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Spider World #2
The Tower
Among the multitude of tiny life forms who share our planet, there is one that inspires fear by its mere existence. Imagine a world where such creatures are no longer small where the few remaining humans must spend their lives in hiding or become servants of that which they most fear: creatures who use their terror-inspiring abilities to paralyze the minds of
those who might oppose them. But one boy has the gift of seeing into the minds of other living things, disclosing them for what they are; and suddenly it is the masters who are afraid.
This 1988 edition is the first - and so far only - version of "The Tower" that does not include the contents of "The Desert" and "The Fortress"; all other editions, including the original 1987 one, combine the three books into a single volume, also called "The Tower".
those who might oppose them. But one boy has the gift of seeing into the minds of other living things, disclosing them for what they are; and suddenly it is the masters who are afraid.
This 1988 edition is the first - and so far only - version of "The Tower" that does not include the contents of "The Desert" and "The Fortress"; all other editions, including the original 1987 one, combine the three books into a single volume, also called "The Tower".
- GenresScience FictionFantasy
181 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 9, 2015
In Colin Wilsons’ “The Tower,” the first installment of the Spider World Chronicles, we are invited to step through time, to a world far unlike our own gentle blue planet. Far into the future, mankind has not only been replaced as the dominant species, but subjugated to the will of the insects. In this world, the Arthropods have grown to gigantic proportions and have developed a taste for human flesh. At the top of the food chain rest the spiders, a terror beyond imagination, dwelling in their fallen cities while their gray cobwebs stretch far above and humans bow to their indomitable rule. On the outskirts of the desert, Niall and his family struggle to survive in an unforgiving environment, the threat of discovery ever present. When their worst fears come to life, Niall must do all he can to stay alive as he pieces together the history of mankind and is inevitably faced with a choice: Continue to live under oppression and servitude, or rise up and risk it all in a bid for freedom.
When I first read the preview for this book (back cover and amazon), I was all for a futuristic tale of battling giant bugs. Going through it, I was drawn in to the trials our hero and his family faced in their everyday struggles, ranging from drought and starvation to getting caught in the middle of ant warfare. While the first part focused on their having to scratch out a meager existence, the second and third finally saw the reveal of the spider overlords, the depth to which mankind has fallen, and the desperation to which they will go to achieve independence. However, it was clear that proofreading was ignored or the author desperately wanted to create his own rules. Mainly, the issue of balance in the ecosystem and how this was not consistent with the way reality works. The bugs have grown to giant proportions with the spiders being big enough to pose a serious threat (assuming at least 4 feet long as we are never actually told). The ants are, however, said to be between 2-4 feet; that’s quite a difference in increase in size for an ant compared to a spider. At one point, the hero watches as a 6 inch wasp attacks and kills a trapdoor spider. I don’t care how virulent the toxin is, there is no way a 6 inch wasp would go after a spider big enough to eat people. Also, if the bugs have all gotten bigger, it stands to reason the birds and fish (you know, everything that was feeding on the bugs before) would be big too, right? Wrong. The birds and fish have remained the same as they are now, so how have they managed to survive this long? We’re never actually told how far into the future we are when our story takes place, but it’s at least several hundred years after humans took off for other planets, which we learn to be at the end of the 21st century. Perhaps all this is explained in the next books, but I probably won’t take the time to find out.
When I first read the preview for this book (back cover and amazon), I was all for a futuristic tale of battling giant bugs. Going through it, I was drawn in to the trials our hero and his family faced in their everyday struggles, ranging from drought and starvation to getting caught in the middle of ant warfare. While the first part focused on their having to scratch out a meager existence, the second and third finally saw the reveal of the spider overlords, the depth to which mankind has fallen, and the desperation to which they will go to achieve independence. However, it was clear that proofreading was ignored or the author desperately wanted to create his own rules. Mainly, the issue of balance in the ecosystem and how this was not consistent with the way reality works. The bugs have grown to giant proportions with the spiders being big enough to pose a serious threat (assuming at least 4 feet long as we are never actually told). The ants are, however, said to be between 2-4 feet; that’s quite a difference in increase in size for an ant compared to a spider. At one point, the hero watches as a 6 inch wasp attacks and kills a trapdoor spider. I don’t care how virulent the toxin is, there is no way a 6 inch wasp would go after a spider big enough to eat people. Also, if the bugs have all gotten bigger, it stands to reason the birds and fish (you know, everything that was feeding on the bugs before) would be big too, right? Wrong. The birds and fish have remained the same as they are now, so how have they managed to survive this long? We’re never actually told how far into the future we are when our story takes place, but it’s at least several hundred years after humans took off for other planets, which we learn to be at the end of the 21st century. Perhaps all this is explained in the next books, but I probably won’t take the time to find out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2014
I must read more books from Colin Wilson. He enchants me. Since that book I respect spiders.
The story was wonderful with the desert inhabitants and the survival struggle to live. For me. it was also an apocalyptic story that teaches us many things about future surviving.
5 stars.
The story was wonderful with the desert inhabitants and the survival struggle to live. For me. it was also an apocalyptic story that teaches us many things about future surviving.
5 stars.
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October 23, 2025Once the Earth was ruled by human, and insects were very small, with even the largest no bigger than a man's fist. But now, in the 25th century, humans serve giant beetles and spiders as slaves and often as food.Slaves all, or servants—except for those who live in the desert, spending most of their time underground. For Niall and his family, life is hard, but together they eke out an existence until the day Niall does what was said to be impossible:He kills a spider.This powerful act brings Niall to the attention and seat of the Spider Lord. But as he finds himself deep within the hostile city of the spiders, Niall also meets allies: Odina, a spider servant born and bred, and Bill, no mere man but an honorary beetle.Niall's special gift makes him useful to the spiders, who want access to their city's greatest mystery: an impenetrable white tower. But Niall alone can enter, and what he finds inside are the very facts of our planet's history and humanity's last chance for freedom and a future.Armed with the secrets of the white tower, the humans mount an epic struggle for power against the vast and brutal forces of the tyrannical Spider Lord.
March 16, 2022
Niall's family is taken captive by the spiders!
Niall tries to rescue them, and he is taken too!
They are taken as prisoners into the dark heart of the spider kingdom.
In the aftermath of the Earth passing through a radioactive comet tail, all life seems to have developed a modest telepathic ability, but it begins to appear that Niall himself is special in this regard.
When all hope seems to be lost, a relic of the old human civilization is discovered.
Niall tries to rescue them, and he is taken too!
They are taken as prisoners into the dark heart of the spider kingdom.
In the aftermath of the Earth passing through a radioactive comet tail, all life seems to have developed a modest telepathic ability, but it begins to appear that Niall himself is special in this regard.
When all hope seems to be lost, a relic of the old human civilization is discovered.
October 10, 2024
This does not read like a novel from 1987... some of its predictions about technology and the present-day make me worry for our own society, given how much further along we are in some respects. And that's just an aside, what a great climax to the events of the previous book! I don't love giant bugs in the real world, but I damn well do in this one.
August 10, 2021
Interesting, but it gave me a stronger blast 30 years ago!
September 12, 2022
Can't get enough of giant psychic spiders.
June 16, 2023
Pretty good sequel to a very good first book, though the history & science lesson at the end was a bit overdone.
December 13, 2014
This is volume one of a great series. Certainly the first three books in this series are very good sci-fi adventure novels, the fourth one gets a bit long but still worth finishing. The Tower is book one and is probably the best one of the series. Read this if you like classic sci-fi adventure.
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March 20, 2018дуже удручяє, шо головний герой кохає усіх жінок, яких зустрічає.
а так - норм.
а так - норм.
December 20, 2018
beginning was nice
midway was truly nice
the end was N I C E
top tier sequel
midway was truly nice
the end was N I C E
top tier sequel
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews