Ambitious but overly long

To Green Angel Tower is an ambitious finale that wraps up the story of Osten Ard. Williams writes with style; his prose flows nicely and is easy to read. You can tell he put a lot of effort into building his world and weaving together the different plotlines.

But the book is simply too long. There’s a reason it was often published in two parts — it’s massive. The first few hundred pages are slow to get going, and even near the end he keeps stretching things out. Some storylines feel like unnecessary detours, and certain character decisions come across as forced. There are moments of tension and nice character growth, but it all could have been much tighter.

The climax takes forever to arrive, and while everything is tied up well enough, the ending feels a bit too fairy-tale-like for my taste. I have to admit I expected more from this book. Ironically, I think the story might have worked better if Tad Williams had turned it into a longer series with more layers and political intrigue. Or gone the other way: a tighter, leaner trilogy. As it stands, this trilogy floats awkwardly in between — too long for a trilogy, not deep enough for a full series.

A good plot, clear craftsmanship, but it would’ve had more impact with fewer pages.

3,5 star