I’ve got a long-overdue review to share with you, and a giveaway!
Title: The Fatal Tree (Bright Empires, #5)
Author: Stephen R. Lawhead
- Date read: May 18, 2017
- Rating: 5 stars
- Genre: Historical Fiction / Fantasy / Sci-Fi / Time / Christian / Contemporary
- Age: YA and up
- Year pub: 2014
- Pages: 340 (hardcover)
- Series: The Bright Empires, #5 (final one!)
- Fave character: All of them. ā¤
- Source: Amazon
- Notes: Definitely be sure to start with book 1, The Skin Map.
- Links: Goodreads ā¢ Amazon ā¢ Barnes & Noble ā¢ Author’s Website
Review of The Fatal Tree
In the immortal words of Bilbo Baggins (at least in a certain film), āIāve put this off for far too long.ā
I was waiting for the right words, but Iāve realized that thereās simply no way to do justice to this book in a review, and so instead of waiting for a time that will never come, Iām simply going to say something about it, even if itās not enough.
You see, the Bright Empire series (of which The Fatal Tree is the fifth and final book) meant so much to me that I canāt quite put it into words.
I enjoyed it, loved it, and it had a profound influence and effect on me. The series worked its way into a deep part of me that makes it hard to get at to explain. Iām not sure if youāve had this experience, but sometimes you read something that becomes a part of you. It changes you. And so you canāt really talk about itānot really, not in a way that could explain to anyone why it happened to reach you at that soul level, because if it didnāt do the same for them, then they just wonāt understand. And thatās all right, because every book affects people differently, if at all. It just makes it difficult to explain.
So itās seems silly to attempt it, and I wonāt try, but I will say that this series is a part of me, like several other book milestones along the way through my younger lifeāI wonāt go through those here. Itās enough a part of me that I donāt really think about it, but it is and itās there.
So here are a few things about the series that made it something special, at least for this literary traveler.
For one thing, thereās Mina. She was the first female role-model Iād met in a book since I was very young. I want to be her. (More on that in My Tower of Fantasy.) Heroines never interest me in fiction much; I donāt know why, but Iām usually more drawn to the heroes. So Mina was something new and different. She showed me it was possible to do oh-so-many things. Sheās the bravest character Iāve ever read about, but she started as a stressed, tired young woman from our modern days. Literally plucked out of her life and thrust into another one, she refuses to give in and transforms her situation into something incredible. She is clever and heroic and rather more brave than I think Iād ever be, but she is so incredibly loving and steady too, and she shines. She makes a way in the world, and is loyal to her friends, and capable, and an entrepreneur, ready to try new things whether in a bakery or fearlessly treading the roads between worlds, but sheās still human and shows that itās okay to wish you could be home taking a hot shower to avoid the world at times. And, I mean, who wouldnāt want to go visit her and Etzelās joint Kaffeehaus in 1600s Prague? Itās the most amazing place! I think what Iām trying to say is that I didnāt really have role-models in fiction, and that we need those. Iāve had plenty of fictional heroes, and I needed those too, and I had Eilonwy and Princess Irene and Eowyn and others, but I hadnāt met a modern heroine I could look up to, and I think in a rush to write ārealisticā characters (read: dull and flawed, or fake and artificially āstrongā), people just donāt write truly heroic characters anymore. Not the ones who can actually be looked up to, and show a blueprint of what might be, and meet me where I am and inspire me and show me that I can be something more and do things. I wonāt ramble on about her more than that, but Mina is one of the best things that ever happened to me.
The series also firmly embedded into my mind that whole āthere are no coincidencesā thing, which as much as I always knew in theory I didnāt really believe if you know what I mean, until reading this fascinating series. If thereās one thing I took away from these books, it was that, and I adore it.
O’er earth we see Thee, and Thy footsteps trace / Through the Bright Empires of unbounded Space
Then thereās how Iāll run across things in life, or in other literature, or in a song, or history, and Iāll see it echoing back to this seriesāwhether itās a name, or a place, or something elseāand Iāll go āAha! Itās like Bright Empires!ā and Iāll do a little dance of intrigued joy. (For example, I stumbled across a translation of a Welsh song called Adra (Home) by Gwyneth Glyn and it so strongly fit this series I thought āWhat a coincidence! Oh, that canāt be right . . .ā ;)) Aside from simply being great fun to find things in life that remind me of a beloved series, it opened up a whole new world to meāand how could it not, with such a broad canvas of times, places, people, and thoughts painted together with such intricacy and skill?
And also with beloved characters and humor and enjoyment, because thatās the important bit that makes the rest stick in your mind. Because thereās the thing: you can have the most interesting or enlightening book in the world, but if itās not fun, itās not going to stick with youāor with me, at any rate. And you can have an enjoyable story, but how much more enjoyable is it if, amidst the fun, it stretches your mind far afield and shows you a whole new world and makes you think? I love how this series did all of those things for me, and all in a mind-bending, genre-defying, completely new sort of way.
But arenāt you going to talk about this book, not just the series, then? you ask.
Oh, very well.
I see the series as a whole and so I donāt have terribly much to say specifically about the final book, other than as the end of a saga. (Especially not without massive spoilers, which nobody wants because you must discover them on your own when you read the books; and you ARE GOING TO, right? *stern but loving look*) But there are a few things, so Iāll mention them.
I donāt know how I feel about a few things that happened, and at least at one point I wished that some of the characters could have come in at the end with the others and they didnātābut then I realized that they were perfect where they are. Several pairs of people are THE MOST ADORABLE THING. (Iām sorry, Iām a romantic. XD)
Familiar places (like Black Mixen Tump) swirl back into the story, and continue to be fascinating. Desert sand in Egypt to frozen ice and the Stone Age, with Prague and Constantinople and all the rest in between. I love the richness of all the different countries and times we get to visit in this series, and how vivid they are (even if some can get downright frightening!), and especially the good hearts of many of the people we meet. Everythingās so genuine, laced with a thread of nobleness and light.
I still adore all of the characters, fiercely. Mina, Kit, Etzel, Cass, Giles, Tony, Haven, Gianni, the members of the Zetetic Society, and all the rest. Theyāre my friends now. ^_^ I was so delighted to get to finally complete their story in this book, and I absolutely love how all of their tales intertwine and fit into the book so neatly but with threads trailing afterward to the future. And I love all of their interactions SO MUCH. They make the book. š
Even the villains are interesting, and far from straightforward. Burleighās plotline is one of the two most skillful ones of its kind Iāve read in my life.
And, of course, thereās a time-related thing or two that finally happen in this book, which Iāve been waiting for since the first one. One in particular made me SO HAPPY. (Looking at you, chapter 11.) Speaking of timey-wimey things, that sort of thing always makes my head spin (in a good way) and I think I filled a couple of pieces of paper with diagrams of different peopleās timelines and where and when they crossed and it was still dreadfully confusing and I love it so much. XD Someday Iām going to carve out the time to read the whole series again, and Iām looking forward to that with relish. (And maybe then Iāll finally fully understand the ending, which tied my mind in knots. :D)
Then thereās that whole having-to-save-the-world thing, what with the whole universe about to end and everything, which is as serious as it sounds and just as excitingāand there may or may not be some death in there, and Iām not saying I totally understood how everything turned out (I like a good goes-slightly-over-my-head-and-requires-a-rereading endingājust look at Diana Wynne Jones), especially with science-y things going over my head, but everything came together from the previous books and on the whole I was terribly pleased with how The Fatal Tree wrapped up the series. (Iām also so glad we got a what-happens-next bit at the end too! *collapses*)
It was an experience, and one itās taken me nearly two years to get around to finally externalizing and typing up in the form of a āreviewā (or shall we call it an essay?), but I can safely say that the Bright Empires is one of the most delightful series Iāve had the pleasure of reading. Even if only as an enjoyable adventure, I recommend them highly to anyone who cares to try their luck. Or, since there is no such thing as coincidence, letās say that luck is the wrong word and leave it at that. š
Iām deeply indebted to Mr. Lawhead for penning such aāwell, brilliant is the only word for it, in so many waysāseries, and I look forward to delving into more of his books very soon.
(Also . . . THE SPOON. :O WHAT. DOES. IT. MEAN. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.)
Read my reviews for the previous books in the series:
GIVEAWAY!
I happen to have a spare paperback copy of the first book in the series, The Skin Map, and I want to share the love!
Visit the Rafflecopter HERE for a chance to win it!
(USA addresses only. Runs 4/11/19 through 4/17/19. Winner will be contacted by email and announced here shortly after.)
[Edit: Giveaway is closed! The winner is Grace T! Thanks for entering, everyone! :)]
Have you read any of these? And do you have a favorite Lawhead book? Thanks for reading! š
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