FANTASY REVIEW: The Dragonbone Chair - Tad Williams

BOOK BLURB:

THE DRAGONBONE CHAIR is the story of Simon, a young kitchen boy and magician's apprentice, whose dreams of great deeds and heroic wars come all too shockingly true when his world is torn apart by a terrifying civil war -- a war fueled by ancient hatreds, immortal enemies, and the dark powers of sorcery.

In Osten Ard, a land once ruled by an elvishlike race known as the Sithi, the human High King is dying. And with his death, a long-dormant evil is unleashed on the land as the undead Sithi ruler, the Storm King, seeks to regain his lost realm through a pact with one of human royal blood. Driven by spell-inspired jealousy and fear, prince fights prince, while around them the very land begins to die, poisoned by a sorcerous force sworn to annihilate the humans whose ancestors had driven the Sithi from their rightful home long ages ago.

Only a small, scattered group, the League of the Scroll, recognizes the true danger faced by Osten Ard, only they hold the knowledge of times past, of threats fulfilled, and of a riddle of swords, which holds out the one small hope of salvation. And to Simon -- unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League, and unwittingly touched by magic both good and ill -- will go the task of spearheading the search for the solution to this riddle of long-lost swords of power, a quest that will see him fleeing and facing enemies straight out of a legend-maker's worst nightmare!


REVIEW:

The Book that brought Tad to a lot of readers attention has once again undergone a reprint with some beautiful new cover work. Well written, expertly crafted it’s the first part in a trilogy that will gather new readers with each issue. Its got fully rounded characters, expertly created sequences and above all a tale that will grip you from the first few pages onwards. Whilst some would say that its starting to show its age in the more modern era, a book that’s stayed this long in print has to be good. A cracker of a gift for a reader who loves dark magic, epic struggles and above all a tale to draw them in.