he first review is in for The Heart of What Was Lost, the new novel by fantasy author Tad Williams, and it is very good. Set in the Osten Ard universe, the novel continues the story told in Williams’ now-classic “Memory, Sorrow, Thorn” series, one of the inspirations for George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books.
Douglas Croft from YouTube channel Geek In has reviewed The Heart of What Was Lost, calling it “a fantastic book”; he reveals that the story centers around the Norns, the embittered immortals of the far north, after the end of To Green Angel Tower. Croft states that readers who are curious about the ancient Norn society will finally have some of their questions answered, after an excruciatingly long 23-year wait, and that the novel “adds a whole layer of subtlety and meaning to what [readers] saw in the first three books.”
Mr. Croft also opines that The Heart of What Was Lost is likely setting up characters which will be important in upcoming Osten Ard novels The Witchwood Crown, Empire of Grass, and The Navigator’s Children. (The Witchwood Crown will be released in April 2017). The Witchwood Crown and The Heart of What Was Lost are both listed on Goodreads’ 2017 Highly Anticipated Epic Fantasy Novels list, near the top at #2 and #3, respectively.
The Heart of What Was Lost is scheduled for a January 2017 release, and the novel is now available for pre-order from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other retailers. Doug Croft received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) of the novel.
Doug’s full video review, with major spoilers for “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn”, and some mild spoilers for The Heart of What was Lost, is below:
(Bonus points for Douglas Croft correctly pronouncing Jao e-Tinukai’i).
oday the cover art for Tad Williams’ new long-awaited novel set in the Osten Ard universe, The Heart of What Was Lost, has been revealed. The art features a witchwood sword with a white rose hilt. The foreground shows a snow-covered landscape, with ominous, dark mountains in the background. The novel is a sequel to the original, now-classic “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” series; the new book will be published in January 2017, followed closely by four additional Osten Ard novels, titled The Witchwood Crown (release date: April 2017), Empire of Grass, The Navigator’s Children, and The Shadow of Things to Come.
Williams describes the plot of The Heart of What Was Lost as: “[The novel] takes place in the half-year after the end of [To Green Angel Tower], and tells of the attempt by [Duke] Isgrimnur and a force largely made up of Rimmersgard soldiers to destroy the remaining Norns as they flee back to their homeland and their mountain. Of course, it gets a bit more complicated than that. It also answers some questions about what actually happened in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Green Angel Tower.”
The main characters in the new novel will be the returning Rimmersmen characters Isgrimnur and Sludig; Isgrimnur is the Duke of Rimmergard in “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn”, a point-of-view character. Sludig was his lieutenant, and a dynamic and important character in the original trilogy; it is he who accompanies Simon, Binabik and Qantaqa north from Naglimund Castle, skirting around the western and northern sides of Aldheorte Forest in their long, cold quest to retrieve the Great Sword Thorn from the “Rhymer’s Greate Tree”. He then travels south with Binabik and Qantaqa around the eastern edge of Aldheorte to the Stone of Farewell, where he becomes Prince Josua’s Man Friday, accompanying the prince south to Nabban and then back north to Hayholt Castle.
According to Williams’ announcement, The Heart of What Was Lost will continue almost directly from the ending of To Green Angel Tower, though it’s unclear what this exactly means for the story. The fall of Green Angel Tower happens one year before the ending of the classic series, as the Afterword, after Chapter 60, takes place one year after the fall of the tower.
The Heart of What Was Lost is now available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers worldwide.
oday, Random House website Suvudu.com revealed three brand-new re-issue covers for international bestselling author Tad Williams‘ classic “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” dark fantasy series. The covers feature beautiful new cover art by legendary science fiction/fantasy artist Michael Whelan, who painted the original covers for “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” almost thirty years ago.
The updated artwork is the first major revamp of the classic covers of The Dragonbone Chair, Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower since the books first went to print in the late 1980s/early 1990s, at least in America. Whelan, winner of fifteen Hugo Awards and three World Fantasy Awards for best artist, is known for his detailed and painstaking work, which often involves months of research and manuscript reading.
The new covers will appear on updated U.S. DAW Books trade paperback editions of the original trilogy, with a newly-revised edition of The Dragonbone Chair scheduled to appear in July 2016, followed by Stone of Farewell in September 2016, and To Green Angel Tower in November 2016. These volumes will be closely followed by two brand-new Osten Ard novels: The Heart of What Was Lost in January 2017 and The Witchwood Crown in April 2017. Three or four additional novels are planned, with The Witchwood Crown being the first volume in the highly-anticipated sequel series “The Last King of Osten Ard”.
First up is the new cover for The Dragonbone Chair, the cardinal volume, which features a blurb by George R. R. Martin, author of the bestselling A Game of Thrones: “Inspired me to write my own seven-book trilogy… It’s one of my favorite series.”
Whelan’s artwork accurately depicts the sword Minneyar, also known as “Year of Memory” or simply Memory, one of the Three Great Swords spoken of in the Mad Priest Nisses’ ancient prophecy:
“When frost doth grow on Claves’ bell And shadows walk upon the road When water blackens in the well Three Swords must come again.
“When Bukken from the earth do creep And Hunën from the heights descend When Nightmare throttles peaceful sleep Three Swords must come again.
“To turn the stride of treading Fate To clear the fogging Mists of Time If Early shall resist too Late Three Swords must come again.”
Scheduled for September, the new cover for Stone of Farewell features the Great Sword Sorrow, also known in the Sithi language as Jingizu. Whelan’s illustration accurately portrays the double-hilted sword, which is made of both iron and witchwood, two materials which were considered inimicable, perhaps because neither the iron nor the witchwood are native to the lands of Osten Ard: iron was brought from Ijsgard east to Osten Ard on King Elvrit’s longboat Sotfengsel, while witchwood was brought westward to Osten Ard by the undying Sithi on their eight great ships.
The great sword Sorrow is described in the text: “… in a sheath at [King Elias’] side was the sword with the strange crossed hilt […] there was something queer and unsettling about the blade… [It] had a strange double guard, the cross pieces making; with the hilt, a sort of five-pointed star. Somewhere, deep in Simon’s self, he recognized this last sword. Somewhere, in a memory black as night, deep as a cave, he had seen such a blade…”
The new cover contains a blurb from author Patrick Rothfuss (“The Kingkiller Chronicle”): “Groundbreaking… changed how people thought of the genre, and paved the way for so much modern fantasy. Including mine.”
The third volume, To Green Angel Tower, is scheduled for a November 2016 re-release. The cover features Michael Whelan’s depiction of the Great Sword named Thorn.
The text describes the sword thusly: “it was a sword like no other he had ever seen: long as a man’s arms spread wide, fingertip to fingertip, and black. The purity of its blackness was unmarred by the colors that sparkled on its edge, as though the blade was so supernaturally sharp that it even sliced the dim light of the cavern into rainbows. Had it not been for the silver cord wrapped around the hilt as a handgrip— leaving the uncovered guard and pommel as pitchy as the rest of its length— it would have seemed to bear no relationship to mankind at all. Rather, despite its symmetry, it would have seemed some natural growth, some pure essence of nature’s blackness extruded by chance in the form of an exquisite sword.”
The cover features a blurb from author Christopher Paolini (Eragon): “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is one of the great fantasy epics of all time.” We at Treacherous Paths can’t disagree.
We will keep readers up to date on more news as soon as we’re authorized to release it.
he title of Tad Williams’ fifth new Osten Ard novel was made public this week on Facebook. The novel, which will be an interquel rather than a strict sequel, will be named The Shadow of Things to Come.
Williams, an international bestselling author, has hinted about this fifth novel in the past, but the title of the new book has remained under wraps until recently. In a previous Facebook posting, Williams wrote:
I would guess that the second short novel [The Shadow of Things to Come] will come out between The Witchwood Crown and Empire of Grass, but that’s a guess until we work out the schedule with publishers. The story at this stage is one of a number of possibilities, so I think I’ll talk about it next newsletter, or perhaps when actually I’m writing it and it’s jumping like the tree frogs around here whenever we get some rain. All the possibilities are pretty interesting, I have to say.
To Green Angel Tower (1993)
In all, five new books set in Williams’ eldritch world of Osten Ard will see worldwide publication over the next few years. Publishers in the US, UK, Germany, and the Netherlands have already been announced. The first new novel, The Heart of What Was Lost, was originally envisioned as a short story, but like many of Williams’ stories, expanded greatly in the telling. The original working title of this novel was The Heart of Regret, but that title has since been changed. The Heart of What Was Lost is set immediately after the events of To Green Angel Tower (published in 1993), and could be seen as a sequel novel to Williams’ original classic “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” books:
The story [of The Heart of What Was Lost] follows [Duke] Isgrimnur [of Elvritshalla] as he leads an army against the Storm King’s defeated warriors, who are looting and killing as they fall back to Nakkiga, their mountain home in the far north.
The Heart of What Was Lost is expected to be published in January 2017, followed by The Witchwood Crown in late Winter 2017. This second new Osten Ard novel will continue the story some thirty years later. After The Witchwood Crown will come The Shadow of Things to Come, Empire of Grass, and The Navigator’s Children, though not necessarily in that order.
Williams has given several interviews over the last year regarding several of the new Osten Ard books. We will provide more details on OstenArd.com regarding these highly-anticipated new novels when possible; alternately, you can subscribe to Williams’ official newsletter.
Tad Williams’ novels have long been available as audiobooks in Germany. Now “The Dragonbone Chair”, “Stone of Farewell” and “To Green Angel Tower” will get English-language audiobooks.
In Part 4 of our interview with Science Fiction/Fantasy author Tad Williams, Williams revealed plans for audio books for his classic “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” series. In the US and the UK, the “MS&T” books have never been transferred to audio, other than an edition for sight-impaired readers that was released on audio-cassette in the 1990s. Requests for English-language audiobooks of “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” have been made for many years, to no avail. German-language audiobooks have been available for a long time.
Today, Deborah Beale, wife and business partner of Tad Williams, just tweeted news that casting for the audiobooks for “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn” has commenced. It is presumed that the English-language audiobooks will be released in time for the release of the sequel to “MS&T”, called “The Last King of Osten Ard”. The first volume of the new series, called The Witchwood Crown, is expected in April 2016.
Here is an infographic showing the family tree of House Year-dancing, also known as House Sa’onserei, the ruling house of the Sithi.
Sa’onserei family tree.
Notes:
[1] The text indicates that Shima’onari and Likimeya may be siblings in addition to being husband and wife. This may be an error in the appendix.
[2] Jiriki describes Kira’athu as his cousin on page 682 of To Green Angel Tower, part one, but her parentage is not clear.
[3] Jiriki refers to An’nai as his kinsman, but An’nai’s relationship to House Sa’onserei remains unclear.
The cover of The Dragonbone Chair features Simon Snowlock and the dwarfish Binabik, as well as the wolf Qantaqa (on back cover). The cover of A Game of Thrones features Jon Snow and the dwarf Tyrion, and the direwolf Ghost.
It is no secret that George R. R. Martin drew inspiration for his A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels from the best-selling Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series by Tad Williams. Martin has stated repeatedly that Williams inspired him to write ASOIAF:
Tad’s fantasy series, The Dragonbone Chair and the rest of his famous four-book trilogy was one of the things that inspired me to write my own seven-book trilogy. I read Tad and was impressed by him, but the imitators that followed — well, fantasy got a bad rep for being very formulaic and ritual. And I read The Dragonbone Chair and said, “My god, they can do something with this form,” and it’s Tad doing it. It’s one of my favorite fantasy series.
In fact, Martin purposely buried some homages to MS&T in ASOIAF, while at other points, he seems to reuse the same plot elements, often to a surprisingly detailed degree. Here are 31 similarities between the two book series [contains spoilers for both series of novels]:
1) A high-born girl named (M)arya disguises herself as a boy, and learns to fight with a sword as she travels throughout the lands. In both “Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn” (MS&T) and “A Song of Ice and Fire” (ASOIAF), a young noble girl, called either Marya or Arya, flees her home, traveling in disguise as a boy. Despite the fact that many people see through her flimsy ‘disguise’, she keeps wearing it. Author George R.R. Martin’s naming of Arya is clearly an homage to the original cross-dressing noble girl, Marya from MS&T.
2) On her journey, the girl-in-disguise (M)arya meets many characters, including a man wearing a helmet shaped like a hound’s head, who is sent to bring her back to the king. In MS&T, this hound-helmeted character is named Ingen Jegger; in ASOIAF, his name is Sandor Clegane.In both cases, these men are skilled warriors who manage to escape death on multiple occasions.
3) Two princely brothers who hate each other fight over the royal throne after the death of the old king. The country is torn apart as various factions choose sides. In MS&T, the princes are named Elias and Josua. In ASOIAF, the feuding brothers are named Stannis and Renly Baratheon.
4) A red-robed advisor to the new king convinces the king that he needs to sacrifice his hated younger brother; this blood sacrifice, the red-robed advisor says, will make the kingdom whole once more. In MS&T, this red-robed advisor is named Pryrates; in ASOIAF, her name is Melisandre. In both series, these red-robed priests slowly convince their respective royal masters to allow them to practice a strange fire-ritual which they claim will allow them victory. This fire ritual requires royal blood in order to be successful.
5) A tailed star appears in the sky, portending doom/change. In MS&T, this tailed star is called the Conqueror Star, or sa Astrian Conquidilles, and it appears in the sky for three years after an absence of 497 years. In ASOIAF, this star is called shierak qiya, the Dragon’s Tail, or the Red Comet.
6) Feuding brothers named Elias/Elyas and Josua appear in the story. In a not-so-subtle nudge in Williams’ direction, author George R.R. Martin names two feuding background characters Elyas and Josua, in a tribute to one of his favorite Fantasy series, MS&T (which features the feuding brothers Elias and Josua). In an even less subtle nod, these two feuding brothers are said to be the sons of Lord Willum. These three characters are mentioned in chapter 22 of A Clash of Kings, the second volume of ASOIAF.
7) Strange, otherworldly icy creatures who live in the far north appear, and although they have been inactive for centuries, they plot to take over the mortal world Their ruler is called the Night King/Storm King. They have been exiled at the northern edge of the world for many years, but the Night King/Storm King plots to soon take it all back, displacing Mankind. In MS&T, these icy creatures are the Norns; in ASOIAF, they’re known as the Others.
8) It is foretold of the coming of an unusual winter which will last a very long time, at the same time as the otherworldly invasion from the north. Only the northern farmers in rural areas take these old legends seriously. Everyone else laughs at such absurd tales. But the people of the north never forget.
9) An unusual throne lies at the center of the human dispute for the kingdom, but it is only a distraction for the real conflict. In MS&T, this throne is named the Dragonbone Chair, crafted by King John after he slaughtered the fire-drake Shurakai. In ASOIAF, it is the Iron Throne. In both cases, the mortal kingdoms are so busy fighting one another that they fail to take notice of eldritch powers rising in the north.
10) A major noble character, a close relative of the king, loses his hand in battle. In MS&T, the handless character is Prince Josua Lackhand. In ASOIAF, the character is Ser Jaime Lannister. In both instances, the nobles lose their respective right hands.
11) A wolf plays a major role in the series. In MS&T, it is the gray wolf Qantaqa, Binabik’s wolf companion, who is loyal to her friend, but a menace to all his enemies. In ASOIAF, the direwolves the Stark children discover in the first volume are named Ghost, Grey Wind, Lady, Nymeria, Shaggydog, and Summer. These canines are just as loyal to their masters as Qantaqa is to Binabik.
12) A character that is the ‘Hand’ figures prominently. In MS&T, the Prince’s Right Hand is Sir Deornoth, Prince Josua’s right-hand man. Early on in ASOIAF, the Hand of the King is Lord Eddard Stark.
13) A slender sword named ‘Needle’/’Naidel’ is wielded by a main character, who can’t use a heavier sword. In MS&T, the sword is named Naidel, and is wielded by Prince Josua Lackhand, while in ASOIAF, Needle’s owner is Arya Stark.
14) Everybody laughs at the idea of giants and other otherworldly creatures in the north… until they see them for themselves. In both series, the soft southlanders eventually realize their folly, after encounters with what Tyrion originally dismisses as legends of “grumkins and snarks,” while in MS&T, these are legends of “pookhas and niskies”.
15) Young, noble children are cruelly thrust out into the cold, cruel world by evil adults. In both series, teenagers are chased by murderers, thieves, and con-men, as they slowly learn to fend for themselves as they grow into young men and women.
16) A crown made to resemble antlers is worn by a king. The crown in MS&T appears on the brow of Ineluki the Storm King, while in ASOIAF, the antlered crown is worn by Renly Baratheon.
17) A very short yet intelligent character has a betrothal as part of his storyline. But he is soon put on trial, where the penalty is death, and everyone seems set on killing him… even his own lover. In MS&T, this character is Binabik, and his betrothed is Sisquinanamook; in ASOIAF, the character is Tyrion Lannister, and his betrothed is Shae.
18) The story begins shortly before the death of the old king, whose reign was peaceful, and which kept the kingdoms safe. The king brought peace and prosperity to the lands, but now his death has thrown the empire into conflict, with factions fighting. In MS&T, the old king is the nonagenarian King John Presbyter of Warinsten, who brought the language of Westerling to his people as he united all the realms under one rule. In ASOIAF, it is King Robert Baratheon, lord of Westeros.
19) The Children of the Dawn/Forest, who once lived throughout the realm, but who are now living in hiding in the forests of the world, have a role in the story. In both MS&T and ASOIAF, both the Children of the Dawn and the Children of the Forest appear to be at odds with the otherworldly creatures in the far north.
20) A character whose name is Snow(lock), who is forced to journey into the north, is a main character. In MS&T, Simon Snowlock bears some similarities to ASOIAF’s Jon Snow.
21) A guilt-tormented knight spends years in exile in the south, only to return, where he is at last revealed as still being alive. In MS&T, this is Sir Camaris sa-Vinitta, while in ASOIAF, it is Ser Jon Connington.
22) A major character lives thousands of miles from the rest of the other main characters, for over a thousand pages having no real interaction with the main groups. But eventually, in both series, Danaerys/Tiamak interact with characters in the rest of the world.
23) The series was meant to be a trilogy, but got out of hand. In the case of MS&T, three volumes grew to four, while ASOIAF may eventually be seven volumes, if author George R.R. Martin ever completes the series. Martin has humorously referred to both Williams’ “four-book trilogy” and his own “seven-book trilogy”.
24) A major young male character likes to climb his castle’s walls and turrets, and can do so with ease. Eventually, he will be forced to leave his childhood home, no longer able to climb the castle’s walls and turrets. In MS&T, this character is Simon Mooncalf climbing the walls of Hayholt Castle, while in ASOIAF, it is Bran Stark climbing the walls of Winterfell.
25) The same character who climbs castle walls is plagued by prophetic, spooky dreams. These dreams appear to be a curse, as they usually do not reveal enough to be helpful.
26) A new god, the Red God, demands blood sacrifice. His adherents are more than willing to do the Red God’s bidding, no matter how awful the sacrifice is. Once blood is spilled, the spell is created, and shadowy figures begin appear…
27) A fierce people of nomadic grasslanders lives to the east of the world. In MS&T, these are the Thrithings-folk, while in ASOIAF, they are called the Dothraki. In both cases, these warriors treat their women horribly, and live in loosely-knit clans where the leaders rule through barbaric acts. In both series, horses are treated better than the women of the clan, who hold no power in the society.
28) Birds are used as messengers between intellectuals. In MS&T, they are sparrows, sent between members of the League of the Scroll, while in ASOIAF, maesters send messages via ravens.
29) In both series, a battle takes place on a frozen lake. This is technically not yet canonical in ASOIAF but the scene appears in the television series. In MS&T, the battle scene takes place in the Stefflod River Valley.
30) In both series, a girl strikes a blow to the otherworldly king of the north. In both respective series, (M)arya shoots/stabs the Storm/Night King.
31) In both series, a young woman of royal blood has an advisor who falls in love with her, as she tries to protect her people, who are refugees fleeing war. In both series, the young woman slowly falls into madness, after sending away her advisor, who has fallen in love with her. In MS&T, the young woman is Princess Maegwin of Hernystir, who sees Count Eolair of Nad Mullach slowly fall in love with her. She sends him away, and slowly falls into madness. In ASOIAF, the young woman is Daenarys of House Targaryen, whose advisor, Ser Jorah Mormont, falls in love with her. She eventually sends him away, and then — at least, according to the TV series — falls into madness.
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.
This month marks the 25th Anniversary of the publication of Tad Williams’ fantasy novel, The Dragonbone Chair, Book One of “Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn.” The epic series begins as the story of a simple castle servant named Seoman who stumbles upon treachery as nonagenarian King John lies dying. The book went on to become a nationwide best-seller in the US.
A war fueled by the dark powers of sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard–for Prester John, the High King, slayer of the dread dragon Shurakai, lies dying. And with his death, an ancient evil will at last be unleashed, as the Storm King, undead ruler of the elvishlike Sithi, seeks to regain his lost realm through a pact with one of human royal blood. Then, driven by spell-inspired jealousy and hate, prince will fight prince, while around them the very land begins to die. Only a small scattered group, the League of the Scroll, recognizes the true danger awaiting Osten Ard. And to Simon–a castle scullion unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League–will go the task of spearheading the quest for the solution to a riddle of long-lost swords of power…and a quest that will see him fleeing and facing enemies straight out of a legend-maker’s worst nightmares!
Williams’ series went on to inspire George R. R. Martin to write “A Song of Ice and Fire,” which was adapted for television as Game of Thrones.
First up is the new cover for The Dragonbone Chair, the cardinal volume, which features a blurb by George R. R. Martin, author of the bestselling A Game of Thrones: “Inspired me to write my own seven-book trilogy… It’s one of my favorite series.”
Scheduled for September, the new cover for Stone of Farewell features the Great Sword Sorrow, also known in the Sithi language as Jingizu. Whelan’s illustration accurately portrays the double-hilted sword, which is made of both iron and witchwood, two materials which were considered inimicable, perhaps because neither the iron nor the witchwood are native to the lands of Osten Ard: iron was brought from Ijsgard east to Osten Ard on King Elvrit’s longboat Sotfengsel, while witchwood was brought westward to Osten Ard by the undying Sithi on their eight great ships.
