Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams Book Review & Reaction | It Left Me A Little Cold

[@B.LEE.DbrianleedurfeeREVIEWS]

Great review. i read this book over and over and over in preparation for To Green Angel Tower release. There was about a three year gap between books and it was the longest three years of my life

[@williamblackfyre4866]

And here I am on year 12 or whatever waiting on The Winds of Winter. I probably forgot the first 5 books by now.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Reminds me of the wait for A Dance With Dragons...which doesn't seem that long now.

[@kiraathudye8963]

I'm with you here, Mike. Maegwin never did grow on me - no matter how often I read these books. It's less being bored and more being seriously annoyed by her behavior. However, all the world-building makes up for it. I really loved Jao é-Tinukai'i and the Yiqanuc - salt/butter tea seems to be a worthy entry of an Osten Ard cookbook (^____^)

[@wardo1602]

My brother-in-law first alerted me to this series years ago, and his comment was "Have you read To Green Angel Tower?" So, in his mind, the last book was the BIG one. After reading these myself, I enjoyed the first two books well enough, but TGAT was really something special. For me, it's immersive and unforgettable. I was all in. I'm glad you get to experience it these next two months.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Looking forward to finding out!

[@tylerblack301]

Silent read along participant here. Thanks for putting the read along together! I tried reading SoF this time last year and gave up on chapter 10. Read 1 chapter per day in February and I really enjoyed this book. Some minor gripes but nothing that would have made me put the book down again.

[@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

Excellent to hear your thoughts, Mike, as always. It’s hard to believe this was published in the same year I graduated from high school. It hasn’t been quite that long since I read it, but it’s been a long time, and hearing you discuss it brings back good memories. Thanks!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Always happy to provide nostalgia.

[@sharxboy]

It's been so long since I read this series, maybe 30 years, but when I see you talk about it, I flirt with a re read. I remember after I finished everything was so clear, I could name 50 characters off the top of my head. Great stuff!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Excellent to hear it left a lasting impression.

[@Terree_K]

Comment for the algorithm -- I've read this series twice now, and loved it both times. I just can't recall all of the character's names. Like the guy that goes to his "tribal" home to get help (is it whosamacallit?). I loved his story line, er, side quest. FMD, my recall has left the building.

[@susiebolt4021]

I read this series when it was released and read it again last year. I had completely forgotten Maegwin in the interim and found her storyline no more interesting the second time around. However, I had also forgotten Tiamak and loved him on the second read.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I found Tiamak just okay in this one. But fan feedback on him have me expecting big things in book 3.

[@jeremiahaldan1639]

I'm trying to get caught up in Malazan first, so I'm trying to get through Reaper's Gale and Toll the Hounds in March, then I'll start Green Angel and start it all the way through, so hopefully I'll finish about the same time you do.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Good luck!

[@Tyler.Morgan]

This is my first read-a-long and I've enjoyed it a lot so far. Stone of Farewell really expanded on things from The Dragonbone Chair, although the middle/last third was a bit slower. Really enjoying it and excited for the next two months! Thanks, Mike!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thanks for reading with us!

[@elanmayo960]

Hey! I just finished the entire trilogy of memory sorrow and thorn in FIVE weeks!! I agree with you that stone of farewell was slow but what Williams does in to green angel tower makes it ALL worth it. I would be stoked if you ended up reading the sequel trilogy bc I am so curious as to where he goes in the world of osten ard. Also side note … maegwins story does become a crucial plot line in the last part. All the best!

[@brentasmith]

I felt pretty similar about SoF. So far TGAT is a banger.

[@theoa126]

Same, Brent. Glad you're enjoying TGAT, I'm excited to jump in...maybe next week:)

[@aKittyKat2ndStarDCT]

Great Review! I just finished Stone of Farewell and came straight here to watch your video and i agree with almost everything you said! Besides the Maegwin chapters, the rest of this book is pure magic for me, I feel like the minute i start reading i enter into this vivid world and join the company of incredible yet realistic characters (like you said, Simon goes a long way from being just a kitchen boy, so for me, the way he struggles in some parts, gives me the same desperate feeling and brings me closer to understanding his point of view). I am so thrilled to read the final book(s) and learn more about this amazing world! Keep up the great job! Your channel is my absolute favourite!

[@katherinedraughn6919]

Totally agree with the Maegwen storyline lacking. Definitely could have used more Rachel instead.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Yes! I loved Rachel's part.

[@narutobullock]

Maegwen was terrible 😂 the plot demands she turns mad.

[@GeekofMordor]

Love the shirt man. Rock on \m/

[@April_Davis]

I found SoF slow in parts too. But overall I really liked it and I'm excited to get to TGAT. I plan break it up also, but maybe that depends on how I feel when I get there. Thanks for the read-along and the review.

[@my_cousin_mose9782]

METALLICA! Yeahhhh!! I can't comment on the book, never read it. The only Tad Williams I've read is Tailchaser's Song, which is probably the best book about cats ever written.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Books about cats aren't anything I'm well-versed in.

[@atom0191]

Thanks for the video, Mike!!

[@mikesbookreviews]

You bet!

[@KalleVilenius]

Definitely like Tiamak a lot more in To Green Angel Tower but I am glad that he got to be in this one. Maegwin not so much. She has a reason for being in the story but... eh. You talk a lot about how Tad Williams influenced other writers but I think I picked up on something here that he took inspiration from. When they're going to the Sithi realm the steady transition of the scenery is very reminiscent of how people moved between planes of reality in Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, which started back in the 70's so Williams would've had access to it. Maybe that's just me though.

[@mikesbookreviews]

No doubt that a lot of the authors I've read the past decade were influenced heavily by this story.

[@avi4905]

i loved tis book since i really love setup books, am the Odd one here. i also liked Maegwen’s chapters just because i wanted to know where will they lead us to. Miriamelle on the other hand felt like a side quest and am not really into her storyline. overall great book. i will be splitting the last book into 2 parts as well, so great to hear your doing the same. thank you for the review

[@suepedie1]

I guess I need to reread these

[@theoa126]

Excited to start book 3

[@nayr7085]

Hey Mike I’ve seen Percy Jackson series in your book shelves but I’m not sure if you made a video on it already but if not you should!!!

[@mikesbookreviews]

I haven't read them. Those were to read with my kids after we finish Harry Potter.

[@williamblackfyre4866]

SoF I thought it was one long cocktease. I was very disappointed when I got the end and it felt like very little happened. Maybe my perception was off, but things definitely pick up in the next book/two books. Minor Spoiler/Warning for new readers for book 3: But as a warning for anyone didn't like Simon below the Hayholt in book 1...he's going back under the Hayholt and we get multiple chapters of it this time around.

[@anna_rn]

Great review. Thank you for the heads up. I loved Dragonbone.

[@AndrewsWizardlyReads]

Your pronunciations are really good for not having listened to the audio.

[@astellus]

Middle book syndrome. I am having a less than stellar time. It's still good and I do enjoy it, but I've also started and finished 4 books while I've been reading this one. Sure sign that I'm distracted.

[@williamblackfyre4866]

In my opinion, it is all worth it for the multiple payoffs in TGAT, but some people might now feel that way. I had to force myself through SoF and the first 300 or so pages of DBC, but it wasn't the same with book 3/4.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I can see that. It's why I think looking back on it after completing I'll probably appreciate the set up more.

[@laurac56]

I enjoyed book two, although not quite as much as book one. I agreed with your “good and bad” assessments, I especially found Simon’s side trip dragging. I was enjoying Maegwen’s storyline until she met the “other group” and she became pretty unlikeable. I assume those “others” will have a role in the final book, since that part would be useless otherwise. On to the next part!

[@randallk6812]

Overall I found the first book very slow but enjoyable. I'm currently debating starting the stone of farewell or taking a break and reading The Forgetting Moon instead

[@AndrewsWizardlyReads]

Yesss!!! Binabik is awesome.

[@Uppernorwood976]

These comments! Do people really need action, action, action to make a book interesting? Doesn’t writing and prose matter as well? Tad Williams is a beautiful writer, this book has a lot more to offer than action. Contrast with modern authors like Brandon Sanderson, who pushes the plot along at a pace, but has workman-like writing at best (not shitting on Sanderson, I like him).

[@Rendref]

Nope, not only action matters. But with Tad William's it felt like it had nothing. Beautiful prose about nothing does not interest me. I was actually way more invested in Assassin's Quest than William's books, though I admit William's worldbuilding is awesome. Anyway, I didn't actually see the comment that shat on Williams yet. You might like his prose and that's okay, but surely you can admit that it is extremely slow

[@williamblackfyre4866]

Not necessarily action but going 50-100 pages with very little happening is frustrating. The books picks up significantly after SoF, and not just in terms of action but accomplishing goals.

[@MrTheCDCRASH]

@@Rendref That‘s very subjective. I don‘t find it slow at all. Everyone has a different perception.

[@Rendref]

@@MrTheCDCRASH maybe. I think more in terms that "slow" is more or less objective criteria. The loving and enjoying of that "slowness" is of course truly subjective

[@MrTheCDCRASH]

@@Rendref You‘re right on that. I guess I‘m very subjective as well since I acutally appreciate the slowness of it. In contrary to that I do not like it when things get rushed. So yeah I guess this series is just very divisive. It‘s either a masterpiece, slow and boring or somewhere in between haha

[@conorsowersby1274]

I found this book to be boring but still great at times… to Green Angel Tower was a tough read for me, I was very bored for large sections of the book and had to slog through. I feel like this entire story could have been told in 3 books the size of Dragonbone Chair.

[@EricMcLuen]

Agreed. There is so much rinse - repeat. Williams seems to just drop in bits that he thinks are cool for no particular reason other than page bloat.

[@JARHuygebaert]

Never got into Dragonbone, but I read the Dutch version, not the English version. Maybe I should try again in English.

[@AndrewsWizardlyReads]

There is a character in the series that I just felt didn't need to be there... ah ok she didn't work for you either good I'm not alone

[@roxieswonderousworld]

❤

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thanks!

[@drewe9163]

I kept forgetting that Maegwin existed in Dragonbone Chair, didn't have that luxury in Stone of Farewell. She is by far my least favorite character.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Yeah, I'd rather have the spotlight on other characters.

[@JLchevz]

Absolutely MST can get pretty dark lol

[@grnberet9401]

I am a little behind in this one, sitting at about 50%. So far, I am really enjoying the story.

[@mikesbookreviews]

No worries. Splitting the last one into two months means plenty of time to catch up.

[@alexfrederick3404]

I agree, Maegwin wasn't too interesting. I absolutely loved this book, especially everything at Jao e Tinukai'i. OK .. off the wall question ... why no ZZ Top t-shirt?? Have I missed this? ZZ Top brought Texas to the world.

[@williamblackfyre4866]

I read these books in the middle of last year, but all the stuff at Jao e Tinukai really sapped the life out of me, it got old REAL fast. I was pretty disappointed when I got to the end of the book because it felt like so little happened and even the climax with Jegger felt meh. But things really get going in TGAT, it made the first 500 pages of DBC and all of SoF absolutely worth it.

[@mikesbookreviews]

I don't have one. Which is strange because they're one of my favorites ever.

[@CinemaKingTheaters]

Do you do book reviews for first time authors? I would really like anyone's help to get my book out there and a review on Amazon. That and just to get my foot into writing,

[@mikesbookreviews]

I do not. Sorry.

[@Thecatladybooknook_PennyD]

👏👏👏

[@dandylla]

I agree that Maegwin's chapters were super boring. It gets a little better in TGAT at least, but Williams likes to move very slow

[@albertocarlosjunior]

Check Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Eventually.

[@annakobuk3618]

These books are to be devoured, not to swallowed hastily.

[@jcwoodman5285]

OK I loved Abacrombie & the Malazon series but found Gwynnes Malice Horrible & this one looks similar What next? I need a good darker series... anybody?🤔

[@GeekofMordor]

Def don't read wheel of time. I DNFed that one alone with Stormlight. You should try Elric of Melniboné if you want darker fantasy. The Erlic Saga

[@teabug6429]

Currently reading this! I loved Dragonbone but I didn't like Simon's dream segments. And I bet the 2nd book will still have lots of dream parts, so not looking forward to those.

[@Rendref]

TGAT felt like 1200 pages of nothingness and 200 pages of awesomeness.

[@conorsowersby1274]

Agreed

[@MrTheCDCRASH]

If you think so… have you ever read a Wheel of time book lol

[@williamblackfyre4866]

I don't think it was that bad...compared to the first 500 pages of Dragonbone and all of SoF, TtGAT is rife with stuff happening. The battle at the SoF, the march thru Nabban, Simon and Miri's kidnapping, Simon on the Wheel of Pain, the face off of Elias and Simon, the realization of his parentage, the Sithi's freeing Hern, the 2nd battle of Nagilmund...and then the climax of it all and the reemergence of the Storm King...definitely more than 200 pages of good stuff.

[@wardo1602]

@@williamblackfyre4866 Dude, what's up with the spoilers??!! Take it easy, Mike hasn't read it yet.

[@musicgenius1948]

@@wardo1602 his comment his fine. He’s specifically responding to a comment talking about to green angel tower. Mike wouldn’t click on a comment talking about book three which he hath not read

[@lizardman1303]

Liked first book one more . Book 2 was just full of fluff way to many characters. Maybe the books would have been better without the princess all together