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A review by coolcurrybooks
The Tree by Na'amen Gobert Tilahun
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.