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the_pale_woman 's review for:
The Dragonbone Chair
by Tad Williams
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
I feel like I just finished my homework. That was a slog of a first book. And I thought I knew what boring fantasy was. I don't think this undeniably monotonous tone was generated solely by the pacing. It was a combination of long winded prose, dense world building, pointless dialogue, and an unlikable protagonist.
I did like the world, even though it was presented in a dry manner. It felt like an Arthurian tale mixed with Lord of the Rings. I admire its ambition and execution, but that doesn't mean I can't rant about it.
Most traditional fantasy works to build and mature a protagonist at the beginning of his adventure. Simon starts and ends as a whiny piece of milquetoast in this first book. His mentors and friends are failing him. Simon, supposedly, is incredibly inquisitive to the point of annoyance, asking so many questions other characters tell him to stop. However, to my mind and to the reader, he isn't asking enough questions or the right ones. It feels like he's just along for the ride. I found it incredibly frustrating.
I enjoyed Tad's sci-fi epic, Otherland, quite a bit, so I'm going to continue this series despite my reservations. I am curious to see where this will go, especially since this series has a newer follow-up trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard, that just finished up in 2024. It would be nice if this clicked at some point. We will see.
I did like the world, even though it was presented in a dry manner. It felt like an Arthurian tale mixed with Lord of the Rings. I admire its ambition and execution, but that doesn't mean I can't rant about it.
Most traditional fantasy works to build and mature a protagonist at the beginning of his adventure. Simon starts and ends as a whiny piece of milquetoast in this first book. His mentors and friends are failing him. Simon, supposedly, is incredibly inquisitive to the point of annoyance, asking so many questions other characters tell him to stop. However, to my mind and to the reader, he isn't asking enough questions or the right ones. It feels like he's just along for the ride. I found it incredibly frustrating.
I enjoyed Tad's sci-fi epic, Otherland, quite a bit, so I'm going to continue this series despite my reservations. I am curious to see where this will go, especially since this series has a newer follow-up trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard, that just finished up in 2024. It would be nice if this clicked at some point. We will see.