Reviews

The Heart of What Was Lost: A Novel of Osten Ard by Tad Williams

writer6's review against another edition

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4.0

The Heart of What Was Lost is the first book by Tad Williams that I've ever read, and I absolutely loved it for the most part. This book is a rare example of a fantasy book where I like all of the P.O.V. characters, and I was very invested in all of the characters' storylines. However, Viyeki is definitely my favorite character in the book. The parts of the book that focused on Viyeki and the other Norns was without question the biggest highlight of the book for me. I also really liked the parts of the book that focused on Porto and Endri, and I felt like the difference in age between them really helped create a very interesting dynamic between them. While I liked Rimmerman Duke Isgrimnur as a character, I felt like he was overshadowed by Viyeki, Porto and Endri throughout the book. I'm really hoping that Isgrimnur gets more of a chance to really shine in The Witchwood Crown.

The only genuine complaint that I have about the book is with the nontraditional structure of the book. The plot is broken up into five parts, but aside from that, the plot isn't broken up into actual chapters. The changes in point of view occured at section breaks, which oftentimes caused the characters and various plot details to blur together at times, especially at the beginning of the book when I was still getting a sense of who each of the characters were.

Aside from my issues with the overall structure of the book, I absolutely loved this book. All of the characters and the various storylines were interesting and engaging. Tad Williams definately managed to include a lot of the information, plot details and action into what's a pretty short book, which was definitely a little overwhelming at times. Despite that, I still think that The Heart of What Was Lost serves as a really good starting point for people who are interested in getting into Williams' books.

That being said, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars, and a score of 8 out of 10 on my own scoring system.

Link to my full review of The Heart of What Was Lost:My Extended Review

krste93's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

sofieros's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 / 5

textunes's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

truncarlos's review against another edition

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2.0

2.5 porque el final estaba bien pero el resto, las batallitas y las mierdas me las he leído por encima

grandpapotato's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

senminaya's review against another edition

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3.0

It was okay but it had like two women and one was naked

cg2001's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

tijsboussier's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

qjbrown96's review against another edition

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4.0

A good novella to bridge between the original trilogy and the new quadrilogy. Tells the story of what happened to the Norns that fled from the humans after they lost the war, but the humans aren’t done with them and the Norns must fight for their lives to survive.