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Tad Williams

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The Dragonbone Chair Paperback – March 1, 2005

by Tad Williams (Author)

4.5 5,360 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

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From master storyteller and New York Times-bestseller Tad Williams comes the first book in the landmark epic fantasy saga of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn.

With The Dragonbone Chair, Tad Williams introduced readers to the incredible fantasy world of Osten Ard. His beloved, internationally bestselling series Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn inspired a generation of modern fantasy writers, including George R.R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, and Christopher Paolini, and defined Tad Williams as one of the most important fantasy writers of our time.

This edition features a brand-new introduction from Tad Williams' editor as well as the original introduction from Williams himself!

“One of my favorite fantasy series.” —George R. R. Martin
“Groundbreaking.” —Patrick Rothfuss
“One of the great fantasy epics of all time.” —Christopher Paolini

BOOK ONE: THE DRAGONBONE CHAIR

A war fueled by the powers of dark sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard—for Prester John, the High King, lies dying. And with his death, the Storm King, the undead ruler of the elf-like Sithi, seizes the chance to regain his lost realm through a pact with the newly ascended king. Knowing the consequences of this bargain, the king’s younger brother joins with a small, scattered group of scholars, the League of the Scroll, to confront the true danger threatening Osten Ard.

Simon, a kitchen boy from the royal castle unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League, will be sent on a quest that offers the only hope of salvation, a deadly riddle concerning long-lost swords of power. Compelled by fate and perilous magics, he must leave the only home he’s ever known and face enemies more terrifying than Osten Ard has ever seen, even as the land itself begins to die.

After the landmark Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, the epic saga of Osten Ard continues with The Heart of What Was Lost. Then don’t miss the sequel trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard, beginning with The Witchwood Crown!

Book 1 of 3

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn
Print length

672 pages
Language

English
Publisher

DAW
Publication date

March 1, 2005
Dimensions

6 x 1.61 x 9.26 inches
ISBN-10

0756402697
ISBN-13

978-0756402693
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Popular Highlights in this book

What are popular highlights?

One should treasure those humdrum tasks that keep the body occupied but leave the mind and heart unfettered.
Highlighted by 486 Kindle readers
Nothing is without cost. There is a price to all power, and it is not always obvious.
Highlighted by 459 Kindle readers
“Some types of men, Simon, whose minds are very full of thoughts, they are forgetting to speak and act like normal men.”
Highlighted by 151 Kindle readers

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Osten Ard

“Inspired me to write my own seven-book trilogy.... It’s one of my favorite fantasy series.” —George R. R. Martin, New York Times-bestselling author

“Groundbreaking.... Changed how people thought of the genre, and paved the way for so much modern fantasy. Including mine.” —Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times-bestselling author of The Name of the Wind

"Tad Williams is a master storyteller, and the Osten Ard books are his masterpiece. Williams’ return to Osten Ard is every bit as compelling, deep, and fully-rendered as the first trilogy, and he continues to write with the experience and polish of an author at the top of his game." —Brandon Sanderson, New York Times-bestselling author of Mistborn

“Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is one of the great fantasy epics of all time.” —Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon

“Readers who delight in losing themselves in long complex tales of epic fantasy will be in their element here, and there is the promise of much more to come in future volumes.” —Locus

“Panoramic, vigorous, often moving.... Williams adroitly weaves together the tales...heralding a suitably epic and glorious conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly

“Highly Recommended. [Williams] draws on many mythologies for the background of his fantasy epic...story spiced with political intrigue and strong appealing heroes.” —Library Journal

“A grand fantasy on a scale approaching Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.” —Cincinnati Post

About the Author

Tad Williams is a California-based fantasy superstar. His genre-creating (and genre-busting) books have sold tens of millions worldwide. His works include the worlds of Otherland, Shadowmarch, and Osten Ard—including the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, and The Last King of Osten Ard series—as well as standalone novels Tailchaser’s Song and The War of the Flowers. His considerable output of epic fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, comics, and more have strongly influenced a generation of writers. Tad and his family live in the Santa Cruz mountains in a suitably strange and beautiful house. He can be found at tadwilliams.com or on Twitter at @tadwilliams.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ DAW; Reprint edition (March 1, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 672 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0756402697
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0756402693
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.57 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.61 x 9.26 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #122,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,103 in Dark Fantasy
- #2,419 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy (Books)
- #6,138 in Epic Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 5,360 ratings

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Tad Williams

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Tad Williams is a California-based fantasy superstar. His genre-creating (and genre-busting) books have sold tens of millions worldwide. His works include the worlds of Otherland, Shadowmarch, and Osten Ard—including the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, and The Last King of Osten Ard series—as well as standalone novels Tailchaser’s Song and The War of the Flowers, plus the Bobby Dollar urban fantasies. His considerable output of epic fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, comics, and more have strongly influenced a generation of writers. Tad and his family live in the Santa Cruz mountains in a suitably strange and beautiful house. Visit him online at tadwilliams.com. @tadwilliams @mrstad https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTadWilliams/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5

5,360 global ratings

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Just Falcon

IT'S AN AUDIO BOOK!!! Weee! Available on AmazonUK, not US. Boooo.... Hisssss......

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2011

Verified Purchase

(added 10/20/2015 - available on the AmazonUK site as an audible file, but Audible USA isn't even answering enquiries as to when/if it will come to the US market. Disappointed that Audible says 'We'll get right back to you' and over a month later... nada. Even with reminders.
(added 06/16/2015 - Searched for this in Audible while on my Kindle - apparently the audio is coming out August 2015? But can't find the page while on my laptop. harumph.) Rehabilitating a 60 year old farm means I'm alone most of the time, moving around 30 acres, often doing repetitive labour. I listen to alot of free audio books from my library and have an Audible membership (soon to be dropped). I'd love to listen to these stories and have read them to my kids.

I'm on my second set of paperbacks for these books and have gifted them to family and friends from 11yo to 58yo. I've stopped trying to review books for their literary worth - is it "good". I dunno - but I have found these books Entertaining. Good set of books for a gift to a young adult or older adult that enjoys humour and fantasy. A nice take on multi-culturalism - Elves, dwarves, royalty and wizards are shown to be people. The habits and culture may be a bit different, but they all lead very real lives of love, loss, hope and failure. It's funny how well a fantasy can teach your kids about the reality of life, compassion, honor and strength.

As an integral part of the story, the glamour of legend and story is shown to be just a glittery reflection of reality. Alongside of Simon, you experience the hungry, dirty, frightening reality that is war and intrigue. Not to the point where I haven't allowed my thirteen yr old to read these - no graphic sex or gratuitous gore. The "lovestory" portions are a reflection of reality - Foot in mouth awkwardness and misunderstandings leading to over sensetive reactions. No glory of war or heaving bosoms here.

I was homeless for almost a year 20 years ago (19yo, no family, no schooling - no... I was not a hippy/druggy/"soiled dove" - just unlucky and lost everything in a house fire) and as someone who knows the worth of dry socks and a safe place to sleep, the reality of hiking cross country is well portrayed. Hiding in trees, heart pounding so loudly you can't tell if someone is sneaking up on you, is a lousy way to spend night after night. Don't try to impress someone first thing in the morning with bug parts stuck to your sleep wrinkled face.

Well... sorry if this isn't the best review I've written, but we're bringing in the hay, baby goats are being born and I just came in to cool off - so not much time to proofread this. Upshot is, if you enjoyed Redwall as a kid, you'll enjoy these. be well sf

9 people found this helpful

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Chris E.

Dragonbone

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2023

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Takes a while to get going and find its pace but once it does, its a fun ride. Will read the rest of the series.

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faerieblue

I enjoyed this even more than Lord of the Rings!

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2012

Verified Purchase

I know that I must have enraged or at least provoked some people with this statement. I find Tad Williams' writing style much more accessible than J.R.R. Tolkien's. It's due in part to my own weakness in not being able to follow Tolkien's long, detailed passages describing the geography of each and every scene. LOTR does have fewer characters to keep track of, this being important as I think I have slight ADD. I had to work very hard to finish the LOTR Trilogy, and I thoroughly appreciate it for its magnificence.

Moving on, I don't know what I could add to the great reviews that have come before me so I will try to be succinct:
PLEASE KEEP READING! It IS a fantastic piece of work! And although others described the beginning as "slow", I disagree for my part. I appreciated the purposeful, totally believable, character development of Simon, the protagonist. I was delighted and irritated with, empathetic toward, and wholeheartedly rooting for Simon in turns, in very short order. Simon became real to me, almost like adopting a child at the age of 15. William's took the time to paint a whole world, the histories, the cultures of people, rather than just hand it to us for acceptance and move on to the action-which is top notch by the way!

There is quite a cast of characters,(I had to go to the appendix in frustration at some points to keep them all straight)however, I felt that none were merely thrown in to advance the story, but that T.W. was writing about things as they really happened, and truly cared about even the most fleeting of these appearances. The players are given such dimension in a surprisingly short space of time. I felt sadness and shock when they befell some misfortune or died, as many of them do. This is not your feel good story where all the good guys make it to the end, and women and children never come to harm.

That the "magic" is not forefront in the story, at least until later, is a great selling point for me. Problems are not solved with the wave of a wand or an incantation. Human motivations and politics are are the guts of the story, made even more intriguing by the fantastical nature of events and unique creatures that are manipulated within it. There are so many surprises that keep you glued to your kindle, in my case, reading until late at night and snatching minutes here and there. It is difficult to find a point where you can say,"This is a good place to stop."

I'm definitely going to finish the series! My new favorite author!

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Lucas O. Harsh

A gripping, page turning, series with an outstanding backstory and well developed characters.

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

This was an outstanding series with a compelling backstory, world, and well developed characters (main and secondary). The world is fresh, with great depth on the races, their history, and motives. I found many of the secondary characters extremely well developed whereas many writers merely let them languish.

When I started, I had a very hard time getting into it, and was convinced, only in the beginning, I was, spending time reading a novel I'd rather not be reading (I think I've only ever stopped reading 1 or 2 novels In this, or similar genres, out of hundreds over the years, so I ride out and suffer some bad books versus putting them down). I'm not going into detailed plot summary and character analysis in a review, but the main character, Simon, started to feel like a bust at the beginning. Perhaps, he could have undergone his growth and metamorphose without starting quite so lame. Either way, that was a minor distraction only at the beginning of three compelling novels. Good thing for me, I stick with a book, because this book, and the two that follow, became outstanding in my view.

This story, its world, and the backstory turned into a thrawling adventure I couldn't put down. The writing resulted in a lot of nights that went way too late for someone who is generally dressed and at work by 6:00 am, and that speaks to the gripping nature of the story and quality of the writing.

A must read for serious fiction fans.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Cliente Kindle

Tudo nos conformes

Reviewed in Brazil on October 6, 2022

Verified Purchase

Livro muito bom. Vale a pena a leitura!

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Reign Elgie

First Class Fantasy

Reviewed in Canada on October 21, 2021

Verified Purchase

Tad Williams has become one of the elite Fantasy authors of our day. Every novel that he writes just keeps getting better every time.

Dragonbone Chair is the first novel in his Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series. I am currently rereading the novel as I originally read it a loooong time ago. I have to admit I am truly enjoying it the second time around.

HIGHLY recommeded.

3 people found this helpful

Rory slattery

A good book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2024

Verified Purchase

It’s a good book, you can tell it’s older but a good book all the same.

Gabriel Lima

All time great

Reviewed in Mexico on April 28, 2020

Verified Purchase

One of my favorite series!!! Politics, war, frendship, magic. Awesome saga.

Rohit pandey

The price and packing

Reviewed in India on September 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

Great product. I received it in the best condition. Brand new, out of the printing press. The packing was great. I would recommend this book and this shopping platform to every shopper out there.

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