Solar Flare: Science Fiction News

The Dragonbone Chair is the first book in Tad Williams Memory, Sorrow, Thorn trilogy of books (which actually is four books). With this series we are firmly in High Fantasy territory and its obvious that J.R.R. Tolkien was a huge influence in Williams work on this book.

Almost all of the common fantasy elements are at play here. We have giants, trolls and elves (by any other name). We have magic, princes and great evil. There are also lots of songs which are recited throughout the book and we get long historical lectures.

However, while many of the elements at play here are pretty cliched, the actual implementation is one of the better ones I’ve read recently. The history of Osten Ard has a scent of believability to it that is often lacking in works like The Wheel of Time.

That element of reality also shows up in the way that the characters interact. Unlike many fantasy stories, the servant boy isn’t instantly raised up to the level of nobility simply by rescuing the prince/princess. In fact he rescues both and does considerably more than that while still being treated (and acting) like the 15 year old boy that he is.

There are some problems though. The book is very slow to get started and for the first 150+ pages you will probably be wondering what the plot actually is. The writing style is a little strange too as we spend most of our time in the head of one particular character, only to suddenly be presented with the point of view of someone who has (up till that time) been a minor character in the book. It’s a little startling.

While the pace of things definitely picks up as the book progresses there are several points when everything comes to a juddering halt again in order for the author to dump vast amounts of back history into the reader’s head.

If you don’t like High Fantasy, this book certainly isn’t going to change your mind on the matter, however for those of us who enjoy that sub-genre flaws and all, The Dragonbone Chair is well worth a read.