| Title | : | Quest for the Well of Souls (Saga of the Well World, #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0743471539 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780743471534 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 352 |
| Publication | : | First published November 1, 1978 |
Exiles at the Well of Souls left Mavra Chang captured by the Olborn and partially converted into a beast of burden. Twenty-two years later, Chang has tried to escape numerous times, failing each time...each attempt leading to greater despair.
Moreover, one of two tiny hopes has already been destroyed. Two ships had crashed into the Well World: hers in the south and another in the inhospitable Northern Hemisphere. The attempt to recover her ship has ended in the destruction of that ship.
But a possible method of traveling to the North may offer a final hope and it ignites a new race between Mavra and her enemies...with the winner poised to gain control of Obie...the super-computer that can manipulate the very fabric of existence.
Quest for the Well of Souls is the third book set in the Well World universe.
Quest for the Well of Souls (Saga of the Well World, #3) Reviews
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As Chalker mentions in a brief introduction, the Quest for the Well of Souls is really the second half of a novel he called Wars of the Well, the first part being Exiles of he Well of Souls, with Midnight at the Well of Souls being a prequel. Whew. Chalker (or his editor) did try to make this something of a standalone, but only by having the first 30 pages or so being large info dumps concerning the first part of the original novel Wars.... I mentioned in my review of Exiles... that is just ended rather than reaching a conclusion and now it makes sense.
Quest picks up about 22 years after the first part of the novel, that is, after the failure of two Southern alliances to reclaim the engine module of the crashed shuttle. There is still the shuttle that crash landed in the Northern area, but it landed in a non-tech zone and the North (Hexes of non-carbon based life forms) is off limits to the Southern species, which are all carbon based. After 22 years, however, some folks in the South finally found a way to retrieve the last ship. If they can get it, and fly it to New Pompeii, they will be able to control Well World, and therefore, the universe.
This parallels the first half of the planned novel, with two alliances both trying to get to the ship first. Yet, the North is a different kettle of fist from the South, and the political intrigue is upped a notch or two. Mavra Chang, sequestered in her deformed state on an island, is still one of the only pilots on Well World who can fly the shuttle, but she wants no part of it and foments an escape plan, so much of the novel is her escape and the two rival alliances coming into being. A fun novel, and would have been better without the info dumps at the start. 3.5 stars, rounding up! -
Pleased sigh. Such a satisfying conclusion to this half of the story. Life, death, love, sacrifice, double-crosses, triple-crosses... so good.
As the saying goes, a book is different each time you read it, not because the book has changed, but because you have. Just as I didn’t twig to the fact that Yulin was a Muslim of Middle Eastern descent, it never occurred to me that the supercomputer Obie, who can manipulate the mathematics of the universe to change anything in something else, is, in effect, a genie. And like a djinn of old, you really, really have to be careful what you ask for.
Another cool thing: the number 117 has followed me around my entire life. I could go on for pages (and ages) about the weird coincidences that have turned it up repeatedly. I’ve found in my rereads of favorite books of my youth that the number shows up time after time. For instance, in the Terran Trade Authority book
Spacecraft: 2000-2100 AD, which I read the very same month as I read this book back in 1978, the very first spaceship is numbered 117. (See it here:
https://thetrove.net/Resources/_GM%20...)
A 117 turns up here, too. This is how the number works in my life.
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This was another series that really got good as it went on. I really enjoyed it, but it was a slow build.
Bulk input day. -
Just utter disappointment from beginning to end.
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OK, that's enough for me.
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More horrifying than any of the near-Human Centipede level transformation shit in this series, is that I'm almost starting to enjoy it.
In a reverse of the previous book, there's adventure first, trying to get back to where it all started, and prevent Obie from being used for evil and possibly even destroying the universe. For reasons unknown I found the locations more compelling this time, and the intersecting conspiracies were entertainingly messy. Chalker also avoided too much deus ex machina in the resolution this time, with the end mostly being accomplished via the previously established abilities of the protagonists and antagonists. -
I first read this ages ago and found it to be fascinating. I was young. I've been trying to get through it but it's been a bit of a slog. Have to give up on it.
In short, godlike beings beta test new races on this one planet and then seed the galaxy with them. The betas remain since the gods are seemingly gone.
It's a fantasy story with science fiction trappings. My biggest issue with it is the pace. Things move along exceedingly slowly. Whole passages of time take place off-screen but what we do see moves at a snail's pace.
I'm not saying the book is bed. I got a lot of enjoyment out of it in my youth. I'm not saying it's only for young readers. The whole plot is interesting. Maybe at some point I'll return to it but not right now. -
I kept waiting through two books to find out what happened to Nikki, and I was disappointed. I thought she would have gone through the Well and grown up into one of the awesome characters we had got to know. It was twenty-some years after all! but no, she never got to become a character at all, just fat daughter and then villain's brainwashed love slave. BOO.
The brainwashed love slave thing is creepy AF. I get that it's the villain being villainous, but jeez. -
Whilst better than the previous entry, it actually retroactively made the prior book even worse, since it follows almost the exact same plot - multiple competing groups race to get to a remote and treacherous location in order to gain control of the MacGuffin that will get them off the Well World - except done better. Less (though still some) name-dropping of numerous species and characters, better action, and an actual conclusion. The Well World novels are back on track!
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More like a 3.5, its a good book but suffers from the fact that it was supposed to be part of a single book with the preceding one. This caused a bit of redundancy, over explanation and the like but other than that its pretty good. I'm not sure about continuing the series but I fear it will drag and die like too many series kept alive to keep the author fed.
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Excellent 'guilty pleasure' SF.
I liked other Chalker books because the ideas an universes he created gave me a fresh perspective. As this is his third Well book those effects are less in this one. The story telling is page turny enough though. -
As per usual for the Well of Souls series, the writing style and editing aren't very good, but the story, characters, and world building are so entertaining, I don't mind. Also, love it or hate it, that cover is unforgettable.
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I grew up with this book. This is probably the 5th or 6th time I've read it in my life. As I age, the meanings in this book become more apparent to me. Its a good book and I think more people should read it.
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Just a heads-up: this gets really rape-y toward the end.
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Fun
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Jack L. Chalker's "Quest for the Well of Souls" is the third book in his seven volume "Well World Saga." It's also the second book of a two book sub-series introducing Mavra Chang. And, even though the rating shows up here as 4 stars out of 5, I'm really rating it at 3-1/2 stars out of 5. Regarding style and content, there are no surprises here: it's Chalker through and through, it's the Well World, and it nicely ties up where we were left hanging at the end of "Exiles at the Well of Souls" 22 story years ago. One thing that had me wondering if I ought to drop my rating all the way down to 3 stars is the way Chalker has mixed up the teams of characters. Instead of having a team of good guys and a team of bad guys, we've got multiple teams of both good and bad guys. It sort of makes it hard to root for the home team when it's not really your home team. Still, it's worth reading if only to tie up the loose ends from the previous book.
The books in Jack L. Chalker's "Well World Saga" are:
1. Midnight at the Well of Souls (Well World Saga: Volume 1)
2. Exiles at the Well of Souls (Well World Saga: Volume 2)
3. Quest for the Well of Souls (Well World Saga: Volume 3)
4. The Return of Nathan Brazil (The Well of Souls Book 4)
5. Twilight at the Well of Souls: The Legacy of Nathan Brazil
6. The Sea Is Full of Stars (The Well of Souls)
7. Ghost of the Well of Souls -
Chalker has spun an exciting sci-fi tale set on a strange world made up of an endless number of hex-shaped zones, each one containing a totally different species. While the numerous descriptions of each succeeding alien race might get a little dizzying, even monotonous at times, the action speeds along at a furious pace to an exciting conclusion. There are cliffhangers-a-plenty and after I got past the first chapter or two (which contained a lot catch-up info intended for those who haven't read the first book) I couldn't put the book down. As inferred, this is the second book in a two-part novel, and while it's not entirely necessary, I would suggest reading the first book, Exile at the well of Souls, first. I didn't and often wished I had.
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[2024] When I started this reread with Exiles, I wanted some Marva Chang to lighten the doom. Now that the orange guy and ilk are running scared, well, less doom. And as was six years ago, still a great (re)read. I’ve got a couple of ARCs to finish and more than a few in the queue before I think about Return… at least that’s my story and I may or may not stick to it.
[2018] These number among what I call "comfort" books. People have comfort food, pillows, what have you...I have comfort books. Still a great read after all these years. And will be a gain someday.
[My 2012 "review"] A great conclusion. But wait! there's more. -
Conclusion of the epic quest
Chalker's main flaws are heavy-handed exposition (usually through a stilted monologue) and reliance on coincidence. (The characters who should have been scattered randomly across the world are clumped together in a small area).
Still, the novel is generally imaginative, with believable, nuanced (mostly) characters with complex motives.
This novel finds the heroes and villains of the previous novel, two decades older, repeating their quest in the inhuman northern hemisphere.
Definitely worth a read. -
I started reading this series with this book. While I didn't understand a lot of the specifics, due to it being the third in the series, the intensity of it drew me in and held my attention. Also, given I was only around eleven, I missed a lot of the subtext. But sex and violence is something people understand from a very young age, so I enjoyed this book immensely. As my introduction to the world of adult SF, this book was very effective.
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Reread after many years.
This completes the story begun in Exiles of the Well of Souls. what starts as a reasonably straightforward adventure turns into a comedy of errors, but one where the slapstick just isn't funny. everything that can go wrong, does, at the worst possible moment. Couple of interesting plot twists, and a pretty expected ending. -
Chalker continues the tale toward the climax of the series that will stand alone as one of his best works. This is an incredible journey through strange worlds hurtling toward a showdown with the ultimate superpower.
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Continues the story of the Well World, some bad things happen to Mavra Chang but she eventually ends up okay. I love the way Chalker wrote. It was approachable and entertaining. This one is no different.
