Description

The first book in the ground-breaking epic fantasy saga of Osten Ard!

‘Inspired me to write my own seven-book trilogy. It’s one of my favourite fantasy series’ GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

‘A master storyteller, and the Osten Ard books are his masterpiece’ BRANDON SANDERSON

‘Paved the way for so much modern fantasy. Including mine’ PATRICK ROTHFUSS

‘One of the great fantasy epics of all time’ CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI

Thirty years ago Ineluki, the Storm King, was destroyed and his armies scattered. Osten Ard has been at peace ever since, ruled by Simon Snowlock, kitchen boy made king, and Miriamele, King Elias’ only child. But now age weighs upon their reign. Simon’s dreams have deserted him, old allies die and betrayal and assassination threaten. His son and heir John Josua is years dead and his grandson, Morgan, is a wastrel. A journey of redemption and discovery beckons in the darkening world.

And in the frozen North, in Nakkiga, the mountain fortress, Ineluki’s ally, the Norn Queen, wakes from her deep, decades-long sleep and tells her followers that she will sleep no more. Humanity must be destroyed. Her sorcerers will bring a demon back from death, her warriors will seek the world for living dragon’s blood…

And finally the greatest artefact of all, the Witchwood Crown, will be hers.

With a cast of hundreds – humans, giants, dragons, trolls, Sithi and Norn – The Witchwood Crown is epic fantasy as it used to be: classic, grand and sweeping and evidence that Tad Williams is the greatest living writer of the form.

Publisher Review

Ground-breaking . . . changed how people thought of the genre and paved the way for so much modern fantasy, including mine -- Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Kingkiller Chronicle One of the main reasons I started writing fantasy . . . Tad Williams' work is an essential part of any science fiction and fantasy library -- Christopher Paolini, author of the Inheritance Cycle series One of my favourite fantasy series -- George R. R. Martin, author of A Game of Thrones Praise for Memory, Sorrow and Thorn * - * This book had me crying in the first 100 pages and yelling WHAT THE HECK throughout the last third as secrets were revealed, some characters turned out to be duplicitous, and the fates of others were not what I expected. Some of the twists were so surprising to me I had to go back and reread what I'd just read because I almost couldn't believe it! * Unicorn Parade * 'The Witchwood Crown is a weighty, emotional and engrossing launch to The Last King of Osten Ard series . . . I was overjoyed to return to this world, the characters, and the type of story Tad Williams tells with the most skill and gusto * SFFWorld.com * Williams' prose, characterization, and world-building are top-notch, as always, and the return to Osten Ard is so seamless . . . Williams' injects The Witchwood Crown with the same aged and thoughtful writing that gave the original trilogy its trademark air of melancholy, creating a lovely sense of reverberation for those of us who've grown up - and grown old - in this world * Barnes & Noble * The Witchwood Crown is very well written, and the author clearly knows how to manage a story this vast without letting any part of it be sacrificed for another . . . Definitely recommend it to readers of epics like A Game of Thrones and The Wheel of Time series * Novelknight * This is flawless epic fantasy. . . Williams' grand-scale storytelling mastery is on full display here. Not just utterly readable-an instant fantasy classic. * Kirkus *