Empire of Grass

[svalbard]

The 2nd book in The Last King of Osten Ard series.

I have just purchased my copy and so far I am finding it an improvement on the first book although Simon's character is still annoying. It does look like Williams is atrempting to force the the pace a bit quicker with this one.

 

[nixie]

Really hope so, first one was really slow. Simon could have been left out completely.

 

[picklematrix]

Williams is a great writer, though his pacing is often on the slow side. I'd recommend pretty much all of his major serieses to anyone with a bit of time on their hands lol.

I'm looking forward to dipping back into Osten Ard, as I read Memory Sorrow and Thorn over a decade ago, so it's got sonenostalgia for me.

I guess Williams is using the same strategy as the movie industry: hooking his older fans back in through the use of established, sentimental IPs. Not that there is anything wrong with that, provided there is a story worth telling.

 

[svalbard]

Finally finished this and unfortunately it was a bit of a slog again, although an improvement on the first book. The best parts were all set in Nabban with Queen Miri. The Thrithings parts of the book were also interesting.

But everything with Simon in it was horrendous. He just comes across as a crank plain and simple. There are no depths to his character, no hidden strengths. Maybe this is deliberate from Williams and all will be revealed in the next book.