Stone of Farewell

Was really glad this 2nd book didn't start off with 8 hours of boring infodumps and mundane activities around the castle, but Mr. Williams still managed to write a story with twice the words needed. Luckily when the story was actually moving it was great. For me this could have gotten 5 stars from me if it did either of these things.

1) Cut the book length by 30-40% by leaving out the repetitive infodumps, cutting really long scenes in half, especially the long conversations, and dropping at least half of the parts where Simon is beating himself up for being a loser.

OR

2) Replaced those parts mentioned above with things actually happening.

Seriously I think if I was reading these books in dead tree format, I would have given up somewhere show more around 150 pages in. I don't regret spending the time reading it because I was doing other things like driving or gardening, but I'm much more stingy with my actual sit-down-and-do-only-one-thing time. show less

This series is just so great to return to every now and then. Binabik en Jiriki continue to be the dad/mentor like figures Simon so desperately needs while he clumsily stumbles through his adventures. Part of me feels like I should be annoyed by Simon, but I just can't. He's my favourite mooncalf, not even realizing how he is saved again and again by those around him.

Ofc there are characters that are pure good, and characters that are pure evil, which is silly. Ofc there are strange things like this guy who fractured both legs, splinted them so they are stiff from hip to toe, then manages to fall to his knees later on and get back up. Who cares. (Turns out I don't.)

I love the world building, the slow revealing of history, the show more characters, the language used. I love Binabik's sayings and Isgrimnur's temper. There are still glaring parallels with real life nations and religion, and with Tolkien, but it's definitely it's own story. Is it the best fantasy ever? Nope, but it's perfect for me. show less

Stone of Farewell didn't quite live up to the foundation set in Dragonbone Chair. I think mostly because towards the end Williams realized there was no way the rest of the story could fit into a reasonably-sized third book. There is evidence of revision throughout to try to cram more into this volume instead. In the end I think Williams realized there was no way to rework the plot in the way he wanted.

That said, this volume started to hint at deviation from Tolkien's philosophy and themes. Dragonbone Chair had a fairly dark atmosphere, but this ratchets that feeling up. There are particular tragic experiences the characters undergo that definitely don't belong in Tolkien, at least not minus some silver lining like they're presented show more here. On the whole, however, this book isn't a huge downer. There are hints at Robin Hobb-like character torture, but things still end up relatively happy, with promise for the future. In hindsight though, it's amazing to think how much more of this story is contained in the third volume. show less

Readers of fantasy know that, quite often, the second book in a trilogy suffers from the dreaded "black sheep" syndrome. Book two is the slightly overlooked middle child. Less respected than the first and less spoiled than the last -- but necessary nonetheless. Characters often go on long journeys in the second book and think about things ad nauseam, all in preparation for whatever climax awaits in book three.

Luckily for us, Tad Williams is a master of the genre and handles this unfortunate yet necessary anomaly with such grace as to make it almost non-existent. Yes, there's much trekking in Stone of Farewell. There's a lot of introspection, as well. But rather than plodding through as I often do, I found myself enjoying every detailed show more moment.

In Stone of Farewell you will find that the cast of characters have diverged into separate adventures and the storytelling jumps between each of them in turn. The world building continues, and Osten Ard becomes an even more developed backdrop on which these adventures play out. The final scene brought actual tears to my eyes. An extraordinary read for lovers of epic fantasy -- I cannot wait to get my hands on book three. show less

Continuing my review of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, we move into the second book.

The first book is an explosion of history and new culture- William's world has depth!- this installment is, in my opinion, much weaker. It is necessary to create the climax, but lacks any scenes with the power of the blood of Igjarjuk, the innocence of Simon Mooncalf, or the blood-stained history of the Hayholt.

It does have a very evocative eldritch city, and a closer look at the culture of the strange, fey Sithi; overall, it reads to me as the book most echoing with loss of the three. In The Dragonbone Chair, loss was in the past- even the passing of Prester John is the mourning of the passing of a man who did great deeds and touched many lives, regardless show more of his faults. In this book, it is a profound sense of things being irretrievably lost or lesser that one did not expect before the finale.

If one has an attachment to the relevant sections, this book explains what the villain-hero, Ineluki, wants to restore before it is lost. show less

The Stone of Farewell improves on the Dragon Bone Chair simply by virtue of beginning more immediately, the conflict has already begun and the characters must endure or attempt to influence it according to their situations. (As opposed to the lengthy beginning a set up in the first book that, while necessary, was slow.) Simon's character arc and maturation remain excellent, and possibly the best example of a character growing up I've read in a fantasy book.
Some of the flaws I found with this book are the multiple povs. There are three distinct povs throughout the narrative, and of these I found Miriamels bar far the weakest, as she lacked meaningful progress, objectives, or growth. Simon's is the strongest, not just because of him being show more the MC and someone I'm deeply invested in, but is occasionally guilty of the 'cliffhanger' crime of ending a chapter somewhere tense and exciting and then sending the reader into a different pov, thus resulting in much of my excitement dying out by the time we return to the cliffhanger (as well as the annoyance of not being able to continue reading the exciting bit). And the Prince's vacillates depending on the conflict transpiring in his chapters. show less

The second volume Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy appears at first to be an event-laden set up piece for the grand finale series, however Stone of Farewell turned out into something more in-depth especially when it comes to characters. From various locations around Osten Ard, characters that have survived the events of The Dragonbone Chair start heading to the legendary Stone of Farewell, a temporary sanctuary for those fighting against the tide of evil brought by the Storm King. While others continue their noble, and sometimes misguided, personal quests.

From the north, Simon's journey begins with saving the lives of his friends from a death sentence then heads to the southern border of the Old Forest only to be show more separated from his friends. In the west, Prince Josua leads a ragtag band of survivors in the Old Forest first in a battle of survival then into a quest that leads them to the vast plans in the east of the country to the Stone. Miriamele learns her quest to bring Nabban to her uncle's side a failure before her arrival then finds herself being secretly traded from one political player to another while Duke Isgrimnur's search for the wayward Princess gets sidetracked to find small Wrannaman along with a legendary figure. And in occupied Hernystir, Maegwin leds her exiled country in the depths of the mountains and finds a lost city.

From the first page the action is always moving forward unlike the beginning of The Dragonbone Chair. Simon's sojourn with the exiled Sithi is a interesting and very necessary change of pace in the later half of the book as the reader continues to learn that things aren't necessary as they seem. While the vast majority of the book is a great read, there are parts that are somewhat of a drag and questionable. Both Miriamele and Maegwin seem to be well-written one page then clichéd the next, its very maddening as a reader. Another is the fact that the majority of Josua's journey to the Stone comes from Deornoth's point-of-view, while Deornoth is a great character it questionable that a major player like Josua seems sidelined by the writer.

Stone of Farewell is a wonderful middle volume of a trilogy that is not only an adventure in itself, but builds up the story for the finale. If you've read The Dragonbone Chair and are thinking about if you really want to continue with the series, I recommend you read the first 100 pages because you won't want to put it down. show less