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cyanide_latte's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
[RTC]
indalauryn's review
5.0
As usual, will write a longer review on the blog later, hopefully by the end of the year. I will say now this is an excellent continuation of the series though at times it did get a tad grisly. Still well worth the read for some original fantasy.
coolcurrybooks's review
4.0
The Tree is the sequel to urban fantasy/portal fantasy hybrid novel, The Root. Like a lot of series, this one needs to be read in order! Trust me, you’ll be so confused otherwise.
Earth is at war, but most of humanity doesn’t know it yet. Demonic beings from an alternate dimension, Corpiliu, have been making inroads into our world. Their world is being devoured by a strange and powerful darkness, and defeat looks inevitable. So they are in need of a new world, and their sights are pinned on Earth.
Erik, at only eighteen years old, is now head of the Agency, one of two secret organizations that deals with magic, alternate dimensions, demonic beings, and Blooded (the descendants of ancient gods, gifted with some of their powers). He and some of his friends and allies plan a diplomatic trip to Zebub, the alternate version of San Francisco. Meanwhile, his mother and grandmother will manage San Francisco, trying to unite different fractions of Blooded and keep the city and its people safe.
Of course, Erik is one of two main protagonists. Lil, a young woman from Zebub, is in dire straits. She’s been badly injured, although she’s healing, and due to the loss of her tongue no longer has the ability to speak Bable, the language of power. She’s apart from the younger siblings she wishes desperately to protect, and she’s reliant on a group of humans who claim to be a resistance to Zebub’s demonic overlords. Also, the darkness is still advancing on Lil’s city.
The biggest flaw with The Tree is the same one I had with The Root: there are just so many POV characters. It feels like practically everyone with a name gets a POV chapter. It’s a lot to keep track of! Also, the narrative would leave one character in a cliffhanger situation, and by the time it circles back through POV characters to get to them, I would have completely forgotten that they were in trouble. I think The Tree would have been a stronger novel if the POV characters were narrowed down some. We don’t need to know every detail of what’s happening to everyone.
However, The Tree has this key success: I care about the characters and the conflict. I love the complicated dynamics of Erik’s family, how he’s growing into his own, how Lil is so determined to save her siblings and how she’s finding her own worth and strength. In my review of The Root, I talked about how wonderfully diverse the cast is. That continues to be true here, and I think it covers some different aspects of diversity, since Lil is now disabled after the end of The Root. And she’s as badass as ever, if not more so.
While I would have appreciated a tighter narrative focus, The Tree continues to bring me everything I loved about The Root. In addition, I finally get to see Erik and Lil’s sections intertwine! It’s a beautifully inventive series, and I plan on following it to the end.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
Earth is at war, but most of humanity doesn’t know it yet. Demonic beings from an alternate dimension, Corpiliu, have been making inroads into our world. Their world is being devoured by a strange and powerful darkness, and defeat looks inevitable. So they are in need of a new world, and their sights are pinned on Earth.
Erik, at only eighteen years old, is now head of the Agency, one of two secret organizations that deals with magic, alternate dimensions, demonic beings, and Blooded (the descendants of ancient gods, gifted with some of their powers). He and some of his friends and allies plan a diplomatic trip to Zebub, the alternate version of San Francisco. Meanwhile, his mother and grandmother will manage San Francisco, trying to unite different fractions of Blooded and keep the city and its people safe.
Of course, Erik is one of two main protagonists. Lil, a young woman from Zebub, is in dire straits. She’s been badly injured, although she’s healing, and due to the loss of her tongue no longer has the ability to speak Bable, the language of power. She’s apart from the younger siblings she wishes desperately to protect, and she’s reliant on a group of humans who claim to be a resistance to Zebub’s demonic overlords. Also, the darkness is still advancing on Lil’s city.
The biggest flaw with The Tree is the same one I had with The Root: there are just so many POV characters. It feels like practically everyone with a name gets a POV chapter. It’s a lot to keep track of! Also, the narrative would leave one character in a cliffhanger situation, and by the time it circles back through POV characters to get to them, I would have completely forgotten that they were in trouble. I think The Tree would have been a stronger novel if the POV characters were narrowed down some. We don’t need to know every detail of what’s happening to everyone.
However, The Tree has this key success: I care about the characters and the conflict. I love the complicated dynamics of Erik’s family, how he’s growing into his own, how Lil is so determined to save her siblings and how she’s finding her own worth and strength. In my review of The Root, I talked about how wonderfully diverse the cast is. That continues to be true here, and I think it covers some different aspects of diversity, since Lil is now disabled after the end of The Root. And she’s as badass as ever, if not more so.
While I would have appreciated a tighter narrative focus, The Tree continues to bring me everything I loved about The Root. In addition, I finally get to see Erik and Lil’s sections intertwine! It’s a beautifully inventive series, and I plan on following it to the end.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
blynecessity's review
3.0
This book did not suffer from a sophomore slump, so yay! And it was full of plot development for old and new characters. Aaaand, there was def more than enough action, but... Something was missing. There wasn't as much character development as I thought the story required, there were, like, a dozen POVs throughout the book, and the editing process seemed rushed. E.g., in addition to 20 or so typos (things like "boe" instead of "bone" and "theyre" instead of "they're") there was a scene where a character who had just died contributed to a conversation without the benefit of being a ghost or in anyway present. And there was a character who was introduced towards the end of the book but who was never formally introduced. However, a few chapters later, the author writes about his conversation with a main character and only uses his name, without ever connecting the new character we'd met a few chapters back to this unintroduced new character. Context leads us to assume that these are the same characters, but it's uncertain.
The book was good, not great.
The book was good, not great.
mxmreads's review
4.0
I love this book with all my heart.
I adore all the characters and I can't get enough of the writing and the incredible worlds Tilahun created. The intricacies and delicate weaving of plots and narratives, the detailed and engaging descriptions mixed with action-packed scenes, the natural flow of things and how they all come together in the most surprising and explosive ways. I could stay in this world forever.
Plus the queerness of it all makes my heart happy. And there's a special feeling in the way Tilahun connects his characters, explores interpersonal relationships of all kinds, from family to friends to lovers, from love to hate to a complex, layered *mess* of too many feelings to even name. It's unique and lovely, and deeply touching.
I cannot wait to read the next book in the series and all other works this author might ever publish.
The only reason why I don't give 5 stars is because I wished the publisher would've done this incredible book more justice regarding editing and proofreading. It didn't lessen my love for the book or the series at all, but it did throw me a time or two and this book deserved better.
I adore all the characters and I can't get enough of the writing and the incredible worlds Tilahun created. The intricacies and delicate weaving of plots and narratives, the detailed and engaging descriptions mixed with action-packed scenes, the natural flow of things and how they all come together in the most surprising and explosive ways. I could stay in this world forever.
Plus the queerness of it all makes my heart happy. And there's a special feeling in the way Tilahun connects his characters, explores interpersonal relationships of all kinds, from family to friends to lovers, from love to hate to a complex, layered *mess* of too many feelings to even name. It's unique and lovely, and deeply touching.
I cannot wait to read the next book in the series and all other works this author might ever publish.
The only reason why I don't give 5 stars is because I wished the publisher would've done this incredible book more justice regarding editing and proofreading. It didn't lessen my love for the book or the series at all, but it did throw me a time or two and this book deserved better.
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