Ivory Trees

Diving Universe

by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Ancient tech draws dangerous unwanted attention. When the discovery of a bunker reveals a treasure trove of ancient artifacts, interested parties throughout the Empire, from collectors to academics to researchers, want a piece of the action. But the finds draw attention from outside the Empire as well. Attention from someone willing to do whatever it takes to outmaneuver the Empire and secure the collection.

Genres: Science Fiction

430 pages, Paperback

Published November 14, 2023

About the author

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is an award-winning mystery, romance, science fiction, and fantasy writer. She has written many novels under various names, including Kristine Grayson for romance, and Kris Nelscott for mystery. Her novels have made the bestseller lists –even in London– and have been published in 14 countries and 13 different languages.

Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction.

In addition, she's written a number of nonfiction articles over the years, with her latest being the book "A Freelancer's Survival Guide".

She has also published as:
Sandy Schofield (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kristine Grayson - romances
Kathryn Wesley (collaborations with husband Dean Wesley Smith)
Kris Nelscott - mysteries
Kris Rusch - historical fiction
Kris DeLake - romances

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if I should give it 3 or 4 so call it 3 1/2 stars. A decent read. Not what I was hoping it would be but oh well.

This novel is part of the Diving Series but is not related to the main tale so could possibly be read alone. Basically a planet that secretly has a history of advanced technology tries to get it's ancient tech back from the (by comparison) primitive Empire (which thinks it's got the best tech in the area of systems it inhabits) without the Empire finding out that it's dangerous tech like weapons and not just ancient art like the Empire thinks it is.

Oh and the Ivory Trees from the title of the book are not made out of actual ivory (no elephants were harmed in this book) but some unknown substance that looks like ivory, and they are twig-like and you can fit them together to form a tree. These "trees" turn out to be very dangerous if not handled carefully and the stupid Empire just thinks they are decoration! A recipe for disaster.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Help me read more books

Certainly a must read if you're a fan of the diving series.
There's a lot of build up in this one, all to come down to just a few lines of text in the final chapter. Not exactly the kind of story I prefer to read, All that build up, then wham, it's all over. I suppose it gets the point across, but to be honest, this story struck me more as a get from point a to point b kind of story. The details of the civilization we meet in this one are largely surpluflous, and I don't see them having any impact whatsoever on future volumes in the series, unless there's some reason to explore the abandon base used in this story.
I did like the story, don't get me wrong, I just don't think it contributed very much to the diving universe.

[Kaye Lynne Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rush has created an intriguing universe, where it’s difficult to tell who the good guys are, with complex characters which are likable and relatable. Multiple points of view allow this story of action and intrigue unfold. Everybody has an angle and lives are at stake. Honestly, I wasn’t sure who to root for in this story, as the alien race whom I believed to were supposed to be the good guys seem to be the aggressors, while the Enteran military on the planet of Wry, whom I think are supposed to be the bad guys, seem to just be defending the items that they find in their possession....

See my full review here: http://writingtoberead.com/2023/12/17...

[Robert Rubinoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was mildly interesting, but it really felt like it was marking time in the overall diving universe story. And I feel like Rusch is adding too many different players - it's starting to seem like *everybody* except the Enterran Empire/Nine Planets Alliance knows about anacapas! (And the
Amanthrans seem to know about all the other players in the story.)

I have some minor qualms about the story as well - mostly, how did a whole bunch of Amnthran artifacts end up on Wyr in the first place, if Amnthra is so fanatical about not allowing its technology out of its control? (Also, how do you pronounce "Amnthra"????) But those are all secondary; my main objection is still that this doesn't really advance the main story at all. (That would be okay in a shorter piece, but I'd expect a 400-page novel to do so.)

[John Devenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another enjoyable instalment in the excellent Diving Universe series. This is unfortunately not one of the best books but still well worth reading for any fan of the series. As it stands it is pretty much standalone with not a lot of connection to the rest of the books.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brings us back to Wyr and the caves. It appears some the Empire that was left behind developed instead of regressing and are kind of a secret society. I'm not sure where the story is going to go after this book. It was good, 3-1/2 stars.

[Koit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this instalment of the Diving series. Some of the other offshoots have been hit-or-miss for me, but this one was both interesting and enjoyable. Funnily enough, the first character started to become annoying exactly by the time the author introduced the second main POV – who I liked much more.

The timing of this book is in question until the very end where the presence of several characters makes it clear when exactly this could have happened. This is a weird way of determining the timeline, and I wish it wasn’t necessary. I don’t see anything in the book that could have acted as a spoiler, so it’s a bit confusing why this one has the place it does in the reading order.

The return of Amnthra to the fold of the stories makes me wonder if the entire planet is going to become more involved again. It would be a nice way to do it, but there’s no proof of that yet.

There’s plenty of action here which sets a decent pace. The characters—though new —are generally enjoyable and make for an interesting read. Some of them enter the frame of the story for only a few moments, but even so I appreciate Ms Rusch adding them as POV characters—otherwise they would not have been noticed at all

Overall, very positive feelings for me!

This review was originally posted on my blog.