As I said in my review of Tad Williams’ book, The Witchwood Crown, while Viyeki is my favorite character in the Last King of Osten Ard series, Morgan is definitely my second favorite character series at this point in time. One of the many reasons why I love The Witchwood Crown so much is because of Tad Williams’ writing for Morgan’s storyline, and if I’m being completely honest, I’m really surprised that Morgan ended up being my second favorite character in the book. When I listened to The Witchwood Crown on audiobook for the first time back in December of 2017, the chapter that Morgan was introduced in (Chapter 2 “The Finest Tent on the Frostmarch”), as well some of his other early chapters in the book really left me thinking that Morgan was quite possibly going to end up being the one character in the book that I didn’t like. Ultimately, after having read The Witchwood Crown four times, I have to say that I definitely consider it to be a rare example of an ensemble story where I like all of the characters and all of the storylines.
While I ended up loving Morgan’s storyline because I thought that it was entertaining, intriguing, and at times even kind of funny, when it came to the friendship that developed between Morgan and Little Snenneq; his storyline also has some really great moments throughout the book that are more on the serious side of things, too, which was also very interesting to see play out throughout the course of the book.
Tad Williams definitely did an awesome job of providing the readers with a lot of interesting plot developments and mysteries throughout The Witchwood Crown. However, the thing that stood out to me the most for a variety of reasons is definitely the bone tarot reading that Little Snenneq did for Morgan in chapter 19 (The Moon’s Token), and the two different ways Little Snenneq interpreted the reading. Little Snenneq’s first interpretation of Morgan’s bone tarot reading was basically that he won’t get something that he has been expecting to get for a very long time; and his second interpretation of Morgan’s bone tarot reading was essentially that he’ll get the thing that he has been expecting to get, but he’ll get it in a very different form than he had always envisioned it.
Morgan’s bone tarot reading definitely added a rather interesting and compelling element to his storyline, since it not only caused some tension between Morgan and Little Snenneq that led Morgan to distance himself from Little Snenneq for a brief portion of the book; it also led to him really experiencing an internal struggle about his future since he automatically assumed that the tarot reading was saying that he’s not going to inherit the throne from Simon, and pretty much didn’t take any time to think about Little Snenneq’s second interpretation of his tarot reading.
Little Snenneq’s second interpretation of Morgan’s bone tarot reading really resonated with me on a personal level, because when it comes to a lot of the things that I value the most in my life, I’ve gotten them in a very different form than I had originally envisioned. The fact that Morgan basically completely ignored Little Snenneq’s second interpretation of the reading and really fixated on Little Snenneq’s first interpretation is something that really frustrated me. However, I’m wondering if having Morgan completely ignore Little Snenneq’s second interpretation of the bone tarot reading is Williams’ way of hinting at the idea that the second interpretation is ultimately going to end up being what happens later on in the series.
Throughout the course of The Witchwood Crown, I honestly got the distinct impression that on some level Morgan doesn’t actually want to inherit the throne and take Simon’s place as the king of Osten Ard. Oftentimes, I felt like Morgan is simply expecting to be Simon’s successor to the throne since he has clearly grown up with people telling him that he’s the heir to the throne. In terms of how he was written in The Witchwood Crown, Morgan never really came across to me as having any genuine interest in being Simon’s heir to the throne. When Morgan was first introduced in chapter 2 “The Finest Tent on the Frostmarch”, as well as several of Morgan’s other early chapters in the book, there was a big part of me that couldn’t help, but think of Morgan as being the medieval equivalent of a trust fund brat. Morgan didn’t really come across as having a strong sense of direction in life, or have any genuinely meaningful ambitions of his own to pursue; so, it wasn’t all that surprising to me that Simon and Miriamele felt like it would be beneficial to Morgan if they sent him on a mission with Eolair and a group of soldiers to Aldhorte Forest to find the Sithi and return Tanahaya, so the Sithi can help her to continue to recover from being poisoned.
Given how divisive both the ending of Game of Thrones and the final season of Game of Thrones as a whole was, plus I personally think Tad Williams’ writing in general is superior to George R. R. Martin’s writing for the A Song of Ice and Fire series, I’m kind of hesitant to compare this book and the Last King of Osten Ard series in general to Game of Thrones in any way. That being said, a part of me can’t help, but think that Morgan is going to end up being put in some kind of leadership position by the end of the series, similar to how Jon Snow was named King in the North at the end of Game of Thrones’ sixth season, or like how Sansa Stark was crowned Queen in the North by the Northern Lords at the end of the series. If something like that were to happen by the end of the Last King of Osten Ard series, I’m guessing Morgan would decide that remaining in that leadership position is more important to him than inheriting the throne from Simon would be. I can also see Morgan becoming involved with some other group of people (I’m guessing the Sithi), or some other cause that Morgan views as being more important to him; even if others might not view it as being prestigious as being the next king of Osten Ard. I’m no expert on the rules of succession, but if either of those scenarios were to occur, I’m guessing that Lillia would inherit the throne instead; with someone ruling in her place until she’s actually old enough to take control of the throne.
These are ultimately just my thoughts and theories regarding Morgan’s bone tarot reading in The Witchwood Crown. I honestly have no idea how Morgan’s storyline throughout the rest of the Last King of Osten Ard series is going to play out. I’m really hoping that Morgan’s bone tarot reading will play a part in Morgan’s storyline and continue to be referenced from time to time as the series continues. Personally, I would hate to see this aspect of Morgan’s storyline in The Witchwood Crown be something that Tad Williams completely drops and never mentions again in future books; especially since I felt like it played a fairly significant role in The Witchwood Crown, and I found it to be one of my favorite things about The Witchwood Crown. Regardless of what happens, I’m really excited to see how Morgan’s storyline continues to play out throughout the rest of the Last King of Osten Ard series.
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