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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
The description of this book reminded me of the film "The Ritual" a little, which is why I just had to pick it up. Forests and horror stories about mysterious ancient monsters that might or might not exist are just the absolute best fit for each other, and I was very excited for "The Dark Between the Trees" and was hoping to actually be scared and have a sleepless night or two.
The atmosphere is this book's big strength. Moresby Forest, the strange woods the story takes place in, is fascinating and creepy. Noone really wants to go there - not just because there are ancient myths about a monster roaming it, but also because neither GPS nor simple compasses or any kind of technology seem to work once you cross its borders. It's a wild land, unconquered by humankind.
The writing is great, instantly pulling you in. There are two timelines - the first one tells the story of a group of soldiers in the 17th century that disappeared forever in the woods, the second one follows five researchers and park rangers trying to find out what actually happened to these men. I really liked the different perspectives that were wonderfully interwoven with each other, although I do think that the soldiers' perspective reads a little modern for its setting.
The mystery of what happened to the soldiers and what's happening now to the researchers is an intriguing one, and I was ready to give this a high rating - until the ending happened. Or, well, the last few chapters, I guess. The book doesn't seem to care all too much about its characters, doesn't ever allow us to get close to them, and certain things happening to them off screen later on didn't add to this feeling of detachement. The ending itself doesn't fully wrap up the story and leaves us with a lot of loose ends. While open endings can be amazing, this just feels underwhelming.
All in all, this is a good and very atmospheric story with an ending that disappointed me, but I'd still recommend reading it if creepy woods and ancient monsters are your thing.
Many thanks to Solaris and Netgalley for the arc!
The atmosphere is this book's big strength. Moresby Forest, the strange woods the story takes place in, is fascinating and creepy. Noone really wants to go there - not just because there are ancient myths about a monster roaming it, but also because neither GPS nor simple compasses or any kind of technology seem to work once you cross its borders. It's a wild land, unconquered by humankind.
The writing is great, instantly pulling you in. There are two timelines - the first one tells the story of a group of soldiers in the 17th century that disappeared forever in the woods, the second one follows five researchers and park rangers trying to find out what actually happened to these men. I really liked the different perspectives that were wonderfully interwoven with each other, although I do think that the soldiers' perspective reads a little modern for its setting.
The mystery of what happened to the soldiers and what's happening now to the researchers is an intriguing one, and I was ready to give this a high rating - until the ending happened. Or, well, the last few chapters, I guess. The book doesn't seem to care all too much about its characters, doesn't ever allow us to get close to them, and certain things happening to them off screen later on didn't add to this feeling of detachement. The ending itself doesn't fully wrap up the story and leaves us with a lot of loose ends. While open endings can be amazing, this just feels underwhelming.
All in all, this is a good and very atmospheric story with an ending that disappointed me, but I'd still recommend reading it if creepy woods and ancient monsters are your thing.
Many thanks to Solaris and Netgalley for the arc!
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Borrowed from the library. I loved the concept, I enjoyed the theories about the woods and what lurks within it and I loved the moments when the woods secrets started to reveal themselves a little...but it just wasn't fleshed out enough for me. I found the dual timeline a bit unnecessary and didn't give me enough time with any character to really care about them too much. There was a lot of time spent explaining research and academia and the bickering between characters, and not enough building any real suspense or creepiness. An ok read, and the ending (although it left a lot of unanswered questions) did pick up and I rounded up to 3 stars.
'There were more things to fear than ghosts.'
I love it when a book opens with immediacy, and 'The Dark between the Trees' by Fiona Barnett is snappy in its first words. The novel runs two parties’ narratives parallel in a dual timeline, as they enter Moresby Wood; one group of male characters in 1643, and one group of female characters in the present day.
Unfortunately, the relationships between the women at the opening of the novel lack clarity and in fact, well into the story, the five characters remain fairly obfuscated, which prevented me from carrying that immediacy through with me as the chapters began to shape the narrative. The same, sadly, can be said for Captain Davies' men in 1643. The two sets of characters that Barnett presents side-by-side in the novel ultimately, failed to engage me throughout. The two timeframes between which Barnett alternates rapidly didn’t give me long enough with either group to become absorbed in their storyline.
Early acceleration of tension and suspense is done with accomplished authorial skill: 'Sue stood up very suddenly...'; 'did you see it... The other wood'. The book is well written, the language is crisp, the descriptions well-judged and the premise decently researched. Nonetheless, there just isn't enough to 'plump for' in ‘The Dark between the Trees’. There is attention to detail given in scene-setting sections:
I was ready for this to be a gripping supernatural horror, but the plot and the narrative are as unresolved as the historical mystery at the centre of the novel. There is the promise of climax; there is a lot of suggestion and build-up, which was enjoyable to a certain extent, in itself:
I am sad to conclude that 'The Dark Between the Trees' would have been a brilliant, remarkable read, had it been half the length. As it is, it was too tame and drawn-out for me. There was very little satisfaction to be had here.
However, my sincere thanks are due to Solaris at Rebellion Publishing for an advanced digital copy of this title through Netgalley. Citations are subject to change in the final published copy.
I love it when a book opens with immediacy, and 'The Dark between the Trees' by Fiona Barnett is snappy in its first words. The novel runs two parties’ narratives parallel in a dual timeline, as they enter Moresby Wood; one group of male characters in 1643, and one group of female characters in the present day.
Unfortunately, the relationships between the women at the opening of the novel lack clarity and in fact, well into the story, the five characters remain fairly obfuscated, which prevented me from carrying that immediacy through with me as the chapters began to shape the narrative. The same, sadly, can be said for Captain Davies' men in 1643. The two sets of characters that Barnett presents side-by-side in the novel ultimately, failed to engage me throughout. The two timeframes between which Barnett alternates rapidly didn’t give me long enough with either group to become absorbed in their storyline.
Early acceleration of tension and suspense is done with accomplished authorial skill: 'Sue stood up very suddenly...'; 'did you see it... The other wood'. The book is well written, the language is crisp, the descriptions well-judged and the premise decently researched. Nonetheless, there just isn't enough to 'plump for' in ‘The Dark between the Trees’. There is attention to detail given in scene-setting sections:
Alice was staring into space. Kim prised the tin mug from her hands and she shook her head, the train of thought visibly dissipating.Regrettably, though, the novel dips with quite a sheer drop after the bright pace of the opening falls away. The middle languishes in a slump, and the only comment that I can make about the central two-quarters is that I began wondering whether the novel should have been a short story.
They split into their tents not long afterwards: Kim, Helly and Sue to the larger one, Alice and Nuria to the smaller. Just before she turned the torch off, in her sleeping bag, Alice said very quietly, “Did you see it?”
“See what?”
“The other wood.”
“What do you mean?”
But Alice shook her head and turned the light out. “Goodnight, Nuria. Sleep well.”
Outside, the leaves of the gigantic oak tree that linked them to the past rustled in the ghost of a breeze.
I was ready for this to be a gripping supernatural horror, but the plot and the narrative are as unresolved as the historical mystery at the centre of the novel. There is the promise of climax; there is a lot of suggestion and build-up, which was enjoyable to a certain extent, in itself:
‘The most uncomfortable of somethings are those that might easily be nothing, and that’s how it was here. There seemed to be a low hum in the air, or perhaps it was only inside Harper’s head – either way it reminded him of wasps. After a little longer he started to think he was seeing dark spots blink in and out in the thick greyness – like the spots you see if you stare too long at the sun and then look away, in the corners of his vision.’After the middle-section slump, Barnett works on a series of repeated motifs and signs across the two timelines, which is enchanting at the time, but ultimately unrewarding, as the repetition fails to amount to much:
‘Overhead, the canopy of trees seemed to be bearing down on them, steering them forwards. Out of the corner of her eye, something flickered, or moved.’
‘If any of them had been looking round them in the trees of the middle distance, they might have seen that flickering, once or twice, as if the trunks of far-off trees were the flames of candles, casting light intermittently on whatever they were near to, and occasionally lighting up something completely different. They would have seen the greenery grow and shrink before their eyes, sometimes far, sometimes closer, less like trees themselves and more like the reflections of trees on water. And maybe if they had seen those, then the ground beneath them would have felt less solid, more changeable, or negotiable, and they would have caught sight maybe two or three hundred yards away of the mouth of a cave in the woods, flickering in and out of sight, just every now, every then.’I wanted to read either one, or the other, of the two storylines here. The novel doesn't sustain the same interest across both, and it is this puffing-up of the book by doubling the narrative that makes the middle section lacklustre through repetition and lack of action. The group of characters in the present is ostensibly trying to solve the mystery of what happened to the 1643 group, but I would have been happier just reading a short story or novella about the group of female researchers solving the historical mystery (or not!), without the distraction of a narrative from the viewpoint of the soldiers as their expedition unfolded.
I am sad to conclude that 'The Dark Between the Trees' would have been a brilliant, remarkable read, had it been half the length. As it is, it was too tame and drawn-out for me. There was very little satisfaction to be had here.
However, my sincere thanks are due to Solaris at Rebellion Publishing for an advanced digital copy of this title through Netgalley. Citations are subject to change in the final published copy.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Picked up at the library, lured by a shiny new hardback cover and promises of English Civil War era historical fiction interwoven with archaeology academics camping in a strange forest. However, from the start the tensions between the modern day characters were weird, like they spoke to each other very rudely for no reason, and they all did stupid stuff like leaving their phones in the car and then splitting up in the forest. Reminded me a lot of Annihilation but less scary and uncanny. Blair Witch Project meets Annihilation in fact. Ok ending made up for it somewhat.