Customer Reviews

The Last Green Tree (Sci Fi Essential Books)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book, but was confused about what the ending meant. It's a very gripping book, just like the other Jim Grimsley book I've read. It starts out with a well-written child's point of view, that of a ward of a rich man some of whose money is being confiscated, and then switches to several adult's viewpoints for most of the rest of the book, which I eventually got used to (I like child narrators). There are a lot of words in the various languages of the characters, and it took me a while to get them straight, although there's a glossary in the back. I got them straight by about the middle of the book, when there starts being a high body count, which is kind of sad. The main characters are fleeing the destruction of a continent by that point, going towards the land of a species of sentient trees, in hopes of finding whoever's behind the trees' attack on the continent. Meanwhile, the mage Jessex-Irion has gone sideways in time to consult with God about the identity of the enemy behind the trees' attack, so that his consulting will not take any time in the outside world. And as the main characters flee further north, it looks like the little boy narrator might have talents that will save them. However, at this point God comes in and kills one of the main characters for a goodly number of pages, and I have no idea why. Then the main characters defeat the villain and the novel ends.

Even though I don't understand the reasons for part of the ending it was a very enjoyable book, with a very good mixture of science and magic. Few people could mix them that well, I think. Although I can't think of many people who've tried, apart from Marion Zimmer Bradley. Diane Duane tries to have her magic get along with science in her main series, and, like Grimsley, wrote a fantasy epic about a male magic-user in a relationship with a king. Grimsley started out writing mainstream fiction, then wrote (what seemed to be) a fantasy novel, then introduced science to his world. It's an interesting progression. I wonder if he's always read fantasy, or if someone made him read it and he discovered he loved it.

This book is one of three books about the Hormling people (who developed sciences and are originally from Earth) and the people of the land of Irion (who developed magic). The first book, Kirith Kirin, is out of print and selling for double original price, so I haven't read it. The chronologically second book is The Ordinary. The Last Green Tree happens after both these two books, but they're all standalone. I read The Last Green Tree first. If you read both books (in whichever order) they enrich each other, and you find out more about Grimsley's world's history.

Theological Engineering exam: Elder Gods rule the Universe, but now the stars are going out. What will They do now?

Jim Grimsley ably takes on this Zelaznian line of inquiry in his third F/SF book, set in the same universe as Kirith Kirin (2000) and The Ordinary (2004), both also recommended. Grimsley is becoming something of an American Iain Banks: his literary novels have also been well-received. The Last Green Tree may be his best book yet: an unusually successful blend of high fantasy, careful SF worldbuilding, stargates, high-tech warfare, and mysterious godlike beings pulling the strings. The appropriately enigmatic ending suggests More to Come. I hope so.

Recommended review: Paul Di Filippo's, at scifi[dot]com

Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman

I enjoyed this book as I did Kirith Kirin. The story here is quite good but reading it you need some background from the earlier work. It also goes far beyond just suggesting a sequel. If it does not get one, the nebulous ending here will render this book much too easy to forget.

Spoilers used below, so beware...

The saga that began in Kirith Kirin and continued through The Ordinary culminates here. At least for now anyway. There is a very interesting thread to this series of books in that Kirith Kirin starts in a world of fantasy, The Ordinary moves to a world where fantasy and sci-fi collide and The Last Green Tree takes us all the way into sci-fi.

Great Irion (Jessex from Kirith Kirin) is now the distant, demigod ruler of all of humankind, both the Erehjen of Iraen and the Hormling of Senal. His niece Malin serves as his regent from the space station Grand Wheel. Just as the Twil Gate connects the extradimensional world of Iraen to the planet Senal and the rest of the universe, a second Gate has been created in space to connect Senal to a distant planet far across the cosmos. The Hormling have expanded their commerce to this faraway world, and it's strange native inhabitants who are basically sentient trees.

An alien menace now threatens humanity, with "magical" power even greater than Irion's. But unlike the Erehjen, these strange creatures do not attach any of the trappings of sorcery to their powers. With ruthless efficiency they slaughter all humans in their path, even the mage-priests of the Erehjen.

Recognizing that this new enemy is led by a "god", Irion goes on a quest to find his own God (Yy-Mother from Kirith Kirin). After centuries of interaction with the technologically advanced Hormling, Irion himself has come to the realization of the truth of Clake's Third Law: any sufficiently advanced technology will be indistinguishable from magic. Irion now believes that his "magic" is really just a kind of super-science, which in turn leads him to a crisis of faith in regards to the divinity of his God. Is she truly a "god"? Or is she just a sufficiently advanced alien? Once he meets her in person this question will lead to ugly consequences...

The Last Green Tree takes us fully away from the fantasy world of Kirith Kirin and brings us to an examination of what lies beyond technological singularity. In the end, are "magic" and "science" really two things or just one? And what does that mean about those beings that mortals call gods?

If it has any shortcoming it is that there is still a sense that this story had more to be said, but did not say it. Whether this is because Grimsley intends another novel or because he just wanted it that way is unknown.

This book left me gripped and afterward, haunted. I loved the first book Kirith Kirin, and the world it created. I noticed that some of the names and people are throwbacks or reincarnations of Kirin characters which I think would have other readers a bit confused. It's not necessary though to know them, but it might help with why "God" or YY-mother ends up acting the way she does in the end.

The blending of science and magic is amazing, and the questioning of God and all he represents is also very well done. It left me looking at my own beliefs a bit.

This novel is successful on its own but takes on tremendous power when read as part of the series starting with Kirith Kirin and The Ordinary. The science fiction aspects of the story are intricate and surprising, but what really sets it apart from other SF novels is the emotional depth of the characters. The story is one of the most memorable sagas I've ever read. The ending does have a strong air of mystery, and I agree with other reviewers who are hoping for at least one more installment in this tale.