Scan barcode
A review by tome15
Midnight at the Well of Souls by Jack L. Chalker
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.