Brothers of the Wind

By: Tad Williams

Narrated by: James Lailey

Set in the New York Times bestselling world of Osten Ard, this short novel continues the saga that inspired a generation of fantasists

Pride often goes before a fall, but sometimes that prideful fall is so catastrophic that it changes history itself.

Among the immortal Sithi of Osten Ard, none are more beloved and admired than the two sons of the ruling family, steady Hakatri and his proud and fiery younger brother Ineluki -- Ineluki, who will one day become the undead Storm King. The younger brother makes a bold, terrible oath that he will destroy deadly Hidohebhi, a terrifying monster, but instead drags his brother with him into a disaster that threatens not just their family but all the Sithi -- and perhaps all of humankind as well.

Set a thousand years before the events of Williams's The Dragonbone Chair, the tale of Ineluki's tragic boast and what it brings is told by Pamon Kes, Hakatri's faithful servant. Kes is not one of the Sithi but a member of the enslaved Changeling race, and his loyalty has never before been tested. Now he must face the terrible black dragon at his master's side, then see his own life changed forever in a mere instant by Ineluki's rash, selfish promise.

Critic reviews

Praise for Osten Ard

“Inspired me to write my own seven-book trilogy.... It’s one of my favorite fantasy series.” —George R. R. Martin, New York Times-bestselling author of A Song of Ice and Fire

“Groundbreaking.... Changed how people thought of the genre, and paved the way for so much modern fantasy. Including mine.” —Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times-bestselling author of The Name of the Wind

"Tad Williams is a master storyteller, and the Osten Ard books are his masterpiece. Williams’ return to Osten Ard is every bit as compelling, deep, and fully-rendered as the first trilogy, and he continues to write with the experience and polish of an author at the top of his game." —Brandon Sanderson, New York Times-bestselling author of The Stormlight Archive

“Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is one of the great fantasy epics of all time.”
—Christopher Paolini, New York Times bestselling author of Eragon

"Building upon the revered history of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Williams has outdone himself by penning a 700-plus page novel that is virtually un-put-down-able.... Williams’ grand-scale storytelling mastery is on full display here. Not just utterly readable—an instant fantasy classic." —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Readers who delight in losing themselves in long complex tales of epic fantasy will be in their element here, and there is the promise of much more to come in future volumes.” —Locus

“Panoramic, vigorous, often moving.... Williams adroitly weaves together the tales...heralding a suitably epic and glorious conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly

“Highly Recommended. [Williams] draws on many mythologies for the background of his fantasy epic...story spiced with political intrigue and strong appealing heroes.” —Library Journal

“A grand fantasy on a scale approaching Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.” —Cincinnati Post

Please bring back Andrew wincott for the final book

As always, tad is able to bring a level of immersion to his books that is hard to find anywhere else. His descriptions are poetic and his storytelling is amazing. But the audio book performances of Andrew wincott breathe such conviction and immersion to tads work that it is hard to listen without it. The complex names, cultures, and backgrounds of the characters is vital to the story and Andrew does the books he narrates for us a service. Not to mention I can identify who is speaking just by the inflection placed on the words by Andrew. In this book, however, I had a hard time knowing who was speaking at times, the words were pronounced very strangely, and it was often so rushed I had to check if my playback speed was set to 1.5x

A incredibly emotional prelude to Dragonbone Chair

Brothers of the Wind is a very character driven book that recontextualizes the whole of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. It's not plot driven, so don't go in expecting that. What you should expect is a very rich narrative driven by the tragedy of two brothers and a servant who watches it unfold.

Performance

Story did not seem Jermain to the overall series. This review is because the main characters in the story have little to do with the main characters of the first two books.

Good Look into Backstory

I enjoyed this book to better understand several of the characters in the previous books in the series.

I enjoyed the narrator’s voice... However, I wasn’t happy about his pronunciations of some character names, and groups. As always, it’s very frustrating to hear, names, places, etc., pronounced differently from one narrator to another.

Seriously, why do authors neglect to inform narrator’s of proper pronunciations of main characters, places, towns, etc from book to book within a series?

It’s extremely bothersome. Especially, when the name, place or whatever is mispronounced or pronounced differently over and over during narration, than how the listener has become accustomed from previous books.

Other than that issue, I did enjoy the story and narrator’s voice.

Excellent. True to Tad Williams style. A pleasure to listen to.

The characters and story are compelling entertainment- a joy to listen to whilst I work.