To Green Angel Tower

 by Tad Williams

1083 pgs  (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series #3)

To Green Angel Tower concludes Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy, which he "finished" almost thirty years ago, but which he recently elevated to a series, with the publication of two new installments within the past couple of years, with a third yet to come. This has been a series I have thoroughly enjoyed so far, and which I look forward to continuing after a little bit of a break. It's a series George R.R. Martin has said inspired him to write his A Song of Ice and Fire series, which alone should be enough of an incentive to read Williams' books.

To Green Angel Tower picks up right where Stone of Fareell left off. The small band of forces led by Prince Josua Lackhand, which includes the newly-knighted Simon and the troll Binibik, have made it to the Stone of Farewell, where they hope to successfully raise up an army to defeat the followers of the undead Sithi Storm King. Included in their plans is the finding and bringing together three magical swords: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, which they believe represent their only chance of ultimate victory.

This book and the series so far are excellent examples of everything that is great about the fantasy genre. They are Tolkienesque, but stand categorically on their own merit. There is great action, fantastic characters, political machinations, and just enough sorcery and magic included to appeal to the stereotypical readers of the genre, the ones rarely exposed to direct sunlight and vegetables that aren't sold in a bag coated with cheese dust.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Stone of Farewell

by Tad Williams
589 pgs  (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series #2)

Stone of Farewell is the second book in Tad Williams' original Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. I say "original," because he's currently writing another trilogy (along with some shorter individual stories), which also take place on the continent of Osten Ard, years after this one concludes. There is a lot going on in this series, and while both books so far have had everything I hope for in epic fantasy, they've each played their own unique role in the series as a whole.

The Dragonbone Chair did an excellent job of introducing Osten Ard and the different races and characters who live there. It also got Williams' story off to a strong start, introducing Simon, the orphaned kitchen scullion who serves in Hayholt Castle, who finds himself in the middle of the fight against Pryrates and the evil forces of the Storm King., which have started to take over Osten Ard. In The Dragonbone Chair, Simon is among a group on a quest to locate the three swords: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, swords believed to be the key to destroying the Storm King once and for all.

Stone of Farewell picks up right where it left off, but it goes much deeper into the lives of the several main characters. As the book begins, Simon is in the troll city of Yiquanuc, recovering from his battle wounds. While there, he has a dream in which he's instructed to find the Stone of Farewell, a mythical place he's told he, and all who travel there, will be safe for a time, as they rally together and prepare to make their stand against the Storm King.

That's a very short summary of a 589-page, densely-packed book, but with so much going on, it's hard to do it justice briefly. Ultimately, the book left me ready to start book three: To Green Angel Tower. But with it being roughly twice as long, I'm going to wait at least a couple of months before I start it.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The Dragonbone Chair

by Tad Williams
654 pgs  (Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series #1)

The Dragonbone Chair is the first book in Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, a series that originally began as a trilogy 30 years ago, but which he recently picked up and began expanding. The series is set on the fictional continent of Osten Ard during the reign of King John Presbyter.

This is an epic fantasy series, so there is a dozen-or-so page appendix at the end of the book to assist in keeping track of the different characters and races. But the primary character in this first book is Simon, a 14-year-old kitchen servant in Hayholt Castle. Simon spends every day going through the same mundane chores assigned to him until he's eventually granted a reprieve of sorts and assigned to apprentice Doctor Morgenes, the castle's healer. Morgenes takes Simon under his wing and begins teaching him how to read and write and about the mysteries of the natural world.

Soon after the book begins, King John Presbyter dies, and his son Elias becomes king. But Elias turns out to be little more than a puppet of forces whose goal is to end the reign of mortal men in Osten Ard and return it to the ancient races that inhabited it originally.

Simon eventually finds himself in the crosshairs of the machinations taking place on Osten Ard and is forced to flee Hayolt Castle. He embarks on his journey and is soon joined by an assortment of characters from other races. After they come together, they discover the true danger facing Osten Ard and they learn of the existence of three ancient swords: Minnear (Year of Memory), Sorrow, and Thorn, whose combined magic is the only force powerful enough to save Osten Ard. It's believed that the forces they're up against already have possession of one of the swords, so Simon and his companions embark on a journey to find the other two.

It's pretty clear Williams, like many fantasy writers, found inspiration in the works of Tolkien. But Williams took that inspiration and did something most writers before him didn't do...he raised the bar. George R.R. Martin has said this book was the one that made him realize what level fantasy writing could attain, and he credited the series as the inspiration for his A Song of Ice and Fire series. That should give you an idea of the breadth and depth of the series this book begins.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★