Tad Williams

The second volume of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn expands the world of Osten Ard while multiple groups pursue their separate quests toward the gathering storm. Simon is growing up; the Storm King's power is growing; and the three swords of the title prophecy become clearer in their significance.

Simon, a kitchen boy in the great castle Hayholt, is swept up in events that threaten the kingdom when the old High King dies and his heir plunges the realm into civil war. The first volume of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn — a series that influenced George R.R. Martin profoundly and proved that epic fantasy could carry genuine literary ambition.