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A review by rikuson1
Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I Liked It π
-β β β β¬β- (3.25/5.00)
My Grading Score = 65% (C+)
Tailchaser's Song was an interesting read. Firstly, I want to start with the best thing about this book, and this is easily the prose of Tad Williams. His prose and/or writing style is one of my new favorites and probably my second most enjoyed writing style I've read, right behind Sword of Kaigen by M.L.Wang. But if there's something I like about Tad's style more and hers is the fact that he has my most preferred shade of purple amongst the purple prose I've read thus far, his very flowery and elegant with his words but it barely ever felt like he was doing too much or it felt like it impeded the story. With this being his first book published, I can only assume he is just as good, if not better, in all of his future works. The only thing I wish I had gotten more of was the way he wrote conflicts. I do feel they were very vague and/or short-lived moments that left me a "TAD" unsatisfied (heh.)
The story was also another detail overall that I was actually a bit unsatisfied in I found myself very engrossed at the start (which actually may have been because of his very well written prose) but basically everything in the middle I did not find myself too intrigued in. I think the lore, the world-building and all the characters on paper sounded fantastic, but in execution they all felt like they all could have been explored a lot more and with this being a stand-alone, this is all I'll get.
The many different synonymous names provided for all of the animals in the book was cool, but also in execution, I felt calling a rikchikchik that instead of a squirel kind of got old over time and it really only got in the way when I was trying to firgure out what animal he was referring to, forcing me to stop reading and check the glossary to find out what it was. I understand it was to make it all sound fantastical, but unfortunately, it did not assist in my immersion. I did at least enjoy how the story concluded!
Verdict
Tailschaser's Song was a good debut novel for what people consider one of the pillars of fantasy authors Tad Williams, I intended on reading his Osten Ard series but decided to give this short standalone a try to see where he started first, and although I wish I loved it, I did not regret reading this one as it still has it's unique charm for something published way back in 1985, and with that being said,
I Liked It
-β β β β¬β- (3.25/5.00)
My Grading Score = 65% (C+)
Tailchaser's Song was an interesting read. Firstly, I want to start with the best thing about this book, and this is easily the prose of Tad Williams. His prose and/or writing style is one of my new favorites and probably my second most enjoyed writing style I've read, right behind Sword of Kaigen by M.L.Wang. But if there's something I like about Tad's style more and hers is the fact that he has my most preferred shade of purple amongst the purple prose I've read thus far, his very flowery and elegant with his words but it barely ever felt like he was doing too much or it felt like it impeded the story. With this being his first book published, I can only assume he is just as good, if not better, in all of his future works. The only thing I wish I had gotten more of was the way he wrote conflicts. I do feel they were very vague and/or short-lived moments that left me a "TAD" unsatisfied (heh.)
The story was also another detail overall that I was actually a bit unsatisfied in I found myself very engrossed at the start (which actually may have been because of his very well written prose) but basically everything in the middle I did not find myself too intrigued in. I think the lore, the world-building and all the characters on paper sounded fantastic, but in execution they all felt like they all could have been explored a lot more and with this being a stand-alone, this is all I'll get.
The many different synonymous names provided for all of the animals in the book was cool, but also in execution, I felt calling a rikchikchik that instead of a squirel kind of got old over time and it really only got in the way when I was trying to firgure out what animal he was referring to, forcing me to stop reading and check the glossary to find out what it was. I understand it was to make it all sound fantastical, but unfortunately, it did not assist in my immersion. I did at least enjoy how the story concluded!
Verdict
Tailschaser's Song was a good debut novel for what people consider one of the pillars of fantasy authors Tad Williams, I intended on reading his Osten Ard series but decided to give this short standalone a try to see where he started first, and although I wish I loved it, I did not regret reading this one as it still has it's unique charm for something published way back in 1985, and with that being said,
I Liked It