Empire of Grass by Tad Williams

The follow up to The Witchwood Crown, which itself was the followup to the incredible Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy of 30 or so years ago, had enormous shoes to fill. The original series was a landmark in fantasy, and when Tad Williams opened the door to Osten Ard once more in 2017, expectations were understandably high.

The Witchwood Crown met those expectations and more, bringing readers a glimpse at that familiar realm after decades away. Characters we know and love return, while some are lost forever, and new faces were introduced: Prince Morgan, grandson of King Simon and King Miriamelle, his troll friend Sennec, the half-blood Norn Nerez, and many more. The Witchwood Crown placed our characters in deep peril, with a gut-punch of an ending, and with the Empire of Grass we finally get to take up the cause again after an agonizing wait.

But oh, it was worth the wait. This book is a middle book - it has very little closure and lots of progression. There is more movement and plot flow than in the first book, since the stage is all set, but even so this is not what I'd called a fast book. It is smooth and steady, but not racing.

That being said, the last 200 pages or so are breathtaking. So much happens, and of such import, that it is once again going to be a very hard wait for the next book, The Pilot's Children.

I will also say, with the current state of the plot, it would not surprise me in the least of the final book ended up being split in two. There just seems like so much that still needs to happen before anything is resolved... But I suppose we shall see.

Anyway, if you have read Witchwood Crown, you should certainly read this book. If you haven't read TWC, then by no means start with this one: go back to the beginning! ( )

The second book in the Last King of Osten Ard opens new doors into the nature of the Navigator's Children. We find out that they have many forms and that they were more powerful than previously believed. The Norn; however, are building dark magics that may lead to an end for all the peoples of Osten Ard. Will the long established distrust of each other keep Simon and Miriamele from uniting the peoples of Osten Ard against their bitter enemy, the Norn Queen? Joshua's son will be forced into actions without understanding his roll in this crisis. Nor will his daughter know any more. Betrayal of the highest order will place the land in great peril in the end. When the cruelly resurrected walk the earth again, can any stand in their way? ( )

Some books are simply hard to judge because it is written to its own drummer. It all becomes clear and epic in the end, but getting there can sometimes be something of a chore.

In comparison to other epic fantasy books of this nature, it Tad Williams has always (and I mean, long before the modern trend,) been a slow and methodical storyteller. He takes a long, long time to build up characters' histories, developing them in such a grandly detailed way that there cannot be any doubt in our minds that he is a SERIOUS writer.

But by the same token, the BIG stuff doesn't come around quickly. Indeed, the meandering wilderness (some literal, some not,) takes up 90% of these pages. And there's a LOT of pages. As is most of his epic fantasies. And that's just it: they're all RICH with detail. Plot is almost secondary. It is definitely secondary to character building.

What we do have here is a long complicated and real-feeling build-up of tensions within the immortal Nords, the cold-weather fae that are willing to sacrifice amazing numbers of their own to summon amazing monsters in order to fully wipe out the mortals. That is, us. Why? Oh, it's all here. In detail wrapped in secrecy wrapped in politics and subversion and crazy hope and the willingness to care between species... and this is just on the Nord side. :) The humans, and in particular, Simon, the old king who used to be the young commoner hero from the original Dragonbone trilogy, is completely out of his depth and his kingdom seems to on the verge of collapse.

This book is definitely all about the journey, the build-up for the next blowout book. It isn't as big, as in awe-inspiring, as some epics, but the richness more than makes up for it. ( )

Empire of Grass is the 2nd book in Tad William's epic fantasy trilogy. This is the 2nd trilogy and 6th book set in his world of Osten Ard.
Empire of Grass picks up immediately where Witchwood Crown left off. Simon, High King of Osten Ard is gradually coming to realize that matters are much worse than he knows. His family is scattered - his grandson Morgan is off on an embassy to the Elves and his wife Queen Miriamele is off to her homeland of Nabban. As in the first book, we see events moving slowly along as the Norns (evil elves), Sithi (good elves) and the human kingdoms of his empire plot and scheme and the individuals of each pursue their ends.
There is a lot going on in this book and not a word is wasted. Morgan, the drunken, wastrel prince is off, hopefully maturing and Miri is off trying to keep Nabban from exploding into civil war. Like the previous trilogy in Osten Ard, the main plot is elves vs. humans, we are given the sense that no matter what is going on, the Norns are behind it all. However, Tad is a master of showing us just enough about what is going on to keep the plot moving, but leaving plenty of mystery under the surface. Like his previous books, we are are given plenty of insight into the Norns via multiple characters, making them believable but still inscrutable villains, as the chief plotters are still enigmas.
This is epic fantasy at it's best, complete with giants, dragons, elves and dwarves, and other non-human creatures but unlike a lot of fantasy, the non-human races aren't caricatures, but rare and pure examples of faery. Tad doesn't just borrow from folklore, he makes his own along the way. I wish this book had more interaction with Simon, Miri and Morgan, but the loss of family tension is a necessary sacrifice to the plot.
Great stuff and I can't wait for the next one! ( )