Customer Reviews

The Dreaming Tree

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Composed of 2 books, _the Dreamstone_ and the _Tree of Sword and Jewels_ this book has undergone multiple incarnations. Done in a tone similar to McKillips' _Forgotten Beasts of Eld_ the story has a certain richness that is perfectly contained in two volumes. The characters probably could have used more detailed development but that is a minor quibble.

It is definitely NOT for those who like fast pacing and detailed descriptions of battle so, the traditional sword and sorcery junkie will be left dissatisfied. On the other hand, for those who like a little more depth to their fantasy suffused with a certain melancholy then this book is for you.

I read this book when I was much younger and found it a bit slow, but after some time have picked it back up and now can appreciate it better. It is slow but worth the read nonetheless. Besides, how can one resist a book where Death is an actual character with his own motives and affections?

Anyway, if you are into slow melancholy toned Celtic fantasy than this is for you. Otherwise, you maybe disappointed in this work in which wizards, gory battle scenes and ludicrous love moments are absent.

This is an omnibus edition of Cherryh's two Ealdwood novels, THE DREAMSTONE and THE TREE OF SWORDS AND JEWELS. The cover art on this edition is Michael Whelan's painting THE TREE OF SWORDS AND JEWELS, clipped a little at the edges.

While THE DREAMING TREE contains the complete text of THE DREAMSTONE, it omits the prologue of THE TREE OF SWORDS AND JEWELS, which summarized the storyline of THE DREAMSTONE and made it possible for those who had never read the first book to follow the plot of the second. I'm a bit unhappy about the omission, because I myself read the second book first, and I enjoyed the prologue. However, I can understand why it would have been considered redundant in this edition.

For more detailed analysis of the individual books, please consult their specific reviews; I'll only try to give an impressionistic overview here.

Rather than being science fiction, as many of Cherryh's other novels are, the stories are fantasy, set in the last days of the fading of the greater powers of Faerie from the world of men - or so it seems, at first. "Most of all [Men] brought the chill of iron, to sweep away the ancient shadows. But they took the brightness too. It was inevitable, because that brightness was measured against that dark...the darkest burrowed deep and the brightest went away, heartbroken."

"Save one, whose patience or whose pride was more than all the rest."

The story's heart lies in a wood where humans fear to go, wherein the last of the Sidhe guards the trees upon which her brothers and sisters left their swords and the stones containing their hearts, so that they could leave the lands they had loved. The story begins with Arafel being awakened by the presence of a human outlaw in her domain, who (having lurked in the woods bordering his own old lands since the fall of his king) has finally grown weary enough not to care if he offends any otherworldly powers by building a fire in the deep woods and roasting a fish from the stream.

So begins Arafel's interaction with Niall. Feeling kindly toward him, since he meant no offense, she helps him escape both the perils of the wood and those of his human pursuers to a more kindly portion of faerie, a sanctuary few are lucky enough to find once and fewer still twice. The story contains a great deal of these kinds of contrasts, where a cozy bit of human light and warmth is given a richly textured description, and constrasted with the chill, mysterious otherworld lying all around it, like an island of familiar things in a sea of alien wonders and terrors.

Arafel's interaction with humans is split between her point of view and theirs, and since time flows differently for her than for humans, the story stretches over more than one generation. Her loneliness leads her to occasional acts of compassion and friendship toward the few humans who enter her domain, although in the long run this often causes as much trouble for them as it solves, as Niall and his descendants acquire a reputation for dealings with the uncanny, and are perceived as an unnatural threat. A great harper who charms her with his music takes one of the dreamstones as his payment - only to learn that he now dreams her dreams, while she dreams of his waking life, thus inflicting on each visions of alien worlds.

And inevitably, the waking of the last of the great powers of faerie causes a stirring in the slumbers of its ancient enemy, leading to *much* greater complications in human civil strife than anyone ever dreamed of. For instance, Death is considered one of the youngest of the powers in the land, and is an almost-trusted ally compared to the ancient enemies of the Sidhe.

This book is a collection of two titles, The Dreamstone and The Tree of Swords and Jewels.

I found The Dreamstone to be a wonderful read. Very concise in its form, the pacing worked well, and the story unfolds over a period of years, which is important to the central focus of the novel being on Eald and its relationship with humans. This first book comes in at under 200 pages, I believe, and really feels right.

Now, the second book is where things fall down. Somewhere along the way someone must have suggested that this story needed more words. Because there's a lot more words. And they're not all necessary. Gone is the conciseness of the story, gone is the mystery of Eald, as we focus more on humans and their squabbles over the kingdom. This book loses focus from the first one, and really drags through the final half. It is too long, it is too wordy, it is too complicated... it is just too much, frankly.

A shame, really, since The Dreamstone was really a wonderful read in itself.

This novel is unlike any of the other fantasy books I have read- and I have read several hundred. I have read it a half dozen times, and I'm sure I will do so again. Rather than give plot spoilers- because spoilers are really what they would be- I'd like to make some more general remarks.

This book conveys a sense of the tragic and the melancholy missing from the normal sword-and-sorcery affairs. (Elves have /never/ been handled better.) Cherryh makes an atmosphere that is nearly palpable, and subtly and lightly sketches the characters and their cares. The shifts of narrative pacing serve to place the importance where it ought to be, and the deft handling of scene and dialog allows the characters to express themselves without hammering the reader over the head with self-exposition and historical monologues. The overall affect is like that of a dream, or a beautiful tale you once heard- and all of this is only heightened by Cherryh's research and careful treatment of Celtic/Welsh folklore and language. Perhaps most remarkable, she has made in one volume a fantasy which most other authors would have felt the need to butcher over eight and who still would have been unable to equal let alone approach this effort.

This partly rewritten combination of two earlier books shows her versatility, taking us to Celtic lands of fantasy. Cherryh got up to her elbows in Celtic language, myth and culture for our benefit; the resulting portrayal is powerful and evocative. The character development is excellent; the characters effortlessly take shape and flesh out, inspiring strong reactions and a lot of wonder as to how the story will go. A pronunciation guide in the back, with English synonyms for names, is of special interest for those who like to roll a name off the tongue to get the feel of a book.

If you truly enjoy this book, there is a song called 'Arafel's Lament' inspired by it done by Heather Alexander that really captures the magic of it.

Worthwhile for any fan of fantasy, particularly Celtic fantasy.

The dreaming tree is a combined version of CJ Cherryh's masterful Arafel stories.
This isn't a book with a lot of action; it is a thoughtful and thought provoking tale of the last of the Sidhe, the great race before the age of Man.

If you are not familiar with CJ Cherry, this book may be a chore to read, as it is so full of introspection and sorrow. If you already are familiar with her third person intense internal prose, you will love this tragic tale, where loneliness and alienation are palpable.

Utterly believable, powerful, wonderful!

This book has a lot of interesting concepts. It uses some traditional Celtic mythology and some traditional Celtic & Old English words. It hypothesizes the world of faery as a parallel world into which the "Sidhe" can appear and disappear at will; and the land of the Lord of Death as a similar parallel world. The approach is almost evocative of science fiction.

Unfortunately, the magical world is an extremely gloomy place, where everything seems to be falling apart. There is a constant sense of foreboding -- undending crisis that never seems to be resolvable. The fact that this is 2 books together increases this impression, since each book has its own hero who is conducting his own life's battle in almost the same context. I found myself wondering whether we were ever going to get past the situation, or whether the children described near the end were just going to be a reincarnation of the two prior heroes.

The ending seems to be pulled out of nowhere.

There seems to be no real romance to the thing. It's more about mysterious battles and marriages of political convenience. Sometimes it's even a bit hard to figure out what is going on.

Don't let someone's negative review from New Jersey put you off. If you're into anything Celtic, she has done her homework. One of the most convincing books I have ever read dealing with "the Otherworld" and its inhabitants. Finally an author who knows that elves are more than humans with long, blonde hair and pointy ears! Magnificent read. I felt like I was literally walking through the pages with Arafel and the characters. If there is an author who deals with the faery realm more convincingly than Cherryh, I don't know who it would be.

If you're looking for fast-action fantasy fluff, you'll probably only make it half-way through this book. If, however, you can cope with looking up a few terms in the glossary, you'll love it. It has a richness to it that only comes from research into the mythological memories of our past. She says more in one chapter than Robert Jordan can convey in 3, 1,000 page books!!

Loved it!

The book was wonderful, historically accurate (as much so, at least, as a fantasy novel could be). I've read it twice. Definately something to pick up.

This volume...
dear faerie kind,
... composed of two books (the Dreamstone and the Tree of Swords and Jewels), is probably one of C.J. Cherryh less known works. And it is not the typical swords and sorcery stuff. What it is, is a true classic of Faerie Literature and will probably endure long, long after other works on the subject have passed away. This is one of our favorite novels and we cherish our copy, recommend it whenever we can, for it is beautifully written, elegantly executed and brings Faerie to life. C.J.Cherry is one of the few writers who actually understands the Seelie (the light elf/faerie folk). If Faerie calls to your heart, you can find a great deal of its magic and beauty here.
kyela,
the silver elves