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The war of the Well World has begun. Antor Trelig, head of a ruthless interstellar syndicate, has seized a supercomputer with godlike powers that could make him omnipotent. The Council offers master criminal Mavra Chang any reward she desires if she can stop Trelig-and horrible, lingering death if she fails. But neither Trelig nor Mavra has taken the Well World into consideration. Built by the ancient Markovians, the Well World controls the design of the cosmos. When the opponents are drawn show more across space to the mysterious planet, they find themselves in new, alien bodies and in the middle of a battle where strange races fight desperately-with the control of the entire universe as the prize. show lessTags
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The premise of the Well World saga is essentially a creation myth: billions of years ago, a highly advanced race called the Markovians created a planet-sized computer that could alter reality, and divided the surface into hundreds of equally-sized regions, each containing a completely different environment and dominant species. These species run the gamut from arachnids to reptilians to mammals to things far more bizarre. From these experiments they seeded the universe with life. The Well World remains operational even far into our future, when these stories take place.
In this book, the first of a two-part story arc, a human scientist has succeeded in duplicating the Markovians' technology, albeit on a smaller scale. When he's forced to show more build and operate a larger version of his creation for a ruthless crime lord, everyone in the area is transported to the Well World. And when one of their space shuttles crashes on it, nearly everyone wants a piece. So begin the "Wars of the Well."
Word for word, Chalker isn't the best writer. His prose can be clunky and repetitious, and if you are averse to info-dumps, don't even bother. These books are also not for those who demand hard science. Even though technology is responsible for the many wonders within, it may as well be magic. What I like about this series is the creativity and just plain weirdness on display. Decent old-school science-fantasy fun. show less
In this book, the first of a two-part story arc, a human scientist has succeeded in duplicating the Markovians' technology, albeit on a smaller scale. When he's forced to show more build and operate a larger version of his creation for a ruthless crime lord, everyone in the area is transported to the Well World. And when one of their space shuttles crashes on it, nearly everyone wants a piece. So begin the "Wars of the Well."
Word for word, Chalker isn't the best writer. His prose can be clunky and repetitious, and if you are averse to info-dumps, don't even bother. These books are also not for those who demand hard science. Even though technology is responsible for the many wonders within, it may as well be magic. What I like about this series is the creativity and just plain weirdness on display. Decent old-school science-fantasy fun. show less
Freighter pilot Mavra Chang is tasked with stopping corrupt dealer Antor Trelig from controlling a sentient supercomputer. At Well World, they are drawn into this cosmic, alien-inhabited, and highly constructed environment. Basil and Chang are transformed into alien forms and caught in a war for survival.
Trelig kidnaps Zinder’s daughter, prompting a rescue mission. Obie triggers a transport, forcing them onto the Well World, a planet consisting of 1,560 different hex-worlds. Survivors must navigate the Well World's diverse biomes and hostile inhabitants while being transformed by the planet.
Trelig kidnaps Zinder’s daughter, prompting a rescue mission. Obie triggers a transport, forcing them onto the Well World, a planet consisting of 1,560 different hex-worlds. Survivors must navigate the Well World's diverse biomes and hostile inhabitants while being transformed by the planet.
OK, I read this when I was a teen, and was reading it again. Got 15% in and it is just horrible. Chalker is a wonderfully imaginative writer, and I'm no expert on literary style, but this book is just so horribly written. I simply can't continue it. Every page contains at least one sentence so clumsy that even I recognize it as an abomination. GAAAAAAAAAH!
These books are a guilty pleasure of mine, though, reading this volume made me feel guiltier than usual.
These books are a guilty pleasure of mine, though, reading this volume made me feel guiltier than usual.
Still epic after all these years...
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Author Information
107+ Works 25,186 Members
Jack L. Chalker was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 17, 1944. He received a B. A. degree in English from Towson University and a graduate degree in English and history from Johns Hopkins University. Before becoming a full-time writer in 1978, he taught history and geography in the Baltimore public school system. He founded a publishing show more house, The Mirage Press, Ltd., which produces nonfiction and bibliographic works on science fiction and fantasy. He was the author of several science fiction series including the Well World series, the Dancing Gods series, and the G. O. D. Inc. series. He received numerous honors including the Dedalus Award in 1983, the Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books award in 1984, the Skylark Award in 1980, and the Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award in 1979. He died of kidney failure and sepsis on February 11, 2005. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Goldmann Science Fiction (23346)
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Exiles at the Well of Souls
- Original publication date
- 1978-09 (First US Edition) (First US Edition); 1982-04 (First UK Edition) (First UK Edition)
- People/Characters
- Gilgam Zinder; Obie; Antor Trelig; Nikki Zinder; Mavra Chang
- Dedication
- This book is for a number of old pros, who, wittingly
or unwittingly, at various times have helped:
Leigh Brackett
Robert Bloch
Alfred Bester
Marty (Hicksville) Greenberg
Gordon R. Dickson
Harlan Elli... (show all)son
Fritz Leiber
Harry ("Hal Clement") Stubbs
Compton ("Stephen Tall") Crook
Avram Davidson
Jack Williamson
and, most especially, to a man who has never heard of
me but who has had more influence on the field of science
fiction than any ten comparable writers,
Mr. Eric Frank Russell - First words
- It wasn't the fact that Gilgam Zinder's lab assistant had a horse's tail that was the oddest fact; the really strange thing was that she didn't seem to think her condition odd or unusual.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I'm Mavra Chang, and I don't need anybody!
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- Popularity
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- Reviews
- 9
- Rating
- (3.54)
- Languages
- 5 — Danish, English, German, Hebrew, Polish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 20
- ASINs
- 9
