Empire of Grass

Tad Williams does fantasy as it should be. Instead of making you remember what you read in previous books he gives a full synopsis so you're up to date which is a big deal for me because I have a terrible memory. He also gives a list of characters and pronunciations. That's so aggravating when a character's name is Tikalakal'ookalaká and the author expects you to know what the hell that is but I digress.
This book is another wonderful addition to Osten Ard which may be my favorite world in all of fantasy. Everything is masterfully detailed and his imaginative creatures are superior to all. The first book has a lot of world building and mostly follows Erkynlanders but this book follows mostly the Norns and what they're planning and a whole bunch of Nabban and Thrithings, who are waging war against each other. I love the interactions between Morgan and Snenneq but unfortunately there is very little of the Sithi or Qanuc people in this story but the book sets the stage for some serious action in the ending books and I am ecstatic to read immediately. Tad Williams has become my #2 fantasy author behind dear old George Martin.

Another satisfying read as the overarching story starts to take shape (all is not well in Osten Ard!). So much of my enjoyment of this ongoing series comes from Williams's writing. It's beautiful to read and although the pacing is often slow, there's rarely much fluff from page to page. 

In truth, the reason I started Williams's original series was because I saw Michael Whelan's incredible cover art for this novel and it made me want to read the entire series so I could put this book on my shelf. Seven books later and I've finally finished that book that caught my eye so many moons ago. Sadly, DAW chose not to commission more cover art from Whelan for future books in the series. Luckily, I'm now invested in the story itself, so the cover art is less important! (Although, I do like the art from book #3 – Into the Narrowdark).

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

This is why I love fantasy.