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The Splintered Sun

The epic prequel to the groundbreaking fantasy The Dragonbone Chair by Sunday Times bestselling author

By: Tad Williams

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Paperback | 6 October 2026 | Edition Number 1

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'ONE OF MY FAVOURITE FANTASY SERIES.' GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

Bestselling Tad Williams delivers a thrilling new tale set in his legendary world of Osten Ard, set 300 years before the events of The Dragonbone Chair, book one of the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series.

A fearless bandit and his band of misfit rebels navigate a kingdom menaced by dark sorcery and war in this fast-moving epic fantasy by an author who inspired a generation of fantasy authors, among them George R. R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, and Christopher Paolini.

Vedra and Daley are fugitives, two children, one with a strange and powerful gift. When their flight ends in capture, they are claimed by Flann's Crows, Osten Ard's most infamous band of outlaws and the children must learn to survive or be swallowed whole.

As whispers of a deadly plot coil around the throne of Hernystir, the Crows are drawn into a game far deadlier than bandit raids and border skirmishes. An immortal exile - ancient, dangerous, burdened with secrets that refuse to die - offers alliance. To trust him may mean salvation. To refuse him may doom the realm.

For in the deep forests and ruined places of the old world, something stirs. Oaths will be broken. Blood will answer blood. And two hunted children may hold the fate of a kingdom in their trembling hands.

Before legend, before ruin - there was the beginning...

Packed with action, unforgettable characters, and the sweeping imagination that has made Tad Williams one of fantasy's most beloved voices, this is Osten Ard as you've never seen it before.

Praise for Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn and the world of Osten Ard:
'Tad Williams is a master storyteller, and the Osten Ard books are his masterpiece.' Brandon Sanderson
'Groundbreaking.' Patrick Rothfuss
'One of the great fantasy epics of all time.' Christopher Paolini

Industry Reviews

Praise for Tad Williams - -

One of my favourite fantasy series - George R. R. Martin, author of A Game of Thrones

Ground-breaking . . . changed how people thought of the genre and paved the way for so much modern fantasy, including mine - Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Kingkiller Chronicle

One of the main reasons I started writing fantasy . . . Tad Williams' work is an essential part of any science fiction and fantasy library - Christopher Paolini, author of the Inheritance Cycle series

Comparable to fantasy's most meticulously rendered realms, like Tolkien's Middle-earth and Martin's Westeros - Kirkus

Empire of Grass not only meets expectations, but surpasses them in almost all ways. Few authors manage to write a series with as much depth and relevance as Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn once in a career. Williams is two-thirds of the way through doing it twice - Barnes & Noble

It's no wonder Tad Williams has inspired so many great authors of fantasy to take up the pen. His work is, and continues to be, amongst the best of the genre - Fantasy Book Review

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