new review: "Tad Williams returns to Osten Ard with a new story ... as much a quasi-retelling of the Robin Hood legend as it is an Osten Ard novel."
fantasyliterature.com/reviews/the-...
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![Book cover: "The Splintered Sun" is centered in the lower third, the author -- Tad Williams -- is centered in the upper third. Between the two, four figures stand outdoors staring into a narrow entrance. The foremost figure is tall, wears travel/fighting gear, and armed with a sword. To the left are two smaller figures dressed more simply. To the right is another person, tall and dressed more like the first figure.
Text: While set in Osten Ard, this reads as more of a stand-alone narrative … [so] the book doesn’t require prior knowledge of this world and thus can act as an introduction to the world. Whether it’s a good introduction is another question. One possible barrier is the aforementioned classic Williams’ pace. For Williams’ fans, the slow progress toward resolution and constant attention to vivid detail create an immersive narrative to sink into even as it more faithfully reproduces character development both as individuals and relationships. For others, it will be a glacial pace, full of unnecessary detail and making the book feel every bit and more of its length. I fall into the former camp, so finding out the book was almost six hundred pages came as a surprise, but I have no doubt others will think it feels that way by the halfway point … The main characters are all well-drawn and individually engaging/compelling. Flann’s impish Robin Hood impersonation is well done but nicely deepens and darkens as the story continues. The two children are well portrayed in their youth — Daley in particular is shown in an almost alien light in how he doesn’t much care about what the adults do or think, a more realistic portrayal of children than one usually gets. It’s impossible not to feel sympathy for the two of them in their own right as well as in their burgeoning relationship with one another … Fans of Williams’ style will find elements to carp about, but will probably find themselves mostly enjoying it and leaving curious about where it goes from here](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xbbzajec4jzk26ndlikj6mmc/bafkreicc6c6rhznstr36ferpxzwzsfvz4hp6ji7olpqfcpvc3zkwvba4ge)
writer of essays, stories, and plays; reviewer of fantasy/sci fi at fantasyliterature.com and Strange Horizons, reader of just about anything, adjunct instructor, ultimate player, hiker, camper, devourer of worlds-- er, words.
