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Book Reviews of The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1)

The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1)
The Dragonbone Chair - Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1
Author: Tad Williams
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ISBN-13: 9780886773847
ISBN-10: 0886773849
Publication Date: 11/7/1989
Pages: 785
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 197

3.9 stars, based on 197 ratings
Publisher: DAW
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

15 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 96 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
Wow. This was a great story! It did take awhile to get into, but I'm glad I kept at it. The characters were nicely developed, and there were enough plot twists to keep me guessing. Perhaps my only huge issue with the book was how "tolkein-ish" it was... typical landscape, maps, characters on a quest, etc.
Kati-L avatar reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
This series is not as good as the author's Otherland series, but a decent read for those with the patience for a very extended story with good development of multiple characters.
reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 130 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
The first third of the book dragged, but it improved greatly. Think I will look for the other books of the series.
Tribefan avatar reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 56 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Hard to get into at first but once you get sucked in watch out!
FrequentReader avatar reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 40 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
As war threatens to rip apart a once peaceful land, a young kitchen boy turned magician's apprentice embarks on a journey that could save his world from the dark machinations of a king gone mad. The author of Tailchaser's Song draws on many mythologies for the background of his fantasy epic, creating a solid story spiced with political intrigue and strong, appealing heroes. Highly recommended.
reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 107 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
The best series I have read since LOTR. Book 1 of the series.
katzpawz avatar reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 281 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
I agree with Richard M. This IS the best fantasy series since Lord of The Rings! Tad Williams has more than just a way with words. His characters in this series are "drawn" so perfectly, it is as if they are standing right in front of you, speaking out. The only trouble I had with the series is that the author took so doggone long to write it! It would be worth anyones time to read this and then search out the rest of the series!
sarradee avatar reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 47 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This book started off really, really slowly and it took me a long time to get into the story. I read this book for an online book group so I didn't want to give up on it. It's a good thing that I didn't because once the story started moving, it really took off and got more and more interesting. By the end, which is left on a cliff-hanger, I am dying to start the next book to find out just what happens next.
reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 82 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Great writing. On par with Whell of Time.
reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 407 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Like other epic fantasies, this book was slow to start as the world and characters were introduced in detail. Once things started going wrong with the land, and Simon had to flee his comfortable home to face the unknown, the story started picking up. I liked meeting all the characters, though sometimes I had trouble keeping them straight as the names are often similar to each other. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Stone of Farewell
reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This series is working up to being one of my favorites. A slow start at the beginning of this book that opens up into an exciting quest-based fantasy epic told with typical Tad Williams tension. The main character is very much in the Frodo vein; a kitchen scullion caught up in a wave of events beyond his comprehension whose actions end up shaping the course of history. Highly recommended for fans of fantasy epics!
trevor avatar reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 38 more book reviews
I didn't finish this one. All of the same, tired fantasy saws are here. I found myself getting characters mixed up while I read it, and now I can't remember them at all. Unless you are still jacked up about Tolkien and you can't get enough high fantasy, you can take a pass on this one.
jenart avatar reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on
Really great series! Very detailed, so if you want a fast paced fantasy series this is not the one. The writing is great, the editing is good to until the last book. It got kind of shabby, but it didn't take away from the story at all.

The story is deeply rooted and so there are a lot of parts that get really slow through all three books, but it still was exciting to read. The world building is incredible, I don't know if I have read a fantasy yet that matches the world building in this series.

A couple of things I didn't like: The main character is quite whiny and it really gets boring reading that over and over again. He is a boy growing so it fits, it's just hard to stay interested, but I guess all people are whiny in their ways. The ending was ver long. It felt to drawn out. I kind of wanted the end to happen faster than it did, and get to the part where they are rebuilding around them. The author spent so much time with the evil going down and did not reserve enough of the book to finish it off. You know those books, where the world is destroyed and then at the end the guy gets the girl and it's the end? For the amount of story telling going on here and building I just don't get the end being that simple.

Otherwise great series worth the read!
reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 68 more book reviews
Book one of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn
reviewed The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Bk 1) on + 26 more book reviews
This is the hardcover version by DAW Books, Inc.