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.