Highest Rated Review by the Community
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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community Oct 10, 2004
Pros: A sprawling, epic fantasy novel, borne on magnificent prose...
Cons: ... which, despite an abundance of coincidences early on, is nearly flawless.
Summary: The temptation to prolixity is one many writers struggle with, myself being no exception. Some, however, take wordiness to a whole new level, elevating it almost to an art form. This was a far more common phenomenon in the 19th century, in the ... read more
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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jun 13, 2006
Pros: It's either lush . . .
Cons: . . . or bloated.
Summary: You can get a feel for what Tad Williams's The Dragonbone Chair is like without reading a single word of the story. Simply look at the two dozen pages that bracket the novel. At the back there is an appendix of names, places, and creatures; a ... read more
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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Dec 30, 2005
Pros: It's a great set up to a trilogy
Cons: but the execution is a bit slow and borders on cliche
Summary: In many ways "The Dragonbone Chair" is typical high fantasy. Many of the stereotypes of the genre are here and this could also be "kitchen boy fantasy". The protagonist is named Simon, and he is an orphaned teenager living at the Hayholt, a great castle ... read more
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Rated a Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Sep 19, 2002
Pros: A great book I wish i had read sooner
Cons: Has a bit of a slow start
Summary: My brother and I made an agreement a few years back that if I read The books Of Shannara he would read The Dark Tower series. I picked up the first book by Terry brooks read it to the very end and declared it to be a well-put together plagerism of ... read more
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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Oct 18, 2001
Pros: Believable, likeable characters, villains you love to hate
Cons: Slow start
Summary: 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 ... read more
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Rated a Very Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jan 7, 2001
Pros: Beautifully detailed world, realistic hero, adventure and discovery
Cons: verbose, narrow beginning focus
Summary: If fantasy literature has a canon, Tad Williams's Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy is high on the list of required reading. The Dragonbone Chair is book one of Williams's epic: like most of its kind, it begins slowly, introducing the characters ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Dec 16, 2000
Pros: details, length, hard to put down
Cons: length
Summary: I first read this book when I was in junior high, and I've read it a couple times since. There's something about the story of a boy who is forced into being a hero that really grabs me. Simon is a character I'd like to relate to.
The main ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Dec 16, 2000
Pros: another series worth reading!
Cons: lengthy
Summary: Once again it takes 4 books to conquer all evil. I am up to the second book "Stone to Farewell". Just finishing "The Dragonbone Chair", I can confidently admit that I found another favorite author. This is few and far between with ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Aug 5, 2000
Pros: Rich world with great, believable characters
Cons: A slow opening
Summary: I'm a sucker for covers. Once again, I was drawn to a series by the cover of the last book in the series. In this case, the cover of To Green Angel Tower started me reading Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, an awesome name for a series by Tad Williams, a genius ... read more
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Rated a Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jul 31, 2000
Pros: Excellent style, well designed universe
Cons: long. very long. no, I'm not kidding.
Summary: The Dragonbone Chair is the first novel in Tad Williams' Memory Sorrow and Thorn series, which consists of two other daunting doorstops, Stone of Farewell and To Green Angel Tower. I first bought this book as a junior in HS who needed more books to feed ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Mar 22, 2000
Pros: Wonderful plot, well-drawn characters
Cons: Length requires a commitment (but is well worth it)
Summary: I read the first installment of this trilogy before the other two were released. That is my only regret. The suspense made me crazy. By the end of the first book I was completely enthralled with this story. It started out slow, but before long I ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jan 31, 2000
Pros: Entertaining, detailed, full of many interconnected plot lines.
Cons: A bit long winded at times, but this is compensated by extremly detailed descriptions.
Summary: The entire series is mesmerizing. This is probably the single most rewarding and inspiring series of fantasy books that I have read since I was introduced to Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy when I was nine. I would most definatly ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jan 25, 2000
Pros: impressive, grand epic with good character depiction
Cons: beginning is very tedious to read without any direct action, but it picks up
Summary: The Dragonbone Chair is an excellent book. It took me a while to get into it, mainly due to a slightly slow beginning, but it is definitely worth the perseverance. The plot is very Tolkienesque, with a little more of a touch on the political intrigue ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jan 19, 2000
Pros: amazing gift for detail, incredible plot, vivid characters
Cons: long series requires readers commitment to finish
Summary: Where does someone begin when trying to review an author they are completely amazed by? Tad Williams has a gift and he does an incredible job sharing it with his readers. Characters come to live so vividly that you can not believe they are only one ... read more
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Rated a Somewhat Helpful Review by the Epinions community
Jan 18, 2000
Pros: good characterization, original, interesting plot
Cons: none
Summary: The Memory sorrow and Thorn series by Tad Williams is an excellent epic adventure. Tad williams is a master of characterization and by the end of the series the characters feel like old friends. The plot really holds your interest. It is slow at ... read more
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