The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams is the first in the four book Memory, Sorrow, Thorn fantasy  series (okay, this series is SORT of a four book series).  I've been through this series twice now, and I like it better the second time around.  This is an overall solid fantasy series and is a good choice for readers who don't want to read a ten plus book fantasy series.

This is the slowest book in the series because it has a lot of set up, but it does create an interesting contrast between Simon's previous life and his trials/adventures.  I remember struggling through this book the first time and enjoying it the second read-through because I could see a lot of interesting foreshadowing that I had not picked up on before.  

Williams typically likes to take his time to develop his characters and story line.  In this particular book, we do see pretty young characters who will eventually grow and mature as the series progresses.  For Simon, this series really becomes a coming of age tale, which was good for me because I found him incredibly annoying when first meeting him in this book.  Honestly, I do prefer more mature protagonists (see Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series), but Simon does make a lot of progress in this book (and a lot more in this series).

If this is your first time reading this book, the series gets much faster-paced with each book.  To Green Angel Tower is the best out of this trilogy, by far.  I had my husband read this series, and I think he really enjoyed it for the most part (and he's a tough cookie to win over with new authors that he's never read before). Four stars.

I was extremely excited to read this, but I was also worried I wouldn't like it. I wasn't sure if the notoriously slow pacing would feel dragging for me, or if Tad's flowery prose would feel perhaps overly flowery. But by the rating I'm giving, that obviously wasn't the case. I'm very glad I enjoyed this as much as I did. 

Tad certainly takes much inspiration from Tolkien with the structure of the narrative and his slow and thorough worldbuilding. But he's also clearly very influential for many of the well-known fantasy authors out there, and I don't think he receives enough recognition for that. Considering Robin Hobb, GRRM, and Robert Jordan are some of the writers he's inspired, more people should be talking about Tad Williams. I think I'm also boosting the rating a bit just for his impact on the genre, and it was fun to spot elements that other writers took influence from.

As for the actual book, as I said, I did quite enjoy it. The pacing is very slow, but Williams is one of those writers who makes mundane scenes captivating with his prose. He's a fantastic writer, easily up there for the best prose I've read as far as lyrical and flowery goes. I also loved so much of the worldbuilding. The different races and vast land he's built is extremely impressive. The world feels lived in, and it's magical to simply take in the surroundings that Simon (the mc) encounters wherever he goes. 

As for the plot, there's not much motion for the first 200 pages or so. But once things start to get going with trickles of answers and clues, I was definitely invested. And the same happened with Simon. He's the primary POV and takes up majority of the page time. I was able to care about him soon enough that I trusted Williams to get the plot rolling eventually, and from then on I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with Simon. The other POV's, besides Binabik, Isgrimnur, and Josua, were a bit of a drag to read, but towards the end I started to feel engaged in them once they became more frequent. It's a good sign for the rest of the series. And I have to mention how much I loved Binabik and his wolf Qantaqa. As soon as Simon stumbled upon them, the book remained a treat to read. 

And the ending was really great. Can't wait to see where the series goes from here. Lots of promise for the antagonists, as well as the conflict this story is building up to. Tad is a wonderful writer and captures the enchantment of the fantasy genre. 

Although this might not be a book for everyone, I would implore fantasy fans to give it a shot. Especially if you're a fan of the aforementioned writers influenced by Tad. 

Pure escapism!

I am so glad to have started my journey into Osten Ard. The Dragonbone Chair has so much depth, so much nuance, that I can’t stop going gaga over it. The worldbuilding is intricate and gets revealed slowly, but surely. The prose is brilliant;  I was literally transported unto this world! And the character development is sooo engaging. I started this book as an audiobook and my goodness… the narrator is amazing! It matches perfectly the prose of the story. So engaged and so enamored with the world was I, I had to buy the series in paperback form. I was reading in physical form in the mornings, hearing the audiobook in my commute and lunch break, then went for the immersion reading in the evenings.

Now, this is a slow burn. It takes time to travel onto this world. But it is sooo worth it. The Dragonbone Chair came at the perfect time for me. It reminded me why I love the fantasy genre and helped me escape, at least for a few hours a day, the craziness of the real world. I can’t wait to travel to Osten Ard once more. Thank you Tad.