IN OTHER WORLDS [Mass Market Paperback]

By showing one human's treck into the Werld (the time/space bubble at the rim of the universal blackhole) and the Zolt and Rimstalkers in their own domain it manages to help flesh out the much larger story, Last Legends of Earth. I will admit, this is a short one and might not be to as many people's liking. HOWEVER, this book adds so much to the later struggle through its little details, while its story is still very good, that it is instantly a must have to fans of Attanasio's sci-fi work. The 5 space minds (the eld skyles) also help to show that no matter how powerful the beings, there is always something else more powerful (a very nice counter balance to the Zolt and the Rimstalkers in Last Legends of Earth).

This book lacks some of the literary flow of the later books, and some of the details are less fleshed out, making this more a testing of ideas for the later books, versus an actual first book in itslef. But don't be deceived, even it you NEVER read and of the author's great books, this is a book unto itself. The light lanced armor is a nice peace of technological creation. Very much a imaginative work in its own right. When the combat takes place with Space/time weapons, and gravity waves, with everything being protected by a different artificial space time distortion the size of a quarter, well just read the book and appreciate the more simplistic tale that still has all of the great elements of his later much more complex works.

A nice book to build you up to his grand masterpiece, the Last Legends of Earth.

Enjoy!

The story is about Carl Schirmer, a nerdish accountant transported into a world of floating islands and strange creatures, located in a bubble inside a black hole. A living island with powers over space-time gives Carl a new improved body in return for doing various life-saving tasks. It is in this book that Attanasio introduces the villainous Zotl, perhaps the most evil alien beings in all of SF, and their enemies, the mysterious Rimstalkers. Both species return for a final showdown, in _The Last Legends of Earth_.

_In Other Worlds_ is fast-paced and enjoyable. While not of the same calibre as _Radix_ and _The Last Legends of Earth_, it is far easier to read. Most readers would also find it easier to identify with the hero, and other characters, of this novel than those of _Radix_. However, Attanasio crams too many elements, too many gadgets, into the plot, and that detracts from the main story of Carl, his quest, and his love interest(s).

Though an excellent fantasy writer, and imaginative as hell, Attanasio has trouble with the science in science-fiction. That could explain why he switched to fantasy later on. The science in _In Other Worlds_ is no better than that of Star Trek, sad to say.