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Otherworld #1-4
Otherworld
fantasy epic in the Amazon.
- GenresScience Fiction
399 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 24, 2018
I picked up this book in the "Sci-Fi/Fantasy" section of Half-Price Books a while ago because the premise described on the back cover—"Otherworld - luminous with love and possibility, pulsing with violence and dread"—sounded intriguing.
SPOILERS AHEAD, PROBABLY
The book is much better classified as fantasy than sci-fi, IMHO, as the main conflict of the story seems to mix somewhat-generic Native American mysticism with Christian theology. As an account of life in and near the Amazon basin, the book does a good job. The author creates a vivid setting, with a Catholic mission and a rubber plantation set in opposition to one another near the Brazilian city of Manaus, located along the Amazon River. The characters are generally well-written and well-rounded.
The book is divided into three major sections, each told in third-person with a focus on a particular character. The first section focuses on Father Benedict, a priest at the mission. The second focuses on Alex, the innocent teenage son of the cruel rubber baron who owns the plantation. I'll get to the third section in a moment.
We know Alex is innocent because the book keeps telling us that he is innocent. Both characters' worlds are shaken when Laura, an American photojournalist, arrives at the mission on an assignment. Laura, we are told, is a strikingly beautiful redhead with some rather strange ideas. Father Benedict finds his faith shaken because of his feelings for her, while Alex is shocked out of his innocence by young teenage love/lust. The part of the book that covers Alex's point of view might be the most comprehensive account I've ever seen of the confusion and distress of being a teenage boy in love with an unattainable woman. By "comprehensive," I mean both that it fully immerses the reader in the hormone-addled mind of the teenage boy, and that it goes on at incredibly great length.
Throughout all of this, we periodically hear about the Yano, who live deep in the jungle, who play their drums quite loudly throughout the night, and whom almost no one has seen and lived to tell the tale. It's clear from about page ten that the Yano will feature prominently in the central conflict of the story, but we don't get to that for a very long time. There are also mysterious lights in the jungle that occur along with the drumming.
About 2/3 of the book is essentially a "love quadrangle," with Father Benedict, Alex, and Alex's father all vying for Laura's attention and affection. Laura, meanwhile, is wrestling with her own demons, which include a fascination with the Yano. The "action" of the story doesn't really start until near the end of the second part. I won't tell you what happens, but by not telling you, I have to be a bit coy about the third part of the book.
The third—and last—major part of the book (before the epilogue section) picks up more than a year after the end of the second. It features the point of view of Avril, an English girl who is dating Alex, who went home to England after the end of the second part. Avril has accompanied Alex to Brazil, where he is hoping to unravel the mystery of what happened to various characters (mainly Laura).
That's about all I can tell you without major spoilers. By way of criticism, I'll just say that it took over 200 pages for a major complicating event to occur (other than Laura's arrival in Brazil). Then, upon Alex's return to Brazil, the book spends almost another 100 pages describing the scenery and Alex's relationship with Avril, before they finally set off into the jungle. In a 399-page book, the "Otherworld" wasn't even mentioned until about page 370.
Long story short, it wasn't the sort of book I was expecting, but it was interesting enough that I read the whole thing. I gave it three stars for scenery and character development. IMHO, it falls short in pacing and story development. YMMV.
A few other comments:
- The author describes snakes as being "slimy" on several occasions, which seems like something of a rookie mistake. The author is definitely not a rookie, though.
- This is a book written by an English author, published in 1984, and set in Brazil. It focuses heavily on the perspective of white people, primarily Father Benedict, Alex, Alex's father, Avril, and Laura, but it includes a number of Brazilian and native characters that play prominent roles in the story and are not just there as plot service for the main characters. It has the archetypes of the "wise old Indian" and the "young exotic woman," but they are allowed to be more than just stereotypes.
SPOILERS AHEAD, PROBABLY
The book is much better classified as fantasy than sci-fi, IMHO, as the main conflict of the story seems to mix somewhat-generic Native American mysticism with Christian theology. As an account of life in and near the Amazon basin, the book does a good job. The author creates a vivid setting, with a Catholic mission and a rubber plantation set in opposition to one another near the Brazilian city of Manaus, located along the Amazon River. The characters are generally well-written and well-rounded.
The book is divided into three major sections, each told in third-person with a focus on a particular character. The first section focuses on Father Benedict, a priest at the mission. The second focuses on Alex, the innocent teenage son of the cruel rubber baron who owns the plantation. I'll get to the third section in a moment.
We know Alex is innocent because the book keeps telling us that he is innocent. Both characters' worlds are shaken when Laura, an American photojournalist, arrives at the mission on an assignment. Laura, we are told, is a strikingly beautiful redhead with some rather strange ideas. Father Benedict finds his faith shaken because of his feelings for her, while Alex is shocked out of his innocence by young teenage love/lust. The part of the book that covers Alex's point of view might be the most comprehensive account I've ever seen of the confusion and distress of being a teenage boy in love with an unattainable woman. By "comprehensive," I mean both that it fully immerses the reader in the hormone-addled mind of the teenage boy, and that it goes on at incredibly great length.
Throughout all of this, we periodically hear about the Yano, who live deep in the jungle, who play their drums quite loudly throughout the night, and whom almost no one has seen and lived to tell the tale. It's clear from about page ten that the Yano will feature prominently in the central conflict of the story, but we don't get to that for a very long time. There are also mysterious lights in the jungle that occur along with the drumming.
About 2/3 of the book is essentially a "love quadrangle," with Father Benedict, Alex, and Alex's father all vying for Laura's attention and affection. Laura, meanwhile, is wrestling with her own demons, which include a fascination with the Yano. The "action" of the story doesn't really start until near the end of the second part. I won't tell you what happens, but by not telling you, I have to be a bit coy about the third part of the book.
The third—and last—major part of the book (before the epilogue section) picks up more than a year after the end of the second. It features the point of view of Avril, an English girl who is dating Alex, who went home to England after the end of the second part. Avril has accompanied Alex to Brazil, where he is hoping to unravel the mystery of what happened to various characters (mainly Laura).
That's about all I can tell you without major spoilers. By way of criticism, I'll just say that it took over 200 pages for a major complicating event to occur (other than Laura's arrival in Brazil). Then, upon Alex's return to Brazil, the book spends almost another 100 pages describing the scenery and Alex's relationship with Avril, before they finally set off into the jungle. In a 399-page book, the "Otherworld" wasn't even mentioned until about page 370.
Long story short, it wasn't the sort of book I was expecting, but it was interesting enough that I read the whole thing. I gave it three stars for scenery and character development. IMHO, it falls short in pacing and story development. YMMV.
A few other comments:
- The author describes snakes as being "slimy" on several occasions, which seems like something of a rookie mistake. The author is definitely not a rookie, though.
- This is a book written by an English author, published in 1984, and set in Brazil. It focuses heavily on the perspective of white people, primarily Father Benedict, Alex, Alex's father, Avril, and Laura, but it includes a number of Brazilian and native characters that play prominent roles in the story and are not just there as plot service for the main characters. It has the archetypes of the "wise old Indian" and the "young exotic woman," but they are allowed to be more than just stereotypes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2009
Although well written, I was a bit disappointed. If this had been the first book by Harbinson I'd read I probably would have loved it more. But after the Project Saucer series this one was a lesser work.
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August 23, 2008isbn,original
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews