Book Review: Brothers of the Wind (The Last King of Osten Ard, #0.75) by Tad Williams
Cover art illustrated by Jim Tierney
Brothers of the Wind by Tad Williams
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Last King of Osten Ard (#0.75 of 4)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High fantasy
Pages: 276 pages (Kindle edition)
Word count: 104,000 words
Publish date: 2nd November 2021 by DAW (US) & Hodderscape (UK)
Super underrated. Brothers of the Wind is beautifully written, melancholic, and layered with impactful details.
“Duty is honor,” my stern father often used to tell me. “And honor is all.” But I would amend his saying. I have learned that our first duty is to truth, because without truth, honor itself is hollow.
First things first, I am not sure why some readers deemed Brothers of the Wind as a novella. It is not. At 104,000 words count, Brothers of the Wind is a relatively short novel. And I am so satisfied by my reading of this. I honestly think this is one of Tad’s best works so far. I have longed to read Brothers of the Wind since I finished The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams last year. The story of Ineluki the Storm King in the past was so intriguing and immersive to me when I read it in The Dragonbone Chair, and when I heard Brothers of the Wind depicts the tale of Ineluki and his brother Hakatri, I was feeling impatient to read this book. I, however, followed the publication reading order, and I’m truly glad I did. I doubt I would’ve loved Brothers of the Wind as much if I hadn’t read at least Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. By publication order, you should read The Heart of What Was Lost, The Witchwood Crown, and Empire of Grass first as well. That’s my recommendation.
“The chief lesson fate can teach us, I think, is to trust no certainties.”
Brothers of the Wind is chronologically a prequel novel to the entire Osten Ard Saga. The story is set a thousand years before the events of The Dragonbone Chair. As mentioned above, Brothers of the Wind is a story about pride and the downfall it brings to the two brothers, Hakatri and Ineluki. The novel focuses on Ineluki and the aftermath of his oath to defeat the black dragon Hidohebhi, which drags his brother Hakatri with him into a disaster that threatens not just their family but all of the Sithi—even humankind as we know in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy. This tale is told from the first-person writing and perspective of Pamon Kes, Hakatri’s extremely loyal servant. In this tale, Pamon Kes’ loyalty will be tested as he must face the black dragon together with Hakatri and Ineluki, the future Storm King.
“If you are a friend to all,” he would say, “then you are no better a friend to those closest to you than to those you barely know.” But Hakatri would only shake his head at these complaints. “And if I decided whom to help simply by their closeness in blood or friendship, I would not be a lord-errant at all but a paymaster, tallying up the figures before deciding how much assistance to give to others.”
Since last year, I’ve been a fan of Tad Williams and his storytelling. Expecting to enjoy Brothers of the Wind and having it delivered is not a surprising phenomenon. However, the content of the novel itself is different than my expectations and better for it. As mentioned above, Pamon Kes is the sole POV character in Brothers of the Wind, and through his perspective, I believe the tale and narrative turned stronger. I originally thought this tale would be told from the POV of Ineluki or Hakatri. Tad Williams did a terrific job in shedding light on the opposite personality of the brothers through Pamon Kes. At the same time, displaying the deep affection the brothers have for each other and also Pamon Kes’s loyalty to Hakatri.
“It is nothing so simple. When you declare yourself to the powers that watch over our world—over all worlds—you cannot simply turn around again and say, ‘I did not mean it. Forget my words.’ Fate, or whatever name you choose to give those powers, has already heard you. Like a great millstone driven by a rushing river, the engines that force our actions have begun to grind and they cannot so easily be stopped again.”
Additionally, I thought the entire novel would deal with the slaying of Hidohebhi, but what I got went beyond that. Do not let the 104,000 word count delude you into thinking this is a quick read. Although, technically, this book can be read before you read The Dragonbone Chair, the multiple layers of context and details that can be reaped if you read the series in publication order are nothing short of staggering. Many familiar names, locations, and terms like Ineluki, Hidohebhi, Utuk’ku, Amerasu, Asu’a, Sesuad’ra, the witchwood, and many more are spread throughout the narrative. Too many to mention and explain. If Ineluki is a blazing fire that burns intensely, I highly recommend you to be patient and kind like the calm water that is Hakatri. Read this in publication order, and savor the tale of suffering and tragedy embedded in Brothers of the Wind at its height with all the necessary in-world knowledge in your mind.
“If tonight’s spirit is mournful, so be it. But even sad old songs can remind us that bad times pass and are remembered in later, better days.”
At the end of the day, Brothers of the Wind is an amazing prequel novel. As my fourth favorite title in The Osten Ard Saga so far, right after The Dragonbone Chair, To Green Angel Tower, and The Witchwood Crown, I personally think this is a criminally underrated novel. Even though I have not read Into the Narrowdark and The Navigator’s Children yet, I have a good feeling based on what I have read here that Brothers of the Wind will enhance the storytelling in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, and the tale I read here will be crucial to the maximum enjoyment of Into the Narrowdark and The Navigator’s Children. The writing was sublime, enchanting, and dense, as expected of Tad Williams. But those are not weakness. On the contrary. They are some of the main strengths of Brothers of the Wind. I am more excited than before to read the remaining two books in The Last King of Osten Ard series.
“He was good to me, and even if I were to live as long as one of the highest Zida’ya, I still could never forget the glad sight of Hakatri and his brother Ineluki as they rode side by side in days that are now gone—swift as a storm, so fair and full of laughter, the Brothers of the Wind. I wish my onetime master only happiness and an end to his suffering, that he might someday find his way back home—as, in my own way, I have done.”
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