A review by josiah17
Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I've been in a bit of a reading slump after Memories of Ice, so that hindered this read a little bit. However, I still enjoyed this more than I expected considering some of the mixed reviews I've seen. Yeah, it's got a little bit of what could be called the middle book syndrome, focused on getting characters to a specific location and less action-oriented plot movement. But I still found many sections to be exciting and pretty consequential. I think there was a good balance between expanding on the worldbuilding and moving characters around to set up the chess board. Speaking of worldbuilding, I remain in awe of Tad's ability in this department. Osten Ard is simply such an enchanting fantasy landscape. His prose brings this world to life.

While I did find some sections exciting, I also struggled quite a bit with portions of the last third of the book. Again, partially due to the slump I'm in, but there were some fairly slow and uneventful chapters as well.

All in all, a good read, one I could bump the rating on as time passes. I'm extremely excited to read To Green Angel Tower in the coming months.

“For all the things we've seen...my goodness, the world still has more to show us, doesn't it?"
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