---
product_id: 103277776
title: "The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Book 1)"
price: "€ 17.43"
currency: EUR
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reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/103277776-the-dragonbone-chair-memory-sorrow-and-thorn-book-1
store_origin: GR
region: Greece
---

# The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Book 1)

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- **What is this?** The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Book 1)
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## Description

From master storyteller and New York Times -bestseller Tad Williams comes the first book in the landmark epic fantasy saga of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. With The Dragonbone Chair , Tad Williams introduced readers to the incredible fantasy world of Osten Ard. His beloved, internationally bestselling series Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn inspired a generation of modern fantasy writers, including George R.R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, and Christopher Paolini, and defined Tad Williams as one of the most important fantasy writers of our time. This edition features a brand-new introduction from Tad Williams' editor as well as the original introduction from Williams himself! “One of my favorite fantasy series.” —George R. R. Martin “Groundbreaking.” —Patrick Rothfuss “One of the great fantasy epics of all time.” —Christopher Paolini BOOK ONE: THE DRAGONBONE CHAIR A war fueled by the powers of dark sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard—for Prester John, the High King, lies dying. And with his death, the Storm King, the undead ruler of the elf-like Sithi, seizes the chance to regain his lost realm through a pact with the newly ascended king. Knowing the consequences of this bargain, the king’s younger brother joins with a small, scattered group of scholars, the League of the Scroll, to confront the true danger threatening Osten Ard. Simon, a kitchen boy from the royal castle unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League, will be sent on a quest that offers the only hope of salvation, a deadly riddle concerning long-lost swords of power. Compelled by fate and perilous magics, he must leave the only home he’s ever known and face enemies more terrifying than Osten Ard has ever seen, even as the land itself begins to die. After the landmark Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, the epic saga of Osten Ard continues with The Heart of What Was Lost . Then don’t miss the sequel trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard, beginning with The Witchwood Crown !

Review: A true masterpiece of epic fantasy! - Guys theres so much to talk about with this book I dont even know where to start. Phenomenal, phenomenal work of art is this book. I will try to do it justice with my review. This book first and foremost, is an epic fantasy, that is, epic with a capital 'E'. This clunker of a novel is around 630 pages long and, as a lot of people will have mentioned previously, the writing style that Tad Williams likes to use is extensive and very meticulously detailed. For some people this would lend the reading to a more slower pace and some might determine that to mean that the reading pace is too slow to enjoy. That is something to keep in mind when picking up a book such as this, that it can take you some time to get through it. Personally, I picked up this book around the 15th of October and finally got through reading it on November 11th. But at the same time, I found this book to be enjoyable and I read through it daily. I don't think the slow pace is bad, and in fact it helps you to really get inside the mind of the characters and the worlds they live. The world of Osten Ard is vast and expansive, with a large set of characters all with their own backstories and points of view. The world has several distinct regions all with their own cultures, languages, beliefs, rulers, etc. The list of characters is so extensive that Williams had to include an entire list of characters in the appendix of the book (lol). Needless to say, the scope of this book and this series is big and lends itself quite well to multiple rereadings. Its quite difficult to follow the enormity of the story only on the first read-through and Im sure when I sit down to read the story again that it will be even more clear to me. I enjoy William's writing style which is quite different from other established authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien. William's writing style is more direct, focused and richly descriptive, lending the reading to be very engaging and simulating. You can envision grand worlds and vivid images with the language he uses in this novel. I thought the lore in the book was phenomenal especially the Aedonite religion which appears to be quite similar to Christianity (Usires hanging upside down from a tree, making the sign of the tree, etc. ). I was not expecting to encounter that as I read this novel and it made for an interesting surprise. [PLOT] The premise of the story is that there is a civil war that is beginning to brew on the horizon. The old kind of Osten Ard is near death and the reign goes to his first born son, Elias upon his death. But as usually tends to occur in royal families, betrayal and back stabbing begins to take place and Elias imprisons his brother, Josue in the dungeons below the castle. Unbeknownst to almost everyone at the time, he ends up making a pact with the undead storm king of the Sithi, Ineluki, together with his maniacal priest-warlock, Pyrates. This sows the seeds for the foreshadowing for a larger looming conflict that is to plague the world of Osten Ard later on. At the same time, the story also follows Simon (also known as Seoman) who is a lowly kitchen worker in the castle at the Hayholt. The beginning of the story follows Simon as he apprentices under the great Scholar called Morgenes and his life working under the supervision of Rachel a.k.a, 'the Dragon'. Through the chapters, Simon begins to learn more about the history of Osten Ard and the very city he lives in and we get beautiful descriptions of the castle and the castle life he lives in during the beginning chapters. But eventually, things begin to take on a much darker tone and Simon eventually is forced to go on the run and escape to Naglimund where the prince Josue attempts to head up a resistance. The story follows him as he progresses and goes on a personal quest of growth and exploration, amidst a world of dangers. The story builds tension and dark undertones as the book progresses and by the time you reach the end of the novel, the book has a much different feel and tone than it did at the beginning of the novel. The ending in particular I found to be quite climactic and cinematic. It was really intense to say the least! I especially enjoy reading thick, meaty and complex novels that require you to think and engage with the story. And I also like it when a book has good reread value such as this one. I enjoyed this book so much that I will definitely be reading it through a second time at some point in the future. Williams set this book up wonderfully for the next book in the series and I will absolutely be getting the next book in the series as soon as possible! I can't recommend this book highly enough especially if you are even remotely interested in reading and epic fantasy in particular.
Review: Strong series opener! - It’s always hard to rate the first book of a series. You don’t have enough time to bond with the protagonists and the beginning is somewhat slow. Well, this book is more like 2 books in 1, it’s quite large, so there is time for much. Our protagonists is a young orphan (orphans make a good case for main characters!) who is thrown sort of unwillingly into the thick of tremendous changes (for the worst) on the kingdom. Peace is no more and evil descends, slowly but surely. He bands with a handful of friends into a series of adventures while at the same time learning about himself (slowly). I did not overly enjoy the prose. The language and descriptions are rich, very rich, but since I am not a native English speaker, sometimes it tires me to truly understand. The pace is - not slow - relaxed more or less. Things do happen, but it’s like the author deliberately tries not to give too much. There are signs and tells about our MC that are not explored, or the story itself does not let him understand - no one to teach him, and no time to be frank. So if you wait for our MC to throw fireballs and cast down lightning, well, you are not getting that, yet(?). It’s also interesting to note that we do get other people’s side / story on many sub-chapters. It’s not just the MC Simon’s side we are exploring. This is done due to the fact that the whole kingdom affairs are progressing and Simon can’t be everywhere. I don’t consider any other a true protagonist, maaAybe the prince. The “bad guys” are quite well made. They are not morons, they are relatively realistic and scary each to his own degree. We don’t actually meet the endgame boss, but we do hear a lot about him - it feels like Sauron in a sense. In any case, the sense of urgency to fix the wrongs is there, humanity is truly in peril. What I did not expect is the amount of character evolution there was in a first book. It usually takes longer to show, but we see both our MC and the prince show signs of evolving - not forcefully because the writer mandates it, but because of their experiences in this part of the story. I did not lose my sleep over this book. That’s a good indicator for me on how good the story is and if the fifth star is worth it. That being said, whenever I picked it up, I enjoyed reading and was not bored at all. It was pleasant though not supeeeerbly engaging. This book has the ingredients to make a splendid “soup” so I am thrilled to move on to the next one !!

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #20,392 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #119 in Folklore (Books) #126 in Coming of Age Fantasy (Books) #175 in Dark Fantasy |

## Images

![The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Book 1) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/818VBbvOI9L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A true masterpiece of epic fantasy!
*by L***A on November 12, 2025*

Guys theres so much to talk about with this book I dont even know where to start. Phenomenal, phenomenal work of art is this book. I will try to do it justice with my review. This book first and foremost, is an epic fantasy, that is, epic with a capital 'E'. This clunker of a novel is around 630 pages long and, as a lot of people will have mentioned previously, the writing style that Tad Williams likes to use is extensive and very meticulously detailed. For some people this would lend the reading to a more slower pace and some might determine that to mean that the reading pace is too slow to enjoy. That is something to keep in mind when picking up a book such as this, that it can take you some time to get through it. Personally, I picked up this book around the 15th of October and finally got through reading it on November 11th. But at the same time, I found this book to be enjoyable and I read through it daily. I don't think the slow pace is bad, and in fact it helps you to really get inside the mind of the characters and the worlds they live. The world of Osten Ard is vast and expansive, with a large set of characters all with their own backstories and points of view. The world has several distinct regions all with their own cultures, languages, beliefs, rulers, etc. The list of characters is so extensive that Williams had to include an entire list of characters in the appendix of the book (lol). Needless to say, the scope of this book and this series is big and lends itself quite well to multiple rereadings. Its quite difficult to follow the enormity of the story only on the first read-through and Im sure when I sit down to read the story again that it will be even more clear to me. I enjoy William's writing style which is quite different from other established authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien. William's writing style is more direct, focused and richly descriptive, lending the reading to be very engaging and simulating. You can envision grand worlds and vivid images with the language he uses in this novel. I thought the lore in the book was phenomenal especially the Aedonite religion which appears to be quite similar to Christianity (Usires hanging upside down from a tree, making the sign of the tree, etc. ). I was not expecting to encounter that as I read this novel and it made for an interesting surprise. [PLOT] The premise of the story is that there is a civil war that is beginning to brew on the horizon. The old kind of Osten Ard is near death and the reign goes to his first born son, Elias upon his death. But as usually tends to occur in royal families, betrayal and back stabbing begins to take place and Elias imprisons his brother, Josue in the dungeons below the castle. Unbeknownst to almost everyone at the time, he ends up making a pact with the undead storm king of the Sithi, Ineluki, together with his maniacal priest-warlock, Pyrates. This sows the seeds for the foreshadowing for a larger looming conflict that is to plague the world of Osten Ard later on. At the same time, the story also follows Simon (also known as Seoman) who is a lowly kitchen worker in the castle at the Hayholt. The beginning of the story follows Simon as he apprentices under the great Scholar called Morgenes and his life working under the supervision of Rachel a.k.a, 'the Dragon'. Through the chapters, Simon begins to learn more about the history of Osten Ard and the very city he lives in and we get beautiful descriptions of the castle and the castle life he lives in during the beginning chapters. But eventually, things begin to take on a much darker tone and Simon eventually is forced to go on the run and escape to Naglimund where the prince Josue attempts to head up a resistance. The story follows him as he progresses and goes on a personal quest of growth and exploration, amidst a world of dangers. The story builds tension and dark undertones as the book progresses and by the time you reach the end of the novel, the book has a much different feel and tone than it did at the beginning of the novel. The ending in particular I found to be quite climactic and cinematic. It was really intense to say the least! I especially enjoy reading thick, meaty and complex novels that require you to think and engage with the story. And I also like it when a book has good reread value such as this one. I enjoyed this book so much that I will definitely be reading it through a second time at some point in the future. Williams set this book up wonderfully for the next book in the series and I will absolutely be getting the next book in the series as soon as possible! I can't recommend this book highly enough especially if you are even remotely interested in reading and epic fantasy in particular.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Strong series opener!
*by H***S on June 4, 2024*

It’s always hard to rate the first book of a series. You don’t have enough time to bond with the protagonists and the beginning is somewhat slow. Well, this book is more like 2 books in 1, it’s quite large, so there is time for much. Our protagonists is a young orphan (orphans make a good case for main characters!) who is thrown sort of unwillingly into the thick of tremendous changes (for the worst) on the kingdom. Peace is no more and evil descends, slowly but surely. He bands with a handful of friends into a series of adventures while at the same time learning about himself (slowly). I did not overly enjoy the prose. The language and descriptions are rich, very rich, but since I am not a native English speaker, sometimes it tires me to truly understand. The pace is - not slow - relaxed more or less. Things do happen, but it’s like the author deliberately tries not to give too much. There are signs and tells about our MC that are not explored, or the story itself does not let him understand - no one to teach him, and no time to be frank. So if you wait for our MC to throw fireballs and cast down lightning, well, you are not getting that, yet(?). It’s also interesting to note that we do get other people’s side / story on many sub-chapters. It’s not just the MC Simon’s side we are exploring. This is done due to the fact that the whole kingdom affairs are progressing and Simon can’t be everywhere. I don’t consider any other a true protagonist, maaAybe the prince. The “bad guys” are quite well made. They are not morons, they are relatively realistic and scary each to his own degree. We don’t actually meet the endgame boss, but we do hear a lot about him - it feels like Sauron in a sense. In any case, the sense of urgency to fix the wrongs is there, humanity is truly in peril. What I did not expect is the amount of character evolution there was in a first book. It usually takes longer to show, but we see both our MC and the prince show signs of evolving - not forcefully because the writer mandates it, but because of their experiences in this part of the story. I did not lose my sleep over this book. That’s a good indicator for me on how good the story is and if the fifth star is worth it. That being said, whenever I picked it up, I enjoyed reading and was not bored at all. It was pleasant though not supeeeerbly engaging. This book has the ingredients to make a splendid “soup” so I am thrilled to move on to the next one !!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Splendid Sword & Sorcery
*by K***R on June 24, 2026*

I first read Tad Williams Memory, Sorrow and Thorn on paperback in the early 1990s, when I was living in Baltimore, Maryland. I was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging. I love these books. They gave me an escape from the pressures and genetics research. I haven't read them since I returned to Ohio in '94. This book is every bit a good as I had remembered it being. In the three decades since I've forgotten the details of the story. Now, I'm reading it on Kindle, and I'm finding it every bit as engrossing as I did, when I first read it.

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*Product available on Desertcart Greece*
*Store origin: GR*
*Last updated: 2026-08-21*