The Wells of the Worlds are opening, and they are able to transport the stouthearted adventurer within all of us to the optimistic plane where science fiction hovers. This second installment of the ambitious story, told in the slow and grandiose mode of a galactic civilization tale like Foundation or Dune, takes us from an analog of the decaying wastelands of the late Roman Empire through the forsaken territories of different kinds of jealous gods.
The adult-oriented thematic material is portrayed in a starkly cinematic narration that flows along without getting bogged down in too much detail in either description, action, or even dialog – except for vivid moments where the story holds its breath and paints the plane of the readers’ imagination with dramatic focus. Taken together with the travelogue-like environmental sequences and sparing but evocative depictions of imagined anthropology, the writing style is perhaps like an artistically stylized, evocatively colored anime movie. The branching plot structure avoids too lengthy stretches in one or another of the characters’ subplots, alternating from chapter to chapter.
Certainly, there are stylistic misses, such as a point early on where telepathy is used for a shaky plot recap, or when certain characters seemingly try too hard to be either Jedi or 1980s Jesus hippies. The magical elements are riskier qualities of this book’s unique character (and that of its predecessor, Bid the Gods Arise), but here standard fantasy motifs are portrayed with enough unshaking conviction and harmonize well enough with the cinematic writing style that they seem to work. As may be surmised, this series has about as much to offer fans of high fantasy as it does to fans of space-based science fiction. This is science fiction out of the school of Asimov and Herbert that has spent a long term as an exchange student in Tolkien’s tutelage.
Here is mythic worldbuilding stretching deep enough to satisfy the longing for ancient splendor without unnecessary fixation on quirky details. It’s minimalist, effective worldbuilding that particularly shines in the realistic handling of fictional languages. Languages are one aspect of fictional universes that most writers are weak in, and Robert Mullin’s combination of realism and minimalism allows him to excel using only a few demonstrations of his worlds’ languages within the framework of the historical analogy that his plot has constructed.
While The Wells of the Worlds may convincingly be categorized as fantasy, both based on content tropes and on deeper analysis of its themes, it is still in the first place science fiction. This is because the direction of its wonder is oriented toward the future and toward the heavens. Its fantasy elements are at the service of its science fiction. It does not look back toward ancient origins – does not weave a canopy of mythology to cover the human world with the glories of what we might have inherited. Instead, it starts with the ancient origin and gazes with a stoic solemnity at the myriad combinations of human meaning that may be supposed to exist within the long lifespan of the universe.
Instead of simply reasserting, as per C.S. Lewis, that humankind would ruin any world we would visit were we to be allowed out of our imprisonment on planet Earth, this book takes such an assessment of the human problem as part of its foundation and seems to dare to nonetheless propose that we of Earth might yet imagine ourselves, by cosmic serendipity, as willing collaborators with the Source of designs incalculably greater than our spatial and temporal limitations.
Highly recommended for Jesus hippies everywhere.
OR
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From the Publisher
The Wells of the Worlds series in prose and music
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Bid the Gods Arise (Book 1 of The Wells of the Worlds)Kidnapped from his home and sold into slavery on an alien world, Maurin joins an unlikely band of misfits attempting to overthrow the sadistic head of the slave ring. Enraptured by the mysterious mute Talauna, Maurin struggles to let go of his past and open his heart to a new life. But vampiric alien gods have set their sights on Maurin's cousin, whose visions may be the key to unlocking the apocalypse. Bid the Gods Arise is the first novel in The Wells of the Worlds, a dark sci fi fantasy series for adults and new adults. |
Bid the Gods Arise (Original Soundtrack)From the ominous themes for Argoneis and the Reamar to the tender, contemplative music for Maurin and Valasand, the desperate power of Dania, the eerie, almost golden age siren call of Ulora, and the heroic and hopeful theme now associated with Aric—Dennis S. Mower’s original score immerses the listener into the world of Bid the Gods Arise. |
Blood Song (A Novella of The Wells of the Worlds)In Bid the Gods Arise, readers were introduced to the hardened gladiatrix, Dania. Now, in this standalone prequel novella, we learn the story of how the orphaned pickpocket comes of age and grows to become the Blood Goddess of the gladiatorial arena of a distant world. Young Dania never imagined a life beyond the caravan and her cutpurse youth, but when she is kidnapped and sold as a slave, her life takes a violent turn. Raised in the barracks of a pit-fighting compound, she yearns to return to her beloved home. Misled, used, and betrayed, will she choose freedom ... or revenge? |
Blood Song (Original Soundtrack)Dennis S. Mowers, composer of the popular Murphy podcast, brings a poignant voice to Dania’s tale as he delves into her formative youth. Featuring the stunning vocals of Kristianna Jones. |
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