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Arafel #1-2
The Dreaming Tree
THE TWILIGHT OF FAERY
It was that transitional time of the world, when man first brought the clang of iron and the reek of smoke to the lands which before had echoed only with fairy voices. In that dawn of man and death of magic there yet remained one last untouched place---the small forest of Ealdwood---which kept the magic intact, and protected the old ways. And there was one who dwelt there, Arafel the Sidhe, who had more pride and love of the world as it used to be than any of her kind. But fear of the world of Faery ran deep in the hearts of men, and when Ciaran Cuilean, Lord of Caer Wiell, a man with Elvish blood in his veins, found himself the object of increasing distrust and suspicion from his men, his king, and even his own family, he knew he must once again put his humanity aside and return to Ealdwood. For shadows of a newly awakened evil swarmed across both lands, and unless Ciaran reclaimed his haunted weapons from the Tree of Swords and joined Arafel, he would see this evil overtake not only the warm hearthstones of the mortal keeps but the silvery heart of Ealdwood itself!
It was that transitional time of the world, when man first brought the clang of iron and the reek of smoke to the lands which before had echoed only with fairy voices. In that dawn of man and death of magic there yet remained one last untouched place---the small forest of Ealdwood---which kept the magic intact, and protected the old ways. And there was one who dwelt there, Arafel the Sidhe, who had more pride and love of the world as it used to be than any of her kind. But fear of the world of Faery ran deep in the hearts of men, and when Ciaran Cuilean, Lord of Caer Wiell, a man with Elvish blood in his veins, found himself the object of increasing distrust and suspicion from his men, his king, and even his own family, he knew he must once again put his humanity aside and return to Ealdwood. For shadows of a newly awakened evil swarmed across both lands, and unless Ciaran reclaimed his haunted weapons from the Tree of Swords and joined Arafel, he would see this evil overtake not only the warm hearthstones of the mortal keeps but the silvery heart of Ealdwood itself!
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
92 people are currently reading
1725 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Cherryh
292 books3,559 followersCurrently resident in Spokane, Washington, C.J. Cherryh has won four Hugos and is one of the best-selling and most critically acclaimed authors in the science fiction and fantasy field. She is the author of more than forty novels. Her hobbies include travel, photography, reef culture, Mariners baseball, and, a late passion, figure skating: she intends to compete in the adult USFSA track. She began with the modest ambition to learn to skate backwards and now is working on jumps. She sketches, occasionally, cooks fairly well, and hates house work; she loves the outdoors, animals wild and tame, is a hobbyist geologist, adores dinosaurs, and has academic specialties in Roman constitutional law and bronze age Greek ethnography. She has written science fiction since she was ten, spent ten years of her life teaching Latin and Ancient History on the high school level, before retiring to full time writing, and now does not have enough hours in the day to pursue all her interests. Her studies include planetary geology, weather systems, and natural and man-made catastrophes, civilizations, and cosmology…in fact, there's very little that doesn't interest her. A loom is gathering dust and needs rethreading, a wooden ship model awaits construction, and the cats demand their own time much more urgently. She works constantly, researches mostly on the internet, and has books stacked up and waiting to be written.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
December 4, 2013
This story isn't for everyone, nor is the author's style. She doesn't write like all the other fantasy writers, and her pacing is unusual. However, I believe it's worth every minute of getting used to. This is the closest thing to a "real" Celtic fantasy out there. The gaelic words, the folklore, the settings and the people, are all true to life. Arafel is a very strong female character with none of the romantic encumbrances or issues of self-worth often given to other "strong" female characters. She is unapologetic and fierce, wise and no-nonsense. The human characters are flawed and complex.
I can see how many younger readers would have a hard time with this story, because I've read contemporary fantasy from the last ten years. If that kind of fantasy were apple sauce, this would be the fresh, tart apple off a wild tree.
Read it.
I can see how many younger readers would have a hard time with this story, because I've read contemporary fantasy from the last ten years. If that kind of fantasy were apple sauce, this would be the fresh, tart apple off a wild tree.
Read it.
December 1, 2025
The Dreaming Tree contains two early novels by Cherryh, although the foreword notes that she extended the latter for this volume. I made this out as a Celtic fantasy and Cherryh almost gleefully gives everyone either Welsh, Old English or Celtic names and provides a 'table' at the end to explain them. The story itself invokes a time where the world existed in a transitory state, with the fey yielding the Earth to man and his minions. Yet, the fey still exist in one corner of the world, the small forest of Eald. Around Eald are several 'forts' if you will and many 'steadings', but the overall human population seems rather small.
Cherryh takes us on a multigenerational journey here, featuring Arafel, the last elf and guardian of Eald. Being immortal, she has witnessed the passing of the rest of the Sidhe across the water in their great silver ships and the growth of humanity with its iron works and such. Men do not trespass into Eald! There are, however, many other fey creatures still about, some benign and some evil, although the evil ones have crawled deeper underground. The saga involved concerns the rulers of humanity in the region. The story starts several years after the last King was killed and now a right bastard holds the throne. The late King's protector survived, however, and after contact with Arafel, finds a 'sanctuary steading' which welcomes all seeking refuge, from humans to animals, where they all live in harmony with the land.
I will not detail the plot here, just to say that Cherryh provides a sweeping historical saga covering several generations. The writing is dreamy at times and Cherryh often demonstrates her skill as a wordsmith (something she developed more in her later science fiction tales). The pacing ebbed and flowed, and as usual, built up to an epic denouement (albeit one I was not that pleased with). Cherryh also builds a good sense of foreboding here, especially in the later part of the tale. The whimsical fey are endearing at times and culled from various Celtic mythos. Perhaps dark faery tale best sums it up. Not her best, but something different from her usual fare. 3.5 stars, rounding down for the (I felt) abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion.
Cherryh takes us on a multigenerational journey here, featuring Arafel, the last elf and guardian of Eald. Being immortal, she has witnessed the passing of the rest of the Sidhe across the water in their great silver ships and the growth of humanity with its iron works and such. Men do not trespass into Eald! There are, however, many other fey creatures still about, some benign and some evil, although the evil ones have crawled deeper underground. The saga involved concerns the rulers of humanity in the region. The story starts several years after the last King was killed and now a right bastard holds the throne. The late King's protector survived, however, and after contact with Arafel, finds a 'sanctuary steading' which welcomes all seeking refuge, from humans to animals, where they all live in harmony with the land.
I will not detail the plot here, just to say that Cherryh provides a sweeping historical saga covering several generations. The writing is dreamy at times and Cherryh often demonstrates her skill as a wordsmith (something she developed more in her later science fiction tales). The pacing ebbed and flowed, and as usual, built up to an epic denouement (albeit one I was not that pleased with). Cherryh also builds a good sense of foreboding here, especially in the later part of the tale. The whimsical fey are endearing at times and culled from various Celtic mythos. Perhaps dark faery tale best sums it up. Not her best, but something different from her usual fare. 3.5 stars, rounding down for the (I felt) abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion.
March 19, 2024
Reread 3.14.2024
How is it possible to fall in love with a novel the more times you read it?! I have read Arafel’s Saga (The Dreamstone and The Tree of Swords and Jewels) C.J. Cherryh’s two book series more times than I can remember over the last forty years since it first came out, and it continues to grow on me each time I do. Of course, I could say the same for Ms. Cherryh’s Fortress in Time series as well. Both, with their lyrical descriptions and storytelling, evoke beautiful and haunting worlds. So, why do I love this series so much? It’s wording like this that transport the reader to another world with its sheer beauty and poetic prose…
Summer lay over the forest, when leaves veiled the twisted trunks and graced the skeletal branches with a gray-green life. They were stubborn, the old trees, and clung tenaciously to their long existence on the ridge above the dale. There was anger here, and long memory. The trees whispered and leaned together like conspirators in their old age while the rains came and the mortal suns shone, and shadows slithered around their roots within the brambles and the thickets. No creatures from the New Forest ventured here without fear; and none stayed the night—not the furtive hare, which nibbled the flowers that stopped at the forest edge, not the deer, which drew the air into quivering black nostrils and bounded away to take her chances with human hunters. Not the wariest or the boldest of such creatures which grew up under the mortal sun might love the Ealdwood… but there were hares and deer which did wander here, shadowy wanderers with dark, fey eyes, swift to run, and not for hunting.
At rare times the forest seemed other than sullen and dream-bound, and stirred and wakened somewhat while the moon shone less white and terrible. Midsummer was such a time, when the phantom deer gathered by night, and birds flew which would never be seen by day, and for a brief hour the Ealdwood forgot its anger and dreamed of itself.
On this night, after many such nights, Arafel came, a motion of the heart, a desire which was enough to span seeming and being, to slip from the passage of her time and her sun and moon which shone with a cooler, greener light, and out of the memory of trees and woods as they might have been, or were, or had been. She brought a bit of that otherwhere with her, a bright gleaming where she walked…
For pure fantasy set almost in a world so much like our own, Arafel’s Saga tells the story of a lone elfmaid who still wanders and protects her otherworld forest set somewhere just beyond the sight of Men, a world long ago abandoned by the rest of her faery kind. Long has she walked its shadow ways, mindful of Men, but often ignoring them… until one desperate soul found his way into her thoughts and life. But for her interest, she induces a string of events she has no control to stop, except to further intrude upon the world of Men. And all of it at a price almost too great to bear.
In many ways, this story is reminiscent of the works of Tolkien and Dunsany. But then, how can they not!
_________
Read 7.28.2019
Five stars... no ten... a hundred! An absolute treat everytime I read it—and I have read it a multitude of times over the years! I cannot begin to describe the lyrical quality of the writing or the grand eloquence of the story. It is more than a story—it is a song to be sung over and over again with it's nods to Welsh and Celtic mythology and, in my humble opinion, hints of Tolkien's own great masterful work. C. J. Cherryh at her absolute best!
How is it possible to fall in love with a novel the more times you read it?! I have read Arafel’s Saga (The Dreamstone and The Tree of Swords and Jewels) C.J. Cherryh’s two book series more times than I can remember over the last forty years since it first came out, and it continues to grow on me each time I do. Of course, I could say the same for Ms. Cherryh’s Fortress in Time series as well. Both, with their lyrical descriptions and storytelling, evoke beautiful and haunting worlds. So, why do I love this series so much? It’s wording like this that transport the reader to another world with its sheer beauty and poetic prose…
Summer lay over the forest, when leaves veiled the twisted trunks and graced the skeletal branches with a gray-green life. They were stubborn, the old trees, and clung tenaciously to their long existence on the ridge above the dale. There was anger here, and long memory. The trees whispered and leaned together like conspirators in their old age while the rains came and the mortal suns shone, and shadows slithered around their roots within the brambles and the thickets. No creatures from the New Forest ventured here without fear; and none stayed the night—not the furtive hare, which nibbled the flowers that stopped at the forest edge, not the deer, which drew the air into quivering black nostrils and bounded away to take her chances with human hunters. Not the wariest or the boldest of such creatures which grew up under the mortal sun might love the Ealdwood… but there were hares and deer which did wander here, shadowy wanderers with dark, fey eyes, swift to run, and not for hunting.
At rare times the forest seemed other than sullen and dream-bound, and stirred and wakened somewhat while the moon shone less white and terrible. Midsummer was such a time, when the phantom deer gathered by night, and birds flew which would never be seen by day, and for a brief hour the Ealdwood forgot its anger and dreamed of itself.
On this night, after many such nights, Arafel came, a motion of the heart, a desire which was enough to span seeming and being, to slip from the passage of her time and her sun and moon which shone with a cooler, greener light, and out of the memory of trees and woods as they might have been, or were, or had been. She brought a bit of that otherwhere with her, a bright gleaming where she walked…
For pure fantasy set almost in a world so much like our own, Arafel’s Saga tells the story of a lone elfmaid who still wanders and protects her otherworld forest set somewhere just beyond the sight of Men, a world long ago abandoned by the rest of her faery kind. Long has she walked its shadow ways, mindful of Men, but often ignoring them… until one desperate soul found his way into her thoughts and life. But for her interest, she induces a string of events she has no control to stop, except to further intrude upon the world of Men. And all of it at a price almost too great to bear.
In many ways, this story is reminiscent of the works of Tolkien and Dunsany. But then, how can they not!
_________
Read 7.28.2019
Five stars... no ten... a hundred! An absolute treat everytime I read it—and I have read it a multitude of times over the years! I cannot begin to describe the lyrical quality of the writing or the grand eloquence of the story. It is more than a story—it is a song to be sung over and over again with it's nods to Welsh and Celtic mythology and, in my humble opinion, hints of Tolkien's own great masterful work. C. J. Cherryh at her absolute best!
April 7, 2025
C.J. Cherryh has been one of my very favorite authors for, well, dangerously close to 40 years now. But when I first started reading her books back in high school, I was primarily focused on her SF -- Downbelow Station, Merchanter's Luck, The Pride of Chanur, etc. I remember trying to read The Dreamstone (first of the two books collected in this volume; the other being its sequel The Tree of Swords and Jewels) back in high school and maybe in college, and just kind of bouncing off of it, and now, I've finally read the entire duology (collected in this one book) and I'm really glad I did, but I can also see why I wasn't ready for it back in the day.
This is a fantasy that takes place in a sort of vaguely Celtic setting -- the names are primarily Old English, Celtic or Welsh -- in & around a couple of small, unnamed kingdoms, one of which borders Eald, the last outpost of Faery and home of Arafel, the last surviving Duine Sidhe (her fellow elves didn't die precisely, but they grew weary of the world, not least because of the encroachments of men and iron, and departed, leaving their relics behind on the Tree of Swords and Jewels that gives its name to the second book).
The first book is a sort of series of linked short stories in which the kingdom bordering Eald is in some turmoil due to succession crises, and Arafel becomes entangled in its affairs when a refugee crosses her borders, starting a cascade of events that will unfold over two or three generations, told mostly from the humans' point of view although Arafel is always the linking thread.
The second book takes place over a much more compressed timeframe, but on a larger scale -- again, the kingdom bordering Eald is in turmoil, but this time, due in part to Arafel's involvement previously, dark forces from Sidhe history are taking the opposing side, using the humans as proxies to restage a war they lost before the age of Man.
These are lovely books, full of faery magic (which is in no wise unperilous) and cold iron, and old, dark things lurking in tree or in stream. They require a fairly careful reading, but, to my mind, are well worth it.
This is a fantasy that takes place in a sort of vaguely Celtic setting -- the names are primarily Old English, Celtic or Welsh -- in & around a couple of small, unnamed kingdoms, one of which borders Eald, the last outpost of Faery and home of Arafel, the last surviving Duine Sidhe (her fellow elves didn't die precisely, but they grew weary of the world, not least because of the encroachments of men and iron, and departed, leaving their relics behind on the Tree of Swords and Jewels that gives its name to the second book).
The first book is a sort of series of linked short stories in which the kingdom bordering Eald is in some turmoil due to succession crises, and Arafel becomes entangled in its affairs when a refugee crosses her borders, starting a cascade of events that will unfold over two or three generations, told mostly from the humans' point of view although Arafel is always the linking thread.
The second book takes place over a much more compressed timeframe, but on a larger scale -- again, the kingdom bordering Eald is in turmoil, but this time, due in part to Arafel's involvement previously, dark forces from Sidhe history are taking the opposing side, using the humans as proxies to restage a war they lost before the age of Man.
These are lovely books, full of faery magic (which is in no wise unperilous) and cold iron, and old, dark things lurking in tree or in stream. They require a fairly careful reading, but, to my mind, are well worth it.
June 13, 2013
Gorgeous and lush prose, and a tragically beautiful vision of the faerie, enchanted world. As another reviewer noted, this book will not appeal to everyone. It is not for the video game-minded and the TV-minded. It is not going to jump into action and give you quick snippets of story to propel you onto the next bit of action. The story is not "driven", but rather flows. It is well and knowledgeably based on Celtic folklore; it is written from the soul; it is compelled by longing and love for the enchanted world itself. Its pacing is thoughtful, its turns imaginative and its characters heart-felt. To the author, who was bold enough to break from what has become the rigid, predictable norm of modern fantasy (what I like to call kingmaker tales and silly tales of wicked Star Trek Romulans masquerading as elves), thank you for having the courage to write something far deeper and truer and of purer vision. You were a profound influence on my own books and interests.
Read
January 1, 2008I'm as big a fan of CJ Cherryh as I am of Rowling, I have to deliberately limit myself as to the frequency with which I let myself read her or I'd just be reading her all the time.
The Dreaming Tree is rooted in Welsh Mythology, no pun intended, and uses lots of Welsh names that you need to refer to the index in back to pronouncy correctly. For example "Bain Sidhe" is what we more commonly spell and pronounce "Banshee".
Pronunciation aside, the dreaming tree is a well wrought tale of good and evil, life and death. The main Character, Aelphaedra, is the Last elf remaining (sort of) in the world of men. The Dreaming Tree is Cinnuint, which has a hard to describe relationship with elves who have left the world. An intereting character is Death, who wants to be friends with Aelphaedra. She enlists his help in her conflict with the evil elves, the Drow. Death is sort of like a sherrif who's all for law and order, but is not real compassionate.
Anyway, it's a fine example of Cherry's work, and as far as I know is not part of a multititle series. Very engrossing.
The Dreaming Tree is rooted in Welsh Mythology, no pun intended, and uses lots of Welsh names that you need to refer to the index in back to pronouncy correctly. For example "Bain Sidhe" is what we more commonly spell and pronounce "Banshee".
Pronunciation aside, the dreaming tree is a well wrought tale of good and evil, life and death. The main Character, Aelphaedra, is the Last elf remaining (sort of) in the world of men. The Dreaming Tree is Cinnuint, which has a hard to describe relationship with elves who have left the world. An intereting character is Death, who wants to be friends with Aelphaedra. She enlists his help in her conflict with the evil elves, the Drow. Death is sort of like a sherrif who's all for law and order, but is not real compassionate.
Anyway, it's a fine example of Cherry's work, and as far as I know is not part of a multititle series. Very engrossing.
August 5, 2025
Magical! A wonderful Celtic fantasy.
November 21, 2009
While I've always been sort of "middle-of-the-road" about C. J. Cherryh, she is a good writer. This book, I'm also somewhat ambivalent about. Yes it's well written, yes it spins a good and somewhat involving story. But it's also slightly episodic and tends to, well, run hot and cold. In the end I couldn't actually get involved in the story completely.
This book is filled with beautiful prose and a story of...change. The change as stated in the book of "human-kind". Is it about the passing of Faerie? of the Sidhe? you'll have to decide that.
I found this a very melancholy read, but beautiful in some ways.
This book is filled with beautiful prose and a story of...change. The change as stated in the book of "human-kind". Is it about the passing of Faerie? of the Sidhe? you'll have to decide that.
I found this a very melancholy read, but beautiful in some ways.
February 20, 2008
The copy of this book and its companion that I own is called Arafel's Saga... I have been informed that an alternate ending has been issued and the book is now sold in two volumes. This book is one of my all time favorites, I would highly recommend finding the older version, in one volume and reading it with the original and very apt ending! Enjoy!
September 12, 2020
rarely ever happens but i had to give up on this one a few chapters in because it became too dreadful. i do have the utmost respect for the author and the setting and found both her way with words and the character of arafel intriguing, however the story itself and the way it was paced held no appeal to me and didn’t manage to capture me in the least, even as time went on. maybe i‘ll revisit it someday, though at this point i honestly doubt it
April 26, 2017
The Dreaming Tree is Omnibus of the Ealdwood series (Dreamstone, Tree of Swords & Stones)
Overall I would definitely recommend this book; with one piece of advice for those considering it as a possible read. This is Welsh/English mythos fleshed out and made personal through the characters CJ creates. However if you commit to reading it; you need to be willing to stick with it as she teaches the reader the necessary backstory for the rest of the story to make sense; that and also there are a lot of welsh words & names that if ya don't know (tho she manages beautifully to "show" you the meaning when first introduced) can quickly become a tangled mess. To prevent that there is also a glossary at the back which was very helpful if you forget exactly what a Sgeulaiche is and need to know to decipher the current sentence your reading. Even though this is not a quick and breezy read (at times I had to put it down for a hour or so to clear my head and/or my sinuses). I kept coming back cuz CJ insinuated then entwined these characters so that they were part of me and even tho all the humans and even the Fae in the book constantly warned that no good ever comes of magic or Human/Fae interaction. So much so I swear by the last few chapters I was expecting and ending somewhat like that of Hamlet. Not exactly encouragement to finish reading... but like a human beguiled by the beauty of the Fae... having first stepped over the boundary and into the Ealdwood; there was no going back only on to the end. I won't say what end it was.. I read the last page sinuses clogged; nose running and it was more than worth it. I plan to read it again in a few months just cuz I think this first time through I missed a lot of the more subtle stuff that I know is there (I have read a lot of CJ's stuff and there are always layers and layers with gold nuggets scattered about in everything she writes.) CJ Cherryh has yet to disappoint me and I look forward to my continued exploration in the many worlds and universes I will soon be discovering.
Other CJ Cherryh I have read and loved: Cuckoo's Egg; Foreigner Series; Gene Wars (read this 3 times is awesome); Morgaine Saga (read all 4 books 3 times); Rider(Finisterre) Series(read 2 times). About to start the Faded Sun Trilogy next....
Overall I would definitely recommend this book; with one piece of advice for those considering it as a possible read. This is Welsh/English mythos fleshed out and made personal through the characters CJ creates. However if you commit to reading it; you need to be willing to stick with it as she teaches the reader the necessary backstory for the rest of the story to make sense; that and also there are a lot of welsh words & names that if ya don't know (tho she manages beautifully to "show" you the meaning when first introduced) can quickly become a tangled mess. To prevent that there is also a glossary at the back which was very helpful if you forget exactly what a Sgeulaiche is and need to know to decipher the current sentence your reading. Even though this is not a quick and breezy read (at times I had to put it down for a hour or so to clear my head and/or my sinuses). I kept coming back cuz CJ insinuated then entwined these characters so that they were part of me and even tho all the humans and even the Fae in the book constantly warned that no good ever comes of magic or Human/Fae interaction. So much so I swear by the last few chapters I was expecting and ending somewhat like that of Hamlet. Not exactly encouragement to finish reading... but like a human beguiled by the beauty of the Fae... having first stepped over the boundary and into the Ealdwood; there was no going back only on to the end. I won't say what end it was.. I read the last page sinuses clogged; nose running and it was more than worth it. I plan to read it again in a few months just cuz I think this first time through I missed a lot of the more subtle stuff that I know is there (I have read a lot of CJ's stuff and there are always layers and layers with gold nuggets scattered about in everything she writes.) CJ Cherryh has yet to disappoint me and I look forward to my continued exploration in the many worlds and universes I will soon be discovering.
Other CJ Cherryh I have read and loved: Cuckoo's Egg; Foreigner Series; Gene Wars (read this 3 times is awesome); Morgaine Saga (read all 4 books 3 times); Rider(Finisterre) Series(read 2 times). About to start the Faded Sun Trilogy next....
November 15, 2023
One of the most beautiful, bittersweet, melancholy, enchanting books I’ve had the pleasure of reading. The style is classic old-fantasy, reminiscent (and most likely inspired by) Tolkien, and it works incredibly well for the story. The world is full and achingly old and very, very real feeling, as are the characters, who are real and flawed and fearful as well as filled with wonder and love for their land and their families.
This is not a book with fast action and witty banter—the plot does not move quickly. And it is even better for that. It relies on a readers’ attention, on often having to understand without being told, and reading through the subtlety, but it’s not a slog at all. It’s more about how the characters are thinking and interacting with their world and each other than what they are doing within the world or the great battles (though we get those, too). The Celtic-inspired worldbuilding is wonderfully done, as is the progression of the points of views and the scale of the story, how large it feels, yet also how it also centered on family and relationships and the generations that follow. When you reach the end and think back on how it began, you really do notice just how far the story has come and all the things that led up to it. Using Caer Wiell as a physical center point between the many different points of view was so well done, and anchored the setting and feel of the story wonderfully, even as it crossed generations.
Such a classic fantasy feel to this book. It really shows how much the genre has changed since the 21st century. I think a lot of contemporary fantasy could learn from this book.
This is not a book with fast action and witty banter—the plot does not move quickly. And it is even better for that. It relies on a readers’ attention, on often having to understand without being told, and reading through the subtlety, but it’s not a slog at all. It’s more about how the characters are thinking and interacting with their world and each other than what they are doing within the world or the great battles (though we get those, too). The Celtic-inspired worldbuilding is wonderfully done, as is the progression of the points of views and the scale of the story, how large it feels, yet also how it also centered on family and relationships and the generations that follow. When you reach the end and think back on how it began, you really do notice just how far the story has come and all the things that led up to it. Using Caer Wiell as a physical center point between the many different points of view was so well done, and anchored the setting and feel of the story wonderfully, even as it crossed generations.
Such a classic fantasy feel to this book. It really shows how much the genre has changed since the 21st century. I think a lot of contemporary fantasy could learn from this book.
January 4, 2017
I am finally done with this book. My first book of 2017 has turned out to be such a disappointment. (In fact, it is only my first book of 2017 because I have dragged through it, not wanting to finish.)
I'm disappointed because I've read the Fortress series of the same author and remember being fond of them. I think I was mostly fond of the main character, but this book can't even manage that. All I'm taking from it is that it's so goddamn generic: generic Celtic fantasy, generic elvish bullshit, generic two-dimensional characters (that are completely interchangeable, too, if the way the first book went through characters was any indication), a vague sense of a danger and tepid battles. It is so goddamn boring.
I lost interest about half-way through. I have to admit what I did to the later half probably couldn't be qualified as reading. No matter, as I am sure my dim impression about this boring book will be swept away soon enough.
I'm disappointed because I've read the Fortress series of the same author and remember being fond of them. I think I was mostly fond of the main character, but this book can't even manage that. All I'm taking from it is that it's so goddamn generic: generic Celtic fantasy, generic elvish bullshit, generic two-dimensional characters (that are completely interchangeable, too, if the way the first book went through characters was any indication), a vague sense of a danger and tepid battles. It is so goddamn boring.
I lost interest about half-way through. I have to admit what I did to the later half probably couldn't be qualified as reading. No matter, as I am sure my dim impression about this boring book will be swept away soon enough.
August 30, 2008
Давно в мои руки не попадала книга фентази, которая бы захватила меня столь полно. Валлийские и староанглийские имена вползают в подсознание, не оставляя места никаким чувствам, кроме тоски по Волшебной стране. Эльфы Кэролайн Черри - ши моих снов. И каждая страница отзывается узнаванием чего-то из давно забытого прошлого или, возможно, прошлых жизней. Я даже удивилась, когда в биографии автора прочитала, что автор - американка, уж больно ирландски и по-йейтсовски звучит её сказка, уж больно родной кажется кельтским мифам. Спасибо , которая поделилась этим сокровищем.
А вообще - это книга про психологию. Про веру, про надежду на будущее, про страх изменений и про недоверие чудесам. Про семью и верность, про любовь комфортную и любовь вечную. Про арфистов и их музыку (куда же без них) и про леса, которые не дано видеть человеку.
А вообще - это книга про психологию. Про веру, про надежду на будущее, про страх изменений и про недоверие чудесам. Про семью и верность, про любовь комфортную и любовь вечную. Про арфистов и их музыку (куда же без них) и про леса, которые не дано видеть человеку.
May 28, 2022
A beautiful, unique, flawed gem. Cherryh taps into Celtic lore and a particularly mythological and rich variety of fantasy prose to tell a story of fading, immortal elves and their ties to several generations of a human family. Compared to her other fantasy, this earlier novel (actually a compendium of two, a duology) is more self-contained and coherent, but benefits and suffers from the same slippage into magical abstraction at climactic moments. The moments are bewildering and other-worldly, offering remarkable experiences at the expense of coherent narrative. This is more pronounced in the second novel than the first. Despite this, I loved that journey, one very unlike most other action-focused, adventure-plot-driven modern fantasy.
January 4, 2011
So it turns out I'm a sucker for Celtic mythology tales. I eat it up. This is high fantasy, with Celtic folklore seamlessly woven in. I think Evangeline Walton's books are ever so slightly higher quality, simply because they have more of a mythological feel to them. Cherryh's book was a much faster read however. Lord Death features prominently in both of them, but here the faery realm is more at play than other Celtic Gods. Now that I know this is an actual genre, I will be seeking out more books like this.
January 26, 2018
I read this story as a young adult and recently read it again (many years later), and I still absolute LOVE this story. In my opinion it's some of Cherryh's best early work.
Cherryh is a master of blending real myth and legend with intriguing fantasy, and the result is uniquely entertaining. This is not your trite, average, simple modernized fantasy! Don't approach it expecting Tolkien-esque elves and dwarfs, either-- Cherryh's work is far more real, more captivating, and more tangible.
Cherryh is a master of blending real myth and legend with intriguing fantasy, and the result is uniquely entertaining. This is not your trite, average, simple modernized fantasy! Don't approach it expecting Tolkien-esque elves and dwarfs, either-- Cherryh's work is far more real, more captivating, and more tangible.
September 16, 2022
This really filled the hole left by the new LOTR series, which had whetted my appetite for elves and magic, but fell short. This book is the closest I've ever felt to reading Tolkien, although it's very distinctly it's own thing, but I thought the writing was so beautiful and lyrical that it reminded me of the master. I loved this story and will definitely be seeking out more from Cherryh.
April 23, 2013
Another excellent work by C. J. Cherryh! One of the best "Fantasy" series I've read in a long time. Appropriately sad, thoughtful, and heroic with that aura of faded glory which, in the LOTR "new age" of man concept, stories of Elves should be.
June 7, 2019
I did not deliberately set out to follow up an unsatisfying fairy book with a totally different kind of fairy book, but it turned out ok for me. This pair of stories is mostly slow, dreamy, wild and strange, and that is how I like my fairies.
September 15, 2007
Cherryh is far more well known for her science fiction than for her fantasy, but The Dreaming Tree is absolutely wonderful and awe inspiring in the original sense of wonder and awe.
April 9, 2009
As melancholy as it is beautiful. Out of all the Cherryh I've read, I think this is her best prose.
January 15, 2025
This was absolutely beautiful. As other reviewers have pointed out: yes, it is slow; yes it is, especially in the first book, The Dreamstone, somewhat episodic. But this is a book that builds and builds. The first book is there mostly to introduce you to Arafel, the Sidhe protagonist, Eald, Caer Wiell, etc., and shows Arafale's relationship with time and Men. The second book, The Tree of Swords and Jewels, is where everything comes together, building to an incredible climax that left me in tears.
This is a book full of soul and love of myth. Cherryh's passion for Celtic legend drips from the page. Of all the books I've read about the Fae, I think this has to be one of the closest to getting it right. This is a tragic, melancholy vision of Faerie, beautiful, sad, and strange. Cherryh's prose is just perfect - dreamlike, scintillating, rich with Celtic language and sentence structures. I would compare the reading experience favorably to reading something like a The Silmarillion-lite; there are some concessions to modern stylistic preferences, but the pitch and tone and timbre of the writing is very much akin to Tolkien or to reading something right out of Celtic legend. Just with a bit more characterization.
The second book was far and away my favorite. You spend a lot more time with that cast of characters, and really get to know them and love them. I found the character of Branwyn especially touching - her love for Ciaran and her children, her estrangement from and love for Eald, the heartbreaking ending. As I said before, the pacing is slow, but it makes everything far more intense, with a mounting sense of dread and madness. The final conflict between the different factions, groups of people frantically darting around, faeries, and even the land itself, reminded me very much of Princess Mononoke, which is one of my all-time favorite movies. Honestly, this would make a pretty incredible animated movie, if it was done right (good luck of that ever happening).
Overall, I thought this was beautiful, pure, and absolutely spectacular. It is definitely not for everyone - not for brainrot addled TikTokers or people who want an immediate payoff. This is a slow burn, but well worth the investment. If you like the Fae, Celtic legend, or have a love for mythology in your heart, this one will touch you. This was the first book that I've read by Cherryh and I will absolutely be reading her other books! As an aspiring writer and a fellow Cherry, she's an inspiration.
This is a book full of soul and love of myth. Cherryh's passion for Celtic legend drips from the page. Of all the books I've read about the Fae, I think this has to be one of the closest to getting it right. This is a tragic, melancholy vision of Faerie, beautiful, sad, and strange. Cherryh's prose is just perfect - dreamlike, scintillating, rich with Celtic language and sentence structures. I would compare the reading experience favorably to reading something like a The Silmarillion-lite; there are some concessions to modern stylistic preferences, but the pitch and tone and timbre of the writing is very much akin to Tolkien or to reading something right out of Celtic legend. Just with a bit more characterization.
The second book was far and away my favorite. You spend a lot more time with that cast of characters, and really get to know them and love them. I found the character of Branwyn especially touching - her love for Ciaran and her children, her estrangement from and love for Eald, the heartbreaking ending. As I said before, the pacing is slow, but it makes everything far more intense, with a mounting sense of dread and madness. The final conflict between the different factions, groups of people frantically darting around, faeries, and even the land itself, reminded me very much of Princess Mononoke, which is one of my all-time favorite movies. Honestly, this would make a pretty incredible animated movie, if it was done right (good luck of that ever happening).
Overall, I thought this was beautiful, pure, and absolutely spectacular. It is definitely not for everyone - not for brainrot addled TikTokers or people who want an immediate payoff. This is a slow burn, but well worth the investment. If you like the Fae, Celtic legend, or have a love for mythology in your heart, this one will touch you. This was the first book that I've read by Cherryh and I will absolutely be reading her other books! As an aspiring writer and a fellow Cherry, she's an inspiration.
July 15, 2024
I started this book because I wanted to read some different fantasy and although the The Dreamstone starts in an interesting style, the end moves more towards your standard fantasy novel.
The plot is not standard, but this is not always a good thing. I found it a lot of the times messy and difficult to keep track of the different plot lines. It was also difficult to understand what the focal point on the novel is. It is not Arafel for sure, one of the reasons for me to read this book: the last elf taking care of an old forest and feeling lonely. So I guess it is the location of Caer Weill, a keep held by Man. Added to that, the mingling of the 'real world', 'the dream world', and the 'world of fading' didn't make it a lot easier.
The use of Gaelic names added flavour, but was overdone. I had to go back and forth to see how to pronounce all the different names and then you find out they are quite simplistic like Niall is hero, and Branwyn is white breast. In the appendix Cherry says that the elves generally have Celtic names. However, everything in the book has a Celtic name or is linked to Gaelic.
Did I root for a character? Maybe Arafel, but all the rest I did not really care. Branwyn perhaps, but all the others did not leave a lasting impression. Although the novel has more than 400 pages, characters are not really explored, histories are not provided, legends are absent. Even the dreaming tree itself only shows up a very limited amount of time.
Talking about histories, the book hints at a rich history of the Sidh, but leaves many things unanswered concerning the history of the Daoine Sidh, dragons, and the locations. And locations are important. I found it striking no map was provided as there is a lot of travelling.
The story was slips of paper, hinting at a rich world but never delivering. Maybe Cherryh chose this to present a more fairy tale kind of world where a lot of things go unexplained, but price you pay is that characters become less interesting, their choices less important, and their struggles forgettable.
The plot is not standard, but this is not always a good thing. I found it a lot of the times messy and difficult to keep track of the different plot lines. It was also difficult to understand what the focal point on the novel is. It is not Arafel for sure, one of the reasons for me to read this book: the last elf taking care of an old forest and feeling lonely. So I guess it is the location of Caer Weill, a keep held by Man. Added to that, the mingling of the 'real world', 'the dream world', and the 'world of fading' didn't make it a lot easier.
The use of Gaelic names added flavour, but was overdone. I had to go back and forth to see how to pronounce all the different names and then you find out they are quite simplistic like Niall is hero, and Branwyn is white breast. In the appendix Cherry says that the elves generally have Celtic names. However, everything in the book has a Celtic name or is linked to Gaelic.
Did I root for a character? Maybe Arafel, but all the rest I did not really care. Branwyn perhaps, but all the others did not leave a lasting impression. Although the novel has more than 400 pages, characters are not really explored, histories are not provided, legends are absent. Even the dreaming tree itself only shows up a very limited amount of time.
Talking about histories, the book hints at a rich history of the Sidh, but leaves many things unanswered concerning the history of the Daoine Sidh, dragons, and the locations. And locations are important. I found it striking no map was provided as there is a lot of travelling.
The story was slips of paper, hinting at a rich world but never delivering. Maybe Cherryh chose this to present a more fairy tale kind of world where a lot of things go unexplained, but price you pay is that characters become less interesting, their choices less important, and their struggles forgettable.
October 1, 2018
Imagine an adventure in Middle Earth as told from Galadrial’s point of view, and you’ll grasp the feeling conveyed in this story. In a world of human kingdoms and fading magic, Arafel is the last of the elves, her kin having hung their dreamstones and swords on a sacred tree and departed. Aravel maintains her fey enclave deep in the woods, somewhat reminiscent of The Last Unicorn, and wants nothing to do with the outer world until a human family with elvish blood in need of help draws her back into mortal affairs.
The story spans about four generations of that family, who become the noble protectors of the forest and receive her aid in turn. The king meanwhile falls under the control of a dark power, and Arafel and her friends must ride into battle one last time.
That’s the plot, but the most absorbing element is the depiction of what it means to be an elf, a being who occupies several different strata of reality at once, and who experiences the passage of time in a different way until she is drawn into mortal affairs, experiencing sorrow afresh as those mortals succumb to time and depart.
And there are odd misadventures along the way. In one, a traveling minstrel takes one of the dreamstones from the Tree of Swords and Jewels and he and Arefel dream each other’s dreams.
But the most striking element is the beauty and melancholy of being the last elf in a world on the brink of changing forever.
Fortunately, fans have performed a song that captures the mood perfectly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpzsc...
The story spans about four generations of that family, who become the noble protectors of the forest and receive her aid in turn. The king meanwhile falls under the control of a dark power, and Arafel and her friends must ride into battle one last time.
That’s the plot, but the most absorbing element is the depiction of what it means to be an elf, a being who occupies several different strata of reality at once, and who experiences the passage of time in a different way until she is drawn into mortal affairs, experiencing sorrow afresh as those mortals succumb to time and depart.
And there are odd misadventures along the way. In one, a traveling minstrel takes one of the dreamstones from the Tree of Swords and Jewels and he and Arefel dream each other’s dreams.
But the most striking element is the beauty and melancholy of being the last elf in a world on the brink of changing forever.
Fortunately, fans have performed a song that captures the mood perfectly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpzsc...
December 13, 2024
4 1/2 stars. CJ Cherryh is a brilliant prose stylist - there is neither a badly composed or placed sentence in the entire 420 pages of this omnibus - and a teller of riveting stories. And here she does something unique and profound with the fantasy concept of the 'elf' which truly builds on Tolkien's initial vision and puts the other, blandified versions of lesser authors to shame. The big flaw, such as it is, is the fast-and-loose way in which the plot moves along, such that at times the speed with which events unfold, and the way in which they do so, is simply too implausible to believe or too confusing to follow. It is a rung below the greats. But it is superior in every respect to run of the mill high fantasy fiction.
December 18, 2025
Why are these old fantasy novels so much more powerful and nuanced than the modern offerings?
(Probably because they aren't aimed at the teenage female market, which seems to be the current ghetto to which 'fantasy ' is assigned by the publishing industry?)
A classic piece of Cherryh writing, whether in the SF or fantasy genres, featuring alien culture/backstory that is implied rather than spelt out, misunderstandings and unintended consequences of interspecies contact, betrayals and conflicts of loyalty, and an unexpectedly optimistic spin on the "death of faery" theme.
The second book has more depth than the first, but builds on the themes already established (and makes a surprise return back to where we started - I had not spotted the two Beorcs!)
Highly recommended.
(Probably because they aren't aimed at the teenage female market, which seems to be the current ghetto to which 'fantasy ' is assigned by the publishing industry?)
A classic piece of Cherryh writing, whether in the SF or fantasy genres, featuring alien culture/backstory that is implied rather than spelt out, misunderstandings and unintended consequences of interspecies contact, betrayals and conflicts of loyalty, and an unexpectedly optimistic spin on the "death of faery" theme.
The second book has more depth than the first, but builds on the themes already established (and makes a surprise return back to where we started - I had not spotted the two Beorcs!)
Highly recommended.
June 17, 2018
I'm a fan of Cherryh's Sci-Fi and was hoping this would be as good. Unfortunately, this book is hampered a lot by the fact that it is very, very dull.
Now, some of my favourite books are books that are light on action and great on characterization, setting a scene, exploring a theme or a character or at least something that makes the book hit the spot. In this book nothing makes up for the dullness. The bits of writing that worked for me are sporadic and I am left with the feeling that the author never decided what this book was going to be and an editor that didn't call her on it.
Read Cherry's Sci-Fi instead. It is much better.
August 6, 2019
This is a beautifully written, classic fantasy. It has to be the single most fantastical book I have read in a long time. As such, it was difficult to get through. When I could focus on it, I enjoyed the world, characters and magic. When I could focus. It has a lot going for it, but the older writing style and deep Irish, Welsh and Celtic influences made it hard to stay engaged and necessitated a near constant back tracking for pronunciations. It was good, but I would recommend it only to those who are open to and willing to read older fantasy. Worth it in the end.
April 1, 2021
Very interesting story, covering many years. In and older style of story telling which includes long descriptive paragraphs which paint a very clear picture of this world.
While I enjoyed the tale, it was a hard read for me, mostly because of the use of so many Celtic (or are they Welch?) names. It is probably just me, but I have a difficult time reading them, as I stumble wit the mental pronunciation. To the author's credit, she provides a vocabulary at the end of the book, which helps.
While I enjoyed the tale, it was a hard read for me, mostly because of the use of so many Celtic (or are they Welch?) names. It is probably just me, but I have a difficult time reading them, as I stumble wit the mental pronunciation. To the author's credit, she provides a vocabulary at the end of the book, which helps.
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