[Grimward]

*Blows dust off long dormant thread...hack, choke, cough...where's my HEPA filter!*

I love Tad Williams' stuff. Let me make that abundantly clear before I say anything else. While I still need to read his solo efforts, I have read MS&T and Otherland to their conclusions, and the first two Shadow books as well.

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn was an impossible act to follow. For anyone. I don't care who you are, if you're the author, you're just not topping that series. He takes just enough time in The Dragonbone Chair to introduce you to the world, and from there it's one long roller coaster ride of plot twists and conflict depiction. Couldn't put any of these books down.

In many respects, it's probably good that he wandered off into Otherland. I purchased all the Otherland books, and read them all, too, but it many places it was a struggle. The images he created were on par with anything from the Fantasy books, but character development, like the characters in the plot, often seemed lost, only giving us insight into each at a snail's pace.

Otherland did one good thing, I think: It probably gave him the right amount of time to retool for the Shadow books. I like the Shadow books in their own right, but even if the third book (Shadowrise) comes out and is spectacular, it still won't bring the series into the same league as MS&T, IMHO.

So, if there are any others out there still wondering which of his Fantasy series to read first, The Dragonbone Chair, The Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower are your best bet.