Rating: 
Summary: One of my fave's
Review: Tad Williams is one of the best writers i have read so far. It is a VERY SLOW STARTING BOOK for about the first 150 pages, but after that it just keeps on grabbing attention. It is a very well written story, and I enjoyed it more than the Lord of the Rings, all though I still love that epic immensely. I will say this much, if you enjoyed Tolkein, give Tad a try, because Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn are better (to me) than Tolkein. The story starts out so slow because it has to give you the history of the main character and the kingdom's drama in which he lives as he grows up. I have never befriended a character as much as Simon, because of Tad's idea of writing a story in which you watch the boy grow into a man. GREAT STORY!
Rating: 
Summary: Dense and slow-starting
Review: The Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy is Williams' sophomore effort after Tailchaser's Song. Based on a variety of Nordic, Germanic and Eastern mythologies and set in a well-constructed world, the trilogy was a contender for the "next Tolkien" label when it was first published in the late 1980s -- shortly before the first Wheel of Time novel eclipsed it. Williams' omnibus has the usual fantasy tropes: magical swords, evil wizards, orphan hero (the scullion Simon) and some palace intrigue after the death of the strong king. It also has pseudo-elf creatures and trolls (who are really more like Tolkienesque dwarves), an ice dragon, powerful sea monsters and varying cultures.The series is notable for what it does not have, more than what it does. First, there is no superhero -- Simon is not a demigod at any point of the series and the "good guys" do not have much beyond their wits and non-magical abilities to overcome the "bad guys" -- no great talismans that they employ, no hidden magics, etc. Second, there is no real guide for the "good guys" -- that is, no Gandalf/Allanon/Belgarath/Moiraine (from other series by other authors) type of character who can help steer the hero on his path. Moreover, the series is dark and dreary. Book Two, The Stone of Farewell, is the best of the bunch but Williams, much like Stephen Donaldson in his two Thomas Covenant series, puts his characters through hellacious tribulations. The Dragonbone Chair is consistently inconsistent. Often dense and without much action except for two or three notable occurrences for the first 500 pages, the story begins to roll quickly thereafter up to the uncertain climax. The Stone of Farewell (book two) and the enormous To Green Angel Tower (the concluding volume, which was so large that it was split into two 700+ page paperbacks) contain much more action and strange revelations. Nonetheless, Williams writes well and his story is ambitious. This is a solid entry in the genre, but it can occasionally be a chore.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: The only series (and particularly this first book) that has ever made me say out loud: "what a great book" - and not just once or twice. Sure, the main plot looks suspiciously familiar (elves, kitchen boys with a Destiny, magic swords...), but honestly: it doesn't matter! Usually it matters a lot, but here this negative aspect just gets overwhelmed by the imagination of the subplots, the richness of the world imagined by Tad Williams, and the vitality of the characters (they develop gradually according to their experiences - when was the last time that this happened in a fantasy book?) In one sentence: a wonderful ride.
Rating:
Summary: Haiku Review
Review: Characters and depth,
An adolescent Tolkien.
Formulaic plot.
Rating:
Summary: Starts off slow, but the series as a whole is Wonderful.
Review: I am just finishing up the series, and I must say it is a very good series of books. After the first book, I would rank the next 3 books all 4.5 stars. However, the first book starts slow. I almost put it down around page 250. But I'm so happy I kept going. The series was great. If you are a Fantasy lover, and can endure the first 350 pages, you will not be disapointed. The plot line is great. The male characters are very well developed and likeable. The great evil is very detailed and complex. Other than the first 300 pages of the first book being slow. My only other gripe is that some of his female characters, especially the young women, seem very shallow and self absorbed. Other than a few minor women, this was a dissapointment. Despite a few minor flaws. This series is defintely a great read!
Rating:
Summary: a tedious read
Review: I put this book on my christmas wish list last year, and lo and behold I got three copies! Now I wish I had not wasted my relative's money. I was unable to get past the third chapter. The beginning is boring to say the least, and his writing style practically drew tears of pain from my eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Dragonbone Chair
Review: Fantasy does not get much more cliched than this. In a pseudo-medieval, pseudo-western-European setting, a neglected kitchen boy seeks his destiny as a Dark Lord rises in the North. This iteration of the obvious works better than some others because Williams can write on a sentence level, and in general his plot is capable of engaging readers. For me, however, the book becomes far less interesting when we meet the obnoxious Binabik and watch the characters go on a silly, and tension-free, quest; the sense of urgency, reasonably present earlier in the book, paradoxically falls to nothing as soon as physical action starts and never really recovers. Battle and chase scenes are strangely uneffective, devoid of impact. Williams' Sitha, his version of elves, are the book's strength. The characters we meet are reasonably well written, but even better is the historical element: the Sitha having lost their lands to humans who slaughtered them. Ineluki, now the villain, appears in backstory as an interesting character with a lot of potential; but I'm afraid that Williams, in the sequels, will simply portray him as a demonic adversary and ignore the possibility of interesting ambivalence.
Rating:
Summary: A message of forgiveness
Review: I originally became interested in Tad Williams' trilogy after reading his short story "The Burning Man" in Legends, and then discovering on the Internet that this series was very popular. What intrigued me most was that his fantasy world has a version of the Catholic Church -- in his books, Jesus Christ becomes "Usires Aedon," the Cross becomes "the Tree," etc., and priest and monk characters (some holy, some fallen) play a significant role. That said, I actually found it very difficult to get into this series. I never felt like I really empathized with the main character, Simon -- and I think the author realized his failure in the second book, when he began to transform some of the background characters into main characters -- all of whom were more satisfying to read about. I think the most troublesome thing, though, was that the author tended to be extremely verbose, and constantly repeated the same information to the reader, over, and over, and over -- from a different character's viewpoint, for example. Very often -- even up to the very last pages -- I found myself skimming over large sections of redundant information. (Possible spoiler warning:) Although I found the ending rushed and generally unsatisfying, it did have an interestingly unique message: that hatred and revenge are ultimately useless. At the end, the Sauron-like enemy is defeated when Simon and Camaris *forgive* him. It's a powerful moment, but ultimately marred by the author's inability to integrate their choice with the series' earlier pseudo-Christian moral messages.
Rating: 
Summary: Great First Book!
Review: I loved the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series and this being the first book I of course enjoyed it. It was also the first Tad Williams book I read. The book (and series) is especially good because of the main character, Simon. He's the hero but it isn't till the end when he realizes that he has grown up. It is an un-likely character development. Simon's guardian is as unlikely as his attitude. He befriends a Qanuc (troll) but Williams' trolls are more like dwarfs. It is an intriguing beginning to a classic epic fantasy. But there is originality and twists to not be cliche. A little hint to reading it is that remember it is the first book in a series and the exposition is somewhat lengthy. There is one part that can get annoying, just read through it. Stick with it and I swear you will love it. And if you don't, well I'm sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Cast off for a slow, methodical, marvelous ride
Review: After receiving it as a gift, The Dragonbone Chair sat dormant on my bureau for 3 months before I cracked its spine and poured through its numerous pages. What a mistake to wait! What a fantastic read! Caveat: this book is definitely not for everyone, nor is it perfect. I would presume that those who like short sentences, terse descriptions and endless, mindless action coupled with formulaic plots (such as in the Sword of Truth series) will probably find this book stifling. Moreover, I'm presuming the rest of the series (which I haven't read yet) would be likewise off limits. For those who are outside the constraints above-- those who might, or do, for example, enjoy the forays into Robin Hobb's delectable works-- this book proves the building, budding, cresting wave set to soak the nearest beach. As noted elsewhere, it slowly churns through the first few hundred pages: each of those early pages ripe with information and minutae and glorious detail, though. As the book proceeds, however, the storyline, as with a wave, rises up, the pages turn endlessly, instantly, until the glorious crush upon the shore... its stunning, fantastic, ending. Book 2, here I come. Bottom line? Read it, enjoy it!
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