Tad Williams’s Osten Ard Books in Order: From The Dragonbone Chair to The Last King

Start Tad Williams’s Osten Ard books with The Dragonbone Chair, followed by Stone of Farewell and To Green Angel Tower. Then read The Heart of What Was Lost before beginning The Last King of Osten Ard. For a first read, our recommendation is to fit Brothers of the Wind between Empire of Grass and Into the Narrowdark, following its publication placement.

That route takes you through the original trilogy, the bridge novel, and the completed sequel quartet without beginning with a story that explains events you have not experienced yet.

There is also a newer branch to account for: The Splintered Sun, published October 6, 2026, begins a separate adventure set centuries before The Dragonbone Chair. It belongs on an updated Osten Ard reading list, but you do not need it before starting the original saga.

Here is how the books fit together, why the different series names can be confusing, and which reading order makes the most sense for newcomers.

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Osten Ard Books in Order at a Glance

The table below follows publication order for the book-length stories, which is also our recommended route for a first visit. “The Burning Man,” an optional shorter work, is addressed separately below.

The original and sequel series dates are listed in Tad Williams’s official bibliography. The publisher confirms The Splintered Sun’s October 2026 publication.

Begin With Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn

1. The Dragonbone Chair

The Dragonbone Chair is the best starting point for the main Osten Ard saga. It introduces Simon, a kitchen boy at the Hayholt, and builds outward from castle life into a much larger conflict.

The appeal of beginning here is perspective. You discover the world gradually, alongside someone who has little understanding of the powers shaping it. Starting with a prequel changes that experience by putting ancient history ahead of the mysteries that originally made it intriguing.

Expect an opening that spends time establishing people and place. For readers who enjoy settling into a fantasy world, that foundation is part of the attraction.

For a closer look at the first book, read our The Dragonbone Chair review.

Start the journey: Find The Dragonbone Chair on Amazon.

2. Stone of Farewell

Continue directly with Stone of Farewell. The second book widens the conflict and draws more of Osten Ard’s peoples and history into the story.

This is where the reading order should stay straightforward. Do not interrupt the original trilogy to explore the prequels. Let the central narrative build before stepping back to investigate its past.

Read our Stone of Farewell review for more about the second installment.

Continue the trilogy: Find Stone of Farewell on Amazon.

3. To Green Angel Tower

To Green Angel Tower concludes Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. Read the whole novel before moving to any of the later Osten Ard books. The publisher lists it as the original sequence’s third volume.

Edition warning: Some editions divide this novel into two volumes. The US split uses Part 1 and Part 2. The UK split uses Siege, followed by Storm. Both halves are necessary if you choose a split edition; they are not additional sequels. The author’s bibliography explains the edition split.

Check the edition description before buying. A complete single-volume edition and both matching split volumes cover the same novel.

Finish the original story: Find To Green Angel Tower on Amazon.

Read The Heart of What Was Lost Next

4. The Heart of What Was Lost

This is the most useful bridge between the two main series. It follows the immediate aftermath of the original trilogy and turns attention toward the continuing conflict between human forces and the Norns.

Williams’s official site places its events between the main ending of To Green Angel Tower and that novel’s later epilogue. For reading purposes, however, finish To Green Angel Tower first. There is no need to stop before its epilogue and switch books. Source: author’s bridge-novel introduction

Its value is more than filling a chronological gap. The publisher’s description presents perspectives on both sides of a siege, including the Norn builder Viyeki. That makes it a useful change of viewpoint before the sequel series.

Bridge the two series: Find The Heart of What Was Lost on Amazon.

The Last King of Osten Ard Reading Order

The Last King of Osten Ard is a four-book sequel series. Its opening takes place more than thirty years after the earlier story. Although some older promotional copy calls it a trilogy, the completed sequence has four novels and ends with The Navigator’s Children.

5. The Witchwood Crown

Begin the sequel quartet with The Witchwood Crown. It brings returning characters and a new generation into an Osten Ard facing renewed danger.

Our recommendation is to read the original trilogy first. A sequel set decades later necessarily reveals how the earlier story left its world and characters. Reading in sequence preserves both the original discoveries and the significance of returning to familiar places.

Begin the sequel quartet: Find The Witchwood Crown on Amazon.

6. Empire of Grass

Empire of Grass is the second novel in The Last King of Osten Ard. Continue here after The Witchwood Crown.

The sequel’s political and military threats grow across this volume. If you prefer to read a completed series with minimal breaks, keep the remaining books ready rather than treating each installment as an independent adventure.

Continue The Last King: Find Empire of Grass on Amazon.

7. Brothers of the Wind — Our Recommended Prequel Slot

Brothers of the Wind takes place about a thousand years before The Dragonbone Chair. It follows Hakatri and Ineluki through the account of Hakatri’s servant, Pamon Kes. The publisher describes a disastrous oath and a confrontation with a dragon at the center of its story.

Chronologically, it belongs near the beginning of Osten Ard’s history. For a first read, we recommend its publication slot: after Empire of Grass and before Into the Narrowdark.

This is an editorial recommendation, not a claim that there is only one permissible order. Reading it after the original trilogy but before The Witchwood Crown is another reasonable option if you prefer to keep the four sequel novels together.

The important distinction is that this prequel is not Book 3 of The Last King of Osten Ard.

Explore Osten Ard’s earlier history: Find Brothers of the Wind on Amazon.

8. Into the Narrowdark

Return to the sequel’s present with Into the Narrowdark, the third main novel in The Last King of Osten Ard.

By this stage, a spoiler-free reading guide should give you direction without recapping the publisher’s increasingly revealing plot descriptions. The practical advice is simple: read this after Empire of Grass, with Brothers of the Wind in between if you follow our recommended route.

Read the third sequel novel: Find Into the Narrowdark on Amazon.

9. The Navigator’s Children

The Navigator’s Children is the fourth and final novel in The Last King of Osten Ard. It was published in 2024.

You can therefore begin the sequel quartet knowing its concluding volume is available. Completion of this sequence does not mean Williams has stopped writing stories set elsewhere in Osten Ard’s history.

Complete the quartet: Find The Navigator’s Children on Amazon.

Where Does The Splintered Sun Fit?

10. The Splintered Sun

The Splintered Sun is out now. Published October 6, 2026, it takes place around 300 years before The Dragonbone Chair. Its story follows the bandit Flann and his companions amid a succession struggle in Hernystir.

This is a separate series opening rather than a fifth volume of The Last King of Osten Ard. Williams’s website has announced two follow-ups, The Crooked Tower and The Holly Ring. The announcement does not provide publication dates for those sequels. Source: author’s July 2026 update

For readers following the established saga, we recommend saving it until after The Navigator’s Children. Readers drawn specifically to its bandit adventure can also approach it as a separate series opening. Its earlier setting does not make it required preparation for Simon’s story.

Try the newer Osten Ard adventure: Find The Splintered Sun on Amazon.

What About “The Burning Man”?

“The Burning Man” is an Osten Ard shorter work originally published in Robert Silverberg’s Legends anthology in 1998. Williams’s website identifies it as a Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn story.

For a first read, treat it as optional companion reading after the original trilogy. You can then continue to The Heart of What Was Lost. It does not replace any of the novels above.

Should You Read Osten Ard Chronologically?

We recommend publication order for newcomers. An earlier place on the fictional timeline does not automatically make a book the most rewarding introduction.

If you are rereading, the broad chronology of the book-length stories is:

1. Brothers of the Wind — roughly 1,000 years before the original trilogy.
2. The Splintered Sun — roughly 300 years before the original trilogy.
3. The Dragonbone Chair.
4. Stone of Farewell.
5. To Green Angel Tower.
6. The Heart of What Was Lost — immediate aftermath, with the epilogue overlap explained above.
7. The Witchwood Crown.
8. Empire of Grass.
9. Into the Narrowdark.
10. The Navigator’s Children.

The prequel intervals come from the publisher descriptions linked above. This is a broad timeline, not a chapter-by-chapter interleaving guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn three books or four?

It is three novels. The final novel, To Green Angel Tower, is split into two volumes in some editions, so a complete set may contain four physical books.

Can I skip The Heart of What Was Lost?

It is separate from the numbered sequel quartet, but our recommendation is to include it. Its immediate aftermath story makes the transition between the main series more rewarding.

Is The Last King of Osten Ard finished?

Yes. The four-book sequence concludes with The Navigator’s Children, published in 2024. Other Osten Ard stories, including the series beginning with The Splintered Sun, are separate.

Is there a book called The Last King?

In this reading guide, “The Last King” refers to the series title The Last King of Osten Ard. Its first novel is The Witchwood Crown and its last is The Navigator’s Children.

Are Otherland and Shadowmarch part of Osten Ard?

No. They are separate Tad Williams series. You do not need either one to follow this reading order.

Where We Recommend Starting

Choose The Dragonbone Chair if you want the main Osten Ard experience. Read the original trilogy in order, use The Heart of What Was Lost as your bridge, and continue into the sequel quartet.

That gives you a manageable first decision: start with one book rather than trying to master the world’s entire history before meeting its characters.

For more fantasy to explore afterward, see our books to read after A Game of Thrones and fantasy books for readers who love Skyrim.

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