Rating: 
Summary: Very uneven
Review: I was initially excited at the quality of the writing and the insight into the main character, Theo . . . until he went to Fairyland, where he spent the next several hundred pages gawking. The comic characters of Fairyland changed the mood of the book dramatically. It didn't work as drama. It didn't work as comedy. Characters deliver long lectures of back story. The portrayal of class war in Fairyland is crude; it doesn't work as social or political satire. Once I started it, it kept me turning the pages, but wouldn't recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Stumble in Emma Bull's general direction
Review: If Tad Williams was going to homage Emma Bull's vastly better "War for the Oaks", with its more evocative setting and its thrilling reinvention of fae mythos, he might have at least given her some credit (Theo does mention Minnesota in one of his first paragraphs, but that's not quite enough). The problems with this book: 1) individually the fae are believable characters, but their world is an Addams Family cliche that is consistently disappointing and unoriginal, 2)Theo isn't substantial enough to hang this book on, 3) Williams has never learned to finish a story in a way that is worthy of his elaborate and often breathtaking set-ups (see the last two volumes of Otherland).
Read Emma Bull's books, esp. the fae-filled "Finder" and "War for the Oaks", but also the incredible "Bone Dance" (if you can still find it). These satisfy and startle in ways that William's effort doesn't.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantasy & Reality Meet in the land of Faerie.
Review: If you've read any of Tad William's previous works (Otherland), and you enjoyed them, then this book is just for you. War of the Flowers is about a regular man, 30 year old Theo Vilmos, whose life is falling apart all around him, losing a gf, going through tough family issues; a lost soul who just doesn't know what to do with his life. Just when he thinks things can't get worse, he stumbles upon a book from his Great Uncle, a book that will definately change his life. Theo finds himself cast into another world of faeries, goblins, ogres, ghosts, pixies, and a billion other things that he thought were not possible. The story follows Theo as he is thrown into a new place wondering how his life went from just being bad, to being bad but in a world where little pixies mouth off and curse at him. The book is a bit long and at times it gets depressing but there are a lot of surprises and if you're a Tad Williams Fan then this book won't let you down. I reccomend it if you enjoyed Otherland and Tailchaser's Song. William's has always been able to describe strange and fantastic worlds in such a way that the reader is very much "there."
Rating: 
Summary: It's a keeper!
Review: In this great fairyland-gone-wrong novel, Williams combines elements of the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy and slightly more of the Otherland series--it's a mix of fantasy and science fiction... but I will say that if you're not afraid of staying up all night to finish a book, this is a definite must have. The beginning is a bit drawn out, but once Theo, the main character, enters Faerie, it's gripping, to say the least.
For those who are worried about explicit content, there are no explicit sex scenes, some innuendos, and some use of objectionable language.
Rating:
Summary: great satirizing of current conditions on planet earth
Review: Minor league California rocker Theo Vilmos feels he is at the bottom of the food chain when matters turn worse when he loses his pregnant girlfriend. Thirty, alone, and his music going nowhere, Theo feels down. He decides to get away to relook the direction of his life that seems to be in free fall. At his mother's remote cabin, Theo finds an ancient looking tome handwritten by his weird Uncle Eamon about another realm, that of Faerie. Soon Theo is shocked to learn Faerie exists when the sprite Applecore arrives at his abode. She escorts the reluctant musician through the gate to a magical land that quickly seems quite dismal to the visitor. War appears everywhere so much so that Theo feels his home planet seems relatively peaceful. While Theo begins to learn secrets about his gene pool, he falls in love, but this is a land in which life is not precious so he must show caution to survive especially when bombardier dragons attack. This stand-alone fantasy is a great satirizing of current conditions on planet earth as seen through a looking glass mirror. The story line is extremely dark and grim yet often humorous as the plot shreds anything and everything of proud filled boasts about our compassionate great society. Theo is a fine character who serves as the center of the myriad of subplots, but it is the cantankerous, nasty Applecore who steals the show with her tinkering and editing of words of wisdom. A tad wordy, perhaps, but fans of Tad Williams, which probably includes Jonathan Swift, will appreciate this cutting faerie tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: I love Tad Williams, but not this book
Review: Tad Williams creates fabulous worlds, writes beautifully, and does everything right as far as I'm concerned -- until he wrote War of the Flowers. His vision of Faerie is interesting and has vitality. His concepts are great. The story had massive potential. But the execution was limp. It could have been 25% shorter and not lost much. While Williams repeatedly tells readers that Theo (the protagonist) is ineffectual, I never got a clear sense of the guy. The character arc was merely a bump, and unfulfilling. At one point, Theo jams with some other musicians and Williams does a great job of describing how Theo connects with and then riffs on the strange music. Later in the book, when he uses this ability where it really matters, Williams descriptions are abstract and vague. That was a letdown. I'm really bummed because (a) I bought the hardback retail, and (b) Tad Williams is one of my favorite authors. On the plus side, he delighted me with the tiny sprite with the huge 'tude, Applecore. And being familiar with San Francisco and the Santa Cruz Mountains, I enjoyed the beginning of the book because I knew where the story was. I also felt Theo was a stronger character here than in Faerie. My disappointment with War of the Flowers will not keep me from devouring whatever he writes next, though.
Rating: 
Summary: More like Bore of the Flowers
Review: I read fantasy. I read a lot of fantasy. I know my fantasy. This book is boring. There are two main reasons I decided to spend my time reading this book. The first is that it is a stand alone novel (God I hope this is just a stand alone novel.) With so many of our authors deciding to spend 10 volumes telling a story, I think it is high time we reward those who decide to write a novel and then move on to better things. In this regard the novel did not disappoint. For all intents and purposes it is a stand alone novel.
The second reason I decided to read this was because of its "unique twist on the Faerie world." Sorry. How is this for unique? An alternate world with Faeries instead of mortals. The Faerie world uses "magic" instead of science. The Faerie world has social and political problems. Have you just about fallen out of your chair at the stunning originality. Want to get even more unconventional? The hero is "more than he seems." During the quest to find himself he saves the world, and while saving the world he finds himself. Oh, and he finds true love.
Maybe I am being a bit too harsh. Fantasy does not have to be original. Give us a likeable hero, some snappy sidekicks, good pacing, and all is well. The problem is that the hero is not likeable. He is a thirty year old who has the mentality of a ten year old. I have seen crack addicts with a better grip on reality than this joker. The pacing is atrocious. We spend 95% of the novel wondering what is so special about this guy, and then find out that what makes him special is not all that special. The story takes too long to start, and then does not give enough time for the climax. I could go on. The villians are lame. The love story is unbelievable. And in the end it really is just boring.
What is most unforgiveable is that buried in this sludge is a GREAT novel waiting to be written. The story of Mud Button and the Goblins (a side story really) is interesting and would have made a fantastic book.
Overall, this is not the worst novel I have ever read. But then again I do read a lot.
Rating:
Summary: A modern retro classic
Review: I was truely impressed by this book. When I go to the libray I see Tad Williams books but I often ignore them because the books seem so huge. It seem like every book he writes has 1000 pages. so one day, I was in a hurry try to find a book to read especially to kill some for a couple of days to keep me busy. I felt this would be a great choose. To my surprise this story was NOT an outlandish run of the mill crazy sci-fi magical overkill. In the begining the main character Theo Vilmos was a basic dude with real problems. Williams made the character goes through what almost every guy goes throuh sometime in their life. So, it was easy to connect to the character. Then one magical moment after reading several pages that his grandfather had wrote. His life had changed with a fairy. Huh?? From this point one it get quorky, humorous and very entertaining. This book is an interesting find.
Rating:
Summary: Solid but not great.
Review: The major problem with this book is that I did not really care about the characters. If you really like the protagonists and hate that antagonists, it can make up for a lot of faults in a book. When plot and setting are solid but the characters are lackluster, its just another book.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best, but...
Review: Unlike many of the reviewers, I loved both the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn fantasy trilogy as well as the Otherland Series. I was amazed at the world he created, the references, and the originality of Otherland. War of the Flowers was a bit of a releif to have contained in one volume, an interesting fantasy. It was not his best, but somehow, I could not put it down either. I was drawn into the world and wanted to know the outcome, despite feeling that the characters were shallow,the main character adolescent, the "love story" a a bit creepy (the justifications used by both characters sounded a bit like those used by pedophiles), and the storlyine re-hashed. The whole thing felt rushed, and yet, the world he builds was more intersting than some. I'm glad I didn't purchase it, but got it from the library. I am hoping for more from the next series.
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