“Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” had a cast of nearly 400 characters. Which character would you most like to see return?
Monthly Archives: May 2014
Progress on The Last King of Osten Ard
Tad Williams has made significant progress on writing The Last King of Osten Ard, his new sequel series to the critically-acclaimed Memory, Sorrow and Thorn fantasy series. Last week, he reported that he has already written between 150 and 250 pages of the first volume (The Witchwood Crown):
Just to let you know I’m somewhere between two hundred and two hundred and fifty pages in. (Haven’t counted lately.) Currently in Elvritshalla and the Hayholt, but also about to be in the Lake Thrithings. Themes are thick and fast on the ground. Not surprising, since I’ve been here before.
Williams had reported earlier that he was already working on Chapter Twelve. Progress on the new series has been incredibly swift, with approximately 50,000 words being written in just a few weeks.
The Witchwood Crown is currently projected to be released in late 2015, but at this point, all dates are tentative. The tome is the first of three, with the second and third volumes tentatively titled Empire of Grass and The Navigator’s Children. Each volume is expected to be around the same size as the previous books set in the same universe, at between 750 and 1,600 pages each. To Green Angel Tower, the third volume in the original series, is one of the longest novels ever written in the English language. Williams later referred to this volume as “The Book That Ate My Life”.
Williams intends to provide updates on the progress of the books on a regular basis.
“How to Behave Like a Princess” posted on A Dribble of Ink
Jenny Thurman has posted a new analysis of royal female characters in Osten Ard, from the perspective of a reader who happens to be female. The analysis covers Miriamele, daughter of King Elias; Aditu, daughter of the House of Year-dancing; Maegwin, daughter of King Lluth; and, to a lesser extent, Vorzheva, daughter of the March-thane of High Thrithings.
Thurman writes:
My biggest disappointment, when I began reading epic fantasy novels marketed to adults, was not only how few women there were in these stories, nor even how much more constricted women’s roles often were compared to those I grew up reading about, but how condescending these stories often were towards girls – and princesses – in particular.
Ms. Thurman’s full comments can be found here.
