 "Good but not groundbreaking" | 2009-08-27 |
| - Reviewed By noxush |
'The Dragonbone Chair' follows teen aged Simon, scullion in the castle of High King Prester John. When Prester John dies his son Elias inherits the throne, and a shadow falls over the kingdom. Simon finds himself caught up in the dispute between King Elias and his brother Josua, as well as the machinations of the evil Priest Pyrates. Ultimately he is forced to flee the castle and take part in a desperate quest to find the legendary sword- Thorn.
This is book one of 'Memory Sorrow and Thorn'. Tad Williams is not breaking new ground here, but still it is fairly good. Many complain that it takes too long to get going but I didn't really find that to be an issue. Although the main focus is on Simon, Williams switches frequently to other character's story arcs.The world building is pretty good, with several human cultures, trolls and the immortal Sithi, and lots of names with apostrophes. |
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| "Excellent Fantasy" | 2009-08-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2M8DAHCBIVVNC |
The Dragonbone Chair is excellent fantasy. There are many things to like about this book. Mainly, more than anything else, Tad Williams does lush and vivid description. The background and environment for each scene are lucid and beautiful, and the world overall is vast and detailed. Williams provides a perfect escape from everyday life.
Fans of the genre will find much here that is familiar. Other reviewers have complained of unoriginality, and indeed, the book includes many classic fantasy elements with little alteration. However, I like to think of the Dragonbone Chair as the skillful retelling of a familiar tale, much in the tradition of the ancient bards and poets. In the days of old, a storyteller didn't have to invent a new story with each telling, but rather could recount a classic tale, sing a familiar song. And in much the same way, Williams provides us with a story that is highly familiar. But as with all such retellings, the author lends his own unique voice and a new perspective. Viewed in this way, the Dragonbone Chair is a fine contribution to fantasy storytelling.
In particular, there are a number of things that Williams does very well. The magic system is both credible and intriguing. The combat is plausible, with genuine danger and urgency. There are no super-heroes here, gifted with inhuman skill and endurance. The villains are also plausible, with concrete, understandable motives. They are unequivocally evil, but their evil is well explained. The Sithi, Williams' brand of elves, are a remarkable creation. The main characters are human but still heroic. They are far from infallible, but nevertheless capable of solving problems by using their courage, practical knowledge, and practiced skills.
The book's flaws, on the other hand, are like many of its strengths. They are found in much of the fantasy genre. The book does not adequately address the sexuality of the characters, male or female. Nor does it acknowledge the widespread misery and inequality inherent to most feudal societies. The characters seem to go for days or weeks without food, and suffer no major nutritional or emotional consequences. And finally, the characters' interactions are not entirely believable. As with most fantasy protagonists, Simon is far too innocent to be real.
One other thing I would have like to see from Williams was better description of his characters. When it comes to clothing, facial features, mannerisms, etc., his characterizations seem remarkably spare. I suspect this was an intentional stylistic choice, but with settings rendered in such vivid detail, I would liked a little more for the characters.
Recommended for mature fantasy readers and fans of George Martin. Bear in mind that the pace is slow at first, but picks up toward the middle and has an action-packed conclusion. |
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| "Good story, I look forward to the rest of the series" | 2009-07-16 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1ZH5ULI4SBO48 |
I've just finished book one of this series and am waiting for the second to arrive.
It took me a bit longer than usual to get into Williams' world, but I think he does a virtuoso job of world building-- very, very descriptive. I like his main character and find that he acts convincingly. As is often the case, his protagonist isn't as interesting as many of the supporting characters. I like the idea of friendly trolls and think the Sithi will turn out to be very interesting characters.
While agree that parts of the story line are the same as many other fantasy novels (ignorant boy thrown into quest-type situation) I think Williams is doing a great job with it.
I don't think this would be a good book if a person is looking for a stand-alone novel, so you'd better be prepared to do some reading if you buy the first book. |
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 "Stereotypical and bland" | 2009-07-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1UC4XW9V2F5T1 |
Given the high average reader review score on this book, I was very dissapointed to find it such a generic fantasy story. It almost felt like a weaker version of the Sword of Shannara, itself a derivative work. The main characters are all very shallow and predictable, and the lead himself is somewhat of a simpleton, which makes his development even less interesting. His companion, the "mysterious" troll who accompanies him on most of his journey, is constantly shooting secretive looks, murmuring riddles or claiming hidden motives for his actions. Only at the very end do things heat up enough to add spice to the story and differentiate it from the mass of pulp fantasy in the market. Seeing that the remaining two books average as large or larger than Chair, I've decided not to proceed. And I believe that fans of these types of novels would do much better with the Assassin's Apprentice Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1) books from Robin Hobb, and of course George Martin's likely-to-remain-unfinished Song of Ice and Fire series. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1). Hopefully Williams has become much stronger as a writer over time, as I am interested in his Otherland and Shadowmarch series which have scored well.
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 "Very slow-moving book, hoping that the 2nd in series picks up the pace" | 2009-06-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3F9E05QE2U1UO |
| Having read the entire Otherland series (which I enjoyed immensely) and being a fan of fantasy fiction it was with much intrigue that I began reading the first Tad Williams book in the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series. I'm currently 3/4 of the way through this book and thus far have been severely disappointed. Even for a patient reader (which I am) there has been very little of interest, very little action, and a huge over-abundance of passages filled with the mention characters (both via song, poem, dream sequence, and general character dialogue) that fit into the history of the world that Williams is trying to paint. If you are interested in reading a ton of fictitious fantasy history while being utterly bored to death then this is the book for you. The reading has become so unenjoyable that I have resorted to skimming portions of the text that don't seem to have much worth considering in it. Highly disappointing considering how much I've enjoyed Williams' other works. I am hoping that the last 1/4 of the book is sheer fireworks, plot twists, and moving character interactions, otherwise this book is a total dud. |
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 "2.5 stars" | 2009-05-22 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3MGKU008K95W9 |
| I am 473 pages into this book. I just can't get into this the way I would like to or need to to enjoy myself with this. The pace is too slow and I feel weighed down with descriptions. I find myself not caring what happens to these characters at all. It is well written, especially compared to many other fantasy authors but nevertheless I find the book unengaging. I will try and muscle through to the end of this volume at least but it is extremely doubtful I will be attempting to finish the series. I can see what this book/series could have been but for whatever reason, IMO, it never gets to that point. |
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