Deepwood

I finished Deepwood by Jennifer Roberson on Monday. It is the sequel to Karavans, which I read two years ago when it came out. Before I was tracking my reading on LT. There is definitely going to be at least a third book coming out in the series.

These are big, multi-POV books with complex plots. I hate big multiple POV books with complex plots. I love C. J. Cherryh for example, but Downbelow Station nearly killed me. I like books with a few key characters with whom I can identify. They can split out if we have time to get to know them beforehand, as in LOTR where the first book is the whole group together before it splits in book 3 into 3 different viewpoints. But I don't LIKE books that swing all over the place. I've had difficulty show more getting into the Malazan Empire for that reason.

These are big multi-POV books. A land under attack from two sources, a foreign conqueror who decimates settlements whenever they get too large, and a wild wood that changes people who get caught up in it. And the latter, Alisanos, is on the move, while the former, the Hecari, are just beginning to react to it.

We have a family fleeing from their home to relatives in another land, and taking a shortcut dangerously close to Alisanos. We have a caravan-master, a hand-reader. a messenger, a ale-master, all at a settlement where caravans take off from Sancorra to other lands to excape the Hecari. We have cousins who are a different race, Shoia--or are they?

In the first book, there is intrigue, tragedy (the settlement is decimated by the Hecari), relationship-building, and the family setting off. In the second, Alisanos moves for the first time in over a generation, capturing 5 of the 6 family members, generating a storm that destroys the settlement, and significantly affecting the paths of the cousins. Let's see, there are 5 POVs for the family as they are scattered afar, two for the cousins. Mercifully, the caravan-master, hand-reader, messenger, and ale-master stay in the settlement throughout and so are basically one POV.

Still, Roberson pulls it off. The books are quite readable, you find yourself identifying with key characters, you begin to care what happens to them, and at the end of the second book, you still have really no idea how all this is going to be resolved, so it isn't predictable. One hopes that Audrun is going to kick ass, but it isn't at all guaranteed how that is going to turn out. Lots of loose end to tie up at the end of Deepwood--unfortunately, I'm going to have forgotten half of this by the time the third book comes out.

Recommended for fantasy fans. show less

Deepwood is the sequel to Karavans, and it follows a group of people who were traveling from a dangerous country that’s been taken over by invaders to a safe haven; however, they’re caught in a storm while on their way, and a dangerous magical forest — the deepwood — has decided to move, trapping some of the travelers inside its borders.

I was kind of bored at first; the book starts off following what happens to everyone in the aftermath of the storm, and there’s only so much I can take of characters facing misfortune after misfortune. Near the middle, things start coming together though, and it looks like a solid plot is developing for the third book in the series. I didn’t like Audrun’s story overly much; half of the show more time, she’s whining about her misfortune, and the other half she’s throwing herself into danger to save her children, even though she doesn’t accomplish anything by it. But, I do like her developing friendship with Rhuan and how he has to change his behavior to accommodate her frustrations.

My favorite parts is what’s going on with Ilona and her diviner powers; she loses them after the storm, and while she has a broken arm that might be affecting them, she is scared of what that might mean for her. I’m interested to see what her role will be in terms of how they deal with the new Deepwood borders. I also really liked the hints of war with the invaders of the country; people are chafing under the invading people’s rule, so it seems like their might be some sort of war or rebellion in the next book.

I really liked the first book; this one is less exciting, but it seems to be building a foundation for a great third book. And, like I said, the beginning was tough for me to get through, but halfway in, it starts picking up. I wouldn’t say this series is a must-read, but it’s certainly a great read if you’re looking for a decent new epic fantasy!

Also posted on Purple People Readers. show less

A little better than the first book, again, the loose story arc may not be your thing. The characters move and do the things that they need to, it's about them, and less about the external conflicts. There's a philosophical element to the interactions of the humans and the non-humans with their own kinds and each other.