Rating: 
Summary: eh...
Review: Just a little backround on authors I've read - Jordan, Eddings, Brooks, Goodkind, Haydon, and others. My two cents is that all the reviews aren't too precise on how slow the beginning of the book is. The first 160 pages is of Simon's boring life in a castle. The next 150 pages is his boring journey. Then afterwards, it gets slightly interesting. I must emphasize the word "slightly" because there was not much action. I mean, action doesn't necessarily make the book interesting, a surprise or out of the ordinary event would help. But unfortunately, none of that until the last 50 pages of the book. Add other people's criticism and there you have the book. Since I've started, I am compelled to finish the series since I don't like to leave things hanging. My word of advice is to read this book only if you are extremely bored and have nothing else better to do.
Rating: 
Summary: Imaginative but annoying, unless you like whiny protagonists
Review: In the interest of full disclosure, I did not finish the book, because I really was not enjoying it. But I felt that my voice would be helpful here to those who may, like myself, be somewhat misled by all the cloying reviews and buy something they didn't want. I myself like strong protagonists, and I lose patience with the fantasy formula whereby the reader must painstakingly follow the gangly youth apprentice who finds himself eventually thrust into a path to eventual greatness. If you are happy enough with that formula, then the book deserves praise for being highly imaginative once it gets going. The writing has also justifiably been praised, if you are tired of straitforward prosaic fantasy storytelling. For me, however, the writing got in the way: so often sentences are packed so full of analogies and adjectives that I just got tired. In action sequences, this style combines with the passive protagonist to produce a kind of lag in the scene, as if the protagonist is continually trying to process what is happening, with all the description lagging behind the action. There's also a kind of "wink wink" narrator mode, as if we are all along laughing secretly at all the funny characters and how silly they're acting. A lot of people find that fun and light, but for me it detracts from the fantasy. In all, for those who want might something more imaginative and novelistic for a talented juvenile audience, or at least in that genre, the novel satisfies and even excels. For those who like to get to the point, and who don't appreciate a somewhat precious narratorial style (in the name of being lighthearted), I'd go for something more serious if prosaic.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Splendid
Review: This is the best series I have ever read. This writer is incredible. Fantasy science fiction at its best.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow start, fast ending
Review: This is a very well crafted book with a storyline that pulls you into the author's world with such clarity. Very rarely does a book have both a good story and a created world in which the story takes place. Osten Ard, the setting, is rendered with great detail to the point where historical nuggets seem well thought out and not tossed at random by an author in a hurry. Indeed, it is this attention to important details that really make this book good. Notice I said important details, too many authors try to liven up humdrum stories with fantastorical details and fail miserably. William's created world and the characters he places in that world walk hand in hand. I will say that yes the book does start out slower than most but it builds to a steady clip, building on almost every nuance revealed early on. It is an enjoyable read but you must be a little patient through the first 50 pages or so. That said, I will not place it on the same scale as Tolkien or Jordan but it does compare with most other fantasy writers in today's market. Be warned though, that Willaims stay away from hack and slash so if that is your thing you will not like this book. If you enjoy a rich story with rich characters and old school adventurin than this is some of the best.
Rating:
Summary: Williams and Tolkien
Review: I have to say this is an exelent book, one of my all time favorites; right there with Lord of The Rings. While the world depicted by Tad isn't as coherent, it's almost as much. However the detailed writing gives you a much clearer picture of whats going on wich helps a lot since most of the things you encounter are quite diferent from cliche fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Series Beginning
Review: This book is almost 800 pages long. The first 400 introduce a few of the main characters. By the middle of the book you begin to care about some of them.
The tale unfolds slowly but by the second half of the book my interest peaked. The settings and circumstances for the main characters become more intriguing. At this point a few solid new characters develop quickly and several sub-plots also grab the readers interest.
By the end of the book there is enough hope that a great story is emerging to continue reading the remaining two volumes in the series. My advise: Buy it. Stick with it. You will be rewarded with what appears to be the beginning of a pretty good tale.
Rating:
Summary: The standard for epic fantasy!
Review: This series is probably the best fantasy series on the market today (yes, in my opinion it even exceeds The Lord of the Rings, which I know may be blasphemy to some, even though I truly love the Lord of the Rings and mean it no disrespect). This book was crafted with great thought to detail and character development, and even several years after reading these books, the events in them are still as fresh to me as when I was reading them. The characters are like old friends to me, and they are in no way bumbling or lifeless as some have suggested in other reviews. And, yes, this book does get a bit of a slow start. But this slow start can almost be considered necessary, because it gives some solid background and sets a very good stage for the events to come. The main character is Simon, a castle scullion in a kingdom known as Osten Ard ruled by the ancient king Prester John. When the king dies and his son Elias takes over, dark things start to happen. Elias's own brother Josua is captured and eventually flees to try and muster an army of his own to resist his brother's dark plans. Simon himself flees the castle when his mentor and friend is killed, and he ends up the central character in a huge quest to save Osten Ard and conquer the Storm King. If you wonder when the story picks up and becomes interesting, figure on it doing so around page 100 as others have suggested. When Simon flees the castle and finds himself alone in the wilderness, things really begin to get good and they don't slow down until the end of this whole series. In fact, one of my favorite scenes in the series takes place right after Simon leaves the castle. It happens about the time he meets his companion and eventual best friend, a troll warrior named Binabik (not at all like the standard trolls you think of, but more like a fierce hobbit from the mountains in the north). This scene is the one in which he finds the Sithi trapped by a hunter's noose and frees him. As it turns out, this is perhaps the most pivotal scene in the book and sets up much of the remaining storyline. I could go on and on telling the things I love about this series. There are just so many memorable characters in this book. My favorites are Binabik, Duke Isgrimnur, and the Sithi prince Jiriki. And, of course, it's impossible to forget Elias's wizard Pryrates. He's one of the most scheming, evil men ever to come to life on the written page. He's got much more depth than Saruman in Lord of the Rings, but his evil plans are just as clever and sinister. Also, the evil force that drives the story, in the form of an undead Sithi lord known now as the Storm King (read Sauron for those trying to draw comparisons to the Lord of the Rings), is one of the most chilling and well done in modern fiction. The magic in this series is understated, being more of a mysterious force with great power than some carnival trick used to make lightning bolts jump out of people's hands. And I think the way magic is treated in this book contributes quite effectively to the dark mood of the book. Especially when you start to get a sense of what the Storm King is up to, and how his magic is working upon the fabric of all Osten Ard. The weather and the landscape are used to great effect as well, often becoming enemies in their own right. In fact, I can think of nothing that I'd change about this story. It's literally one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in reading a book. It's a well-paced story, not giving away too much at the beginning, but moving along at the proper speed until it reaches one of the best conclusions in modern fantasy. If you like Tolkein, Jordan, Goodkind, Eddings, or George R.R. Martin's new series "A Song of Ice and Fire", you owe it to yourself to read this series. Ignore the naysayers, and don't waste another minute. Once you're done with it, you'll wish you could do it all over again. And, like me, you'll be a fan of this series for life.
Rating:
Summary: An Epic Quest
Review: I read this trilogy several years ago. It is one of the best fantasies that I have read (Tolkien and Donaldson's being my other favorites). It is full of deeply realized characterizations and breathtaking settings. The story is engrossing and definitely deserves the title 'Epic' not just for it's length but for it's sense of history. I was totally surprised to read the review that suggested the story lacks imagination. Quite to the contrary, I thought it staggers the imagination. Charming & breathtaking, it is a story you will remember years after you have read it (but you do need to read all three books). Fair warning: this is also a LONG trilogy so don't expect it to be over in a short time..
Rating:
Summary: Memory, sorrow and thorn - book one - The Dragonbone Chair
Review: This book did take me awhile to get in to, but I was hooked after chapter 3. I am usually quite good at predicting the endings or twists in books, but this one had even me fooled! I am 13, and have never read any other of Tad Williams' novels but I will definately buy the following book at the next oppourtunity. Hope you enjoy reading it too!
Rating:
Summary: Not a good start.
Review: A friend highly reccomended this book, so I will ammend this review when I finish. I have to comment on this Author's Warning in the opening of the book. The author tries very hard to sound deep and foreboding. He repeats himself and is redundant. This is within a half-page of text. Hopefully he was trying to be cute, as it is not part of the main text.
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