‘Into the Narrowdark’ – Tad Williams (Hodder)

It struck me yesterday that I’ve been reading (and re-reading) Tad Williams’ ‘Osten Ard’ books for most of my life and while that’s not a bad way for any fan, of fantasy fiction, to spend their time; it has left me feeling rather old now ;o) Not as old as I felt though when I realized that if I was ever going to finish ‘Into the Narrowdark’, I would have to finish it in hardback as the print there is slightly larger… On the one hand dammit but on the other hand, I did feel a little like Father Strangyeard complaining to Deornoth that his sight is failing when there is so much still to be read. I love it when a book grabs you like that and you really identify with a character. That’s just one of the reasons that I go back to this series over and over again.

Anyway… This review has been a long time coming and for many reasons that had very little to do with the book itself. And it was really liberating to finally realize that and be able to just kick back and enjoy ‘Into the Narrowdark’. There is a lot to enjoy here, let me tell you about it…

The High Throne of Erkynland is tottering, its royal family divided and diminished. Queen Miriamele has been caught up in a brutal rebellion in the south and thought to have died in a fiery attack. Her grandson Morgan, heir to the throne, has been captured by one of Utuk'ku's soldiers in the ruins of an abandoned city. Miriamele's husband, King Simon, is overwhelmed by grief and hopelessness, unaware that many of these terrible things have been caused by Pasevalles, a murderous traitor inside Simon's own court at the Hayholt.

Meanwhile, a deadly army of Norns led by the ageless, vengeful Queen Utuk'ku, has swept into Erkynland and thrown down the fortress of Naglimund, slaughtering the inhabitants and digging up the ancient grave of Ruyan the Navigator. Utuk'ku plans to use the Navigator's fabled armor to call up the spirit of Hakatri, the evil Storm King's brother.

Even the Sithi, fairy-kin to the Norns, are helpless to stop Utuk'ku's triumph as her armies simultaneously march on the Hayholt and force their way into the forbidden, ogre-guarded valley of Tanakirú - the Narrowdark - where a secret waits that might bring Simon's people and their Sithi allies salvation - or doom.

‘Into the Narrowdark’ is a book that is at odds with the fast paced world of today, where life comes at me hard and I have to fit quick bursts of reading in between the constant demands of, well… everything. ‘Into the Narrowdark’ is very much a book that demands you set aside at least an evening at a time (entire days if you have any holiday spare) to really get stuck in and just lose yourself in the world and the story. And it’s worth the time that you make to do just that, so worth it.

The world is so richly realized, on the page, that it’s impossible not to just sit there and let it all sink in. That is a big reason why it took me so long to finish but that is absolutely fine by me. I want to be taken away by a book and that is what I’ve come to expect from the Osten Ard books, I would have been disappointed if that hadn’t happened, to be honest. I’ve spoken before about how the new ‘Osten Ard’ books are opening the world up to a much greater degree and that continues to be the case here. Your mileage will vary depending on how much you enjoy the worldbuilding; personally, I continue to really get a lot out of it.

We’re very much into preparing for the end game here and three books in, it’s all credit to Williams that we still don’t know what that end game might be. There’s still one more book to go so don’t expect any closure at this point (I know you weren’t but, just in case…) but as with the backdrop, there is plenty to get stuck into and while not everyone will like every single character, par for the course with a cast this size, I think there’s a good balance between the original cast (that we all love) and newer players. You’ve come this far in so the odds are that you’re already invested in a character (characters) already but Williams finds new ways to keep us on board, bringing one couple together while continuing to keep another couple apart, just for a little longer. And what happened with Lillia is classic fantasy (even hearkening back to events in ‘The Dragonbone Chair’) but still managed to surprise me with its conclusion. You could almost imagine that it had been lifted from another novel where Lillia is the main character, or maybe that’s just me.

While others have found issue with the politicking, I’m cool with it as it’s a natural progression for the series as a whole. If the original books were about subverting the idea of ‘the quest’, these books are very much about dealing with the consequences of sticking an unprepared hero on the throne. We’re way past the point where Simon could be ‘guided’ by the likes of Isgrimmnur but he is still very much a King unprepared for a concerted attack and it is fascinating to see it play out. Politicking is inevitable in this situation, that’s all there is to it. I’m still on the fence about the villain though, he is no Pryrates but you could argue that’s kind of the whole point. You don’t have to be ‘cinematic evil’ to bring down a kingdom, just a very good project and resource manager. You can’t argue with the results, that’s what is key here.

Williams signs off with the Norns getting a little closure for themselves by pulling off a surprise attack, on the Hayholt, in more ways than one. And what a surprise to end it on. Tanahaya may have worked it out already but that does not lessen the impact at all, not one bit. It definitely tees things up nicely for the final book, the stakes have never been higher.

I’m going to wrap it up here, work in the morning and all that, but I will say that I’m glad that I beat life back a bit and made the time for ‘Into the Narrowdark’. ‘The Navigator’s Children’ is now very much a priority read.