Meanwhile, a deadly army of Norns led by the ageless, vengeful Queen Utuk’ku, has swept into Erkynland and thrown down the fortress of Naglimund, slaughtering the inhabitants and digging up the ancient grave of Ruyan the Navigator. Utuk’ku plans to use the Navigator’s fabled armor to call up the spirit of Hakatri, the evil Storm King’s brother. As you may have heard me say online, this last volume, The Navigator’s Children, has proved to be the strangest and most difficult book I’ve ever written. Because the pandemic largely shut down publishing for much of two years while I was working on the first iteration of Navigator(when it still represented the third and final volume of the TLKOOAtrilogy) it was clear that I would have a long stretch of dead time before any books could be published. I had the short volume of Brothers of the Windstill to write, which I had previously planned to do after TLKOOAwas completed, but the Covid-bomb blowing up publishing schedules made me decide to write it before completing Volume Last of TLKOOA, which was then still a trilogy. Meanwhile, a deadly army of Norns led by the ageless, vengeful Queen Utuk'ku, has swept into Erkynland and thrown down the fortress of Naglimund, slaughtering the inhabitants and digging up the ancient grave of Ruyan the Navigator. Utuk'ku plans to use the Navigator's fabled armor to call up the spirit of Hakatri, the evil Storm King's brother. Tad had been working on the next volume in THE LAST KING OF OSTEN ARD for some time, when he realized that he would not be able to fit all of the story in one volume that would be publishable, so he and his publishers decided to split the book into two, smaller more manageable volumes. Rest assured, these volumes will still be Tad-sized (i.e. quite gargantuan). Tad has now published the third book – now called Into the Narrowdark in the US and the UK. He is has also finished the – now – fourth and final book that will now be The Navigator’s Children. US und UK publication will most likely be sometime in 2024. This is a weird and complicated newsletter, because I’m going to try to explain what’s been going on with the current books. If you don’t want to read it all, “weird and complicated” is actually a good summation, and you can skip to the end.

Into the Narrowdark by Tad Williams | Waterstones

An engrossing epic, mixing adventure, intrigue, magic, and some fascinating new characters * LOCUS * Inspired me to write my own seven-book trilogy.... It's one of my favourite fantasy series' George R. R. Martin, Given this is the third book in the series, and all of them are tome-length, and the comment above on the complicated plotting, it goes without saying this is not a book to be read on its own. For those still reading, there will be some inevitable spoilers for the first two books, The Witchwood Crown and Empire of Grass (not to mention the original decades-old series that began this story). I’m also assuming you’re going to recognize the following names and plot points. Inspired me to write my own seven-book trilogy…. It’s one of my favorite fantasy series.”—George R. R. Martin, New York Times-bestselling author of A Song of Ice and Fire It’s been . . . fun, in a strange, painful way, because it’s really hard work, and I love a challenge. But it’s also hard work and a challenge, so it’s slower than if I was just writing a final volume from scratch. And sometimes it makes my head really hurt. But, like I said, challenge.Tad and his wife Deborah Beale are also working on the third ORDINARY FARM novel, currently titled The Heirs of Ordinary Farm. There is no publication date for this book yet. However, this is his next project now LAST KING is finished. Meanwhile, a deadly army of Norns led by the ageless, vengeful Queen Utuk’ku, has swept into Erkyland and thrown down the fortress of Naglimund, slaughtering the inhabitants and digging up the ancient grave of Ruyan the Navigator so that Utuk’ku can use the Navigator’s fabled armor to call up the spirit of Hakatri, the evil Storm King’s brother.

Into the Narrowdark: Book Three of The Last King - AbeBooks Into the Narrowdark: Book Three of The Last King - AbeBooks

This was actually a good thing, I have to admit. It allowed me to more fully integrate Brothers—which takes place a thousand years before Simon’s and Miriamele’s era—into the events of TLKOOA, an idea I had long preferred but had been forced to surrender because of my previous, pre-Covid writing/publishing schedule. (That being—I have to deliver books every so often or we don’t get paid money, and without money—well, you know how capitalism works, I don’t have to tell you.) Even the Sithi, fairy-kin to the Norns, are helpless to stop Utuk’ku’s triumph as her armies simultaneously march on the Hayholt and force their way into the forbidden, ogre-guarded valley of Tanakirú—the Narrowdark—where a secret waits that might bring Simon’s people and their Sithi allies salvation—or doom."It's quite the tapestry that Tad Williams has woven. If you like fantasy that doesn't hit you over the head with magic spells, or world-spanning tales with numerous rich characters, you'll enjoy what Williams has brought to the table here. I know I did * DEN OF GEEK * By the way, I believe that The Last King of Osten Ardhas now passed Memory, Sorrow, and Thornfor the longest time I’ve spent on one project. I’m not 100% positive, but I’ve always remembered writing that first multi-volume story as taking about seven years—starting Dragonbone Chairto finishing To Green Angel Tower. I believe I started TLKOOAin 2014, so we’ve slipped past that old record. Anyway, I just wanted to share some of my process stuff with you, my friends and readers, since Narrowdarkhas just hit the shelves. As I said, I’m moving forward finishing Navigator’s Children, and I think I’ve got the hardest of the problems dealt with. Now I can just concentrate on writing the ending to the whole TLKOOAstory, finally, for the first time. With this book, The Last King of Osten Ard has achieved the greatest possible feat for a sequel: that is, I can no longer imagine the originals without it * TOR.COM *

Into the Narrowdark (The Last King of Osten Ard, 3) Into the Narrowdark (The Last King of Osten Ard, 3)

Anyway, at that point, I split the final volume into two parts, Into The Narrowdark(I’ll call it IND; it’s out now!) and The Navigator’s Children(called NVCfrom now on). I put aside the half of the story which would become NVC(and finalized INDwhile also writing Brothers of the Wind( BotW). This whole process took about a year, during which time I made many changes to various plots in INDwhile leaving NVC‘s first draft still unfinished, a sort of time-capsule of What I Had Planned, though many, many necessary changes/new ideas/improvements had come to me during the preparation of INDand BotWfor publication, and they changed what NVCwould be in many ways. Panoramic, vigorous, often moving…. Williams adroitly weaves together the tales…heralding a suitably epic and glorious conclusion.”— Publishers Weekly And acting as an effective salve to any sense of plot familiarity is Williams’ always wonderfully rich depiction of the non-humans in this world. His Norn don’t feel like more graceful, athletic, and eloquent humans but feel truly different. As well, he introduces a host of different forms for the non-humans beyond the usual elves and dwarves (or whatever they’re called in a particular work). If you’re reading this book, then you’ve read the earlier ones (I assume) and quite possibly others in Williams’ collection of work. In which case you probably began Into the Narrowdark with eyes wide open in terms of pacing. Williams, probably more than any other author I know, take his time in unspinning his story and shading in his characters. His books tend to be long, his plots tend to be drawn out, and his scenes do not always feel like they drive the plot forward (that isn’t to say they have no purpose, just plot movement isn’t necessarily it), and that holds true here as well. Even the Sithi, fairy-kin to the Norns, are helpless to stop Utuk'ku's triumph as her armies simultaneously march on the Hayholt and force their way into the forbidden, ogre-guarded valley of Tanakiru - the Narrowdark - where a secret waits that might bring Simon's people and their Sithi allies salvation - or doom.

Tad has also sold two new books to his US publishers. The first of the two books, which will be his next project after the third ORDINARY FARM book, is The Splintered Sun. Set in Williams’ beloved and well-known fantasy world of Osten Ard, this new novelfollows the adventures of Robin Hood-esque figure Flann Alderwood and his band of misfit rebels in one of Osten Ard’s oldest and strangest cities, Crannhyr. He has already begun preliminary work on the book, while also working and the next ORDINARY FARM title. With this book, The Last King of Osten Ard has achieved the greatest possible feat for a sequel: that is, I can no longer imagine the originals without it' TOR.COM Tad Williams is a master storyteller, and the Osten Ard books are his masterpiece. Williams' return to Osten Ard is every bit as compelling, deep, and fully-rendered as the first trilogy, and he continues to write with the experience and polish of an author at the top of his game * BRANDON SANDERSON, #1 NEW YORK TIMES-BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE * Somewhere during this time, I also realized that I had stumbled into another Four Book Trilogy, much to my chagrin. Go ahead and make fun of me: I deserve it. But I honestly thought I could do it this time. . . !