#jumping into Last King of Osten Ard now

[monarchetype]

Brief thoughts/review on The Heart of What Was Lost

Spoiler warning for both the novella and the preceding Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series!

The Heart of What Was Lost was such a bittersweet and melancholic fantasy novella. I enjoyed it a lot. Porto and Endri were a lovely duo, instantly compelling as two commonfolk far from home and in way over their head, terrified by the fantastical horrors they are up against. Isgrimnur was comfortingly familiar, and while I was hoping he could push his men all the way down the road to peace I think it would've been out of character and far too idealistic for the Rimmersmen to not only come to understand what the Norns value but to come to an agreement with them. How things ended was probably the best that we could hope for. Of course, the biggest stand-out was the enthralling Hikeda'ya POV, which way more dimensions to them and their culture than was even hinted at in the original MS&T. It was a really unique perspective to be hoping (and all the while knowing fairly confidently) that genocide could be averted while simultaneously reading in fascinated horror at just how fascistic the Hikeda'ya society is. The speed at which Suno'ku, Yaarike, and Viyeki were built into complex characters was nothing short of impressive. I couldn't help with sympathize a little with each of them- Suno'ku trying to avoid a future where only the magic-wielding Hikeda'ya hold power, Yaarike wanting to steer everyone away from jumping into another war, and Viyeki's naivete having totally bought the Hikeda'ya party line while having a hint of potential for seeinig beyond it- even while recognizing that they are nobles at the top of a deeply conservative society utterly loyal to a mad and ancient queen who only just failed to doom the entire world to oblivion in suicidal spite at her own mortality and lost grace.

That being said I think it would be pretty rough to try and start reading the Osten Ard books with this one; maybe it could be done but it's a very briskly paced story that does its best to cram all of this wonderful characterization and worldbuilding into a positively slim 78,000 words, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you are a very confident fantasy reader.

TL;DR Tad Williams good, go read Osten Ard

[satsukifowl]

Re-visiting Tad Williams’ Osten Ard

After reading Brandon Sanderson’s The Lost Metal, which went about 8,000 miles per hour, I wanted to read something the really slows down, digs deep and takes its time. I very much enjoyed TLM, but have been missing novels that really linger with the characters. So I thought maybe it’s time to reread some Tad Williams. I was thinking the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. Here’s beautiful cover art by Michael Whelan:

Then lo and behold, turns out there’s a sequel series to MSaT! Yes, please!! I’m so behind the times. I don’t remember many details from the first trilogy, but decided to jump right into The Last King of Osten Ard. Here’s more beautiful cover art to enjoy, though the copy of The Witchwood Crown I checked out had the colors very very dark so I couldn’t quite tell what I was looking at. The second book, Empire of Grass, has to have one of my favorite covers of all time!

Despite wanting the slow and lingering story-telling, I’ll admit to becoming impatient and reading ahead about some of my favorites. :3 I’ve really enjoyed the read though, and being immersed back into this world Tad Williams has crafted. Of course I didn’t check to see if the series was complete before I began reading, and it’s not ... but hopefully, with how slow I’m going, I won’t have too long a wait once I finish book 3.

Now, I still have A LOT of reading to do. XD