Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

People who have picked up this book fall into two categories: those who gave up after 100 pages or so, saying that it was too slow and didn't hold their interest, and those who stubbornly stuck it out through the slow parts and to their delight, found themselves in the middle of one of the best epic fantasies written so far. Yes, the beginning of the series is a bit long and drawn-out, but it is really worth sticking with. The basic plot of this book - of this entire series - is nothing new. Those who have read a lot of fantasy will find a lot of familiar elements - the standard young hero coming of age, a mysterious nonhuman race driven out of the land when men first arrived, an ageless wisewoman who seems to know everything, a king corrupted by evil, and magical artifacts of all sorts. The brilliant thing about Tad Williams is that he rises above the cliches to create a story that is more original and less predictable than it should be. The world of Osten Ard is detailed and very real, and the characters even more so. The cast of characters is very large, yet somehow easy to keep track of (and if the reader gets confused as to who is who, there is an appendix at the end of the book listing all of the names with tips on how to pronounce them). Simon, the main protagonist, grows and changes in the time-honored fashion of kitchen-boys-turned-heroes everywhere, yet the story never feels old or cliched. Williams is a master storyteller. I would recommend this series to any fan of epic fantasy.