BROTHERS OF THE WIND while being one of the briefest entries in the Osten Ard Saga (and one of the shortest books Williams has ever written) is easily one of the series' best offerings. It is a detailed recounting of a tale first heard in THE DRAGONBONE CHAIR, about Ineluki and Hakatri, two Zida'ya brothers who met tragedy while on the hunt for the dreadful black dragon, Hidohebhi. While the premise of the novel is simple enough, the execution demonstrates Williams' talent for layered, complex storytelling.

Here the tale is recounted through the eyes of Pamon Kes, Hakatri's most faithful Tinukeda’ya companion. Williams uses Kes in a subtle way to interrogate identity, culture, and particularly the loss of both, in such an interesting way. Pamon Kes has lived and served among the Zida'ya all his life, never knowing many of his own people, much of his own history, or even having a grasp on his own language. This sort of...cultural displacement is not uncommon in our own world, so seeing Williams weave this into the narrative, and doing it so well, was very compelling. It made Pamon relatable and also sympathetic at times.

This is the first and only (but not the last...?) time Hakatri has appeared and already he is a standout character within the context of entire series. He's honorable, brave, and so openly kind/understanding. He remains this way even in spite of debilitating pain that is inflicted upon him while hunting the black worm Hidohebhi. He is not without fault, or flaws. For example, his love for his brother, Ineluki, blinded him to the reality that Ineluki was being lead down a dark and treacherous path by the silver masked Hikeda'ya Queen, Utuku. Perhaps, if he had seen his brother for who he was, the events of the original trilogy wouldn't have happened.

Not that Ineluki isn't justified to an extent for his anger and dark thoughts in this book. His deep seated hatred of the mortals isn't one dimensional, because the character isn't one dimensional. Tad manages to flesh this character out in a way the original trilogy could not, as it was mostly from the perspective of the humans. We're shown that even before mortals give him a concrete reason to loathe them, Ineluki seems to suffer from depression, or at least bouts of melancholy, which frustrates him to no end, as he doesn't understand why "deadly spirits haunt him".

It's an added layer to the character that adds such an interesting context to his descent into darkness, and his taking on the mantle of Storm King. Ineluki is not innocent, and he is not a good person, but this additional texture does make him complex. Wholly an improvement over his one-note portrayal in MEMORY, SORROW, and THRON.
There are many other characters that walk in and out of this story as well, some familiar, some new. All of them are well written and compelling and the history and depth they add to this world are very welcome indeed.

My anticipation for the next entry, INTO THE NARROWDARK, is at an all time high. There are several implications that are made in this entry that have me eager to see what, if anything, comes of them. It may be presumptuous, but Tad hasn't let me down before, and I doubt he'll start doing so now.