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WoGF Review: Heartwood by Freya Robertson
Wendy B. (nightxade): My brother introduced me to science fiction, fantasy and comics when I was barely out of diapers and LeVar Burton encouraged my love of reading throughout my youth. If my love of reading is the only legacy I can pass forward to my little geeklings, I would be a very happy mom. (If they pick up my love of gaming, writing and their dad’s love of cooking, too, then that would be even better!). Now I happily share my bibliophilia with my fellow bibliophiles at bibliosanctum.blogspot.com.
Peace between the people of Anguis is tenuous. In a last ditch effort to fix this, leaders from all realms gather together, but the peace talks are interrupted when mysterious and powerful water warriors attack, stealing the heart of the Arbor, the tree that is at the centre of all things.
After a lengthy discussion with a friend about religion in fantasy, reading Heartwood was very timely for me. The Arbor is the central figure in Robertson‘s pantheon, and she takes the time to carefully present how the different characters and realms feel about their religion and how those views change as the story progresses. The Militis defends the tree with their lives, but the loss of the Pectoris (the holy tree’s heart), cuts some of them more deeply as it is a failure of their duty as well as an attack on their beliefs. Meanwhile, others take a more realistic view with their beliefs and some are even disturbed by the Arbor itself.
Nonetheless, when the Pectoris is stolen, all must work together to get it back and the journey they each take is both external and internal as they come to terms with their beliefs and with their personal struggles. However, this is where the book falters somewhat. To save the Arbor, five Nodes must be discovered and activated some how. This is conveniently discovered during the water warrior attack and disclosed in detail as new information is recited from long hidden tomes that shake the foundation of the practices surrounding the Arbor’s care. Robertson’s gaming influence becomes obvious as groups head off on their respective Quests. She does a great job of keeping the groups separate and unique, but the process of discovering the hidden tomes and the respective Nodes lacks subtlety.
Book Giveaway: Heartwood by Freya Robertson
So we just wrapped up our last giveaway and thought why not do another? This time we’ve got 5 advanced copies of Heartwood, the debut book by New Zealand author Freya Robertson. This is the first book in her The Elemental Wars series which comes out from Angry Robot on October 29 in the US and November 7 in the UK so this is your opportunity to get your hands on it early.
For your chance to win all you have to do is re-tweet this tweet, share this post on Facebook or leave a comment below. Next Wednesday we’ll throw all the names into a hat and draw out 5 lucky winners.
And since this is Freya’s first novel it’s likely that you’ve not read her before so she’s a great candidate for your Women of Genre Fiction Reading Challenge!
Heartwood
by Freya Robertson
A dying tree, a desperate quest, a love story, a last stand.
Chonrad, Lord of Barle, comes to the fortified temple of Heartwood for the Congressus peace talks, which Heartwood’s holy knights have called in an attempt to stave off war in Anguis. But the Arbor, Heartwood’s holy tree, is failing, and because the land and its people are one, it is imperative the nations try to make peace.
After the Veriditas, or annual Greening Ceremony, the Congressus takes place. The talks do not go well and tempers are rising when an army of warriors emerges from the river. After a fierce battle, the Heartwood knights discover that the water warriors have stolen the Arbor’s heart. For the first time in history, its leaves begin to fall…
The knights divide into seven groups and begin an epic quest to retrieve the Arbor, and save the land.
About the Author:
Freya is a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy, as well as a dedicated gamer. She has a deep and abiding fascination for the history and archaeology of the middle ages and spent many hours as a teenager writing out notecards detailing the battles of the Wars of the Roses, or moping around museums looking at ancient skeletons, bits of rusted iron and broken pots.
Freya lives in the glorious country of New Zealand Aotearoa, where the countryside was made to inspire fantasy writers and filmmakers, and where they brew the best coffee in the world.
You can find her online at her website as well as on Twitter and Facebook.
Looks pretty good, right? Click the cover image to read an excerpt from Heartwood courtesy of the author’s website. Tweet away my friends and good luck in the contest!
