Stone of Farewell
 First edition | |
| Author | Tad Williams |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Michael Whelan |
| Language | English |
| Series | Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | DAW Books |
Publication date | August 1990 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and Paperback) |
| Pages | 608 (Hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-88677-435-7 |
| OCLC | 22143548 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3573.I45563 S76 1990 |
| Preceded by | The Dragonbone Chair |
| Followed by | To Green Angel Tower |
Stone of Farewell is the middle novel in Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. The saga develops the narrative started in The Dragonbone Chair and substantially is focused on Simon, a former kitchen servant in the largest castle in the land.
Plot summary
Simon mortally wounded a dragon and in doing so the dragon’s blood, splashing him has given him a white hair streak. This results in his growing renown and him becoming known as "Snowlock". Josua brother to Elias the king is leading a motley band of refugees, soldiers and mercenaries after the original dozen followers escape Naglimund. They are chased and attacked within the ancient forest central to the land. Simon's friends Miriamele and Binabik the troll also have their part to play.
These rebels discover the importance of the Stone of Farewell, one of the key constructions of the Sithi who till recently were thought a mythical people. As the narrative develops we become aware that the Stone becomes an important rallying point to all who oppose Elias and those allied with him.
Reception
Kat Hooper in fantasyliterature.com give a mixed review of Williams second novel in the cycle calling it "excessively lengthy and saying it "is everything we’ve come to expect from a middle book in a well-written traditional medieval-style epic fantasy trilogy".[1] She does give it a rating of 3.5 out of 5.
In Locus, Carolyn Cushman said of the novel "an epic fantasy you can get lost in for days, not just hours".[2]
References
- ^ "The Stone of Farewell: A long rambling middle book". Retrieved 5 April 2019.
- ^ "Stone of Farewell". locusmag.com. July 1990. Retrieved 5 April 2019.