Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn
Tad Williams's trilogy, beginning with The Dragonbone Chair in 1988 and running through Stone of Farewell and To Green Angel Tower, is one of the foundational doorstop fantasies of its generation, openly cited by George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss as a template for what came after. The story follows Simon, a clumsy kitchen boy in the great castle of the Hayholt, whose comfortable obscurity ends when the old High King dies and his elder son Elias takes the throne under the influence of a sinister priest. As Elias's reign curdles into something far worse than tyranny, Simon is swept into a long, bookish quest involving three legendary swords, a hidden race of immortals called the Sithi, and a war that reaches back thousands of years. Williams writes slowly, patiently, and with real feeling for landscape and language, and the trilogy rewards readers willing to settle in for the long pull.
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What you might want to know about Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Simon, a kitchen boy at the Hayholt, watches an old king die and a power struggle take the Osten Ard. The first volume of a sprawling trilogy famously credited as one of George R.R. Martin's chief inspirations.
Tad Williams's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy has three books: The Dragonbone Chair, Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower (often split into two volumes). A follow-up series, The Last King of Osten Ard, expands the world.
Yes. George R.R. Martin has cited Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn as a major influence on A Song of Ice and Fire. Both feature complex political scheming, multiple POV chapters, and deconstructions of fantasy tropes.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn was written by Tad Williams, published in 1988 by Legend.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is 783 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn takes most readers 12 to 17 hours to finish.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is a standalone novel by Tad Williams, not part of a series.
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
