The Green Man's Heir

Another Kindle book that was 99p, but this time as a promotion. The author tweeted the book was reduced, and since I’d never read anything by her – she mostly writes fantasy, which, er, Wheel of Time reread above aside, I don’t normally read – and The Green Man’s Heir is urban fantasy, which I definitely don’t read… But the plot sounded interesting so I thought it worth a go. And I’m glad I did give it a punt. The narrator is Daniel Mackmain, a jobbing carpenter who happens to be the son of a dryad. Which means he is plugged into the mythological world based on landscape. So when a woman is brutally murdered near where Mackmain lives, and a dryad gives him enough to clues so he thinks he might be able to solve the show more case… The Green Man’s Heir is a mashup of mystery novel and fantasy novel but it works because it’s centred on its hero and not focused on its central crime. The story moves on from the murders and pulls in romance, but it all ends in a place that feels entirely a consequence of what has gone before. This is clearly a book by someone who knows what they’re doing. And if their earlier fantasy series have not made the big time, I hope this one does – there’s a sequel – because it’s good stuff. It may be a bit Mythago Wood meets Midsomer Murders, but it does it well and it certainly does it a great deal better than the last of those two. show less

Daniel Mackmain keeps himself to himself for the most part, working as a woodworker, trying to ignore the mythic creatures around him and getting on with his life until he is present when a body is found and he realises that if he doesn't work on the case it won't be solved. He's the son of a dryad and this gives him the sight and insight into what's going on, not that he can admit to the police what he knows, that could be taken very wrongly. In several ways.
It was an interesting start to a series, a story of a coming of age, older than most but having more ideas about where he wants to be in the world.

A fast-reading supernatural crime turned quest story with an authenticity to its depiction of rural communities that I appreciated. It’s lovely to see a distinctly rural fantasy rather than another wisecracking urban fantasy. That said, it's weirdly mundane at times for a story about a dryad’s son facing down mythical monsters - which isn't necessarily a bad thing (although your mileage may vary); I found it unexpectedly grounding.

However, I got a little tired of the (for me) awkward oversexing, however earthily appropriate. I also found the structure weirdly felt like two novellas had been bashed together into one volume and makes this a rare instance of ‘I wish it had been shorter’ (or longer, I suppose, as two novels; but it show more didn’t work for me as a one-two punch).

Still: would recommend; will read the sequel (may get grumpy if it doesn’t feature Eleanor); but it’s fine rather than my new favourite thing.

Full review show less

I'm a sucker for a good Green Man story. This meanders a bit—structured as if it wants to be a streaming series, perhaps. Two-thirds of the way through, the main plot is resolved, and the last third feels like a closely-following novella. Still, I enjoyed it immensely.

If urban fantasy is defined as a fantasy set in a modern day city setting, then this book is a rural fantasy.

Set in modern Derbyshire, Daniel Markmain is a dryad’s son making a living as a carpenter. Born of a dryad and a mortal man, as a male he partakes of his father’s mortal heritage but can see the otherworld, specifically other supernatural beings.

The book seems to be a fix-up of two novellas: the first details his battle against a wood wose which has a delight in torture and rape, the second details his battle against a wyrmling and the wyrm that’s trying to protect it.

Running through both sections is the Green Man himself, a shuck, dryads and naiads, and Daniel’s struggle to make his way in the modern world without show more tipping off mundane authority about his supernatural inheritance.

Recommended show less

Daniel Mackmain is a woodworker and carpenter, currently working in Derbyshire. He's also a greenblood because his mother is a dryad. This gives him some special powers such as the ability to see other supernatural creatures such as dryads, naiads, wose, boggerts, and shucks among others. When he becomes embroiled in the murder of a young runaway, Daniel finds he is has been brought to Derbyshire for a reason by the Green Man.
If you are at all interested in English folklore, you will love this book. Set in modern times, the reader is still brought back in time to read of creatures who've been living in the woods and streams of England for centuries. You also get some English history thrown in (how was William Rufus killed in the New show more Forest?) and descriptions of English manors and villages that adds to the setting of the book.
The book is told in first person. I don't always like using that POV, but Daniel is an engaging character, still trying to work out his own ancestry and its implications while accepting the differences it has created for him. The other characters, both human and supernatural, are fun, and the evil ones certainly make the reader want to grab some iron and check the locks on their doors.
I hope this turns into a series. I'd love to read more about Daniel's adventures. show less

A fun fantasy based on (surprise!) the legend of the Green Man. I very much enjoyed this read which brings dryads, naiads and other woodland divinities into the modern world. Sort of an Urban Fantasy set not in an urban environment, but in the country.

A young man who is the son of a dryad and a human becomes embroiled in a grisly murder scene. Human agents of the law suspect him, and cannot imagine the forces they are actually dealing with. He is the only one who can see the evil and root it out.