I first read The Dragonbone Chair almost ten years ago, but at the time didn't go on to finish the series. Thinking back I realize I was too young to appreciate the story for what it was and the lack of action was a bit of a disappointment. Ever since that time, I have been meaning to finish the rest of the trilogy. Recently I picked it up again, determined to follow through with the rest of the trilogy immediately after. This time I succeeded and was quite pleased with the trilogy.

The Dragonbone Chair is the first novel of the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy by Tad Williams. It is the story of Simon, a boy who was orphaned at a very young age. He was taken in by Rachel “the Dragon”, the Mistress of Chambermaids at the Hayholt, which is the castle where Simon works for a living, as a scullion boy. Simon is not interested in his chores however, and spends his days trying to avoid Rachel at all costs.


A quick summary of the first 200 pages

Simon is much more interested in spending his days with the eccentric Dr. Morgenes, an old man learned in many subjects, including magic. Dr. Morgenes is more than happy to have Simon help him out, and repays him by teaching Simon how to read and write, even though Simon is much more interested in learning magic, which the Doctor refuses to teach him.

The King of the castle, Prestor John, has two sons, Prince Elias, his heir, and Prince Josua. When Elias takes over the throne, he soon falls under the influence of his evil counselor, the wizard Pryrates. Not long after that, his brother Josua goes missing.

During one of Simon’s romps through the castle, he ends up in a storage area and ultimately discovers Josua chained in a room. Simon races back to tell Dr. Morgenes, who immediately comes to Josua’s aid and helps him escape through some tunnels built under the castle.

This is where the story starts to pick up the pace a bit. Pryrates is enraged by Josua’s escape and comes after Dr. Morgenes and Simon in the Doctor’s rooms. Dr. Morgenes hastily gives Simon some papers and rushes him out through a secret passage in his room, which lead into the same tunnels Josua escaped into.

The rest of the book follows Simon’s escape into the world beyond and his travels to find Prince Josua in the fight against King Elias and Pryrates. Along his way he meets Jiriki, one of the mysterious Sithi, a race not unlike Tolkien’s elves. He also meets many other strange people, including Binabik one of a race of people called the Quanuc.


Characters

Tad Williams is a highly recognized author, and for good reason. Not only has he weaved an intricate and captivating story, he can also create believable characters, even though they can be a bit shallow at times. Reading this book, I actually cared about what happened to the characters. They all have unique personalities, and members of different races all have character traits unique to that race.

Williams has also managed to create a villain you love to hate, with the evil, conniving Pryrates. I also managed to feel a bit sorry for Elias for being under the control of such a monster, without really realizing what was happening to him.


Writing Style

As you probably realized with my plot summary, not very much happens in the first 200 pages. Williams takes this time to show the reader what life was like for Simon in the Hayholt prior to his adventures. Even though the pace is dreadfully slow during this time, he manages to keep the reader’s interest (or mine at least). Williams writing provides the reader with a clear vision of the character’s surroundings and landscape without being terribly longwinded.

It did seem that even though Williams had a story in mind, he wasn’t quite sure how long he wanted it to be. This becomes even more apparent in the following books.


Follow Up

Suggestion: don’t start this series unless you plan on reading it all. The story is so incomplete after the first and even second book that the full story is required to truly understand everything that is involved. So when you finish The Dragonbone Chair, be sure to be prepared to follow up with The Stone of Farewell, and then the enormous To Green Angel Tower.


Other Information

Copyright 1988

ISBN 0-88677-384-9

Cover Art by Michael Whelan

~~~Thanks For Reading!~~~



Recommended: Yes