The Dragonbone Chair
core novel 1988 Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn / Osten Ard
Record
| First published | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.97 (79,482 ratings, collected 2026-08-06) |
| Page count | 672 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780886773847 |
Synopsis
The Dragonbone Chair, the first novel of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, is set in the land of Osten Ard and follows Simon, an awkward young kitchen boy and reluctant apprentice to the castle's magician, as the aged High King Prester John lies dying. His death brings Prester John's son Elias to the throne, but Elias's growing dependence on the counsel of a sinister advisor and an alliance with ancient, hostile powers threatens to unravel the fragile peace of the realm. As the danger becomes clear to him, Simon is forced to flee the castle and falls in with a small group of allies, including a scholarly troll and an exiled elven prince, on a path that leads toward the search for three legendary swords said to be the only hope against the darkness now stirring in the north.
Where it sits
- Universe: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn / Osten Ard
- Series: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Tad Williams
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn: position 1 of 3: next Stone of Farewell (1990)
Sources
← Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn / Osten Ard dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.