The War Of The Flowers
by Tad WilliamsSign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
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Read in January, 2006
This was an interesting story with a fairly unique view into the world of Faerie. The journey from earth to Faerie is one that has sparked many a tale, working off the Gaelic myths of old. This book does the same, taking an out-of-work rock band singer and thrusting him unwillingly into the beautiful enigmatic land of the elves. There things are not all they seem, plots and intrigues abound. The descriptions are great, the intrigues interesting. The twist of the idea of changelings was nice. The...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Debs by:
Laurenrecommends it for: fantasy lovers
I absolutely adored this book, it was delicious in every sense of the word, and I couldn't wait to get home from work each day to spend time with it. Though I found it a bit slow at the beginning, the pace picked up quickly, and I finished it in a few days because I *had* to know what was going to happen next.
I liked the fact that the Faerie World wasn't typically Fairy-Fantasy (all pixie dust and light), but had a huge undercurrent the dystopian and political, and drawing on issues that ha...more
I liked the fact that the Faerie World wasn't typically Fairy-Fantasy (all pixie dust and light), but had a huge undercurrent the dystopian and political, and drawing on issues that ha...more
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recommends it for:
no one.
My mom handed this to me to read, sounding like she was recommending it a lot. I started into it, and didn't really like it from the start. I kept going on the off chance that it got better, that the characters sucked less, or something good would happen, like one of the sucky main characters might die! The only character I liked at all was Applecore, and she didn't get as much credit or time in the forefront as she really should have, however given what I thought of the rest of the book, it is ...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
Tad Williams fans, people who don't want to spend a year reading a whole fantasy series
I love Tad Williams. Oh, I do, I do! This is the second time that I have read this book, and I realized that I really miss his longer series (I was silly and started reading Shadowplay while finishing this one...I can't seem to read one book at a time!). I guess I like a little more character development.
Overall, if you want to not spend a year working on a new fantasy series, then this book is for you. It is complete, and spends a decent amount of time going in depth to Williams' ...more
Overall, if you want to not spend a year working on a new fantasy series, then this book is for you. It is complete, and spends a decent amount of time going in depth to Williams' ...more
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Read in January, 2008
Generally speaking, this particular novel was quite entertaining and engaging. The alternate universe Williams creates with his Faerie-land was fascinating. However, the protagonist was kind of dumb. I can't help but think that, had this been a real situation - an actual friend of mine who landed himself in an alternate plane of reality - I would have been incredibly disappointed with his observations. Also, the more poignant moments of the narrative might have come across better had this said p...more
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It is rare that I get more than 50 pages into a fantasy novel without wanting to throw it across the room. Which is a shame since I'm an avid fantasy gamer and feel like enjoying the genre should be my right and privilege. Too bad most of them are unreadable. (If I have to read how "beautiful AND smart" equals a fully realized female character one more time in my life, I may give up on the genre entirely.) Anyway, I am 2/3s of the way into this one and deeply engaged. YAY!!!
I am a...more
I am a...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
people who like fantasy
I would not have complained if the book had a more intriguing introduction. I felt that it was a little long, but I was still entertained enough to keep reading. By the end of the book, I was very happy that I did. The War of the Flowers was very original is very interesting during the first half of the book. In the second half of the book, the pace really picks up and it becomes very exciting. I really enjoyed this book and I am sad that it is a stand alone novel and not part of a series. ...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
fantasy
Although fantasy is not my normal genre for reading material, Tad Williams is a great story-teller.
War of The Flowers, at 828 (pbk) pages and a self-contained story, for those who want to experience Williams' storytelling without committing to a couple of thousand pages, and a year or two between installments. this is a great introduction to an accomplished and ambitious fantasist..
My daughter, a Tad Williams reader, will receive this for a holiday gift ..
Happy Reading.
War of The Flowers, at 828 (pbk) pages and a self-contained story, for those who want to experience Williams' storytelling without committing to a couple of thousand pages, and a year or two between installments. this is a great introduction to an accomplished and ambitious fantasist..
My daughter, a Tad Williams reader, will receive this for a holiday gift ..
Happy Reading.
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Read in August, 2008
This is actually the second time I picked up this book. I liked this author's other books, and thought from the description that this would be interesting. I got into it deeper than I did before, but again quit without completing. It's just so slow-moving! Even when they got into the Fairyland. Nothing was going on. I bet this book could have been better if it was cut down to half its (enormous) size. It would be tighter.
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Read in April, 2007
I liked this book, but had a little trouble getting into for the first 100 pages. Having read Otherland, which is based in the future, and Memory, Sorrow, & Thorn, which is based in a medieval setting, the opening to this book had me doubting the story line. It takes place in modern time. After the introduction chapters I really got into the book. It was an enjoyable story that Tad Williams actually contained in one book.
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Read in May, 2008
This was a great book. It did not fail to entertain! Great characters, great story too! I enjoyed the mixture of our world and the fairy world and how similar they were. A tale of racism, and daily problems. I liked how I was surprised by a couple of twists in this book. Doesn't happen much anymore. And I liked how I connected with the characters as well. A very good read!
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
fantasy lovers, people who like huge books
I read this entire book in less than two days, which is saying a lot since it is quite sizable. However, I did have a train trip to Philly to help me out on the time. Needless to say I found the story and the narration enchanting and had to keep reading until i *knew* what happened. For those of you wondering, this is also the book that inspired my screen name for IM
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recommends it for:
Fantasy lovers
I picked this book up in the train station. It is about fairies in an alternate world and all the fairy clans have the last names of flowers. Despite this (and the book is not in fact geared toward little girls as I initially thought it must be), I really became engrossed in the book, which involves, among other things, a changeling.
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Awful book. No real story and the story that's there is kind of boring. The plot goes nowhere, the protagonist stays very flat and not likable. There is not much good to say about this book other than it's <500 pages, so it's over fast enough.
You always expect the "hero" to step it up, but he never does. He never does...
You always expect the "hero" to step it up, but he never does. He never does...
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
Tad Williams fans, non-ridiculous fairy fans
I generally like Tad Williams, and this was, eh. I like the fairly intricate alternate universe he describes, especially the glimpses of everyday social organization and how the inhabitants handled things like utilities, maintaining order, and social class.
The protagonist whined a little too much in a one-note way.
The protagonist whined a little too much in a one-note way.
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this fantasy novel is just soooooooooooooooooo funny!
Gotta love Tad Williams!
Theo Vilmos, a singer in a humdrum rock band, finds an amazing if incomplete manuscript about a fairy world. Abruptly Applecore, a short-tempered, red-haired sprite, appears just before horrifying monster starts banging on the door.
Gotta love Tad Williams!
Theo Vilmos, a singer in a humdrum rock band, finds an amazing if incomplete manuscript about a fairy world. Abruptly Applecore, a short-tempered, red-haired sprite, appears just before horrifying monster starts banging on the door.
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Like the book within the book WoF succeeds better as a travelogue then a narrative.
Which is not to diminish, but rather to classify, accurately and exuberantly in the “great fantasy cities” sub-genre or which Perdido St. Station is merely the one that springs most readily to mind.
Which is not to diminish, but rather to classify, accurately and exuberantly in the “great fantasy cities” sub-genre or which Perdido St. Station is merely the one that springs most readily to mind.
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
fantasy lovers
Really good book about Faeries and such. this is a single book(not part of a series) and highly recommended, especially for people who don't like to get involved with 3000+ page trilogies. Themes of class struggle and racism..awesome. also not your typical "hack and slash" fantasy
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Irina by:
No one--I found a review on my sci-fi/fantasy forum.recommends it for: Anyone who does not want to start a fantasy series, as this is a stand alone book.
Just wrapped this one up and I absolutely LOVED it. I like how it mixed modern day w/Faerie. Theo was a witty character, and Applecore was another favourite of mine. I kept wishing this were a movie so that I can see all of the places/characters described.
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Read in July, 2008
I vacillated between 3 and 4 stars on this book. Very original concepts and a well-told story with some decent surprises, but I didn't identify with the main characters very much.
Looking forward to reading some other Tad Williams books.
-Gary
Looking forward to reading some other Tad Williams books.
-Gary
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