Customer Reviews

Shade of the Tree

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Piers Anthony demonstrates his competence at horror novel writing. This story enthralls almost immediately, about a father and his two children taking refuge from The Big City in a safe, rural setting. Anthony builds empathy for the plight of the family, who have just lost their mother to NY crime. But as he does this, he begins to insert elements into the rural Florida setting that don't quite fit, that can be explained away at first, but then ...

I won't give anything away, but this could have made a great X-Files episode. Anthony demonstrates that he can run with King or Straub with this story. His characterization is much deeper than usual, but he doesn't neglect his perversely creative ability to plot beyond the lines.

Great bedtime reading for city dwellers. Not certain I'd read it at all if I lived in an old house under an old tree, miles from anywhere ...

There was a day when Piers was known for more than his stupid and silly fantasies, and this is one the best books from those times. Much of the scenery and background is taken from his real life, but here he creates more suspense and drama than I've ever seen in any of his books. The characters are real and believeable, the writing is tight and descriptive, and the overall suspense of the book keeps you turning the pages until the very end -- where the book goes from suspense/horror to outright light fantasy. But hey, I'm not complaining, at least it's not some cope out, splatter the wall with blood ending that Stephen King has come up with a hundred and one times already. I highly recommend this book to all who are even remotely interested in this genre of writing; it is not, however, for those who are incapable of conceiving of literature beyond Xanth.

I've read it more than 10 years ago and still thinks this book is one of the better book written by Piers Anthony. I truly loved the story and advise you to buy the book and read it.

I liked this book. This is a simple, typical horror book. The characters aren't very deep- Josh-A manly father who has lost his beloved wife, Sue- his daughter who's a little genius and Chris- his son who's hyperactive. There are numerous families in horror films/books with a very similar structure.

The Pinson family moves into a property in the countryside after the mysterious, bloody death of a relative who used to live there. Josh, who came from NYC, ignores the warnings of the neighbors about his land being haunted and settles in. He is ruled by rationalism. Soon enough, strange things begin to happen...deaths, near deaths, weird deseases, ghosts, animals going mad, walking sekeltons and everything you can imagine.

The big flaw of the book is the ending, which tries to make the book more than it really is. This is not a philosophical book. Inserting 10 pages of heavy philisophical ideas is just NO GOOD, especially when these 10 pages are the last pages of the book.

The book was spooky, easy and fun to read, if somewhat unsatisfying.

Shade of the Tree / 0-812-53103-5

I enjoyed this book, as I do most of Anthony's stand-alone books. "Shade of the Tree" cleverly ties together all the essential elements for a proper horror story: bitterly cold weather, forebodingly sharp objects, hallucinations and nightmares, and an increasing sense of isolation and doom. I will also add that the two children in the novel are superbly written and manage to seem both realistically childish and yet reasonably mature without ever edging too far off either spectrum - that's often not easy to accomplish for an adult author, and I was definitely pleased and impressed in that regard.

Having said that, "Shade of the Tree" does have the usual issues that often accompany Anthony's novels. The main character of the father is poorly fleshed out and somewhat one-dimensional - the father's stubborn refusal to alter or adjust his family's lifestyle in the face of clear evidence of hostile supernatural forces is exceedingly jarring. He doesn't deny the existence of the ghosts that fade in and out of his sight by chalking them up to hallucinations (which would be a credible response for a normal human being faced with the supernatural), but rather he accepts them as real and as accepts them as a very real potential threat. However, this tacit acceptance is the complete end of his response - he doesn't take additional steps to actually deal with the existence of the ghosts (ideally, by moving out and taking his two children with him) or to try to minimize their effect on his family in any way.

Anthony also falls into the two major flaws he introduces into pretty much every other book he's written. The first flaw is that of the "Perfectly Pert Patty" character - Anthony never seems happy until he introduces an impossibly buxom barely-legal girl-woman who must be introduced as a flawless physical specimen every single time she enters the scene. No mere "Bonnie showed up at the doorstep," no, it must be "Bonnie showed up at the doorstep and everyone couldn't help but notice that she had brought her stunningly spectacular breasts with her." Yes, the story needed a maternal figure to step-mother the children, but I'm not certain that a 19-year-old Sophia Loren look-alike (literally!) was mandated and I haven't known too many impossibly gorgeous, gourmet cooking, local beauty queen 19-year-olds whose life ambition was to marry a widower twice her age and with two children half her own age. The seduction scene between the older widower and the young woman is rather skin-crawling, but this is pretty much a classic Anthony set-up so if you've read him before, you're used to it. I don't have to like it, though.

The other major flaw that Anthony can't help but reduce absolutely everything to a computer-analogy. At the risk of spoilers, a telepathic tree is not remotely like a computer, and trying to describe it as such (particularly in a novel otherwise completely devoid of any technology at all) is extremely jarring and inappropriate. The reader is left chortling over such gems as, "a telepathic being, even a tree, was easier to accept than the supernatural," leaving us with the impression that a 'telepathic' tree who summons mental ghosts and zombies to kill people is NOT 'supernatural' in Anthony's vocabulary. If that isn't super-natural, then what is, I wonder?

All told, "Shade of the Tree" is a fine book. I like it, it was worth the used price I paid, and I'll probably read it again someday. Just be aware that there are problems, but if you like Piers Anthony, these problems are ones you've dealt with before.

~ Ana Mardoll

I can't remember now why I was randomly searching through Piers Anthony's books - I had mostly given up on him years ago when I realized that after the first couple of books in any given series (Xanth, Apprentice Adept), that series would devolve into repetitious silliness and idiocy. Maybe it was in hopes of finding another gem like Firefly (which is another amazing read, if you can find it). Well, I ran across this book and was immediately intrigued and set about to find it. I'm glad I did - I couldn't put it down. It starts out slow - setting a mood, slowly inserting more and more elements that just don't quite belong. Joshua Pinson, the new owner of the property, is a rational man - a computer programmer - and finds it harder and harder to explain away the occurrences, although he continues to attempt to do so, not wishing to give in to the superstitions of those who live in the area concerning his property, and especially the large tree under which shade his new house sits. Finally during an extended rainy period things seem to hit a sort of critical mass . . . but I don't want to ruin anything, so you'll just have to read it for yourselves. I highly recommend this book for those who like a good ghost story, a good mystery, a good scare, or just a well-written book. You won't be disappointed!

I was particularly interested to read this book "Shade of the Tree" by Piers Anthony not only because I am a huge fan of his, but because I live in the area where this book takes place. I first read the book back when I was 13 and it was terrifying to me, ghosts, skunk apes, bloody chainsaws, a giant malicious tree very much like the ones you find all around Florida! I live for horror novels; the scarier the better, but I also enjoy ones that put a twist to the old haunted house theme. If an inanimate object such as a building could somehow reach out and speak to the living through its walls, then we can believe that living objects with no souls to speak of could "branch" out as well.
This was a mystery blended into the supernatural and horror and as an adult I still loved every page of it. It reminded me a little of the movie The Happening by M. Night Shyamalan, and what he tried and failed to convey with his story, Piers Anthony writes into perfection. I was also reminded of The Day of the Triffids DVD and how humans refused to believe that a plant could communicate or even animate and try to evolve and decimate humanity.
Its a stand alone book in the Piers Anthony library, one that his fans should enjoy and even someone who has never read him or didnt like his fantasy novels, they should pick this up.

I'll admit, "Shade of the Tree" is a different genre, but this book is in a world of its own. The tree has its own personality. I love the fish, the ICK! and that whole storyline. Of all his books, I greatly enjoyed this and "Firefly". Not because they weren't Xanth, or Phaze, or any magical land, but because they were to me psychologically attractive. I am drawn to stories which are horrific not because it's realistic, but because it is possible on another psychological level. The idea that a tree could 'befriend' and protect a person such as in this book is possible. And in the end, it becomes apparent that this spirit has feelings too. Granted, I wouldn't hand it to my little brother, not even sure I'd let my mother read it, because it is an aquired taste. Overall though, it was the psychological realism and horror which won me over. But perhaps it is just me. Read it, and enjoy it, or read it and hate it, I assure you there's not much chance you'll read it and decide it's so/so.

This is a well writen book of horror by a fantasy writer. If you bother to read the back cover you will know that this is Anthony's first attempt at horror. I for one think that he did a good job. But I would not advise the younger reader to read it due to some graphical nature. Anthony leaves his rule of no sex from Xanth in the dust.

This book was great. I haven't read it in forever, but as a fan of Piers, I figured I might as well try this one. Wow, was I surprised! Gone was the fun of Xanth, this was some seriously scary writing. I couldn't put it down one night because I was afraid to go to sleep. Maybe it should be in the horror genre. Anyway, it was really great, and then... it had a really, really, REALLY, HORRIBLE HORRIBLE ending. It ruined the entire book, otherwise it would've gotten 5 stars. But the ending was horrible! So if you want to keep the book being nice, near the end.. stop reading there and make up your own ending. Almost anything could be better.