Spider World: The Tower

by Colin Wilson

Book Overview

Once the Earth was ruled by human, and insects were very small, with even the largest no bigger than a man's fist. But now, in the 25th century, humans serve giant beetles and spiders as slaves and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1571742395
• ISBN13: 9781571742391
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing Company
• Length: 389 Pages
• Weight: 2.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Spiders, Towers and Death, oh my

After reading the Desert I found out that there is a LOT of books in the series. So I decided to start buying up the hardcover books. The Tower has three of the stories in one. I am not sure if the paperbacks were published first or if the hardcover copies were first. But getting the hardcovers are cheaper in the end IF you plan to read all of them. And I do. The future of mankind, spiders and thought control. Who will become the masters of the Earth? Who should become masters of the Earth? Does the Earth need masters?

A classic

This is a brilliantly-executed adventure on par with the finest fantasy writing of the twentieth century. There is a richness of vision and an underlying philosophy in this work that complement its readability and make it fiction of the highest order. It's a profound page-turner. The first in a series, followed by Spider World: The Delta, Spider World: The Magician, and Spider World: Shadowland.

Captivating story telling at its finest.

The Tower is the first of four volumes in the Spider World series.This visionary work chronicals events after a radioactive comet turns the world of man upside down. Spiders, and insects of all variety are now the masters in size -- leaving humans in the ackward position of not being somewhere closer to the bottom of the food chain.Colin Wilson is thoughtful, erudite, and a damn good story teller. This first installment follows the life of Niall from his birth through capture by spiders, escape, interrupted revolt, and eventually... let's say we leave that to your reading, and in case you are wondering the butler did not do it.The book has an excellent blend of story-telling, character development, action, budding love, and even a balloon chase. I especially enjoyed the vivid descriptions of Niall's life in the desert. Good science fiction starts with an outrageous premise followed by self-consistant, even logical, progression of events. In this case, Colin Wilson begins with the presumption of monstrous spiders ruling the earth after the passage of a radioactive comet. From this all follows. In fact, if not for this science fiction premise the book could easily be a combination of adventure, biographical history and nature writing. But it is science fiction and the unnatural situation servers nicely to highlight the development of Niall through the events which follow. A fine example of good story telling by a thoughtful and educated writer. There's enough to feed many aspects of the reader -- and perhaps leave him or her with more than a few thoughtful questions as well.

A Beautifully Wrought Story

This book follows the story of a family of desert dwelling humans plagued by giant, super-intelligent spiders. The "good" characters are well rounded and likeable, and the "bad" characters are sinister and brutal.The story is fast paced with many interesting twists to keep you turning the pages and there is rareley a dull moment. The locations are clearly described, giving an evocative mental image of the world in which these people live and the highs and lows keep you laughing or crying all the way. I highly recommend this book, but keep a box of tissues handy if you cry at sad bits in books, it certainly tugged at my heartstrings many times along the way.

Should not be out of print!

If you you enjoyed books such as "Lord Of The Rings" and "Dune" , you MUST read this novel. It makes you think and also entertains and takes you away to a "what if" scenario.