Osten Ard reading order (The Dragonbone Chair, 1988)

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is the original three. The Last King of Osten Ard is the sequel quartet, decades later in both story and print. The author bibliography lists two “prequels” under Last King. One is a bridge after the trilogy. One is deep past, published between sequel novels. Chronology charts that open on Brothers of the Wind are a reread map.

Otherland, Shadowmarch, and the Bobby Dollar books are different Williams shelves.

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

Same book, two paperbacks: the 1993 hardcover is one volume. US paperbacks split it into Part 1 and Part 2. UK paperbacks use Siege and Storm. Do not buy both sets. Do not treat the split as books 3 and 4.

The Burning Man (1998) is a novelette, first in the Legends anthology. Optional after the trilogy. Not book one.

Bridge — after the trilogy, before Last King

The bibliography calls this Prequel 1 of The Last King of Osten Ard. That label means “before The Witchwood Crown.” It does not mean “before The Dragonbone Chair.”

The Last King of Osten Ard

The sequel was announced as a trilogy and published as four novels. Read them in this order. The Witchwood Crown assumes the original three are settled history.

Brothers of the Wind — deep past, not the door

Contested slot, labeled: the author files Brothers of the Wind as Last King prequel 2, which puts it next to Heart on series pages and tempts a chronology-first start. In print it arrived in 2021, after Empire of Grass and before Into the Narrowdark. House rule: do not open Osten Ard on it. Read it after Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn at the earliest. The publication slot (after Empire of Grass) is the default place if you want it inside the sequel run. Reading it just after To Green Angel Tower or after Heart is allowed. Reading it before The Dragonbone Chair is not.

House rule for a first visit: The Dragonbone Chair → Stone of Farewell → To Green Angel Tower → The Heart of What Was Lost → The Witchwood Crown → Empire of Grass → Brothers of the Wind → Into the Narrowdark → The Navigator’s Children. Stop after To Green Angel Tower if you only wanted the original trilogy.

Common mistakes

• Starting with Brothers of the Wind because a series page says prequel.
• Starting with The Heart of What Was Lost or The Witchwood Crown because they are the books in new paperback.
• Buying Siege and Storm and also Part 1 and Part 2, then treating four paperbacks as four novels.
• Mixing in City of Golden Shadow (Otherland) as Osten Ard book 4.

What to read next

1. The Belgariad (David Eddings) — If you want another classic quest shelf whose companion novels spoil when read first.
2. Shannara (Terry Brooks) — If you want another long fantasy shelf where a prequel cycle looks like book one.
3. The Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan) — If the long first trilogy was the point and you want a longer single climb. Start at The Eye of the World.
4. Riftwar (Raymond E. Feist) — If you want another 1980s epic whose later cycles look like a new book one. Start at Magician (1982). Short version: Magician or Daughter of the Empire?.
5. Stop after To Green Angel Tower. The original three are a complete visit.

FAQ

Dragonbone Chair or Witchwood Crown first?
The Dragonbone Chair. The Witchwood Crown is the sequel quartet.

Is The Heart of What Was Lost a prequel?
Only to The Witchwood Crown. Read it after To Green Angel Tower.

Where does Brothers of the Wind go?
After the original trilogy. Default slot: after Empire of Grass. Not first.

Are Siege and Storm extra books?
No. They are the UK paperback split of To Green Angel Tower.

Is Otherland the same world?
No. City of Golden Shadow is a different series.

Sources

• Tad Williams, bibliography — author list for Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn and The Last King of Osten Ard, including the paperback split and the two Last King “prequels.” Opened 2026-09-23.
• Penguin Random House, Last King of Osten Ard — publisher series order for the sequel quartet. Opened 2026-09-23.