Rating: 
Summary: Ssssllllllooooooowwwwwwww............
Review: I decided to read this book after hearing (and reading) positive reviews of it. I find that I have little to say. Williams develops an interesting world and interesting characters. The only drawback is the amout of time he takes to do so. I'm three quarters of the way through the book and it's just now starting to pick up! It has taken a tremendous amount of willpower to stay with it up till now. I'm afraid that I'll fall asleep if I read it too late at night. It is only in retrospect that I am able to say anything positive about the novel. Due to the time the author has taken in developing the characters I do feel like I know them. The plot is solid and even interesting. IF ONLY HE WOULD GET ON WITH IT! If you want to read this book make certain you have a pot of coffee handy.
Rating: 
Summary: Equal to Tolkien
Review: This book is the begining of the best epic other than Lord of the Rings. People have commented on the slow start, but it really lays the foundation and develops the characters in an unusually fully realized way. The characters Williams created are amoung the most memorable and interesting you will ever find. Pryrates was unforgetable, as was Binabik and Camaris. I could go on and on, but that would only prevent you from reading this truly great series. Go! Read! I know you'll enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Exactly the book you read on a cold, rainy day
Review: This isn't a book you read, it's a book that you sink into and get absorbed by. The story starts slowly with a castle scullery boy named Simon who is a bit of a loser (they say Calfmoon, but it's the same thing) who wanders around getting out of his duties in the kitchen and generally goofing off. He doesn't do anything dramatic or exciting, in fact there is an entire paragraph about him toying with a beetle he found in the castle.The characters are real and interesting, the images are crystal clear. The pace is slow, but eventually accelerates when Simon gets mixed in with the court wizard. Eventually, everything is moving along quickly and into the second book, which is also well worth reading. I found this book entertaining, but frequently got reviews from friends who found it slow and boring. It definitely is for people who enjoy long and winding stories that introduce everthing slowly. If your typical fantasy is dragonlance or forgotten realms (not bad, just a different style), you may be dissapointed.
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Summary: This book is available and in print !
Review: Before I review this book, let me tell you, the book is available. I suggest you ask Amazon to try this ISBN: 0886773849. Its differant from the one listed here. To keep my comments short, I have read Robert Jordans WOT, Terry Goodkinds SOT and LE Modesitts recluse series. Their all good. But Tad Williams leaves them in the dust with this series. The problem with Dragon Born Chair as everyone else here has commented, Is that the start is very slow. Someone said the 1st 150 pages are slow. Yep, thats about the time when Binabik appears in the plot. However those 150 pages are probably the most important in the series. All the clues are layed out. You'll realize that only after you've got to the 3rd book in the series (Green Angel Tower). In short, Tad Williams proves that you can write an epic series as complex and wonderful as Robert Jordan's WOT and finish it in 4 books ! Emotionaly the reading can be very tough. A lot of the "good guys" die,including women and children important to the plot. This is the best fantasy series I've ever read and it all starts with this book. One piece of advice to those reading this book..."BEWARE OF THE FALSE MESSENGER" !
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: Rich backdrop on this world and its inhabitants.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Fantasies I've Read
Review: This book is deserving an incredible amount of praise the author does n extraorkinary job with his characters making think that they have to die even though they can't, of course (there's another 2 books!). They are in a clinch where there can be no escape and with a sudden twist of events they are in the hands of Friends. Everyone should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A great book.
Review: This is one of the better of those epic fantasy sagas that are out there. Strong writing, good characters and superior world-building are marred only by a lack of originality in the plot. The story is essentially the same as in most other fantasy trilogies since Lord of the Rings. The invincible evil guy is back from the dead and out for revenge, so the lowly, unknowledgeable kid is suddenly thrust out, aided by a cadre of unlikely characters, to find some sort of talisman to stop the evil dude before he destroys the world, or at least messes it up too badly. However, this same-old story comes off very well due to the author's skill. The world-building in this story is very good. The entire population of the world doesn't all speak the same language, or have the same religion, or get along with each other. The author doesn't use the same old mix of elves and dwarves and goblins so frequently encountered in other stories of the sort. Rather, we get new races which are essentially the same as the familiar, but with some differences. The characters are also superb. Simon, the boy, is likable, believable, and pitiable, and his characterization is not only good, but it's consistent. The characters grow logically and believably in this story. Of course, there are some of the compulsory characters as well. There's the witch-woman who's the equivalent of Tolkien's Tom Bombadil, the mentor-figure who dies before he can reveal too much, and the travelling companion who seems to know everything. The story proceeds logically, but at times it difficult to get through. The names of people and places are exotic and unneededly difficult to pronounce. And the story doesn't even really take off for more than 200 pages. But that was okay, because in that time we got familiar with the land, the politics, Simon, the religion, and it didn't get boring at all. The religion is also familiar. It's called Aedonism (presumably lifted from EDEN), and is essentially the same as christianity, except the martyr-figure was hung upside-down as well as crucified. Also, there are pagans who practice Udunism, which is the same, of course, as real-world Odinism. The biggest problem in this book was really the editing. Often the character Josua's name was misspelled Joshua, and there were frequent other misspelling and grammatical mistakes. Another slight problem is that the problems were to obvious. "John went to face the dragon carrying only a spear and a shield...and came out, dragon claw slung over his shoulder, holding the sword Bright-Nail ahead of him." For some reason the characters don't see the problem immediately. Still, this was an extremely enjoyable, remarkable, real, vivid, and strong fantasy world, and I am absolutely looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Though the book deserves five stars, I give it four for lack of originality.
Rating:
Summary: Slow but good...
Review: When other reviewers say that this book starts off slow but gets better, they're 100% right. Though the first few hundred pages of the book are tedious and boring as hell, the rest of the book (and the rest of the series) is really really good. Patience pays off with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not great but not bad either...
Review: If I could I would give this book 3 and a half stars. While it is an entertaining read it is simply the same old fantasy. Everything in it has been done before... kings dying, his sons fighting over the throne, an old scholar-wizard like man teaching the protagontist, a scullery boy running away and finding greatness. Despite the unoriginality of this book it is well-written and it gets better as you read later into the series.
Rating:
Summary: It gets better. Honest.
Review: I've heard the common complaint that this book is hard to get into. I can sympathize, since when I first began this book I thought the friend who had given it to me was crazy. Simon seemed dull, Morgenes freaky, the writing was dense and plodded somewhat. But my friend assured me that it would get better, so I persevered. Wow--to say it was worth it would be an understatement. As soon as Simon gets to the caverns beneath the Hayholt, Tad Williams's brilliant prose begins to show itself. The atmosphere is intense, distinctly foreign--unlike most fantasy authors, whose worlds reek of formula, Tad Williams has created a world all his own. Osten Ard is replete with mystery, legends, and cultures that have no parallel in any other work of fantasy. True: Tad Williams borrows from other cultures, but they are cultures very seldom used in a fantasy; for example, the Sithi culture borrows elements from the Japanese, creating a race as unlike the immortal elves of Tolkien as you can possibly get. The Hayholt is the central masterpiece, its subtle mysteries more enticing than any sword & sorcery magic. The languages and cultures of Osten Ard are developed in such fine detail that every race and nation has its own code, which translates into the way they behave, feel and think. This kind of differentiation among fictional characters is fiendishly hard to do, and is masterfully pulled off here. Simon, though a 'mooncalf', quickly becomes an endearing character, and Binabik gives a whole new meaning to the word 'troll'. There is also a philosophical air to the work at times, as if Tad Williams was truly 'writing to understand', yet never to the point that it becomes preachy. If you love fantasy, go for it! It really does get better. And the best is yet to come.
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