Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Trilogy by Tad Williams

[Zissou]

I've been reading a lot of fantasy lately and I'm enjoying it. A few years back a friend of mine suggested that I check out Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series.

You folks are pretty well read around here and I'm wondering if anybody recommends this series. What would you compare it to?

[Expletive Deleted]

I enjoyed it quite a bit.

It does start off very slow. The first book takes a few hundred pages to really get going. Once it does, though, it turns into a nicely gritty high fantasy series. I really don't know who I'd compare Williams to, in terms of other fantasy writers. He's got a bit of Tolkein and a bit of Martin in him, but he ends up being quite different from either.

[Zissou]

He's got a bit of Tolkein and a bit of Martin in him, but he ends up being quite different from either.

Martin and Tolkein eh? That sounds perfect for me, I'm a big Martin fan, A Song of Ice and Fire is totally amazing.

Thanks for the feedback Expletive. :)

[leonaozaki]

It was...okay. There were some great moments in it but it took a very long time to get going and the supporting characters were always more interesting than the protagonist and his love interest-- herself one of the more annoying characters I've encountered in high fantasy. The second book was probably my favorite-- the first took too long to get going and the third was padded as well.

I can't really recommend it. If you want epic gigantism that goes somewhere and does something unpredictable, try THE DARKNESS THAT COMES BEFORE by R. Scott Bakker or GARDENS OF THE MOON by Steven Erikson. Both are much better, in hindsight, than the meandering yawnfest that was MEMORY SORROW AND THORN. (although his OTHERWORLD tetraology makes MEMORY SORROW AND THORN look like a Roger Zelazny novel.)

rob

[Expletive Deleted]

GARDENS OF THE MOON by Steven Erikson.While it is a great series, I don't think you can really hold it up as an examplar for lack of meandering bloat. I'm halfway through MIDNIGHT TIDES now, and it's only just getting going. HOUSE OF CHAINS could've stood to lose a few hundred pages, too.

[cactusmaac]

Checked out the first volume of Thorn but it took too long to get going (and I wasn't enjoying what I was reading) so I gave up after a couple of hundred pages.

[CaptMagellan]

I liked the trilogy a lot and have reread it a few times over the years.

One of the more pleasant aspects is that it actually has a satisfying and complete denoument.

[Ottmeister X]

It's better than average. I would rank it with the original Shannara books, the Weis/Hickman Dragonlance books, or some of the Riftwar books. Williams is a fairly decent author and I have a feeling that his Otherland series is better (but haven't taken time to read it yet). I thought the villian he created in this series had a good creepy personality. I've heard some say they thought it started slow, but I didn't find the building of the story a turn-off. Go for it.

[eyril]

This was a great book series. I would have to rate it in my top 10.

[Blueferret]

Yeah, it's a real good series.I didn't have any problems with the way it started because he needed to establish who the main character was.I didn't care much for his Otherworld series, but as a fantasy novelist Williams does a good job.

[Zissou]

Thanks for the feedback. Although there are some mixed opinions about this series it seems that you guys generally like it. It will be my next fantasy series once I'm finish the Elric Saga.

[Inkthinker]

He's got a bit of Tolkein and a bit of Martin in him, but he ends up being quite different from either.

To be fair, Williams's fantasy epic predates Martin's by a good bit. I think Martin was still writing/editing the Wild Cards anthologies at that time.

I'm not disagreeing with the comparison, but I read Memory, Sorrow & Thorn in its entirety about a decade ago. Just the same, I definitely agree that a Martin fan would probably like the Memory, Sorrow & Thorn series. I certainly enjoyed it.

:D

[Expletive Deleted]

Oh, of course.

I was just trying to put it in terms of more popular material.

[Chiasm]

Extremely slow building but all Tad Williams books seem to be that way. I actually quit the first book midway and didn't pick it up for years. When I finally started again and plowed through it I actually did like it. But you have to be dedicated to get through the first book because it is so snailish.