June 5, 2017
Williams seems to think that readers unfamiliar with his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn epic fantasy trilogy will still be able to enjoy this novel, set about 30 years later in the land of Osten Ard, but many newcomers will find themselves bewildered. The text is followed by an appendix with 14 pages of characters (over 300 of them!) and place names; a brief introductory summary of previous events would have been far more helpful. There are numerous references to the Storm King’s War, but the nature of that conflict is only hinted at, and first-timers are also left to try to sort out Osten Ard’s theology, which encompasses archbishops and hymns to a Christ-like redeemer as well as pagan deities. The story line featuring King Simon, who rose to power from humble beginnings and is struggling with the death of his son, is the easiest to get into, but the sprawling scope of the book and the dense exposition get in the way. There are superficial similarities to George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire (including a wedding that turns unexpectedly bloody), and fans of Martin may pick this up knowing that Williams’s earlier work inspired him, but the student has surpassed the teacher. Agent: Matthew Bialer, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.