Rating: 
Summary: Awesome!
Review: This series is a true epic which will go down in memory as one of the finest yarns to ever grace the pages of fantasy. William's undaunted prose and fully realized characters mix to create a tale that will make you cheer. Williams takes that classic fantasy beginning of a young boy and his trials and tribulations on his way to greatness and he adds a new twist that the fantasy genre has not seen in years: HE DOES IT RIGHT. The story is great, the setting realistic, the characters palpable, and most improtant of all for legitimate fantasy readers, the magic is realistic and believable. This is one tale that you will not want to miss, and the entire series is done being written and in paperback print. Williams is one of this age's finest fantasy authors and deserves the praise to be mentioned along with other greats such as David Feintuch and George R.R. Martin. Bravo!
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting beginning...
Review: This book intrigued me when I bought it and I finished it rather quickly. The idea of the series in itself is quite good, but the book, indeed the entire series (except for the last half of "To Green Angel Tower") moves too slowly. Like Tolkein, Williams is ever toooo descriptive and slows a good story down too much. None the less, it is a worthwhile read for any fantasy reader looking for a good read, and the rest of the series makes up for the slowness of this book.
Rating:
Summary: An eye for wonderment
Review: At first appearance this mammoth trilogy seems like a padded waste of time. BUT IT PULLS YOU IN. Everytime you think its about to become predictable and review old plot lines, it makes surprising left turns. It is filled not just with details of everyday life (which too often is mistaken for Tolkien-esque mythos) but a wonderment of fears and loves. Simply put, Williams remembers what made early adolescence so memorable when reading engrossing fiction.
Rating:
Summary: The best story I have ever read.
Review: Tad Williams' masterpiece "Memory Sorrow and Thorn" remains the most spectacular piece of story telling that I've ever come across in a life full of great books. After reading his 2800 or so page work (of which The Dragon Bone Chair is the first part) for the fourth time, I have come to love and know his characters as if they were palpably real and alive. It's a story about coming of age and of a hopeless quest to survive against titanic forces of evil. Williams' borrows and reshapes elements folk lore and hints of other familiar stories and adds them to his own creation, forming something of his own, making his world mysterious yet accesable. He is a master of character development, a crafter of satisfyingly unpredictable plot lines, and uses the English language with a deftness and surety that few ever achieve. I have shared this story with all of my bookish friends and have recieved universal thanks. Most have bought copies of their own after returning mine, wanting to read it again later. The story is so full and rich with complexity, that it gets better the second time around. For me, it's a matter of self control... waiting another year (or better yet two) to read it again, knowing that the pleasure will only be heighted by the passage of time when I read it once again. For all it's success, it isn't perfect. It starts slowly, carefully introducing the back ground, while skillfully introducing key elements without seeming to be casting about clues like many less acomplished writers. The first hundred pages belie what lies farther ahead. Don't be detured. Don't let the length give you pause either, when you're through, you'll wish it was much longer still. Please read this book. Tad Williams deserves more recognition than he gets and I'm confident that if you do, you'll be life long fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Let's just call it an old story...
Review: I'm not sure if one can compare a fantasy epic to another, but Tad Williams just makes me think of what Tolkien would have done, had he been an American of the late 20th century. And I don't mean this as a positive comment. Technically he is a capable writer, but everything in this saga speaks of utter lack of ideas. A moralistic, black-and-white tale with no inspiration, it seems. Characters are thin as paper.
Rating:
Summary: As great as The Lord of the Rings!!!
Review: This book is one of the best I have ever read!!!! Go and buy it!! Now!!!
Rating:
Summary: This book and the others in the series are a great read!!!
Review: If you like fantasy or science fiction, especially magical adventures, you are in for a great treat. This book about a young scullion and his sometimes magical friends and their battle against darkness is great! I couldn't stop reading. Tolkien fans will enjoy it too. These books encompass love, lots of action, and both good and bad magic, as well as mythical creatures such as sithi (fairy folk), Trolls (good), and norns (bad fairies). I recommend this book and the others in the series VERY HIGHLY!!!
Rating:
Summary: The Best I Have Ever Read
Review: The comparisons are inevitable - Tad William's Osten Ard and Tolkien's Middle Earth. I would not and cannot compare the two - it's like comparing the accomplishments of baseball players from the 20's and 90's... The 20's (Tolkien) were the good old days, and the standard by which all followers are compared, but the 90's (Williams) are slicker, more refined and have the benefit years of study and advancement in the field. Tad Williams is simply the most fluid and talented storyteller I have read to date... Like others have said here, efforts to find other such satisfying reading have yielded few results, and I have found myself turning back to read the trilogy again. I am currently reading it for the 4th time, and there is something new to be discovered in each reading. Run, don't walk, to the bookstore and buy all four books (book three has been broken into a 2-part paperback). Now... I mean it... I have already given the four-paperback set as a gift twice, and those people have not stopped thanking me for it - you will want to do the same. I know this is not so much a review as a testimonial, but I do not want to spoil a SINGLE surprise for you! It will start out slow, but it will be rich in detail and clues - soak it all in like the first bite of a seven-course meal at the Ritz-Carlton Dining Room...
Rating:
Summary: Bow down in awe
Review: That was my reaction, anyway, to the MS&T series as a whole. Just when I had come to the conclusion that modern fantasy books had become nothing more than cheap rip-offs of Tolkien and popular movies. This series is not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced fantasy reader. As other reviews say, it creates a world of such magnitude as I have never seen crammed into three (four)books before. Unlike in most fantasy, stuff does not happen just to entertain you . . .90% of the time is spent on character and plot development. But the excitment when it comes seems incredibly richer and more intense as a result. (Also unlike in most series, the sword does not spare a character just because he is a good guy, or hasn't said his line yet). The detail was insightful and powerful. Sure, it wasn't necessary, but it adds a lot of flavor if you have a subtle enough mind to appreciate it. Better, than LOR in my opinion, but not better than Middle Earth. The principal difference between Osten Ard and Middle Earth, in my opinion, is that Mr. Williams made his world for his books, whereas Tolkien made his books for his world. It is incredibly high quality, but if anything, the ending seemed to wrap up too much for my taste. I would order you to read these books, but that would be rude, so instead I will strongly, strongly, strongly * 10 recomend it.
Rating:
Summary: Can a series be too good?
Review: Having read nearly every fantasy epic available. I still can't get Williams' masterfull storytelling out of my mind. Never have I felt so close to characters or cared so much about their plights. If you are reading this and have yet to read the book, stop here and go get the complete series. But be warned, I have yet to find a series since completing MS&T to satisfy my demand for rich storytelling. I'm afraid the series may be to good, leaving all others lacking. P.S. If you don't like to think and you don't care about the careful wording an author chooses both in narrative and dialouge, then don't bother with this series. Get a Goodkind novel instead and be happy with mindless and intellectually insulting writing.
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