A good middle series novel

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I am rereading this series that i started as a teenager and loved but never finished (by the time Green Angel Tower came out i wasn't into fantasy anymore and couldn't really remember the story).I preferred the Stone of Farewell to its prequel, the Dragonbone Chair, both the characters and the world have grown in depth. The plot also moves at a more more consistent pace than DBC (which started slow but got very quick at the end). Still, its a long book.

What other book might you compare Stone of Farewell to, and why?

(I don't think anything below counts as a spoiler as the overall structure of the world and the core lines of division are not really surprises or plot twists but if you want to discover the - fairly familiar - world yourself don't read on)

The world of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn (MST) is clearly very reminiscent of Tolkien's Middle Earth. 'Elves' who came to this land from a homeland in the west once ruled over a golden age during which they built many great cities, which now lie in ruin. At some stage in the past Men took the land from the elves who moved to magical strongholds (think Rivendell/Lothlorien) at the margins and are somewhat secluded from the goings on of the mortals. However a dark lord (the Storm King) has risen and now threatens all. Various magical items are needed to fight him and so various quests must be undertaken.

I read an interview wth Tad Williams where he said he was attempting to comment on Tolkien's fairly basic cataloguing of races and nations as good or evil and you can see this in MST. No one race or nation is inherently good, all greviances between groups have historical underpinnings and characters sometimes have 'racist' prejudices against other characters.There is a also a bit more of a focus on political manoeuvering and religion as motivating forces.

I've also read GRR Martin mention this trilogy as an influence and in some cases the references are quite obvious (most notably winter is coming here too). Therefore it sits in an interesting halfway point between the relatively simple views of good and evil in LoTR and the more complex and gritty motivations of characters in GoT.

Overall,in my view, it is not at the same level as either Tolkien or Martin. While it is an interesting world that gives a twist and a bit more depth to the usual Tolkien tropes it is still ultimately very reliant on them. Nevertheless, i think it is worth reading, the writing is good quality , the characters are mostly interesting, and the plot is compelling if a touch slow. I'm looking forward to getting into the final part, although at 1200+ pages (64 hrs split in two) it is a fairly daunting commitment!

What about Andrew Wincott’s performance did you like?

The narrator is really great. Perhaps has a slightly limited range of accents but his is very entertaining to listen to.

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Always fabulous

A fantastic story and a great performance.
It is wonderful to experience it as a "readaloud"

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must read

loved it. can not wait to listen to green angle tower. this is a must read

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Good listen

Great listen. I love the description on this book and the voices where done well and were consistent.

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Cant wait for next book.

I loved it . An amazing fantasy world.One of my favorites.Love the performance of all the different accents and characters.

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Excellent

It’s great hearing pronounciations of a made up language just roll off the narrators tongue.

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Engaging throughout

Wonderfully narrated. This guy has so many different voices and never forgets which belongs to whom.
The story itself is excellent. I’m off to see if there is another.

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An engaging convoluted plot that draws the reader(listener) in. Great reading that brings the story to life

Loved the characters, loved the story, morn for the sithy Loved it all and can’t wait to listen to book 3

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Slow and Steady

The story isn’t too bad, it’s just that it’s very slow and methodical with little to no magical interaction. I have read through two books and the main protagonist has yet to evolve into anything but an accidental intervention into different scenarios.

There were many opportunities for the evolution of the main protagonist but nothing changed even slightly.

Unfortunately I may have been spoilt by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.

This was just too slow and frustrating. I don’t think I will finish the series.

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