Enjoyed this book in spite of its faults, which are there but less important than what is good. The first of which is simply that for a book called Stone of Farewell, where like 75% of the characters are heading there, it takes a damn long time to actually get there. I'm not even marking this a spoiler because if you read the first book already, you understand. In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies, Treebeard tells the hobbits he's brought to the Entmoot, "It takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish, and we never say anything unless it is worth taking a lont time to say." That's Tad Williams.It's a dense story told at a plodding, ponderous pace, but that's not a bad thing because it gives you time to just appreciate the almost cinematic quality of many of the scenes. The sights and the sounds that are all around the many characters as they struggle through their appointed tasks. And oh, there is a lot of struggle, because that's what it is to be in the middle part of a trilogy. The hero must struggle to have that cliffhanger to take you into the third book. It is slow and, unlike the first book, not particularly full of action. The events of the first book still reverberate. Some other characters come into play, but not many. Mostly it's the battered survivors of book one. The perspective characters are an interesting bunch, as are a couple of their companions, although I think that the largest group suffers the most because there's too many people and not so many pages to divide up the attention. Two books in and I can't tell apart Towser and Sangfugol other than that they have different names.Binabik the troll is probably my favorite of the characters. You really can feel the influence from LOTR, and Binabik here reminds of Aragorn in The Two Towers. There's nothing he can do to help Frodo and Sam but he knows he has to do part of a bigger quest. That was interesting. Simon, unfortunately, is more of a passive observer of his fate in this volume rather than someone on an active, heroic journey, although he does find himself in the presence of an old mystic at one point. This is no Yoda to spout wisdom at him, though. The plot happens around him rather than with him as much of an active participant.It doesn't really matter because Josua steps up to inherit more of the leadership mantle. If you liked Simon best from the first book, I guess that's tough. I wonder whether the third book shifts focus again. We get a little taste of everywhere, but some certainly more of a taste than others. There are more strands than in the first book, though not so many more that this series spiraled out of control into more than a trilogy. Legend has it that A Song of Ice and Fire was once pitched as a trilogy. Yeah, about that... But, Williams manages the trick of keeping it all flowing without stopping to spend too much time on people who don't matter. Do we need every step of Isagrimnur's journey, every last thought of Guthwulf or Rachel the Dragon? No, we do not. We stop in on them just enough to be reminded that they exist, that they have importance to the plot that will unfold in time, and then we move on.I like Osten Ard and the window we get into it through this series. Take your time, relax, and let it happen to you. It's different than what people are writing now, different in a very refreshing way. You won't be done it in a day or two, and not just because it's long. It's just not a rush through kind of book. It's a good one, though. Enjoy the journey!
The second book of the "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" trilogy begins with Simon in the care of the mountain trolls after the fight with the snow dragon (which occurred at the end of "The Dragonbone Chair") but Binabik is under arrest there for being a traitor to his own people. Meanwhile, Prince Josua and the few survivors of the devastating attack on Naglimund flee across the wilderness, looking for any safe port in the storm that has overtake the entire land of Osten Ard. Eventually, both groups are placed on a quest to reach the Stone of Farewell, where the various branches of the nearly immortal race of Sithi had their falling-out and separated for eternity.Other sub-plots deal with Princess Miriamele who has headed south to seek aid from Lector Rannesin, head of the church; with Maegwin, last heir of Herynstir, leading her people in underground exile; and with Tiamik, a Wrannament and one of the few remaining members of the League of the Scroll who is trying to carry out Doctor Morgenes final instructions.I would give this book three and a half stars if I could. It is better than a mere "like" but not quite at the "really like" level yet. It is sprawling and complicated and like its predecessor it takes a while to get moving. It also suffers from the sense of in-between-ness so common in middle chapters of epic stories. There are so many ingredients in the mix here and while each is relatively tasty in its own right I am ready for more of the connections to be made between them.Despite these minor complaints, the deeper I read, the more I enjoyed this book. There are some incredibly memorable scenes and incidents here. Williams' description of the various lost Sithi cities are always interesting and when we are finally taken to a living Sithi city, it is a memorable event. Also, when one-handed Prince Josua must engage in a duel-to-the-death with a man nearly twice his size, I was on the edge of my seat.Williams is a good descriptive writer and has developed a number of interesting characters here. His aspirations are clearly quite large and the final confrontation between good and evil in this series will undoubtedly be earth-shattering. The last book in this series is supposed to be a classic. I am looking forward to how Williams pulls together all of his strands of plot into a cohesive and satisfying finale.
What do You think about Stone Of Farewell (2005)?
The strongest book in the series. In this, we are exposed to the Sithi, Williams' take on the classical 'immortal Elf' trope - which he nails, I think. It's a canny blend of Tolkien and classical Sidhe/Norse Alfar. There is more of Simon's journey toward heroic status, and we are finally properly introduced to Miriamelle too. Like the first, it does have its loungers, particularly the segments relating the story of Tiamak the Wrannaman, or Princess Maegwin, which do drag a little. But overall, the momentum is sustained, and things move along to a suitably stirring climax. One thing that Williams does well, perhaps as well as any fantasy writer I know, is to create a real sense of being in his created world - that Secondary Creation that Tolkien talked about. And it works at its best when describing the works and culture of the Sithi; I can't recall it being done better.
—Martin Glen
I read in the Guardian the other day that George R.R. Martin is considered “the reigning laureate of fantasy.” Well, I certainly beg to differ.Marin has himself admitted that he was inspired to set out on the Song of Ice and Fire by reading Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, but I’m sure he will not be as quick to admit that he has yet to reach the level of fantasy fiction that Williams has produced.The second installment in Williams’ trilogy does not start off slowly (that was all taken care of in the first installment), but keeps the various very well-knit threads moving along at a near perfect pace and pacing.Comparing Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn to Ice and Fire I find Williams’ story more captivating, better described and paced, and less involved with long (and for me extraneous and somewhat indulgent) description of meals.Simon, though still childish at times, is growing up and is much easier to sympathize and empathize with in the second book than the first. That said, he no longer carries the story on his own, far from it. Other strands are growing quite as vivid and vital.If you like Ice and Fire, do yourself a huge favor, and read Williams’ trilogy as well. You will not regret it.
—Ulf Wolf
I hate this book. Here, let me sum it up for you so you don't waste all the time I did hoping this monstrosity would get better.Some people walk through a forest. A fight happens. Someone falls down and has a prophetic dream that they never tell anyone about. More walking through the forest. Repeat ad nauseum.Yes, that was the entire book. People 'falling senseless' or whatever the heck every ten pages, a lot of whining, and the occasional anticlimactic pointless battle followed by more passing out and walking through the forest. What a waste of time and space.
—Aurora
