While I loved the fact that Williams was able to tell what felt to me like a very intimate story that takes place in the world of Osten Ard and only focused on a relatively small group of characters in The Heart of What Was Lost, one of the many things that I loved about The Witchwood Crown is the way that he was able to tell a rather expansive story that focused on a wide variety of characters and storylines; and yet he was able to do it in such a way that all of the storylines were very well written and very well developed; while also doing it in such a way that I was very interested and invested in all of the characters in the book. The fact that I enjoyed all of the storylines in this book is definitely a testament to Williams’ talent as a writer, because when it comes to ensemble stories, there’s usually at least one or two storylines that I end up not liking as much I enjoy all of the other storylines in a book like this one; even though I’ve always been a big fan of ensemble stories.
That being said, Williams’ approach to writing an ensemble story is definitely very different from what I’m used to when it comes to ensemble stories; regardless of whether it’s a TV show, movie, or a book. The reason I say is because when it comes to ensemble stories, I’m used to most, if not all, of the main characters being introduced at the beginning of the story; even if they’re only briefly introduced before being truly fleshed out as a character later on in the story. Because of that, I have to admit that the first time I listened to The Witchwood Crown on audiobook, I was really caught off guard by the fact that there are some characters and storylines that aren’t even introduced until we’re several hundred pages into the book. Despite the fact that there are several storylines and characters that are introduced much later on in the book (namely the plot in Nabban with Duke Saluceris, his wife Duchess Canthia, and Jesa, who’s the nurse to their infant daughter, Serasina; and the storyline with Unver and the other Thrithings-Folk characters) compared to all of the other storylines in the book, neither of those storylines came across as being underdeveloped, and the characters that were involved with both of those storylines were still well developed, despite their late introductions in the book.
Viyeki was once again my favorite character in the book, and his storyline was also one of my favorite storylines in this book; much like he was my favorite character in The Heart of What Was Lost. I felt like Williams did a really good job of fleshing Viyeki out as a character some more in this book by introducing his wife, Lady Khimabu, his mortal mistress and the mother of his daughter, Tzoja, and his daughter, Nezeru. I also found the whole situation with Viyeki’s family very interesting, but it was admittedly also kind of odd; especially when it came to the dynamic between Khimabu and Tzoja.
Nezeru definitely proved to be a very interesting character, and I really enjoyed the part of her storyline that involved her going on a quest with other members of the Queen’s Talon to find a live dragon in order to get some its blood. However, there were also times throughout the book where Nezeru really frustrated me, and honestly prompted me to rant internally about her actions throughout the book more than I did with any other character in the book while I was listening to The Witchwood Crown on audiobook. If I were to give an award for most infuriating and most frustrating character in the book, Nezeru would hands down win the award. Ranting aside, I definitely have a lot of sympathy for her when it comes to the fact that the other men in the group acted rather cruel and abusive towards her. That being said, there’s a part of me that can’t help but question her thinking behind lying to the other members of the Queen’s Talon, and to a certain extent, I think Nezeru is really stupid for telling them that she was pregnant when she isn’t actually pregnant.
Sure, I know that she did it in order to stop the men from hurting her since women being able to get pregnant is a very rare occurrence amongst her people, so they apparently highly value Norns who are successfully able to reproduce; which is also why Norns are apparently willing to demonstrate a certain amount of acceptance towards people who are half Norn/half mortal like Nezeru is. However, Nezeru is only going to be able to get away with lying about being pregnant for so long before the people she lied to figure out that she’s not actually pregnant; which means her lie isn’t going to work in a long-term sense. That being said, I really appreciated the fact that Williams at least showed Nezeru wondering what she was going to do about having lied about being pregnant. While I understand that the book features a variety of other storylines that William also needed to develop and focus on throughout the book, I would have liked to see him devote a little bit more time to showing Nezeru trying to figure out a way to deal with the fact that she had lied about being pregnant than he ultimately did.
One of the things that surprised me the most about The Witchwood Crown in terms of my overall thoughts on the book is the fact that Morgan ended up being a very close second favorite character for me, behind Viyeki, when it comes to which characters really stood out to me the most as my favorite characters; in a book where I truly enjoyed all of the characters and storylines to a certain degree. When I listened to this book on audiobook the first time, the chapter that Morgan is introduced in (Chapter 2 “The Finest Tent on the Frostmarch”) really left me thinking that Morgan was quite possibly going to end up being the one character in this book that I didn’t like; even though I knew that not all of the characters had been introduced yet.
While I was initially very annoyed by Morgan’s behavior when he was first introduced in the book, he quickly grew on me within the next few chapters that focused on him and his storyline. His interactions with his sister, Lillia, and the friendship that developed between Morgan and Little Snenneq were both things that ultimately played a big part in Morgan becoming my second favorite character in the book. However, I definitely want to mention that I also really enjoyed the interactions between Morgan and Porto throughout the book. The fact that Morgan actually believed Porto when Porto told him stories about his past was another thing that caused Morgan to really start growing on me when it came to how I felt about him as a character; especially since other people apparently didn’t believe Porto when he told them about his past since he’s getting older.
One of the reasons why I ended up loving the friendship that developed between Morgan and Little Snenneq as much as I did, is due to the fact that a lot of their scenes together had somewhat of a lighthearted and fun feel to them. What made their interactions so entertaining to me is the fact that Little Snenneq seemed to have a habit of roping Morgan into situations that he initially wasn’t all that comfortable with, especially since they were typically somewhat dangerous situations; but oftentimes I felt like those situations ultimately helped Morgan to grow and mature as a person to certain extent, and were moments that led to some really interesting character development throughout the book.
I can definitely understand why there would be some people who read this book who don’t like Morgan as a character due to him having the tendency to act very immature at times throughout the book; especially since I didn’t like Morgan very much either when he was first introduced in the book. Ultimately, I thought that Morgan had some really great character development as his storyline progressed throughout the book. Plus, several of my top favorite moments in the book revolve around Morgan. For example, I absolutely love the scene at the end of chapter forty-two (“Forest Music”), where Morgan is trying to get the Sithi horn to work. I love how he initially couldn’t get the horn to work, but he’s ultimately able to get it to work after he blows the horn with a sense of anger; and he asks himself if blowing the Sithi horn is quite possibly going to be the most important thing that he ever does. I thought that was a very well written scene, and an emotionally powerful moment for both Morgan as a character, and for me as the reader. Ultimately, that scene is definitely one of the many, many reasons why I love this book so much.
This book features a variety of prophesies that I thought were all very interesting. However, at this point in time, the “prophesy” that I’m the most interested in is definitely what Morgan was told when he got a bone tarot reading from Little Snenneq in chapter nineteen (“The Moon’s Token”), and Little Snenneq interpreted the reading two different ways. Little Snenneq’s first interpretation of the bone tarot reading was basically that Morgan ultimately won’t get something that he has been expecting to get for a very long time. While I found Morgan’s bone tarot reading very interesting as whole, it’s ultimately Little Snenneq’s second interpretation of the reading that I found the most interesting; and it has definitely left me thinking about this particular aspect of the book the most when it comes to all of the prophesies or the various mysterious elements that are featured throughout the book. Little Snenneq’s second interpretation of Morgan’s bone tarot reading was basically that while he’ll get the thing that he wants the most in life, he’ll get it in a way that’s different from what he’s expecting. In an effort to try and keep this review from getting too absurdly long, I’ve decided to write a separate blog post where I discuss my thoughts and speculation on Morgan’s bone tarot reading in more detail; which you can read ****here****.
Pasevalles is another character that I’m definitely very interested in after reading this book. I honestly don’t have all that much to say about him as a character at the moment, other than I thought that he was a very well written character; and I really enjoyed the fact that Williams portrayed him as someone who’s constantly scheming and comes across as being very shady. Based on Pasevalles’ actions throughout the book, it’s blatantly obvious to me that he’s a very bad man who does a lot of truly horrible things, and yet I still can’t help, but love him as a character; and I’m incredibly fascinated by him. He really comes across as being a character that I can’t resist the urge to view him as being a character that I love to hate.
One of the numerous things that I really enjoyed about this book is the way Williams really emphasized and acknowledged the fact that the characters from his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy that were featured in this book are getting older, and some of the characters from the first trilogy have died in the time that has passed between the end of the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, and the beginning of this book. That being said, one aspect of this book that definitely disappointed me was the fact that Duke Isgrimnur dies pretty early on in the book. While I liked him in The Heart of What Was Lost, I thought that he was the one character that kind of got lost in the shuffle compared to all of the other characters that were featured in that book. Because of that, The Heart of What Was Lost really left me hoping that Duke Isgrimnur would get more of a chance to shine in this book.
While the fact that Duke Isgrimnur dies very early on in this book is honestly the only genuine complaint that I have about The Witchwood Crown, I do think the fact that he dies at the beginning of the book really fits with the fact that Williams really emphasizes the fact that the characters from the original trilogy are either significantly older now, or they have died in the thirty years that have passed since the events that took place at the end of the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. Plus, I also think Duke Isgrimnur’s death in this book really fits with what I’ve heard Tad Williams say in interviews about his motivation and inspiration for writing the Last King of Osten Ard series basically being the fact that a lot has changed in his own life during all of the years that have passed since To Green Angel Tower was originally published in 1993. It would definitely make a lot of sense to me for a lot to have changed in the lives of the characters from the original series as well, and in some cases for some of those characters to have died during the thirty years that have passed. Considering the fact that one of my biggest hopes for this book prior to listening to it on audiobook for the first time was that Duke Isgrimnur would get more of a chance to shine in this book, I just think it’s a real shame that he died so early on in the book.
Williams definitely seems to have a talent for leaving me wanting more with his books, but thankfully, in a good way. One thing that I really wish that we had gotten more of in this book is the Nabban storyline with Duke Saluceris, Duchess Canthia, Jesa, and baby Serasina; but not because I thought that it was underdeveloped or anything like that. I thought that it was very well written and well developed. The reason why I wish that Williams had featured the Nabban storyline a little bit more in this book than he did is simply because I enjoyed it so much, and it definitely stands out as one of my favorite storylines in the book. I loved all of the characters that were involved in the Nabban storyline, and I really enjoyed everything that happened throughout the course of the Nabban storyline in The Witchwood Crown as well. While I’m definitely very excited to see what happens in the second book in the trilogy, Empire of Grass, as a whole, the Nabban storyline is definitely one of the main storylines that has left me feeling extremely excited to read Empire of Grass.
The whole Thrithings-Folk storyline with Unver is another storyline that I really enjoyed; and while the Nabban storyline is quite possibly my favorite storyline in the book for numerous reasons, the Thrithings-Folk storyline also really stood out to me as one of my favorite storylines in the book as well, despite the fact that it wasn’t introduced until the beginning of part two of the book, “Orphans”. I thought that Unver, along with all of the other characters that were involved with that storyline were all very well written and intriguing; and I thought that everything that happened throughout the course of that storyline was very interesting, action-packed, and engaging as well. The way Williams left things with Unver and that particular storyline at the end of the book really stood out to me as being very memorable, and has really gotten me excited to see what happens next with that storyline in Empire of Grass.
Simon and Miriamele’s relationship throughout the book is something that I found very interesting, and I thought that Williams handled the writing for their relationship very well. That being said, Miriamele’s behavior towards Simon and her behavior in general throughout the book has really left me wondering if she’s under the influence of evil forces of some kind; especially when it comes to the part of the book where she intentionally breaks the dreamcatcher that Binabik gave Simon to help him start dreaming again. I’m wondering if someone or something has possessed her, or is magically manipulating her in some way in an attempt to carry out some kind of evil plan; and they were able to make Miriamele break the dreamcatcher, so Simon can’t catch on to their plans through his dreams and subsequently prevent them from carrying out their plans. This is ultimately pure speculation on my part at this point in time; but regardless, I’m really looking forward to seeing where this particular storyline is going in the second and third books in the Last King of Osten Ard series.
When it comes to my thoughts on the pacing of the various storylines in The Witchwood Crown, and the overall pacing of the book as a whole, I’ve definitely read quite a few long fantasy books where the plot suffered from various kinds of pacing issues. Sometimes I feel like fantasy books can start off really strong with interesting plot developments and good pacing, but then they can start to really drag at times; which can cause me to get bored and potentially start losing interest in the book, either briefly, or I can really start to lose interest in a fantasy book’s plot, and never truly fully regain my interest and enjoyment in the book as a whole. Fortunately, I feel like Williams did a great job of handling the overall pacing and action of the various storylines in The Witchwood Crown right from the start of the book, and he definitely maintained a really good pace for all of the storylines throughout the entire book. Honestly, the way Williams handled the overall pacing of this book, and all three of the books in his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy is one of the main things that has really left me thinking that Williams’ books are definitely much more my cup of tea than George R. R. Martin’s writing for the A Song of Ice and Fire series has ultimately proved to be.
The first time that I listened to this book on audiobook, I have to admit that I personally found the ending a little underwhelming for a book that’s a part of the fantasy genre; even though the book ends with a variety of cliffhangers and dramatic moments that I did think were all very interesting. However, when I listened to The Witchwood Crown on audiobook for the second time, I found myself being more impressed by the way Williams handled writing the ending of the book even though I already knew how the book ends; especially when it comes to the writing for the epilogue (“Afterword”). Personally, I think it’s a real testament to Williams as a writer that I actually enjoyed the ending of this book more when I listened to it on audiobook for the second, third, and fourth time even though I already knew how the book ends; compared to how I felt about the ending of The Witchwood Crown when I listened to it on audiobook for the first time.
All things considered, The Witchwood Crown is a truly awesome, insanely addictive book that’s exactly the kind of thing that I’ve been looking for when it comes to books within the adult fantasy genre. The Witchwood Crown’s greatest strength is definitely that it features a variety of great characters, and all of the storylines in this book are very well written, interesting, and engaging. While Viyeki and Morgan are definitely my favorite characters in this book, and the Nabban storyline is definitely my favorite storyline in the book; The Witchwood Crown is definitely a rare example of an ensemble story where I honestly like all of the characters and storylines to a certain degree.
As I said earlier in this review, the only complaint that I really have about this book is the fact that Duke Isgrimnur dies so early on in the book, since I had been hoping that he would really get a chance to shine in this book; prior to listening to it on audiobook for the first time. However, Duke Isgrimnur’s death early on in the book is definitely a pretty forgivable complaint to have about this book as far as I’m concerned, since I feel like it ultimately really fits with a lot of the themes that are present throughout the book. While Tad Williams definitely made a fantastic first impression on me with The Heart of What Was Lost, The Witchwood Crown is ultimately what made me truly fall in love with his writing, and his own personal approach to the fantasy genre. The Witchwood Crown is a truly awesome start to the Last King of Osten Ard series. It’s also a book that has a great reread factor to it, and I couldn’t be more excited to read Empire of Grass next.
That being said, my score for The Witchwood Crown is 10 out of 10.
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