Book review – The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams (spoiler-free)

The blurb

Kitchen-boy Simon is bored, restless and fourteen years old – a dangerous combination. It seems, however, that his life has just taken a turn for the better when he’s apprenticed to his castle’s resident wizard. As Simon’s learning to read and write under Doctor Morgenes’ tutelage, forces greater than he could possible imagine are gathering: forces which will change Simon’s life – and his world – forever.

Following the death of Good King John, Osten Ard is plunged into civil war as his sons battle for control of the fabled Dragonbone Chair – the country’s throne as well as the symbol of its power. Simon is forced to flee the only home he has ever known, a journey which will test him beyond his worst nightmares.

With THE DRAGONBONE CHAIR, Tad Williams introduced readers to the incredible fantasy world of Osten Ard and kicked off the beloved, internationally bestselling series Memory, Sorrow and Thorn.

The review

This is a 5-star review – but it didn’t start out that way.

Or at least, for the first 300 pages, I did not think I would love this book the way I ended up loving it.

I think perhaps the reason I enjoyed it so much in the end was because the story took its time, built up the world, let the characters grow organically. By the end of the book, I flew through the pages, each character finding themselves in mortal peril, and I was desperate to know if they survived. I was gripped by each of these storylines. 

However, to allow this organic growth to happen, the first 300 pages were slow. A long time was spend discussing the history of the kingdom. Another relevant point is that while the latter half of the novel features several viewpoints, the vast majority of the first section comes from the perspective of Simon.

Simon grated on me a little to start with. I think this also slowed the first section of the book for me.

Tad Williams does a great job of depicting a fifteen-year-old boy. And actually, I think if I’d read this back when I was fifteen, I might have liked Simon more, or at least understood him better. Coming to this book in my late thirties, I was a little frustrated by his carelessness and inability to see how much other people did for him. (Was anyone else Team Rachel to start with?) 

But even as he frustrated me, I could see how well he’d been drawn by Tad Williams, for isn’t being angsty and careless precisely what being a teenager is all about?

As the story progresses, Simon grows. He becomes less petulant. He becomes braver. More thoughtful. Again, this is why the story is so good. By the final chapters, I was desperate to get back to Simon to see what was happening to him.

And the end. What an end. I can’t remember the last time I finished a book where I was so desperate to pick up the sequel. Joshua, Binabik and Miriamele are utmost in my thoughts.

I read an interview once (I can’t remember by who) where someone said each book in a series must be self-contained. It must have a proper ending, even though the story continues. 

If any book proves that theory wrong, it is this one. Every character section ends on a cliffhanger. Every character moves towards danger. Hence my desire to pick up the sequel with record-breaking speed. 

So, there you go. That’s my review. If you started this book and set it down because it was slow, pick it back up. Honestly, it will sweep you away if you let it. The slow start is of its time. I don’t think many books would give so much space these days. Now readers must be hooked instantly (or so we are told). 

But now I’ve read The Dragonbone Chair, I’ve begun to re-evaluate that. Do we need to start all books so quickly? Can we not take a little more time to build our worlds? I’ll be interested to see where we are in ten years’ time. Will we move ever closer to explosive beginnings, or will we see a return to these slower starts that older fantasy series were famous for?

Anyway, that is the end of my musings and onwards I move to The Stone of Farewell.