road book with nothing too exciting, but nothing too annoying, either. The middle section was my favorite. It was a journey through a variety of ecosystems and aliens to see which group would reach the goal first. I loved the inventiveness of the different environments in each hex. The end, on the other hand, I thought was lame. Turns out, our main character is the creator of the universe, and therefore, he's been alive since the universe has come into being. No one wants to mess with controls of the universe because of the potential to wipe out entire races, so Brazil wins without any fighting. There was this big build-up and then nothing. I can't believe there are seven books in this series. What else is there to tell in this story?
vailynst's review against another edition
3.0
Mini-Review:
4 Stars for Narration, 3 Stars for Story
I found the idea of the Well of Souls to be really interesting and I enjoyed the different kinds of intelligent species that made up the various Hexes. I thought the author did a great job in hinting at who Nathan Brazil really was without saying it outright. However, when it all came out, I was underwhelmed by the delivery.
I look forward to seeing what else happens in the series but I'm not in a rush to jump into it right away.
4 Stars for Narration, 3 Stars for Story
I found the idea of the Well of Souls to be really interesting and I enjoyed the different kinds of intelligent species that made up the various Hexes. I thought the author did a great job in hinting at who Nathan Brazil really was without saying it outright. However, when it all came out, I was underwhelmed by the delivery.
I look forward to seeing what else happens in the series but I'm not in a rush to jump into it right away.
theatlantean's review against another edition
3.0
All the elements are there, the characters are good, and the reveal is excellent. I loved the mythology of the story, and how it came to completion.... but there was something missing - a failure to fully live up to the potential you feel it should from such an excellently-realised and fairly original idea....
I feel I can't fully rate this until I have read the others.... but the fact I am considering the next one must count for something. At the moment a 3.5.....
I feel I can't fully rate this until I have read the others.... but the fact I am considering the next one must count for something. At the moment a 3.5.....
reubend1ca9's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
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