2012 was a very good year for new works in the science fiction and fantasy genres. Tad’s latest novel, The Dirty Streets of Heaven and his novella “Three Lilies and Three Leopards (And A Participation Ribbon In Science)” garnered mentions in several “Best Of” lists.
Tangent Online 2012 Recommended Reading List lists “Three Lilies and Three Leopards (And A Participation Ribbon In Science)” in the “Novellas Three Stars” category. The novella was published by Subterranean Online, Winter 2012.
You can read Tad’s story here.
The Dirty Streets of Heaven was included in Best Of lists from Lit Reactor (Top Ten: The Year’s Best Fantasy 2012) and Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist (Speculative Fiction Top 10 of 2012), and paulgoatallen for Barnes and Noble (The Best Paranormal Fantasy Releases of 2012) gives The Dirty Streets of Heaven an honorable mention.
Both The Dirty Streets of Heaven and “Three Lilies and Three Leopards” are eligible for this year’s Hugo and Nebula awards, and nominations are still open! (Just sayin’. ~LT)
Demons, Angels, Monsters and Mysteries: A Review of The Dirty Streets of Heaven
by Jeremy Erman for Black Gate Magazine, 21 Jan 2013
A few days after receiving the book, I went to a party at a neighbor’s house and, passing a table outside, came across a group of people talking about, of all things, Tad Williams! I joined the conversation and ended up telling them that I loved Williams’ work, had met him, and had an advance copy of The Dirty Streets of Heaven.
Completely unsurprised, two of these nice people told me that they had already read The Dirty Streets of Heaven, it was very good, and why hadn’t I read it yet?
I mumbled something, but had no real answer. As the conversation progressed, I realized I was in way over my head. These weren’t just fans or friends of Tad’s:
They were his parents.
It was not the intimidating work I had imagined. Yes, it has more swearing and sex than Williams’s other books (frequently carried out by angels, of course), but underneath the gritty exterior are the same compelling storytelling, sympathetic characters, and imaginative writing that have always been Williams’s hallmarks. And this is probably the funniest book he’s written; the humor starts on page one and doesn’t let up till the end.
The Dirty Streets of Heaven is reviewed by Carolyn Cushman in the January 2013 issue of Locus.
Swashbuckling Inquiries Reviews The Dirty Streets of Heaven
by Jormungandr, 11 Nov 2012
Williams has written a book that’s just a delight to read. It’s a page-turner written in a black noir tone that made even a jaded reader such as myself chuckle a few times. But there’s plenty of weird stuff in there too, which is all the more impressive because Williams never stoops to vampires or witches or werewolves. It’s all angels and demons and biblical vengeance, and it’s compelling stuff.
Fantasy Faction Reviews The Stone of Farewell
by Alister Davison, 7 Dec 2012
There’s nothing at all wrong with this novel, which is a worthy sequel to its predecessor. All that I loved about The Dragonbone Chair is here: a wonderfully-realised world populated by rich and interesting characters; villains to hiss and heroes to cheer; the eternal conflict between good and evil with – like the aforementioned Empire Strikes Back – the heroes being on the back foot. I didn’t continue all those years ago, but Green Angel Tower is calling, and this time I’m looking forward to getting there.
Tad Williams: Otherland an information age dystopia
by Alejandro Delgadillo for bilateralWARP, 25 Aug 2012
Tad Williams’ Otherland series is a unique combination of science fiction, mythology and fantasy. It sounds like a hodgepodge of genres and yet, it is one of the finest collection of books that I’ve read. Williams presents us with a dystopia, South Africa still licking its wounds from overthrowing apartheid. A lot of the focus is on the virtual reality-online service that is offered in almost every home. Allowing people to browse, research, play with an interface whose sophistication is only limited by money. The virtual reality is able to provide audio, tactile, scent and video input directly to the user. The most basic equipment limiting user to video and audio input.
…Aside from being an amazing read in its own right, Otherland makes me plain paranoid.