The Heart of What Was Lost

The Memory Sorrow and Thorn trilogy had a richness in tone and atmosphere that was never equalled by the Shadowmarch series, a paler cousin, and I feared Tad Williams would not be able to recapture it. Somehow he's done it. 'Melancholy' has been cited by others as the key ingredient, and that is here again with both the Northmen and the Norns endlessly reflecting on losses and the lost, in a frozen land of ruins.

I've not been to the world of Osten Ard since the 1990s, but I remember the Norns as intimidating and mysterious. Williams strips all of that away by providing their perspective, and I was disappointed at first to find them almost conventional until, as intended, they gradually won my sympathy and more aspects of their culture show more were shared. I was further satisfied thanks to soldier Porto's viewpoint as he struggles to reassure Endri, demonstrating that the Norns are no less mysterious or frightening to the mortals than they ever were, even though we as readers can now see past the veil. Acts of desperation on one side are suspected as artful ruses or traps by the other, realistically displaying the effects of fear and caution, and finally all my qualms were put to rest. The Norns are still a nasty piece of work.

In a shorter work like this, Williams' primary fault (slow pacing) vanishes. The plot moves quickly, and halfway through I began to realize this story had more to say than I'd expected. The wrap-up is stellar, even if it was designed to be a setup for the next trilogy, and this serves as an excellent standalone. My takeaway is this is 1990s fantasy with a new shine, impeccably told, and maybe Tad Williams' best thing ever. If I continue to lament the typical results of authors returning to beloved fantasy worlds decades later, usually making a hash of it, I'll have to note this exception. Osten Ard is back. show less

I read Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series back in 2012, and while I didn't absolutely love it, I still have pretty good memories of it. I was excited to hear that the author was finally going to be returning to the world of Osten Ard with a whole bunch of new books, beginning with this short novel – The Heart of What Was Lost.

At the end of To Green Angel Tower, the Norns have been defeated at Hayholt, but wars are not generally over with a single decisive battle. As the Norns retreat, they pillage and destroy villages, and the new king sends his armies to make sure the Norns don't bother his kingdom again. This novel tells the story of the actual end of the war from different perspectives – the commander of the human army show more Duke Isgrimnur (who was pretty prominent in the original trilogy), human soldier Porto, who is far from home, and Norn engineer Viyeki, who is with the force retreating from Hayholt.

This is very much a grim war book, and it made for more intense reading than I expected. It was very interesting to see a Norn viewpoint – they were faceless implacable enemies previously, and now we know a lot more about their culture and motivations. They're the ones we end up rooting for (despite some horrible acts they commit), because the alternative seems to be genocide, and now that we know they're not just evil killing machines, they don't deserve that.

I think this book would work perfectly well as a standalone and as an introduction to the world of Osten Ard. I didn't remember much of the events of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, and I thought it was a complete story. Having said that, I liked the complexity that it added to the ending of the original series, one of my biggest complaints was that everything was tied up far too neatly in To Green Angel Tower. And the ending of The Heart of What Was Lost is most definitely not "happily ever after" – it makes me look forward to reading The Witchwood Crown (the first book of the new trilogy) when it comes out later this year. I'm especially excited that Viyeki is confirmed to be in it. show less

This book sat on my shelves for a couple years after its publication, not due to any disinterest, but because the author had set such a high standard with his previous trilogy Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. So I started reading it with a little trepidation, afraid of ruining my memories of the volumes that preceded it.

And my belief that Tad Williams is a superb author was vindicated.

The Heart of What Was Lost is a short(er) follow-up to his massive masterpiece, and it's worthy: the narrative and characters draw you in from the first page, pull you close, and don't let you go until you find out what happens. There is tragedy, anguish, horrifying deeds, triumphs, yet the descriptions of battles are never more graphic than is necessary to tell show more the tale.

Fantastic follow-up, Mr. Williams, thank you. show less

Ik vond het een heerlijk verhaal. Grimmige nasleep van de oorlog. Mannen die óf wraakzuchtig, óf oorlogsmoe zijn en sommigen zelfs beide gevoelens tegelijkertijd hebben. Hertog Isgrimnur die opgezadeld zit met een Sidhe die niet mee wil vechten tegen de vluchtende Nornen.

Grimmig, bij vlagen vol horror, maar ook hier en daar een vleugje humor. Het tempo vond ik wat hoger liggen dan ik gewend ben van Tad Williams en het verhaal leek ook wat korter. Wat dat betreft was het wel een echt tussenboek. Maar wat was ik blij om weer terug te zijn in Osten Ard. Heerlijk!

Ik vind dat Tad Williams als altijd weer goed de ellende, oneerlijkheid en horror van een oorlog weet te beschrijven. De Nornen krijgen in dit verhaal een wat menselijker show more gezicht. Je gaat hen beter begrijpen en krijgt zelfs wat sympathie voor hen, al zou je nog steeds niet willen dat ze winnen. Een heerlijk boek, maar ik kan het geen 5 sterren geven geven. Daarvoor is het verhaal te weinig complex en dat vind ik juist altijd zo heerlijk aan Tad's boeken. Het wordt een fijne 4 sterren. show less

I was somewhat skeptical hopping into this one because it *appeared* to be a full-length novel masquerading as a bridge between Williams' original fantasy series and a later incarnation in the same world. I mean, it's nearly ten hours in audio and yet it's only a #0.5 in reading order? Yikes. But then, that's Tad Williams for you. His books are HUGE. Small print, mondo page count. Yak-chokers. If a full novel can be considered nothing more than an *appetizer* in comparison, then it is what it is. Welcome to the land of the giants. :)

THAT BEING SAID.

I'm so glad I read it. It's a great refresher after twenty odd years since reading the original brick house. The Norns, the menfolk, the Duke, all the different races of immortals are brought show more to life for us. It includes the history of the conflict, the smattering of the magics, the fundamental differences in culture, thought, and even their old history, the nature of their making... all of it came back to me. :)

So what else did we get? Oh, just an epic battle between the Duke and the immortals, mixing up our expectations and flipping everything on its head again. Our sympathies are meant to be challenged.

And already we have a grand defeat, an epic loss, a freaking cool setup, and expectations of much evil to come thanks to the fundamental misunderstanding between the races.

Does this sound like most fantasies? Hmmm. Possibly, at least a little, but Tad Williams has one great thing going for him.

Skill. Great writing. Careful attention to detail. Great characters. And EPIC blowouts. He's kinda go-to guy for this kind of thing. Most of us will agree. We've all been blown away at one point or another. And he's BACK. :) :) show less

** I received an advance reader copy of this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway. **

YES!!!!!! Finally!!!! More Osten Ard!! I loved and still love the original series and while I was sad not to see more of some of my favorite characters (Simon!) I completely enjoyed spending more time in the world I grew to know and love so much while reading the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. As in the original trilogy, there is a strange dissonance created in the reader. You feel you should strongly support the 'heroes' (mostly human) and wish for the downfall of the 'villains' (mostly non-human) and yet, even though the non-humans are VERY non-human and do and say things that are so obviously wrong (maybe even 'evil'), I can never quite show more bring myself to hate them. I find myself understanding some of their actions and realize that while I may never want to have a cup of coffee with any of them, I can respect their love and loyalty toward their way of life and their homes and people. They may be the bad guys but sometimes bad is a bit gray. While you don't need to read the original trilogy before reading this book, I would highly recommend it because without the background provided in the first three books, you will miss some of the twists and will be a bit adrift at times, especially when reading about the Norns.

So, would I recommend this book? Um.....YES!!! Especially to anyone who loves epic fantasy. If you are waiting for the next Pat Rothfuss or George Martin, Tad Williams is a perfect place to go to sate you need for fantasy that grabs you, pulls you in and never lets you go! Tad's stories are epic and his character and world building is outstanding. If you've read Memory, Sorrow and Thorn before, grab this book and read it immediately. If you haven't, go pick up the trilogy, then grab this book and go read all of them! You won't be disappointed!

Oh, and I also won a free foam sword in this giveaway which was pretty darn awesome (even if my son stole it and hung it on his wall!). show less

At last, the return to Osten Ard! At first it took me a while to get back into the 'feel' of Osten Ard and the author's style, but it wasn't long before I fell right in. This book is set immediately after the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy. The humans forces, led by Duke Isgrimnur, are chasing the Norns back to their northern fortress. Many of the characters from the previous trilogy don't appear in this book, but they aren't necessary. A little bit of the previous story sets the tone and scope, but mostly this book stands on its own. In the process we learn quite a bit more about the Norns as a people. This is a short book compared to the others, but it is of a sufficient length to tell a good story and is in the best Tad William's show more style. show less