Memory, Sorry and Thorn
This week, I finished the third book in the very long, very epic fantasy series I’ve been reading for the past few months. It was both a deeply satisfying conclusion to the series, a major reading accomplishment (yay books!) and left me feeling bittersweet in the way that the end of a really good book always makes me feel. I devoured the final chapters like a hungry beast, but now that it’s over I’m a little sad. There’s always something like a mourning period after the last page of a great novel.
The trilogy in question is Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams. This isn’t a new fantasy series, by any means, but it was new to me. The first book in the trilogy, The Dragonbone Chair, was published in 1988. The second, The Stone Of Farewell, came out two years later. And the final book, To Green Angel Tower, was released in 1993 though at the time it was so long that publisher DAW Books released it in two volumes.
Lucky for me, there are several more books set in the world of Osten Ard, though the next trilogy (actually it’s three books now with a fourth on the way) is its own self-contained story. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn ends conclusively. You could stop after To Green Angel Tower and be perfectly satisfied. It has a beginning, middle and end—it just also continues from there.
As someone rather frustrated with George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire, I’m always happy when a fantasy series gives us an ending, even if it picks back up with new stories afterwards. Joe Abercrombie’s terrific First Law books do just that, with a trilogy followed by three stand-alone books followed by a second trilogy that takes place a generation later.
Speaking of Martin, Williams’ Memory, Sorrow and Thorn were a direct and significant inspiration to A Song Of Ice And Fire. Martin praised the series in the past, saying “Fantasy got a bad rep for being formulaic and ritual. And I read The Dragonbone Chair and said, ‘My God, they can do something with this form, and it’s Tad doing it.’ It’s one of my favourite fantasy series.”
There are numerous—and quite clearly purposeful—similarities in Martin and Williams’s stories. Both are medieval fantasy with knights and lords and kings and tourneys, but it goes well beyond that. There’s a Hand of the King in The Dragonbone Chair. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that term before A Game Of Thrones. Both feature one-handed heroes. Both have young girls disguised as boys at one point, though the princess in Memory, Sorrow and Thorn goes by the name Marya when she’s in her second disguise. Hmm, let’s take the ‘M’ off of that name, shall we?
But Williams is also obviously influenced by Tolkien in his series. These are not “grimdark” fantasy novels, though they have some very dark and frightening moments. The characters, while deep and complex, are rarely as “shades of grey” as Martin’s. They hew more toward the noble and sincere. Prince Josua reminds me of a more dour Aragorn. The troll Binabik, while every bit as diminutive as Tyrion Lannister, is far too nice to make it in Westeros, but I think he and Gandalf would get along swimmingly.
And Simon—the main character of this series—is as much Frodo as he is Jon Snow (though quite a bit taller than either—and with a shock of red hair that would almost certainly be written out of any TV or film adaptation).
I’m doing my best to discuss this trilogy without spoiling it, because it’s best to go in without any of its many mysteries ruined. But I suppose a brief summary is needed.
The story takes place in the land of Osten Ard, opening as the old king, Prester John, wakes from a long sleep. We meet the kitchen scullion, Simon, and his ward, the mistress of chambermaids, Rachel (known as The Dragon) as well as the mysterious Doctor Morgenes. We also learn about King John’s two sons, Elias and Josua, princes who could not be more different from one another. As the old king hovers on the brink of death, the land of Osten Ard is about to see great changes, powerful dark magic, and the return of creatures of legend.
What follows is something of a slow burn that, if you stick with it, quickly builds into one of the most compelling and satisfying fantasies I’ve ever read. The characters are all wonderful and many of them have huge, dynamic arcs, changing and growing drastically over the course of three books. Dark and terrifying villains spin their diabolical plans on the sidelines and Williams weaves dozens of threads together masterfully as the whole thing builds and builds toward a truly epic conclusion.
What I loved most about this trilogy was just how much it gripped me and never let go. I wasn’t sure where it was headed—Williams introduces a bunch of big question marks and then obscures them with plenty of red herrings—but when it all came together it all made sense. There was no cheating, no shortcuts taken, no glaring plot holes to get from point A to point Z.
In any case, I highly recommend you pick up The Dragonbone Chair and go from there. Be patient with the slow burn. It picks up considerably and the payoff is absolutely worthwhile.
I included this trilogy in my list of books to read if you’re a fan of Game Of Thrones. I have some other pretty great suggestions in that list so do give it a read if you’re so inclined.
I also made a video gushing about this series below.
Have you read Memory, Sorrow and Thorn? What did you think? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook.