Tag Archives: book-reviews

The Navigator’s Children by Tad Williams

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I finished this book before Christmas, but I’ve been ruminating on it since then. I know that this is the last book in the Last King of Osten Ard series, and I believe it’s the grand conclusion to our adventures in Osten Ard as whole. We started with Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, and then continued with the Last King of Osten Ard, intermixed with a couple side novels (The Heart of What Was Lost and Into the Narrowdark). So we have quite the compilation of stories with Simon, Miriamele, Jiriki, Aditu, Isgrimnur, and all of our favorite characters. So, as with the end of any era, it’s bittersweet.

This is a spoiler free review.

It took me a while to read. I started on November 13, 2024, the day it came out, and didn’t finish until December 22, 2024. It’s not that I wasn’t interested or invested in the story, it’s that Tad Williams packs a lot into his stories. He uses a lot of words, and the language is very rich. For me, this makes me read slower, because the content is not meant to be devoured quickly. Some people can do that, but for me, I needed to take my time.

The first few chapters are clearly set up and moving people to get them where they need to be for the climax of the story. It was nice to see those pieces coming together and it didn’t feel too rushed. Once we get everyone where they need to be, that’s where things got a little wonky for me. We have the big battle with the Norns vs (almost) everybody else, and it ends. Great. But then we still have about a third of the book to go, and we still have another antagonist to battle. Taking them one at a time makes sense, but in doing that, there were characters that were just missing for basically the whole middle of the book. We had some characters fighting only one of the antagonists, and then our main protagonists were fighting both antagonists. And then you had the actual navigator’s children plot to wrap up after all that. It was a lot going on and it was handled in a pretty methodical way. My feelings are all over the place about this, so it’s hard to say it was good or bad. It was just different and unexpected.

I don’t like to give too many spoilers, but there is a character that reappears and its kinda anti-climatic. The reveal seemed to come out of nowhere and honestly I almost missed it. It should have been more powerful and dramatic than it was. It just happened. This could be reader error on my part, but, that just means I’ll need to do a re-read! Anyway, the ending was left a bit open. The story continues for these characters, but we still have questions left that we may never get the answers to. For example, we may or may not have seen the Last King of Osten Ard…what we get is more of a “here’s the plan and so you may have seen the last king, but maybe not”. It’s an interesting way to end a sprawling and epic series like this one, and it definitely left me wanting to know more. But the characters continue to live their lives. We only get a piece of their story. Maybe one day we’ll get a little more.

This has been a very rambling review, but I’m not sure if I will ever have concise and coherent thoughts about it. I enjoyed it, and I think that if you love the world of Osten Ard, then I would definitely recommend this series. I would also recommend that you reread it. I think rereading will help answer some questions and probably pose some new ones as well.

Lilypad Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

Wheel of Time Season 3!

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On December 7th, The Wheel of Time tv show had a panel at CCXP in Brazil. On that same day, we got our first teaser trailer. It was about a minute long and served as an introduction to what we’ll see in season 3.

SPOILER ALERT! Season 3 of the Wheel of Time will cover roughly parts of Book 3 (The Dragon Reborn), most of Book 4 (The Shadow Rising) and may cover parts of Book 5 (The Fires of Heaven, specifically the ending). I have read the series (multiple times!) so there may be spoilers through book 5 and definitely spoilers for the first two seasons of the show. You’ve been warned.

I have had very mixed feelings about the tv adaptation so far. The first season was pretty rough for me and I had some issues with certain adaptation choices, for example Perrin having a wife and how she dies directly at his hand. I feel as though there were points where things just went a step too far. I also understand the challenges of filming during COVID, a cast member leaving unexpectedly midway through season one, and that had a huge impact on the season and caused certain decisions to be made that they otherwise wouldn’t have done. Especially the unexpected departure of a castmate in season one had ripple effects all the way into season 2. I don’t want to rehash all that because I do believe that the show did the best they could with what they were given. There are plenty of other places on the internet that have done deep dives into all that, so a quick google search can bring up those sources if you choose to go down that rabbit hole.

All that being said, the season 3 teaser looks really good. It is more recognizable as the Wheel of Time and there are some fan favorite and classic scenes that look like they will be amazing. Rand and Moiraine in Rhuidean, glimpses of Rand’s journey through the glass columns… and it looks like we will actually get to see Moiraine’s journey, which we didn’t get in the books. That segment looks fantastic and I’m looking forward to that.

I’m also looking forward to Mat getting back to being the Mat we know from the books. He has some great iconic scenes coming up from the books that I hope have made it to the screen. Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve we didn’t get to see too much of in the teaser, but from what little was there, it at least looks like Elayne and Nynaeve will be in Tanchico. Seems like Mat may be there too but we will probably see more of that in the final full trailer. This is mostly based on fan speculation of course. But that’s what’s so fun!

Anyway, I am probably most concerned about Perrin. I really want him to become the Perrin that he is meant to be when he goes back to the Two Rivers. It’s hard to imagine how Perrin will get to where he needs to be. I think that having him be the person who actually kills his wife, accident that it was, is just so much to overcome. The timeline on the show is condensed of course, so I’m afraid that his new romance with Faile will seem rushed or unrealistic, given how things with his wife played out. I’m reserving judgment of course, but I hope it makes sense within the confines of the show.

Overall, the teaser does have me excited for season 3 because I think the show will finally get on solid footing- no production issues, COVID, writer’s strike, departing cast members. That’s a lot to overcome and keep the storytelling consistent. Looking forward to season 3 and returning to old favorite characters, the departure of some favorites, and meeting some of the awesome new characters we’ve got coming! If you know you know! (wink wink).

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

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Hello strangers! It’s been awhile and I’m back. Fresh perspective and a new commitment to try to get more consistent. But enough of that. I’m a little rusty, but let’s get to the book review!

Nettle and Bone is a standalone novel about a young woman who has a score to settle. There are tinges of fairy tale, horror and fantasy that are woven into a very close story. This is not a quest to save the world, to avert the apocalypse or prevent the evil from triumphing. Its about a woman who wants to save her sister and punish the man who abused her. As a huge epic and big fantasy fan, this was a refreshing break. The story stayed small and intimate, which made the stakes feel even more intense and personal.

Our protagonist, Mara, is not a super hero. She is not a chosen one who is set to fulfill a prophecy. She is introduced as the youngest daughter in a family, that we only later come to realize is an important family (trying to be little vague for spoilers). As we move through her life, we come to realize that something isn’t right with her sisters. So, Mara embarks on a journey to stop the cycle of abuse that has been happening. Along the way, we get more fairy tale and fantasy character tropes- the fairy godmother, the witch and the valiant knight. Together, they form a small but mighty band of warriors to help Mara on her quest.

Overall, the story was well paced and was sparing on the long descriptions of scenery, and there was just enough exposition to give us just what we need to understand character motivations and to support the decisions the characters make. There’s magic and creatures and a dog made of bones! It’s low on action, but there’s plenty of adventure as the group travels to a far northern kingdom to save its queen.

As a standalone novel, this story has the right amount of set up, character development and a proper beginning, middle and end. I find that sometimes a standalone fantasy novel can either feel incomplete, or feel rushed and shallow. This one definitely feels like a complete story with all the depth that you want in an epic fantasy tale.

Lilypad Rating: 1/2