The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1) in Beyond Reality

Feb 08, 2013 Kerry rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebooks, fantasy, reread, read-pre-tracking, 2006, 9-out-of-10, 10-out-of-10, 2019, rereads-in-2019

REREAD #2: 9/10 (27 January 2017 - 27 June 2019)

The new Osten Ard book has just come out, so it's time for a reread. I expect it may be a slow one.

16 June 2017: I'm calling this a DNF for time rather than content. If I ever want to read the new books, I haven't the time to reread all the others. I hope I'll have the chance at a later date.

16 June 2019: I'm officially un-DNFing this as I'm reading it with a Goodreads Group. I've also been reading bit's here and there since I said I'd finished and ...more

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Dec 29, 2008 Stephen rated it liked it

Shelves: 1980-1989, to-re-read, fantasy

3.0 stars. It has been awhile since I read this and it is on my list of books to re-read so this review may change in the future. I remember thinking that the book was well written, epic fantasy that had some really interesting characters and back story. I also remember that the book seemed to drag and was much longer than the story needed. Thus, I liked it but I thought it could have been better plotted.

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Jun 01, 2016 Robert rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book was much better the second time around. When I first read this series I was new to reading fantasy and was mostly into the Forgotten Realms books and with those they were either stand alone novels or each book in a trilogy were complete unto themselves. With Tad Williams it felt like there was no real ending and the character kept moving from place to place and it felt dark and like there was no hope to the stories. This time when I read it I felt more refreshed and really enjoyed the This book was much better the second time around. When I first read this series I was new to reading fantasy and was mostly into the Forgotten Realms books and with those they were either stand alone novels or each book in a trilogy were complete unto themselves. With Tad Williams it felt like there was no real ending and the character kept moving from place to place and it felt dark and like there was no hope to the stories. This time when I read it I felt more refreshed and really enjoyed the story as I have more experience with the different sub genres of fantasy and also more experience with Mr. Williams' writing style. It was after The War of the Flowers when I started really getting into his books and now back to The Dragonbone Chair.

I really loved this book even for the beginning of a story. While there are times where the story had to slow down a bit to get the characters established it still kept moving at a good pace. The only other part to me that lagged quite a bit is at the beginning where there is a feeling of drag to the story and an loneliness felt by the character and the lagging in the story helped to tie the reader in with the story and I could really imagine myself there feeling the long hours and the separation from everything. Mr. Williams is a pro when it comes to getting things across in his writing. Some may call it flowery to write and use words to get one's point across, but with Mr. Williams it doesn't come over as flowery, but deliberate. It is like he knows the perfect words to really describe the little things and not bog down the book with wordy similes.

The characters are spot on. I was able to connect with each one in their own unique way. Even one of the villains comes across so hateful that the reader is just waiting for the chance to read about something getting back at that character. All the characters had their own unique voice and actions they were easily distinguishable one from the next. Everyone was a joy to read.

Another one of my favorites of Mr. Williams' storytelling is that he just doesn't tell one story, but comes up with multiple stories to tell within the overall story to make the world of Osten Ard larger than life.

Overall: Great beginning and I'm looking forward to continuing my re-connection with The Stone of Farewell.

Happy reading,
Dimndbangr ...more

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Apr 02, 2019 John rated it really liked it

I can't say for sure when I read this for the first time, but I'll bet it was pretty close to when it came out in the late 80s, given that The Dragon Bone Chair was a SF&F Book Club edition and the next two volumes were hardbacks (my pre-adolescent and/or adolescent self didn't tend to buy in hardcover unless there were no other options and I just couldn't wait!). I don't think I've re-read it since then, so my memory for the details was a little thin. I cracked it now because all three volumes I can't say for sure when I read this for the first time, but I'll bet it was pretty close to when it came out in the late 80s, given that The Dragon Bone Chair was a SF&F Book Club edition and the next two volumes were hardbacks (my pre-adolescent and/or adolescent self didn't tend to buy in hardcover unless there were no other options and I just couldn't wait!). I don't think I've re-read it since then, so my memory for the details was a little thin. I cracked it now because all three volumes and the newer series in the same world are all available on audio from my library, so it seemed like a good chance to revisit a series I loved long ago and get into the newer work. Given some of the books that I also enjoyed at this age, I had no idea whether this would hold up to my rosy memories.

All that prologue behind me, I was pretty pleasantly surprised by how well this held up. In my mind, I was remembering the Sithi as similar to Tolkien's elves, and Simon as something like the proverbial farm boy who becomes The One, but that doesn't give Williams nearly enough credit. Reading it this time, I see how--while there are some similarities with Tolkien, Williams is really drawing much more on the tradition of Faerie stories (which, of course, does also inform Tolkien), and I picked up this time around (duh!) the obvious connection between Sithi and Sidhe. The world of Osten Ard is very medieval European in its shape, with religion and institutions and languages so similar that you almost wonder why he bothered to tweak names, but whatever.

And there's no real apotheosis of Simon here, no Rand-al'Thor-like escalation. Yes, he does clearly have some kind of connection to mystical powers that we see growing, but he still feels like a little boy in a big world, dependent on his friends for survival as he is thrust outside his usual milieu. It's very gradual and believable.

I think I also saw more in Prince Josua this time around. I think I was more attuned to his melancholy, to the weight of years of disappointments and traumas, than I could have been when I was younger.

Likewise, I was more aware of the weight of history throughout, the way that hatreds and prejudice grow between a people, and even here in a story with an undead king intent on wiping out humanity, it's less "good vs evil" (which it seems like on the surface) and more a clash of civilizations that have a hard time understanding--let alone trusting--one another, and the way that these simple, natural forces spiral into a place that is more or less irreconcilable.

Well, anyway, that's my rather disjointed thoughts on this second reading. I enjoyed it, and as I write this I've already re-read the 2nd book and I'm waiting for the 3rd to become available. I'm certainly going to finish and look forward to the new series. ...more

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