tsomer 's review for:

The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams

2.25

adventurous hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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I wanted to enjoy this book after seeing how highly regarded it was, and how it inspired other fantasy series such as George R. R. Martin's ASOIAF, however I really struggled to engage with it.
My main issue was the pacing. The first third of the book is heavy on exposition and world-building, mostly delivered through stories and lessons given to Simon. While I appreciate rich lore, this section felt overly long and dragged out.  It takes far too long for the story to truly begin, and even once it does, the plot progresses very slowly for such a long book. This is made worse by chapters that feel unnecessarily lengthy and meandering. 

Another problem is Simon himself. He's around fifteen and growing into adulthood however, he spends most of the book whining, misunderstanding the obvious, and generally coming off as frustratingly clueless. I understand he's young and inexperienced, but his lack of growth—or even basic awareness—made it hard for me to connect with him as a protagonist. 

Overall, I found The Dragonbone Chair to be a slow and somewhat frustrating read. While the world is detailed, it wasn’t enough to make up for the pacing issues and my dislike of the main character.