Stone of Farewell - Tad Williams

Published by Arrow Books Limited: London, 1991 (1990).

Well, I resisted leaping straight into Stone of Farewell after feeling like I had read The Dragonbone Chair far too quickly, and paced myself a little bit better. So, whereas I took only 7 days to read the first installment, this was a much healthier (cough) 10 days. Luckily now my holidays are over, so my available reading time will be less than it was and hopefully more balanced.

Turning to the book itself, Stone of Farewell still had me hooked, but I will admit not to the same level. The second installment of a trilogy is generally recognised as having the hardest job, as it doesn't really get the chance to 'properly' begin or end, and Stone of Farewell suffers quite a bit for this. At times it does seem like the story is padding itself out in order to manoeuvre the important characters into the required position for what is the 'final' installment, rather than developing the plot itself all that much. To point out some of the most blatant examples in the book: at the beginning of Stone of Farewell, Simon, Binabik and friends are seeking to get the magical sword Thorn to prince Josua; at the end of the book they have managed to get the sword to prince Josua. At the beginning of the book princess Miriamele is in disguise as a boy and sneaking south with the help of the possibly-untrustworthy-priest Cadrach; at the end of the novel she is no longer disguised as a boy and Cadrach is no longer trusted, but otherwise their situation is similar. At the beginning of the novel Duke Isgrimmur is seeking Miriamele; at the end of the novel he is still seeking Miriamele. The very minor character (from the first book) Tiamek gets a subplot of his own journeying from his swampland home to meet someone in Kwanitupul; at the end of the book he has reached Kwanitupul and finally made contact with someone.

All of this makes it seem as though the book isn't all that good...

...and I'm a little undecided on that front. Whereas my criticism in book 1 was that the action seems to jump over things I felt were important, Stone of Farewell has the opposite problem: too much time spent on the journey and not reaching the destination. Stone of Farewell also has a little more sensuality and a slightly darker tone, neither of which I am the biggest fan of. It also occasionally dips lightly into philosophy and theology (in a very fantasy-coated manner) in a while that made me curious about the author's own beliefs. For example, Simon at one point rails against the Aedonite god (who is heavily based on the Christian God), asking "How could God let people die for no reason?...If God can do that, then He is cruel. If He isn't cruel, well . . . well, then, He just can't do anything. Like an old man who sits at the window, but can't go out. He's old and stupid." (page 283). Simon is criticised for his outburst by other more religious characters, but his question also goes unanswered - is Tad Williams perhaps giving his own criticisms of faith? I haven't researched him enough to find out.

Yet there is still enough adventure and intrigue to keep me pondering about the third and final (kind of) book in the 'trilogy'. Occasional moments of humour coming through also help. At one point Josua is despairing that so many of his enemies have been able to find him that they have had to keep fleeing for their lives. One of his friends, Isorn, reassures the prince that they will find a place to make a stand, and then people "will come flocking to your banner". Josua wonders how 'these people' Isorn is talking about will find them, to which Isorn replies with a laugh: "They will somehow...everybody else does!" (page 629).

So, perhaps the final judgment on Stone of Farewell will have to wait until after I finish the series as a whole. If the finale wraps things up well, then Stone of Farewell has enough going for it that I will 'officially' have enjoyed it. If the finale disappoints, then maybe this book is where the series started getting slightly off track.

Completed 2 May 2021.

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