Echoes of the Well of Souls

Watchers at the Well #1

by Jack L. Chalker

Nathan Brazil had been the guardian of the Well of Souls, where the Well World's master control lay. But now the universe faced a threat more grave than mere An unnamed and utterly alien entity had somehow been released from its ancient prison and was bent on the corruption of the Well World itself. If successful, it would cause chaos beyond mortal understanding....

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

322 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Besides being a science fiction author, Jack Laurence Chalker was a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for a time, a member of the Washington Science Fiction Association, and was involved in the founding of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Some of his books said that he was born in Norfolk, Virginia although he later claimed that was a mistake.

He attended all but one of the World Science Fiction Conventions from 1965 until 2004. He published an amateur SF journal, Mirage, from 1960 to 1971 (a Hugo nominee in 1963 for Best Fanzine).

Chalker was married in 1978 and had two sons.

His stated hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He had a great interest in ferryboats, and, at his wife's suggestion, their marriage was performed on the Roaring Bull Ferry.

Chalker's awards included the Daedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979), as well as others of varying prestige. He was a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award twice and for the Hugo Award twice. He was posthumously awarded the Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation on April 9, 2005.

On September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel, Chalker passed out and was rushed to the hospital with a diagnosis of a heart attack. He was later released, but was severely weakened. On December 6, 2004, he was again rushed to hospital with breathing problems and disorientation, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung. Chalker was hospitalized in critical condition, then upgraded to stable on December 9, though he didn't regain consciousness until December 15. After several more weeks in deteriorating condition and in a persistent vegetative state, with several transfers to different hospitals, he died on February 11, 2005 of kidney failure and sepsis in Bon Secours of Baltimore, Maryland.

Chalker is perhaps best known for his Well World series of novels, the first of which is Midnight at the Well of Souls (Well World, #1).

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this book some time ago, but I still don't know what I think about it. According to the author, even though its a continuation of the Well World saga, its its own narrative, and can be read without having read the earlier books. While true in the sense that you don't get lost in the storyline, I do feel as though it would be a more rewarding experience knowing what came before and understanding the repeat characters' storylines. Also, despite having been written by a man, it has very feminist overtones, something I wasn't expecting. In fact, there is a subplot wherein male members of the meteor exploration crew are drugged, kidnapped, and repeatedly raped by an all-female tribe of Amazonian natives. This is commented on by one of the female narrators, but not with enough anger or pity. Its almost accepted as being a necessary evil for their way of life. This bothered me greatly. I think perhaps it is the reason I hesitate to say I liked the book, and question whether or not I will read more in the series despite owning other books. There is no way this behavior would have been so readily accepted if the genders were reversed. Now of course one could say its the character's morality and not that of the author, but given the fact that she is presented sympathetically in all other respects, I would have to assume the author agrees with this sentiment.
In terms of the plotline itself, it took a long time to build up to the introduction of the aliens and the worlds they inhabit, but I honestly don't think we gained that much in the delay, unless it pays off in further books in the series. The main female protagonist spent most of the time complaining about living in a man's world and how that prevented her from achieving the professional goals she would have otherwise enjoyed. That makes it all the more ironic how much she later enjoys being a male alien in a patriarchal society. I think ultimately I don't really like the characters, at least the most developed ones, and it was disappointing that the book ended in a cliffhanger and requires you to read the next book to learn what happens. A good book in a series would conclude the immediate storyline while leaving it open to more stories. I'm realizing that this review has turned quite negative, which isn't wholly fair because I did like some aspects of the book. But overall there was more bad than good for me.

[Stewart Ireland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've just finished reading the original 5 books of the Saga of the Well World, and dove straight into this book. It was great to be able to continue reading the story of Nathan Brazil and Mavra Chang.

The first half of the book takes place back on Earth. Surprisingly, Earth is exactly the same as we know it, despite the universe having been recreated from scratch at the end of Book 5. The book does loosely explain why this is.

We are introduced to some new characters and all the classic tropes of the Well World are there - being teleported to the Well World, going through the introduction and explanation of what the Well World is before being sent through a Zone gate and waking up as a new alien species (only no Serge Ortega this time). We only get this "new awakening" perspective of 2 of the characters and personally I found them somewhat underwhelming compared to the previous books.

There is a mysterious and ancient new entity which it's indicated that is influencing things, but it is not entirely clear how, and why Nathan Brazil and Mavra Chang have been brought back to the Well World. I expect these answers will become clearer in the later books.

If you are a fan of the Well World, I think you will be happy with this book.

[J'aime Wells]

Not sure why this later book gets worse reviews, unless it suffers from lack of reader nostalgia. I'm still enjoying the series. The new characters are great. Chalker's take on gender is ten years more evolved (it's still only 1993, so keep your expectations modest).

[Boaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should not have continued the series, this is what happens when you write just because you were paid for it while you actually did not intend to.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I stumbled across this series in the 50-cent paperback section at The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles on a recent vacation. I had read the original Well World series in high school in the 1970s and remembered it somewhat fondly. It made me wonder what had happened to Jack L. Chalker. He was a longtime science fiction fan, computer nerd and history teacher who hit it big with the original series. In the introduction to this early 90s effort, he hints that he was offered enough money to revisit the compelling stories of a world where people are reincarnated in different bodies (and sexes) so he penned these books. He's a quite readable writer, but this is entertaining pulp sci-fi, which means the science is a bit sketchy and the characterizations are more shorthand than developed. But he is a grammatical, smooth writer who knows his way around a plot. I gulped this down in a few days, and I plan to finish the next ones soon. He cleverly addresses one little anachronism from the past series -- the fall of the Soviet Union sort of wrecked the timeline of the past series so that is explained as an alternate universe. After a brief setup on the earth of the 1980s, the action shifts to the far-off Well World, with no danger of further anachronisms. I have recently been satisfying my nostalgia for the pulpy sci-fi / fantasy reading of my youth. The Riverworld novels and others were a disappointment, so this was a pleasant surprise, especially since I didn't notice the series when it came out the first time, or a subsequent series that Chalker wrote early in the last decade. I looked him up and was saddened to see that he died at the rather young age of 61 in 2005 from heart-related ailments.

[Chuck Childers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Chalker and his Well World series were childhood favorites of mine, rollicking, science-fiction adventures in an interesting setting. Echoes sets up a new Well World storyline with new characters as well as characters from previous books. Well World has some tropes: You get to Well World, you go through a gate, you end up as one of its 1560 different species, and you race to the Well of Souls to save yourself, civilization or the universe. To be honest, Echoes doesn't seem be much different, so far.

However, Echoes is the first book of a trilogy within the Well World series, and the book is mostly set up. If you're raring to get to the fun, science-fictional planet, it takes a bit to get there as more than half the book takes place on 20th C. Earth and involves the investigation of a newly impacted meteor.

Still, Chalker is an excellent writer. I read the book on a plane trip from Columbus to Atlanta, and didn't even notice when we took off.

Echoes is not self-contained. With Shadow of the Well of Souls and Gods of the Well of Souls it is part of a single narrative unit called The Watchers at the Well. Echoes continues into Shadows and Shadows into Gods. Also, The Watchers at the Well is in the middle of the Well of Souls series, and there are five books (or 3 narratives) before it in the series. Those books aren't necessary to enjoy Watchers, but they'll help.

With all that, I recommend Echoes as the first part of a trilogy, even for first-time readers of the series, and highly recommend it if you've already enjoyed earlier entries in the series.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chalker had such a great imagination and sense of composition. This is the first of the Well Watcher books that I’ve read, and there are a couple of descriptive passages that lag, but overall it’s an entertaining story and intriguing idea. He does a great job of linking the story back to previous Well Watcher books, while situating this as a new trilogy in the overall arc. I’m looking forward to reading other books in the set.

[Aaron Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this series had zero time spent on the Well World, it would have been pretty solid. I basically enjoyed the parts before the Well World, and the very end, inside the control area in the Well World. The rest was boring or bad. No need to have returned to the Well World, or brought back Nathan Brazil and Mazra Chang.

Series was between a 2 and 3 for me.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bumping up my earlier rating from three to four stars and mulling the fifth. The re-read was quite enjoyable and the story better than I remembered. I've always thought Chalker's Well World stories were great stuff and a little time off between reading Twilight and Echoes was the key to renewing interest.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nathan Brazil had been the guardian of the Well of Souls, where the Well World's master control lay. But now the universe faced a threat more grave than mere An unnamed and utterly alien entity had somehow been released from its ancient prison and was bent on the corruption of the Well World itself. If successful, it would cause chaos beyond mortal understanding....

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not really a single book, but part 1 of a novel that spans three volumes. As such, it's hard to tell if I like it or not. However, I'm definitely going ahead with the other two parts and seeing how the whole thing finishes up.

One word review: encouraging.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't like the "Watchers" series as much as the others, but it is still very, very good. some wonderful new characters and some old favorites.

[Howard]

10

[Mark Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good start to the series. Takes a while to get to the well.

[James Hein · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first in the final Well World Trilogy.

This was a set the stage first book.