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Watchers at the Well #3
Gods of the Well of Souls
In its hour of need, the Well World's guardians had been neutralized. Nathan Brazil was shipwrecked on a desert island with a seemingly harmless girl who had caused his mind to be invaded, his will sapped, and his mission forgotten. Mavra Chang had been abducted by a vicious gang of inter-hex drug smugglers and held prisoner by a revenge-mad creature who had surgically and genetically altered her into a bizarre farm and made her a slave to powerful narcotics. But the Well of Souls, sophisticated beyond human understanding, was still a machine; it needed its guardians. And so it set plans in motion to jolt its champions back into the game.
But avert if Brazil or Chang could overcome the formidable obstacles in their path, they could not know that all the players, even the great Well computer, were being manipulated by the Kraang, an entity more ancient than the universe itself. For the Kraang had a game plan that would use the guardians to give it powers far beyond those avert of the Well of Souls -- making it a living god....
But avert if Brazil or Chang could overcome the formidable obstacles in their path, they could not know that all the players, even the great Well computer, were being manipulated by the Kraang, an entity more ancient than the universe itself. For the Kraang had a game plan that would use the guardians to give it powers far beyond those avert of the Well of Souls -- making it a living god....
367 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
2 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
About the author
Jack L. Chalker
132 books356 followersBesides 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).
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).
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 19, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up
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May 13, 2021The end of a really page-turning series.
This book isn't free from the flaws I've complained about throughout the series: yet another character in yet another way () is humiliated by the hyperfemininity of her equine body... a strange pattern of miserably sexy horse women in this series...)
But in spite of that recurring touch of awkwardness, the setting is so immersive, with a wealth of wonderful aliens, that I kept picking up the next book, and the next one, to visit the Well World again.
This book isn't free from the flaws I've complained about throughout the series: yet another character in yet another way () is humiliated by the hyperfemininity of her equine body... a strange pattern of miserably sexy horse women in this series...)
But in spite of that recurring touch of awkwardness, the setting is so immersive, with a wealth of wonderful aliens, that I kept picking up the next book, and the next one, to visit the Well World again.
August 5, 2016
The Well wants its repair techs, but Nathan Brazil and Mavra Chang have been caught and stagnated on their way to the Well. The Well, nudging reality on the Well World, knocks them loose, and it's a race to the avenue entrance. Some people want to stop them, others want to accompany them and somehow grab all the power that will suddenly become available. To me, the final half of GODS OF THE WELL OF SOULS was non-stop enjoyment.
May 15, 2014
This completes the whole set of the Well of Souls series and it was a satisfying read.
There were some similarities, we finally find out who Nathan Brazil is and there is really nothing left to write.
There were some similarities, we finally find out who Nathan Brazil is and there is really nothing left to write.
May 5, 2010
See "Echos of the Well of Souls".
September 25, 2014
I loved this series. The Well Worlds were fascinating and the characters as well.
June 22, 2017
The Watchers books are just as good as the others.
May 21, 2013
Revising rating up from three to four stars... A little long and winding, it was still entertaining enough. Better the second time through, for sure.
February 13, 2013
I did enjoy this series, but found the ending to be similar to The Wonderland Gambit - kind of a sneaky buildup to a not very satisfying solution.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews