Heartwood

Elemental Wars #1

by Freya Robertson

Heartwood (Elemental Wars) [Paperback] Freya Robertson

Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure, Epic, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Freya is a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy, as well as a dedicated gamer. She has a deep and abiding fascination for the history and archaeology of the middle ages and spent many hours as a teenager writing out notecards detailing the battles of the Wars of the Roses, or moping around museums looking at ancient skeletons, bits of rusted iron and broken pots.

She lives in the glorious country of New Zealand Aotearoa, where the countryside was made to inspire fantasy writers and filmmakers, and where they brew the best coffee in the world.

In April 2014, Heartwood - the first book in the series of epic fantasies called The Elemental Wars - won the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Novel.

Reviews

[Bookwraiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews

Heartwood by Freya Robertson is the first book in the epic fantasy series Elemental Wars. The story is filled to overflowing with massive world building, loads of characters, diverse races/species and many different viewpoints. To say it is “epic” is almost an understatement of just how “massive” this world is, and while I usually adore these types of books, this one did not catch my attention. Stick around, and I will try to explain why.

The story itself begins with representatives from all over the land coming together for a summit at the fortress temple of the Heartwood, where they hope to find a solution to the ills spreading across the world. For the land is slowly dying. None can deny it anymore. Food and game has become scarce. The weather has begun to change for the worse. And as the world becomes harsher, the hearts of its people grow cold; their every disagreement turning into violent bickering and strife. The only way to stop the rising tide of destruction is for some way to be found to heal the “Arbor.”

The Arbor itself is an ancient oak tree; a tree best characterized as the linchpin of the entire world. Its gentle magic nourishing and upholding all that is good and right, making the land itself a place inhabitable by the people. Yet now, some unknown ailment has afflicted the Arbor, and it is shrinking - dying most likely. If a cure for it cannot be found, the wise know that the lands will fall into chaos and death. Life itself may very well perish! And so the holy knights of all the lands come together for a great summit to avert disaster.

Good setup for an epic fantasy, don’t you thing?

I did too. Unfortunately, things start to go somewhat down hill after this.

The chapters regarding this great council read much like E television’s red carpet coverage of the Oscars. We get to meet each participant as they walk down the carpet and get their own five minutes in the spotlight. In fact, Ms. Robertson inundates a reader with information about these different people. Much of it useless - at least in this book. We get a history lesson on what land they hail from, a description of their land’s own unique religious beliefs, and a brief synopsis of why this guy/gal is important to what is about to happen. Then they walk on into Heartwood, and we do it all over again with the next person in line. Honestly, after a few pages, it gets tedious at best.

Once the pre-show coverage is over, the council turns out to be a big letdown — much like the Oscars. It quickly turns into a bickering session that even more quickly morphs into an excuse for everyone who hates each other to get into a fight. However, before our heroes can bloody their swords upon each other, the mysterious villains in the story attack, emerging from the river to cast themselves upon the hero filled fortress of the Arbor. A decision that seems foolhardy at best, since Heartwood has the lands mightiest heroes protecting it right at this very moment.

Correct me if I’m wrong here, but wouldn’t an enemy attack a target when it is least defended by the most incompetent people?

Anyway, after the watery enemies are cast back and the battle won, the survivors discover that something awful has happened while they fought: the leaves have begun falling off the Arbor!

When the holy knights pull their thumbs out of their mouths and unwind themselves from a fetal position, they discover that the “heart” of the Arbor is missing. Immediately, horrendous “rains” begin to fall over the lands, and now the wise prophesize (drum roll please) that all hell is about to let loose.

But do not fear! There is a way everyone can save the lands’ posterior from this cataclysmic disaster.

Epic quest alert! Epic quest alert!

Seven of them to be exact. Seven magical nodes that must be reactivated by seven, unique quest parties. Each group having to do different things to reactivate their own particular node. And if these seven quests can be complete then the wise believe the Arbor shall be healed!

At this point, I really wanted to close the book on Heartwood, because it was using far too many fantasy cliches to interest me, but I didn’t. I kept going, and to be fair, the remainder of the story is an okay read. The characters are fairly interesting, not standard fantasy types but more realistic with many interesting female knights among the groups. There are multiple character viewpoints and ample world building, because you have seven different groups galloping across the lands. The magic of the world, including the Arbor and the elements, is well developed and intriguing. And the final battle at the end was a satisfying conclusion to a first book in a series.

With all that being said however, I did have some things that detracted from my enjoyment of this novel. I’m sure you are sitting on the edge of your seat to read them.

1) I had trouble keeping all the characters straight in my mind, because the story line skipped from quest group to quest group, and I found myself forgetting what one group was doing by the time the story got back around to them. Perhaps I should have kept notes as I read, but unfortunately, I wasn’t forewarned that I needed to do that.

2) The story was just slow. Plodding almost. Part of this was due to the extensive time Ms. Robertson spent world building, but a lot of the blame also goes to the seven quest groups, which meant lots of repetitive talk of each group riding hard, finding an inn, sleeping, et cetera.

3) Too much dying, torturing, raping and general violence. Yeah, I said that. I know it sounds absolutely ridiculous for me to complain about that in an epic fantasy, but honestly, there is a point at which I just don’t care emotionally when someone else gets tortured, violated or killed. It becomes something like “Oh, John got killed. That is sad. Who was John again? Was he the one I didn’t like? Or was that James? Oh well, at least, I have one less character to keep up with now. And Percephalie, didn’t she get tortured earlier in the book? No. Damn, that must have been Andromache.” That might sound harsh, but unfortunately, after half the cast gets tortured or dies, I just don’t care anymore.

Those that know me or read my reviews understand by now that I tend to write more “negative” reviews on books I find disappointing. The simple truth is those novels which I am “disappointed” in are those that I was very excited to read and desperately wanted to love. Heartwood is one of those novels. It sounded like just my kind of series, but for some reason, it and I did not connect. Be that as it may, I’d still encourage other fantasy lovers to give it a try, because it might be exactly what you are looking for.

Netgalley provided this book to me for free in return for an honest review. The review above was not paid for or influenced in any way by any person, entity or organization, but is my own personal opinions.

[Mogsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.blogspot.com/201...

Featuring exotic lands, magic and adventure and warrior knights embarking on sacred quests, Heartwood had everything I like going for it. Now that I've finished this book, I'm still amazed at the sheer scope of the story; epic doesn't even begin to describe it. Though as I soon found, "epicness" could also be something of a double-edged sword.

The book opens with a scene at the Congressus, a conference of peace talks in which representatives from all across Anguis come together in an attempt to negotiate and maintain stability between the many nations. Chonrad, Lord of Barle, joins the holy knights of Heartwood to oversee the talks in the fortified temple, where the great tree called the Arbor stands. Congressus does not go well, however, and then the gathering is ambushed by an army of warriors who seem to have materialized from the water of the river itself. In the ensuing battle many are killed, but it is the Arbor with its massive trunk split and its heart stolen away that is the worst blow of all.

Because the great tree is what binds the land and all its people, it must be saved. First, the Arbor's heart must be retrieved, but five Nodes located in five different hallowed sites across the land must also be activated in order for the tree to heal. In addition, a powerful magician called the Virimage must also be found, brought back to Heartwood so he can lend his abilities to the mending. Thus it begins; we have seven different groups, each on their own journey, each tasked with a special Quest.

Like I said, the scope of this is massive. It's what I loved best about this book, and the author Freya Robertson pulls off an impressive feat of storytelling by weaving no less than six or seven different plot threads together into a one big whole. She's also done incredible things with world building, creating this land made up of many different nations, all with their own unique population and cultures. The characters featured in this book all have ties to their own homes and histories, which also reflects in their personalities, motivations and value systems. I liked this last point a lot too, reminding me very much of the worlds in the role-playing games I like to play.

Viewed as a whole, however, the massiveness of Heartwood -- both its length and scale of the story -- can also make things a little problematic for the reader. When you have so much going on, such as half a dozen quests occurring all at once, that's a lot to take in. First, we have the introduction to the characters, of which there are many, and that shouldn't be a surprise given the intricacies of the plot. Still, I like to see momentum build in the first quarter of a book, because that's generally when I expect to be pulled in by the story as well. In Heartwood, much of the first 100-200 pages is given to establishing the characters and world, which made for a slower-paced beginning. It felt sometimes like I was encountering a new character and his or her long and detailed back-story every few pages, when what I wanted very much was for the story to move forward. Structurally, I think if some of the information could have been edited out or even just spread out more evenly, it might have improved the flow for the first part of the book.

These insertions of character history and moments of information dumping persist throughout the novel, but I think they are the heaviest in the first half. The good news is, I think the story picks up considerably in the second half, after we have the all the introductions and necessary details established. Though a little patience and determination was required of me to reach this point, I have to say it was worth it in the end. I'm still astounded by the way Freya Robertson was able to make all her quest stories come together. She manages to keep all the threads in line, never once letting any of them get away from her, and keeps up a steady level of suspense for each group throughout. With all the perspective changes and jumping around in places and time, I would have expected this book to be way more disjointed than it is, but surprisingly it wasn't, at least not for me.

I didn't get to connect to all the characters equally, since one of the downsides of this format is having to spread my attention between a whole bunch of different players. And some like Chonrad, for example, disappear for a chunk of time after Part I as the book shifts focus to the people on other quests. But over time, I did develop a few favorites. The writing is admittedly not very subtle when it comes to revealing their every thought or emotion, but regardless I came to enjoy Heartwood's female characters a lot. Their depth made them memorable, and the holy knights Procella and Beata stood out for me in particular. Both are strong leaders who are capable and competent, and yet also have their own personal battles between duty and love, what's insides their heads versus what's inside their hearts. On that note, I also want to say how much I appreciate a little romance in my epic fantasy. There's definitely an element of love here, and Freya Robertson is so good at creating passion and sexual tension between couples. I was not surprised when I found out that she has also published a number of romance novels under a different name.

Ultimately, my overall feelings towards Heartwood are positive, though it did take a little time for me to get into the flow of the story. It is, after all, an ambitious novel, and despite a few hitches in its structure and pacing, for a first book in a series I think this one does an admirable job in establishing the world and characters. The way the story unfolded and came together in the end made me curious enough to want to read more from this series and author, and I'll most likely be picking up the next book.

[Tim The Enchanter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartwood an epic fantasy novel that is set for release in October of 2013. The story follows seven divergent groups of warriors as they embark on quests across the fictional land of Anguis. The parties have been sent out after their object of worship, the Arbor, has been attacked and it life force removed.

While the initial premises may strike you as strange the reader is quickly immersed into the various belief systems of the people of Heartwood and the surrounding settlements.

Story

At the outset, I want to make it clear that the author, Freya Robertson, is a talented writer. As a debut novel, Heartwood acquits itself well. The writing is clear and the style is easy to follow. The book runs into problems when the story is viewed as whole.

The story is truly epic in scale. Seven groups of people on seven different quests spread across approximately 550 pages. This is a lot of information to squeeze into 172,000 words (thanks goes to the author for letting me know how many words she wrote). But despite the length, the story feels rushed. At times we hears characters complain about the tribulations they have faced on their quest but it feels as if their quest has just begun.

A second issue is the sheer mass of characters. As you can imagine, each quest needs to have a sufficient number of members. We are constantly being introduced to new character and it quickly becomes overwhelming. That said, the reader gradually acclimates and the half way point the cast of characters has stabilized. A simple cast of characters of the beginning of the novel would have been a great reference for the reader.

On the positive side, the author has done a fine job of creating a religious system and religious order. The religious beliefs of the characters are inextricably tied to their actions and interactions with each other. This is by far the most developed aspect of the story and it forms the nucleus book.

As a husband and father of two girls, I always appreciate stories that have strong female characters and project positive images of woman. I was pleased that many of the quest leaders were women. I always tell my daughters that they can be whatever they want. A doctor, an engineer, a mechanic, a nurse or even the Prime Minister. Now I can tell them they can also lead a quest to save the world. All of the major characters in the books. The female characters are no more or less flawed than the male characters and are portrayed as strong and capable.

While the scale of the story is epic, each of the quests are not. While author expertly entwines many different storylines there is simply too little space given to each quest and side story. This book could have easily been expanded into two or three books.

Message

I appreciated that the author attempted to instil some sense of morality into her story. While story was a fantasy with imagined people and places, it also draws parallels real life. There are numerous allusions to the Christian iconography, i.e. the cross, and allusions to religious belief systems such as Christianity and Islam. The message of the book is ultimately one of questioning belief. We are told strict adherence to dogma can lead to our destruction as doing so can blind us to the truth around us and leave us unprepared from unrecognized dangers. The message of Heartwood is not necessarily that of traditional epic fantasy. While there are of friendship, love and honor, the seeming attempt at commentary on modern religion will turn some readers off.

Ultimately, I do not buy the message the book is trying to sell me. I believe it perpetrates the stereotype that people who feel strongly about their beliefs are somehow blind to realities. This stereotype is itself dogmatic and condescending. That said, I was not offended in any way. There were no overt attacks on any one belief system but rather an attempt to comment on religions institutions.

While I did not buy into what I felt was the major theme, I was able to become involved with the character and appreciate each of their stories, struggles and victories.


Overall, the series has potential. While Heartwood is an average offering in the fantasy genre, it feels as if the author has the ability to provide an above average offering. Hopefully, the author can better focus the story in the next installment.

There was more than enough in Heartwood to keep me interested to the end. Despite its shortcomings, the story as a whole was interesting and the character developed enough to keep me turning the pages. I will be interested to see what the experience of writing this first novel will bring the second book.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

‘Heartwood’ is an ambitious novel, but ultimately it fails. Rarely do I jump to the point so quickly, but there it is. It reads like a video game novelization, complete with an overly long info-dumping manual to start the book.

Representatives from all over the land are conveniently in one place for a summit that no expects anything from. Don’t worry, the reason for the meeting is unnecessary, it just was there to bring all the heroes into one place. We meet the books protagonist, one Chonrad, a valiant knight of destiny that everyone knows is noble and just. Don’t worry about him either; despite being the closest thing to a protagonist the book has he does nothing important though the entire book, until he walks into his role of destiny. We meet our cast of hard to tell apart characters; getting an overview of each land they belong to in long info dumps (complete with what sect of the religion they practice despite it mattering not at all). Then finally the story starts.

Basically it is a Legend of Zelda knockoff. A large group of water elementals attack the tree of life and rip out its heart. A historian finds a secret staircase that has been undiscovered for hundreds of years under a large chest. There he learns there are five places of powers that have been corrupted; conveniently one in each land that someone remembers with ease. Parties are set up, and people go out on Quests (always capitalized). Most go to clean up separate temples, while one group plans on using magic to turn into water elementals and get back their tree’s heart. Hell, there is even the bonus Quest of tracking down the wondering earth mage who can make flowers grow with a thought. Again; Tree of Life, secret room that is barely hidden, five corrupted temples. Oh, and an ancient battle of elements was in there somewhere. If I wasn’t so lazy I would have so many images from a certain N64 classic embedded into this review it would bog down the site.

I will give a little bit of credit for the way the author kept five different Quest parties going without the narrative ever getting too confused. But I won’t gush too much because while the narrative never got confusing it never really got interesting either. Every one of the Quests read exactly the way. Some kind of early trouble with bandits or whatnot, travel time with more info dumps about what food was packed or other page filling nonsense, and a way too easy conclusion when finding the corrupted temple (nodes of power, whatever). I won’t giveaway how the nodes are cleaned, but be assured once it is done the first time there is zero drama left in the rest of them. And don’t even get me started on the party that went back after the baddies who attacked the Great Deku Tree. So anticlimactic it may as well been left out.

What else? We see a group tortured and raped for information that the other quest parties give out freely to every person they meet. And like Gaga we see bad romance.

“You are a strange one, Chonrade, Lord of Barle,” she said, her voice husky. “You extract my feelings as if you are wheedling a whelk out of its shell. Nobody has ever had the power to affect me in all my years the way you have since your arrival only two days ago”

I always try to say something positive. Usually it is easy even in books I didn’t enjoy. A bit harder here but there were twin brothers who provided some of the most interesting dynamics. They had an interesting love hate bond that actually worked pretty well. Other than that, I have nothing. I hate to be pure negative, but at this point I feel it is my duty to warn people off this book. It’s not offensive, nor does it talk down to the reader or pander to anyone or any of the things that make it easier to bash a book. It just isn’t very good.

2 Stars

Review copy received from NetGalley. Quote provided is from advanced reading copy and may not be present in published version.

[Milo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/11/....

“Whilst not living up to its full potential, Heartwood is nonetheless a solid book. However its biggest strength is also its greatest weakness, as the first novel in the Elemental Wars is all about worldbuilding and as a result everything else suffers.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields

"Chonrad, Lord of Barle, comes to the fortified temple of Heartwood for the Congressus peace talks, which Heartwood’s holy knights have called in an attempt to stave off war in Anguis. But the Arbor, Heartwood’s holy tree, is failing, and because the land and its people are one, it is imperative the nations try to make peace.

After the Veriditas, or annual Greening Ceremony, the Congressus takes place. The talks do not go well and tempers are rising when an army of warriors emerges from the river. After a fierce battle, the Heartwood knights discover that the water warriors have stolen the Arbor’s heart. For the first time in history, its leaves begin to fall…

The knights divide into seven groups and begin an epic quest to retrieve the Arbor, and save the land."

I’ve read lots of Angry Robot novels now and it’s rare that you’ll get to see a miss from them. I think I’ve enjoyed pretty much every novel from the publisher that I’ve read aside from maybe one or two that haven’t stayed long enough in my memory. Where does Heartwood come into this though? Does it fall into the hit category or the miss category? It certainly sounds like an interesting read, after all – who doesn’t love a bit of knights in shining armour fantasy every now and again? As it turns out though, Heartwood is difficult to place in either category. I’m going to say that in parts, Freya Robertson’s first Angry Robots book novel is amazing, but in other parts – it doesn’t quite hit the mark. I’ll discuss the positive parts of the book first, however.

The biggest strength of Heartwood is its vivid attention to world building. The world that the characters inhabit is fully fleshed out and fully detailed over the course of the novel, and the reader gets to learn about several things, certainly more so than your average fantasy novel. The first seventy pages or so are pretty much devoted to fleshing out the world before the plot actually kicks into gear, but it’s at this point you have to stop and ask yourself – when is there too much worldbuilding? Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? The answer in Heartwood’s case of course is a resounding yes, because although I liked the fleshing out of the world, the rest of the novel fails to meet the standards that Robertson has set herself with her strong world building and detail. This as a result has made more than one reader that I know not get through the book, but I was able to keep going anyway. It’s almost possible that Heartwood was just not the right sort of book for me despite the appealing aspect that fantasy brings to the table – and I’m sure that there are people who will and have enjoyed this novel more than I will.

To give you a detail of the extensive attention that Robertson has paid to the world building, let’s look at the countries that the world is divided into. Each have their own unique culture and features that are in some ways, less subtle than others. For example there’s one country, the inhabitants of Wulfengar are essentially evil. They’re all generalised under one banner – all women must serve the more dominant men etc and whilst stereotyping sometimes does help the reader get a better picture of what’s going on not all of it is done, and for the most part the world building may be good, and as mentioned before, it’s one of the novel’s saving graces – it’s just places like this where it doesn’t always hit the mark. Positive angles of the world development include elemental magic, with the purpose of knights being designed to protect a holy tree that holds the world together. There are several parts where the action scenes throughout the novel are quite good as a result, but there’s never really anything that really elevates this novel from a decent read to a spectacular one.

Of course, with magic – you always have to be wary of deus ex machina, and that is something that in parts, Heartwood suffers from. It’s used as way of speeding up resolutions and doesn’t always work, robbing the story of perhaps would it could have been if magic hadn’t played a good role. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a good magic system in the veins of Brandon Sanderson, who always pays careful and deep concentration to them – but it doesn’t really work when the magic is used to wrap up elements of the plot as smoothly as it does here. And then there’s another problem that the book suffers from – the characters. They weren’t really engaging and captivating and I never felt compelled to root for any of them with the same support that I’ve rooted for other, more realised characters in the past. I finished the book recently and none of the characters created any lasting impression on me as a reader, which is a real shame considering some characters who are so well rounded that I never once forget their names.

There is still an audience for this book, however – despite its many flaws. I think another achievement of Heartwood that despite the fact that there’s more flaws than positive elements that I’ve listed above, it still remains a fairly strong read despite this. Whilst it’s nothing too special or even good, it’d be undeserving to label Heartwood as a bad book. I’ve read bad books before (Dan Brown’s Inferno and Suzanne Collins’ Catching Fire) and Heartwood certainly doesn’t fall anywhere near those standards. It’s probably just not my cup of tea – even if I did enjoy parts of the world building and some elements of the storyline. And I’ll admit that I am interested in picking up the second book when I can as well – hopefully now that the worldbuilding is out of the way Robertson can improve on this book’s failings and create a better second act. Therefore it comes with a very cautious recommendation.

VERDICT: 3/5

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartwood is the quest novel writ large. In the classical quest novel. a mixed group of unknown heroes usually 7 in all set off on a journey to vanquish evil or retrieve some mystical devise to save all. a limited number gives the reader more time to learn and like the characters.

Freya Robertson, in her first book in this series, however, mixes the quest novel with epic fantasy. So we get a cast of hundreds and a bunch of different quests. I am not sure that it serves her well to have so many different characters and quests. She does quickly prune down the characters by expediently having them fall prey to the usual road ills -- thieves, war, injury, death. But while we end up liking her remaining venturers, there is no love. Less would have been more.

The story does have its original world building, but while some characters are given a lot of attention, they are not as important to the whole story because they a split into different quests.

The Wulfians - a tribe of male warriors -- who treat women like chattel and live for war have been engaged in a guerrilla war against Laxony. The knights of the Arbor, who have been chosen by the mystical tree with magical power, in the midst of the realm, call for a truce, a meeting of the tribes to hash out their differences. Chonrad, a high lord in Laxony, who harbors some animosity to the Arbor for not picking him as a knight is one of the participants of the conference. His bodyguard Fulco, is also there.

While all are gathered, they are savagely attacked by unknown knights. Chonrad and most of the leaders acquit themselves well against the onslaught, but the rest of the people are not so fortunate, and the heart of the Arbor, that gives the tree life is stolen. The Arbor immediately starts to die. But more importantly, why did it not defend itself.

A scholar Nitesco finds some answers in a hidden chamber underneath the library - a history of the realm pre-dating the modern system of belief. It seems that the people of Heartwood were once locked in a mighty struggle with water elementals. It was only with the help of the Arbor and its nodes that formed a magical shield that the Arbor people were able to stave off the water elementals. But. the nodes had to be awakened.

The survivors of the attack decide to form 7 different quests -- several groups will strike out to free the nodes. One group will attempt to become water elementals and regain the heart of the Arbor from the home of the water elementals.


Can the valiant survivors of the the water elemental attack re-awaken the nodes and rescue the heart of the Arbor before the water elementals strike again.

There is plenty of action and some of the characters and their story do resonate with the reader. Its a good beginning novel in this story arc, which hopefully will be more character driven in the next volume.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a complex world that gave me a few surprises. Which I of course can't mention, spoilers darling.

Where to start? Delegates from countries have come to Heartwood to talk peace. Heartwood is the religious center with quite the military force. Think Sparta meets...holy tree that needs to be protected. The tree is tied to the land and nature is what religion is about here.

And then there are the...oh I so wanna tell you. It was a great revelation. Very intriguing. Well done, and you will know when you have read it.

There are a couple of POVS in this book, I will not tell you all but they have their different roads to take. It's not really about one person, but about them all. I guess we could say Chonrad is a lead, but I say they all are so that was a bit different.

The ending is just what it is, an ending. Which I am grateful for cos I am not a fan of cliffies. But at the same time I know there is a book 2 and I am so curious what that book will be about. I need to know stat!

The book had its focus on adventure and fighting. I guess I might have missed really getting to know one person and not all. But all in all it was a good book that I finished fast.

I do still wonder what book 2 is about. The title gives me ideas, blurb please soon.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full Review: http://tenaciousreader.wordpress.com/...

Just wasn't for me (and I'm a huge fan of epic fantasy). My issue(s) with it all come down to the authors style of writing/story telling. There's likely some who might enjoy it but unfortunately I'm not one of them.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peace between the people of Anguis is tenuous. In a last ditch effort to fix this, leaders from all realms gather together, but the peace talks are interrupted when mysterious and powerful water warriors attack, stealing the heart of the Arbor, the tree that is at the centre of all things.

After a lengthy discussion with a friend about religion in fantasy, reading Heartwood was very timely for me. The Arbor is the central figure in Robertson’s pantheon, and she takes the time to carefully present how the different characters and realms feel about their religion and how those views change as the story progresses. The Militis defends the tree with their lives, but the loss of the Pectoris (the tree’s heart), cuts some of them more deeply as it is a failure of their duty as well as an attack on their beliefs. Meanwhile, others take a more realistic view with their beliefs and some are even disturbed by the Arbor itself.

Nonetheless, when the Pectoris is stolen, all must work together to get it back and the journey they each take is both external and internal as they come to terms with their beliefs and with their personal struggles. However, this is where the book falters somewhat. To save the Arbor, five Nodes must be discovered and activated some how. This is conveniently discovered during the water warrior attack and disclosed in detail as new information is recited from long hidden tomes that shake the foundation of the practices surrounding the Arbor’s care. Robertson’s gaming influence becomes obvious as groups head off on their respective Quests. She does a great job of keeping the groups separate and unique, but the process of discovering the hidden tomes and the respective Nodes lacks subtlety.

This is a pervasive problem in the book, as much of the information about the world is delivered through extensive exposition that feels very much like reviewing a game codex. World building is always a difficult process and I praise Robertson for the beautiful and complex world she has created here, but again, the book could use more subtlety in teaching us about this world. World building is a necessary part of any story, but it can be very difficult to determine how much information should be handed out and it is not easy to avoid too much exposition. In some cases, Robertson attempts to find the balance by incorporating the lore through characters actually reading from history books, etc, or giving long speeches explaining the particular view points of their cultures, but this is all still obviously exposition that should be shown, not told.

That said, the world of Anguis is a beautiful one, and I love the way the religion is bound into it and the characters so deeply and how Robertson explores that. The characters themselves are interesting and, while their personal quests could use a bit more subtlety as well, they went through some very interesting transformations. I was particularly impressed with the twins, who have a strong bond, as is normal with twins, but there is a bitterness between them that Robertson takes the time to explore by separating them and leading them to a fate I hadn’t expected. I’m also a huge fan of the intuitive character of Fulco, who speaks in sign language.

As the first book in the Elemental Wars series, and Robertson’s first venture into the realm of epic fantasy, I imagine that she has learned quite a bit about the process. Since much of the lore has already been established, I’m looking forward to things really getting going with the sequel.

3.5 stars

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The BiblioSanctum

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://draumrkopablog.wordpress.com/2...

‘Heartwood’ is a classic Epic Fantasy set in a completely new world where religion dominates the life of all. Not religion in the sense as we know it, but a religion that has a lot to do with nature. The center point of their worship is the Arbor, a tree in the center of some sort of temple that has been built around it through the Ages, in the settlement called Heartwood. Heartwood is populated with the Militis, a sort of military order that has sworn to protect the Arbor. The book starts off with an explosion of action, a raid on Heartwood during a meeting of the country leaders ends pretty badly for the Heartwood knights and the heart of the Arbor, the Pectoris, is stolen. After the uncovering of some shocking information the Militis and the leaders of the different countries must work together to save the land and restore the Arbor.

Everyone present is asked to join a group to go on a certain Quest to aid the rescue of the land and the Arbor. Each group goes on its own Quest and very soon all plummet into a depressing state of mind, all of them homesick, doubting they will ever succeed at their task. I would have preferred just one more positive character with some more confidence, because now the middle part of the book is pretty bleak and sad and a bit depressing.
The interesting part of these Quests, however bleak, was when the leaders of the groups all start experiencing different but unexplainable oddities. This brought some much needed tension back into the story to break the grey mood.

This beginning was really good, it gave an interesting introduction to this fascinating world with Heartwood at the center of the story. The battle was exhilarating and full of action, the aftermath intriguing and a great start to the rest of the book.
After that, the author lost me. The preparation of the Quest and the start of the journeys couldn’t interest me much. The only thing that kept me reading was the chemistry of some of the characters and the fact that I wanted to see what the author would do with the new culture she had created.

There were so many good elements in this book, but it just didn’t come together in the great story it could have been. Some of the things that occurred were not explained, or only touched upon. I needed more solid understanding about some things going on, because now I couldn’t fathom the reason behind some of the events. Other things were then again too obvious, especially one scene at the end of the book made me shake my head. It was too simple, too… forced. It didn’t fit into the flow of a good story, you’re not supposed to think: “Oh, that’s convenient”, but I did.

The main thing that bothered me though was the fact that I didn’t really ‘enjoy’ this story. I just kind of went with it. It never touched me as such an epic tale should touch me and has touched me in the past. Was it the fault of the characters? The writing style? The story itself? I can’t put my finger on it. Some of the characters did touch a cord with me, Chonrad and Fionnghuala for example, but they were one of the few who were able to. The others were just part of the story, they didn’t pull me in to their personal side story, they weren’t able to make me care.

The worldbuilding is wonderful though. The author created a beautiful new world with Anguis. She also used nature in a creative way to shape her characters, their history and their religion. It was really great to read about the contrasting countries with their similar religions but with such a different interpretation of them and how they perceive each other and how that changed for certain people during their ordeal.
The writing isn’t bad either, the book reads fluently and the author succeeded in weaving together a story with a lot of POV’s to a coherent whole. The switching between characters and chapters never threw me off, which is a good thing considering there is a lot happening in a lot of different parts of her world. It also never got confusing, so the composition of the story was pretty well done.

When I put it all together, this book didn’t really work for me. Though there were some really good elements, I think the execution lacked refinement and that easy flow a good Fantasy Epic should have. Some parts of the story were too obvious and some were never explained, which really got on my nerves. It’s a shame because this could have been one of those stories I absolutely loved, the premise is there, but it never reached its full potential.

You can read this review and others on my blog: http://draumrkopablog.wordpress.com/

[Viking Jam · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://koeur.wordpress.com/2013/09/16...

Publisher: Angry Robot
Publishing Date: October 2013
ISBN: 9780857663863
Genre: Fantasy
Rating 2.8/5.0

Review: This novel had many issues but had characters that were well developed and the flow from chapter to chapter was pretty good. The author’s knowledge of sword fighting and the fight scene positioning was off by quite a bit. In one scene she has Chonrad running to a felled warriors assistance and dropping to cradle their head, then killing the Dark Water element while it trips over the body of said felled warrior. So you’re fighting for your life but have time to kneel and coddle, then kill the bad guy. What is the bad guy doing during all this? Taking a smoke break? And since Chonrad and the baddie did not reverse positions, how does the bad guy trip over the felled warrior, backwards, into the water? If he emerged from the water, then the felled warrior should be in front of him, not behind him. In another “fight” scene, the Heartwood Knights react to an insult tendered by Wulfian guards in an Inn. So everyone draws swords, the fight ensues and all of the Wulfian guards are disarmed and everyone goes to sleep. Huh? So the Wulfians, notorious for being aggressive, blood thirsty women haters, decide to stand down to women knights?? If your going to have a fight scene, develop it, don’t just have an “all of a sudden we win” resolution. There is a lack of fight scene development throughout the novel.

I was a bit put off by the whole concept that the Heartwood Knights and the Exercitus, having been groomed since children to defend the Arbor and extremely skilled in the fighting arts, constantly cry and moan about this or that. Whenever they are on the road, there is some knight that has tears in their eyes or is hiding their emotional reactions to: leaving Heartwood, someone dying, self doubt or past guilt. Shouldn’t knights brought up in a martial society be a little more accepting of death as it is an integral part of their chosen path? You also have this constant “I am a Knight of Heartwood” shtick and “My oath and vows can never be broken” that the women Knights iterate at every turn. Then the minute they get on the road, they are attracted to this or that guy and start sleeping around. So much for a life time of vows to the Arbor and Heartwood, eh?

As the Knights travel across the land, it is funny how they always seem to find a fine meal and a hot bath and plenty of sex. They whine about the hardships of the quest that they are only a week into, but find a place for relaxation at the end of the day. Why is there so much food to be had, when the initial premise was that the land is failing and starvation is rampant? Hence the quest to fix the Arbor Nodes, right?

There has to be a bit of the ole’ “suspension of disbelief” where Nitesco the librarian finds a secret passage, during a water element attack, in which resides an ancient library. This library not only holds the answers to their current woes (land dying, Dark Water elements, magic node fix etc.) but the real intent and principles that formed the basis of their animus religion. Well just up and fuck me, we got a story-line folks! Seems like the author is starting to flirt with Deus X machina. But will she go all the way? I mean we are almost to first base.

The cover art is pretty good. Not surprising as Angry Robot usually has some of the best in the business. Although the Knights wear chain mail armor, not plate armor as depicted on the cover.

This novel had a lot of issues. From story-line progression (logic) to some fairly lengthy internal-dialogue. Did I like it? Yes. When all is said and done, I ask myself “did I enjoy the story while I was reading it?”. The character development was very good and that kind of swung my opinion in a favorable direction. The scene descriptions were also very well done. The ease of visualization is key in an adventure epic novel. In the end there were just too many screw ups in this novel to give it a real high score. With a little effort at cleaning up the story-line and some logic failures this could be a really great epic series.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would actually have rated this a 2.5/5 stars, but I rounded up (as I usually do). My main problem with this book is it took me a long time to become invested in the book at all, and I never really became sympathetic to the main characters. The pacing of the book was for the most part very slow, and even when there was action I felt detached from it somehow. I loved the setting though. The plot and the world building were really incredible, I just wish the plot moved at a faster pace.

[Ria Bridges · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I could say that I enjoyed this book more than I did. It had the potential to be something that was, if not revolutionary, at least something very good and something worth talking about in the fantasy genre. Instead, it largely fell flat, was formulaic and stiff, with very distanced narration that kept me separate from even the intense action scenes.

The world that Robertson creates is an interesting one, with many familiar elements pulled from British landmarks and mythology creating a kind of pastoral fantasy world that has a more centralized feel than many of the world-spanning fantasies out there. The central religion is that of Animus, and a part of that divinity is made manifest in the Arbor, a giant oak tree that the religious/military city of Heartwood is built around. But the Arbor has been slowly dying, crops have been failing, and the land’s people aren’t always capable of agreeing on what should be done. An unexpected attack by water elementals forces everyone’s hands and people of all lands must band together to embark upon quests to activate dormant focus sites around their countries, to revitalize the Arbor and stave off the coming war between humanity and the water elementals.

This book had all the earmarks of a slow but satisfying return to mythology-based fantasy tales, something often lost in the crush to come out with brand new completely original concepts. Sometimes what we crave in our reading material is a bit of nostalgic fare, and I thought that Heartwood was poised to be just that.

Unfortunately, instead of being merely slow, the pace was plodding. Characters were flat and devoid of emotion, and even though over half the cast dies by the end, I couldn’t really bring myself to care about them, with a mere one exception. Battles are going on, swords are being slung, flesh getting stabbed and sliced, and the writing style and pacing is exactly the same as when a scholar is explaining a previously-unknown bit of history, or when a group of characters were engaged in a barely-lukewarm political discussion. For a book with so much potential for passion of all kinds, it was remarkably devoid of it.

The amount of suspension of disbelief required was pretty high, too, which only added to the feel of distance. After the water elemental attack, a book is found that essentially turns their religion on its head, explains how the founder of it completely misunderstood previous oral traditions upon which he based the religion, and characters find out that the very nature of the world doesn’t function the way they’d assumed. A couple of people raised minor, “But how could that be?” objections, but this huge revelation is accepted by multiple diverse groups of people within a few paragraphs with little more fanfare than, “I guess nothing else explains what just happened.” Come on, people now end up breaking off into different denominations of Christianity based on whether they interpret a passage of the bible as meaning that Jesus drank wine or drank grape juice. The revelation in Heartwood was akin to someone finding a book here that claims Jesus said that Satan was God’s long-lost brother, they formed the universe together, and everyone’s been getting it wrong ever since and that’s why climate change is happening. You don’t greet that with a shrug and a proclamation of, “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” I had to suspend my disbelief over every character essentially suspending their belief, and that never bodes well.

The book does get points for creating the military ideology of the Heartwood knights, who hold that males and females are equally able of standing up and being defenders of the faith, both spiritually and in battle. As such, multiple characters on the various quests are female knights, no less capable than their male counterparts. Rape did occur within the book’s pages, not as a half-assed form of character development, but as brutality and part of torture. Robertson broke the mold with this treatment, and even with all the rest of the book’s problems, it deserves praise for that.

Ultimately I have to say that I was disappointed by this book. It may seem a bit unfair to judge a book by what it wasn’t rather than what it was, but a good deal of my disappointment comes from the fact that I felt this book could have been so much more than what it was. It was a great idea and had good world-building that didn’t pay off in the end. Mostly it was the unemotional writing style that ruined it for me. I can forgive other things, but if I can’t connect to the characters nor feel any urgency when there’s a quest to save the world, even the positive parts of a book can’t salvage it for me. Sadly, not a book I feel comfortable in recommending.

(Book received in exchange for an honest review.)

[Zellian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I have proper read anything fantasy, I was hoping that this would help fill that need I had for a really good fantasy book or series to read.

It has a good plot, interesting enough to capture you but starts slow. I felt like the book was mostly about setting the scene before rushing to getting the groups together and then jumping from one quest group to the other to the other. I tended to get a little confused and found I had to re-read a couple of lines, make sure I actually knew what happened.

I felt like people were just dropping one after the other and I couldn't keep up because really, I hadn't connected to them, maybe one or two people really. There was a couple of unexplained deaths that I wish had known the reason.

I also felt like the end was almost rushed, I was nearing the end and thought it wasn't going to end in this book but the next book where the big fight would happen. But then instead they ended up having the big fight in something like 100 or so pages.

I wish they had explored Dolosus and his heritage a little more too, found out a little more about the Waterlords and their lands but who knows. Maybe that is in the other books.

An alright book that I would hand on for others to try, but not a book that stuck or that held me wanting to read more.

[Boulder Boulderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow and dull, with entirely too much human sacrifice for my liking. Plus, the book is based around earth elementals vs water elementals, but the former worship a tree. Trees being, as everyone knows, most made of air. Also I think someone had done a find/replace just before publishing "quest" for "Quest", which in itself is a bad thing but also changed "question" to "Question" and even more unfortunately, "request" to "reQuest".

Overall, poor at best.

[Stuart Thaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is good, and that’s a huge plus for indie fantasy, but the plot was too slow for me to get into. I lasted about 10%. The MC was a pretty interesting fellow, the main events surrounding the warring factions coming together for a meeting felt a little uninspired, and then the lack of action just made me lose interest and move on to a different novel.

[Cassey · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading Bearcub I was very excited to read this...sadly I didn't hit the same levels of excitement with this read. While I enjoyed the read, it was very slow to get going and the large number of characters to keep track of meant often we were jumping to someone else just as things got going with those we were with.

[M.J. Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much backfill for me I'm afraid. Great in parts but slow to move the story on.

[Alice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't finish.

[Scott Gardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good enough story , major gripe is too many characters at start , you get dizzy trying to remember them all

[The Speculative Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is Freya Robertson’s first fantasy novel, this is not her first published work. A lot of mechanical writing issues that I find with debut novelists are missing here, and while that may not count for much with a lot of readers, it earns one a lot of brownie points with me. Her descriptions are well put together, and the dialogue is tight and to the point. There is nothing in the book that does not serve a purpose to the plot. Her writing is tight and very streamlined with no extra fluff.

If you know where to look, you can see a lot of influences of the High Middle Ages on Heartwood in some unexpected places. The world of Anguis is suffering a period of extreme violence, particularly between two of its four nations. The knights of the holy city of Heartwood are attempting to enforce peace, with increasingly poor results. Famine has become an issue for the first time in hundreds of years, further adding strain to the relationship between the most warlike nation and Heartwood. How the quests are set out is very reminiscent of early Arthurian myth and other literature from the High Middle Ages. Once we get to see more of Anguis than just Heartwood, you can see a lot of influences from daily life in Medieval Europe. I really appreciated Robertson’s efforts to make Heartwood feel very grounded on multiple levels. Even the sacred language of Heartwood has its basis in our world, though I did find it slightly strange to have Latin as the base language for a religion centered around the worship of a tree.

One major change to High Middle Ages culture, which made me happy, is the presence of a number of female knights in the Heartwood community. Now, these are not normal everyday women by any means. Female knights only happen within Heartwood (as far as was presented in the book), which does not recognize differences between genders other than biology. These women have been trained to a high martial standard since they joined the religious community, usually at the age of seven. Lay women in the four nations tend to have a very different life experience, from complete subjugation by men to fairly equal standing with men depending on which nation they live in. Each of the characters in the book react differently to the female knights, which lends a welcome complexity to the roles of the female knights involved in the quests.

However, this book did have a major downfall for me. It features not one point of view character, not just a handful, but an incredible eight (and I may be forgetting a few who only get point of view once or twice in the novel). That’s a lot of characters, and each is a protagonist in their own way. Granted, the novel is over five hundred pages long. But that still means that on average, each protagonist gets sixty-odd pages of face time with the reader. And that face time isn’t split evenly, so most point-of-view characters get less time than that. For those of you keeping score, that means that each of the separate seven quests, when pulled out of the overall novel, are between the lengths of a novelette and a novella. That’s very little time for each quest to have its own plot development, or for characters to change and grow. Having this many points of view is ambitious, as is trying to fit this much plot into one book. As a result, I ultimately feel that Heartwood doesn’t have enough time to cover all of the ground it needs to in an effective manner. And yes, that’s with a book that clocks in at over five hundred pages. Remember what I said earlier about no fluff? When looking at plot and character development, we’re at a skin-and-bones level. Things are accomplished, but sometimes just barely. This also lends to my impression of a modern work aping the literature of the Middle Ages. Early Arthurian Myth and works like The Lais of Marie de France are all short stories. Here we have at best novellas which are interwoven together rather than read separately.

In the end, I’d recommend this book for those who like high fantasy. Fans of Michael J. Sullivan’s Ryria Revelations, C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces, or Neil Gaiman’s Stardust will find something to like here. If you’re a fan of more character-driven works (such as those by Brent Weeks, Sherwood Smith, Sharon Shinn, and others), you may not find this to your liking.

If you want to check out the free excerpt of Heartwood, you can find it here!

A review copy of this title was provided to the reviewer by Angry Robot Books.

[Tim Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Premise: As the people of Anguis celebrate the Veriditas, the ceremonies involved around the holy Arbor proceed even though it seems to be withering more than ever. During the Congressus, there is a surprise attack on the city of Heartwood by mysterious water warriors who lay waste to the city and many of Heartwood’s holy knights. They are repelled, but paid with many losses.

After all of this happens, a cache of lost documents reveals more about the religion and about the Arbor than the people have ever known, and it may change everything they believe. With this new information, the knights form groups to search for and activate the nodes of energy scattered throughout the land, while one group must follow the water warriors to retrieve the stolen Pectoris, the heart of the Arbor.

As the leaves begin falling from the damaged holy tree, the very life of the land is tied to the success or failure of these quests. And there are those besides the water warriors who would see their parties fail, including perhaps one of their own.

Themes: Faith is one of the main themes in Heartwood, as people have worshiped the holy Arbor for centuries, until the time when ancient documents are uncovered that negate everything the people of Anguis have believed. These documents put life as they know it into a new frame of reference, including their origins and the origins of the water people. The Arbor is still tied to what they know, just not in the way they have believed.

Unity between people of different backgrounds and geographical origins, but also between the people and the environment, are given a new perspective as they are united on a single quest to save the land. Generalizations about people from certain places are also questioned when members of these parties don’t conform to the stereotypes of their people.

Family loyalty and friendship are put to the test as character origins are uncovered, new abilities are learned, and romances begin. Dolosus learns who his real father is, but how will it effect his loyalties to everything he has known?

Pros: A few of the characters were interesting and conflicted enough to keep me engaged and there was enough stuff going on that I wanted to see how everything wrapped up (if at all). The story begins as a typical epic fantasy and dives right into the quests for the different parties. There is a lot to chew on to keep readers engaged. At least one of the main character deaths felt noble and not pointless, even if it basically adds a deus ex machina element to the story.

Cons: Heartwood has too many characters and I kept losing track of who is who and what they were doing. Because there are so many characters, some of them lack personality and I found myself not caring if some of them succeeded anyway. There were so many story arcs that I had a hard time telling who was supposed to be the real main protagonist until the very end. There was way too much telling instead of showing in Heartwood, with the omniscient narrator telling us what characters think instead of having them act accordingly. On top of everything, I could’ve done without the raping and torture scenes. The idea that questioning faith isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but to label those who hold to their faith unswervingly as out of touch or outright ignorant is in itself dismissing faith as an ideal. The entire premise of the book is based on this idea that faith can be trumped by random ancient documents that just happen to appear out of nowhere at the most opportune of times explaining exactly how to save the world.

Recommendations: Too much telling instead of showing for too many characters on too many quests made Heartwood hard to follow, hard to swallow, and lacking in the kind of depth that makes good epic fantasy excellent. Characters are everything and Heartwood relied too much upon archetypes to make me care about these characters. The idea is good and with some major changes this had the potential to be much better. There were also too many instances where things occur that just happen to advance the story in favor of the “good guys”. For a first epic fantasy it is a nice ambitious effort that falls a bit flat, especially to dedicate 566 pages of your life to. And there is nothing wrong with believing in something with only faith as your guide.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.0

Heartwood, by Freya Robertson, is the first book in the 'Elemental Wars' series.  The series promises to be epic in scope, judging by this first book.

The story, briefly (if that's possible): The Tree of Life, known as the Arbor, in Heartwood is dying.  Its heart has been ripped out and broken in to a number of pieces, with each piece hidden in one of the different regions.  If the tree isn't restored to health, sickness and misery and death will continue to spread across the land.  A group of would-be heroes have gathered for a conference/peace treaty and send their best and bravest out to find the pieces of the Arbor's heart.  Getting in their way are warriors and water-based creatures that don't necessarily want the land to be saved.

The novel is ambitious, well-crafted, intricately plotted, but otherwise a bit dull.

Books that are 'epic' in scope tend to have a lot of characters.  This is certainly no different.  But the down-side to this is that all the characters seem to need, or demand, immediate introduction at the beginning.  This takes time, and because no one is actually doing much at the start, it's hard to identify the different characters by their manners/habits/characteristics.

And because we are in a unique, very interesting world, there is a fair amount of 'world-building' that has gone on and we, the reader, need to know about this new world (the world, or at least parts of it, is very much a character in this book).

** WARNING: SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD**

All of this is to say that the book, very early, is bogged down with information, information, information.  It isn't until almost half-way through this 500+ page book before interest in what is happening starts to build and we get pulled in by action.  And sadly, it is the action that pulls us in.  Because of the sheer volume of characters, it is nearly impossible to identify or bond with any of them.  The most humanizing moments are some of the most dreary: the separation and death of the twins; the seduction of a female warrior; the disappearance into the water elements of one of the major characters (and why, you may ask, is a seduction 'dreary'?  Because it is akin to rape).

One would hope that, with seven different quests occurring at one time, we'd be more than excited to get to each group to find out what trials and tribulations they are encountering.  Sadly, that is not necessarily the case.  For me, there was still some confusion as to who was who, which led to more confusion as to who was in each group.  (And I'm still not buying the flimsy excuse to split up the twins when at least one of them clearly had a bond that required he be with his brother.)  Until the action picks up (ie: attacks and battles), there's very little to keep us interested.  What I didn't feel in these various quests, was a sense of urgency.  They talked about it, but it never felt 'do or die.'

This is a book one in a series, and it feels like it.  It feels as though the sole purpose here was to make introductions, establish the danger and the parameters in which everyone must work.  And within this context, it is successful.  We meet a lot of people, we know what the danger is, and the magic of the world is becoming understood.  But 500+ pages for all that, was a long, mostly dull read.

Book two is out, and there's enough here that got interesting in the end that I am curious and interested enough to read the next book, but I'll do it sooner rather than later so that I don't forget the players.

Looking for a good book?  Heartwood is the beginning of an epic fantasy that gets bogged down in introductions (the characters and the world which they inhabit) and only just starts to find its groove as we near the end.

[Melissa Hayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

The peace talks are called by the Heartwood Militis to help save the land. The land is slowly dying, foods not as plentiful as it once was. The weather is turning ill. Animal sicknesses. The worshiped powerful oak tree of the lands is shrinking. The Arbor is dying and they hope bringing the people together, instead of constant battle, they can help save it and all who live on the land. When they gather to talk, they start to bicker. While the bickering is happening, a surprise attack of Dark Water Lords hit. The heart of the tree is stolen and many are killed. The rains set in and a dangerous journey into unknown areas has to succeed to save them all from what's to come. In a world as this, much can happen to stop them from their tasks. Others won't even get to accomplish their tasks.

The world is vast. We start with a believe that may not be as all have thought. That there are pieces of their believe that is wrong with the finding of a lost room. The system of the Arbor is vast, magical, and powerful. The history of the elements caught my attention right away. I am taken with the elemental influence in this world. The influence in the care of the world and even in the beings and characters. An ancient history is buried here.

We have different regions in the world and slightly differing life styles that cause disagreements among the land. There is Laxonian, Wulfian, and Komis. Then you have the Heartwood Knights of the Militis that try to police the lands and keep things calm. Heartwood is neutral ground as all areas send people to join their ranks at young age of seven. Although, there are late bloomers that have made their way into the ranks.

We meet many characters here. It's a large cast to play with. It's an epic fantasy. Large casts are a good thing in a world as vast as this. We learn more, see more, and know more, by having more venues to see the world through. It brings the diversity to our attention. But, the larger the cast in a deadly world...there are more to lose along the way. More potential of death. More happening. And this book keeps it all moving along in that way.

We get a point of view from multiple characters. Each as they lead their own quest party across the land and encounter something different in the world. Each character has their own section so it's clearly marked out who you are reading and what is happening. Of all the characters it's hard to pick a favorite. I loved Chonrad, Lord of Barle, the moment I met him. And overall in the book, I think he's the main character. We aren't with him at all times but he fits the part of the key character to me. But I really enjoyed Teagon as well. Teagon holds a very special magic and that's what draws me to him. Everyone holds something close they don't or won't share with others. It eats at them and everyone needs someone to help them - as a friend or something more.

The story walks these characters through their trials, baring the crosses they hide deep, and drawing friendships where ones would not have been before. A journey, as a group to save the world and individually to help themselves through, through a dangerous world - a world growing more dangerous daily - to save it from itself. Water and Air fight an internal battle over the land.

This story comes to a close with the characters and the troubles of the land. But there are more books to come. And I'll be looking for them. I'm curious to see what comes in the next books in this intriguing world.

[Dark Matter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was reviewed on Dark Matter Zine; for more reviews, interviews and articles, go to Dark Matter Zine. Alternatively, this link is just to Dark Matter Zine's reviews.

A review by Nalini Haynes

I gave Heartwood 3.5 stars on Dark Matter Zine but Goodreads doesn't offer that flexibility.

Heartwood is the first in the Elemental Wars series BUT IT WORKS AS A STAND-ALONE. Yay. I’m a bit over reading 3 or 4 doorstoppers with at least a year in between then struggling to remember what happened previously.

(Take note, writers of epic trilogies, quartets and series: I’m a fan of recaps just like on TV. If clearly separated from the story and labelled as such, fans can choose whether to read the recap.)

Heartwood is a medieval-style fantasy with magic: think Terry Brooks’s Elfstones of Shannara with a touch of David Gemmell’s Legend plus added romance.

Heartwood is the spiritual and geological centre of the land; it’s a religious city not unlike Jerusalem with differing people groups at war. Peace talks are attacked by an unknown race of water elementals who cut out the heart of the Arbor, the tree around which Heartwood is built.

Dignitaries and members of Heartwood’s religious order divide into groups in an endeavour to complete various tasks before Heartwood falls to the water elementals’ expected second attack. Each of the key characters evolves as they reveal their backstory and undergo their 'hero's journey'.

Initially Heartwood explores religion, its differing meanings to key characters and various people groups’ interpretations of the same religion. This began as a powerful ingredient that, if followed through to the conclusion, would have made Heartwood a more philosophical novel.

The disability trope was touched upon with Dolosus, a one-armed man, diminished through the eyes of strangers. Unfortunately Dolosus appeared to be an inadequate fighter due to his disability during an early ambush but his skills were much improved — re-written? — for the last battle. I will gnash my teeth quietly at Dolosus’s tropy-ness, his magical-disabled-person trope and the other-oh-so-spoilery event. It’s my soap-box.

Heartwood could have benefited from Chekov’s gun: that is, placing elements on the ‘stage’ before they’re incorporated into the story. For example, the reader learns of a secret entrance into Heartwood just as our heroes are being tortured to learn its location.

During the final battle there is a hiatus that emphasises Heartwood’s romantic focus. I think Heartwood falls into the Romantic Fantasy genre: that is, it's too much fantasy to be called romance; romantic story-threads are seeded early in the novel, leading to a romantic conclusion.

Overall an enjoyable story, Heartwood is recommended to fantasy readers, romantic fantasy readers and especially to Terry Brooks’s fans.

Freya has published 20 romance novels under the pseudonym Serenity Woods as well as publishing science fiction and fantasy under the name Freya Robertson.

[Isis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to thank both NetGalley and Angry Robot for granting me the chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Though I received the e-book for free that in no way influences this review.

A dying tree, a desperate quest, a love story, a last stand.

Chonrad, Lord of Barle, comes to the fortified temple of Heartwood for the Congressus peace talks, which Heartwood’s holy knights have called in an attempt to stave off war in Anguis. But the Arbor, Heartwood’s holy tree, is failing, and because the land and its people are one, it is imperative the nations try to make peace.

After the Veriditas, or annual Greening Ceremony, the Congressus takes place. The talks do not go well and tempers are rising when an army of warriors emerges from the river. After a fierce battle, the Heartwood knights discover that the water warriors have stolen the Arbor’s heart. For the first time in history, its leaves begin to fall...

The knights divide into seven groups and begin an epic quest to retrieve the Arbor, and save the land.

I was excited to read this book as the description and cover both appealed to me. Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed the characters, I felt overwhelmed by having to follow too many main characters and their stories. I could see what Ms. Robertson was aiming for with seven smaller quests making a whole quest, however I found them to be more of a distraction than a benefit. Their individual stories also created a series of rather abrupt scene transitions from my point of view. This book felt as if it could easily gave been split into a couple of shorter books that were still part of the overall arc for this story.

It wasn't until the final hundred or so pages that I began to feel invested in this book, which in a five-hundred + page book is not a good thing. Having said I would read this as an eARC I felt obligated to complete it, and suspect that only added to my frustration and feelings of building resentment toward the multiple core characters, making me more critical than I might otherwise have been.

With that said, I still think that there are some solid characters in here, and would have liked to see things develop more fully for them. Due to the arc of the main story as well as all the varied components I feel as if the characters got short-changed, being rushed through relationships and emotional discoveries that should have taken more than two or three days from start to finish. Unfortunately, while I do feel that this series could mature into something solidly worth reading, I just never became invested enough to be willing to take that next step and stick with the series as it, hopefully, grows up.

[Paris Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at Paris Carter

After the tree of arbor heart is stolen by water warriors who stormed out of the river, Anguis is put at the point of collapsing if the knights and lords of Heartwood, Laxony, and Wulfengar can’t team up together and get it back.

High fantasy and elves and knights swinging swords and slaying villages and dragons was all I used to read in middle school, but it could possibly be me growing up or I haven’t got into this novel. Heartwood is a high fantasy novel set around several knights as they are travelling to six nodes. The novel has all of the elements of an average fantasy novel, but it doesn’t attract me.

All of the several knights traveling to the nodes have traits and qualities that make each and every one of them unique and somewhat of their own characters. Each has a family and either been married or hasn’t, but all of the characters' dialogue are harshly written. All of their dialogue seems to be unrealistic and over used. The story is also told switching from character to character as they journey to each of the nodes making it even harder to understand, remember, and connect to every character, but I still walked away with a few favorite characters like Chonrad, Procella, and

The length is another problem the novel is stretched into an epic long novel, when it could’ve been compressed into a way shorter novel. I found myself struggling to stay interested in the boring no action love scene after love scene. Having romance in a fantasy novel is something new and cool, but when it’s more about taking our armour off and having sex instead of swords drawn ready for battle at any moment.

But despite its flaws, the world of Anguis actually seems interesting to learn more about in the second novel. We learn about the Laxony and the Wulfengar, but what do any of their cities look like? What’s the climate? I would love to explore a more fully expressed Anguis world in the second novel. Book one is a great opening to the world, but it does need to be addressed more in book two, Sunstone.

I would only recommend this novel to readers who enjoy fantasy but also are interested in romance, and the plot hooked me well enough to go on to read the second novel, Sunstone expected to come out in March. Heartwood isn’t the best thing to hit the shelves of fantasy, but it’s also far from the worst. (Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million)

[Anjuli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwood is the first in a series called Elemental Wars. It is set in a land of knights where countries are torn by war. The one thing that ties them together is a the Arbor, a holy tree. The tree is the center of their religion, their culture, and their land. As the story opens, delegates from each country gather at a peace summit that seems to be past hope and the last straw to save the war-torn land.
Freya Robertson creates a vivid setting in a land with a rich culture that is at the same time is missing key elements because of a great earthquake hundreds of years before. During the peace summit delegates are attacked by creatures that rise out of water to steal the heart of the Arbor. It is the sacred heart upon which their beliefs are based, causing them to reach deeper and to learn more about the missing elements of their religion. Finding that they need to reactivate the energy nodes the knights divide into seven groups to complete a quest to save the tree.
I found myself drawn in at the beginning of the story with the surprise elements of water warriors and of a war between earth and water. I was intrigued how each quest had different tasks to perform at each of the energy nodes, which was connected to a particular knight in each group. These tasks added to the storyline and added variety. Robertson splits a group of knights into seven quests and within each chapter she switches between these quests. While I felt a bit lost in the middle while following the seven different quests, it all came back together at the end. When all the groups gathered back together for the final battle, I was drawn back into a satisfying ending.
I feel a book is good if I am willing to reread it, not because I missed details but because I felt connected to the characters and what was happening. However, while Heartwood is an intriguing story, I struggled to connect with the characters. The story line jumps from each quest every four to six pages, and I found myself losing track of what was happening with other the other quests. While I found the story interesting and the details well done, I felt a lack of connection throughout the book and the different quests.
I would have to reread Heartwood not because of a connection to the characters, but because I still feel like I missed some key elements. The characters, while initially interesting, were not developed enough for me to really feel drawn or connected too them.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book and I got off on a bad foot, because the first several pages are lists of one of my least favorite fantasy tropes: screwing with the calendar. I don't like it when the day is more or less than 24 hours, or the year more or less than 365 days, because it messes up my sense of time passing and I can't ever seem to recover. Then there's the screwing with the terms. Midday becomes something else, morning something else, and all these manufactured terms for something we already understand: MORNING. AFTERNOON. EVENING. But those didn't play into the story, or at least the 20% I got through before calling it quits.

What ultimately caused this to be a DNF for me was the storytelling. The dialogue was stilted and flat, the characters one-dimensional and flat, and the plot and pacing horribly confusing. The story begins with Chonrad saving a kid who tried to steal some thug's money purse, and then follows him as he walks around what is apparently a giant gathering of nations for this annual peace talk where they sit around the Arbor, the giant tree that keeps their world alive or something. Then while they're arguing because there's not enough food, these random water warriors burst out of the river and attack them and steal the heart out of the tree.

Honestly, everything about this story felt like I had been dropped into a middle book of a long series. There are terms that aren't explained, characters and nationalities casually thrown in all over the place, and a brief but apparently important argument about succession for a king that 1) I didn't know existed and 2) I didn't know was dead. When Chonrad isn't insta-lusting after Procella, he's walking around giving orders and being a generically nice, strong leader-type, which is great, except that he doesn't have any personality and reading about him is really boring. There was some mention of "turning into water warriors" in order to go after them and that's where I gave up because how are they even going to do that? That's insane and the lackluster and scattered writing style does not compel me to find out more.

[Nova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartwood started off a little slow. The first part of the book is pure world building, which is great when it comes to a story set in a different world. But it did come off as a little boring until I realized that the author was setting up the book for a long story and potentially other books after this.

It was sometimes a little hard to follow since there were so many "main" characters, but after you got adjusted to very unique and sometimes hard to pronounce names, and were able to keep track of the different journeys (many of them started off the same, and experienced similar obstacles in the beginning so it was a little hard to recall what happened to who exactly since they sort of blended in together).

I honestly enjoyed most of Heartwood! I wasn't sold at first, but after I realized that sometimes it's not about the end of the story, but the journey, that I began to thoroughly enjoy the beautifully descriptive world that Freya Robertson created. I found myself completely entranced by the gorgeous scenery the author had me envisioning and fell in love with many of the characters.

There's plenty of fantastic action and sometimes hilarious dialogue.

What I liked most about the book (besides how beautiful the world was), was that you had no idea what was going to happen next. One minute you thought they were normal humans and the next moment you find out that there's a whole other magical part to the world that not even the characters knew about. And their reactions were just as any other person would have reacted to finding out that they were something more than they realized. They didn't just shrug their shoulders and go "Oh ok then!" instead they fought and cried and denied it and tried to learn more. And that happened a lot in the book. Lots of events happening that were unexpected and got you excited to see what was going to happen next.

I wish we could give half-stars, because this book was definitely a 3.5 for me. :) I find myself looking forward to Freya Robertson's next book that's meant to be released in March.

(Can we also talk about how pretty this book cover is? Because it's really neat!)