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205th out of 592 books
—
745 voters
The Dreaming Tree (Arafel #1-2 omnibus)
by
C.J. Cherryh (Goodreads Author)
Journey to a transitional time in the world, as the dawn of mortal man brings about the downfall of elven magic. But there remains one final place untouched by human hands: the small forest of Ealdwood, in which dwells Arafel the Sidhe, who has more love of the earth than any of her kind. This is a moving, compelling tale of the last stronghold of immortality struggling to...more
Paperback, 464 pages
Published
December 1st 1997
by DAW Fantasy
(first published 1983)
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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...more
This novel first grabbed my attention because of the cover artist (Michael Whelan), who’s well known in the fantasy book cover artist world and has done some spectacular covers. Also, the name is dreamy and magical and sounded right up my alley.
And it was boring.
The first chapter was good – Arafel and her forest had a heavy, pensive feeling, fitting the description of the “forest set apart from the human world and the flow of time.” Sadly, that was the most interesting part of the entire first b...more
And it was boring.
The first chapter was good – Arafel and her forest had a heavy, pensive feeling, fitting the description of the “forest set apart from the human world and the flow of time.” Sadly, that was the most interesting part of the entire first b...more
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 Fae...more
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 Fae...more
Aug 30, 2008
Tatiana (DraCat)
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
it-s-a-kind-of-magic
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 родн...more
I'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 evi...more
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 evi...more
Jun 19, 2009
Victoria
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Especially fans of J. R. R. Tolkien.
Recommended to Victoria by:
My Brother
An exquisitely written book. A mix of everything a true epic needs: Elves, Men, Fae creatures, a battle to determine the fate of worlds, dreams, love, immortality, mortality....... Death himself appears as a character, for which you feel a range of emotions. At times haunting, ethereal, and down-to-earth, this is a must read for any fan of Tolkien.
I've read other books by C.J. Cherryh and enjoyed them but for some reason this book has failed to keep my attention. The story just seems to drag on and never really go anywhere. I doubt I will finish this book.
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.
As melancholy as it is beautiful. Out of all the Cherryh I've read, I think this is her best prose.
Pretty slow reading...I didn't finish it.
Good straight forward fantasy.
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 book...more
Oct 16, 2008
K. Axel
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of the celts
Shelves:
fantasy,
partial-review
"A journey back to the days of the celts, to a world of magic. This is one book that I judged solely on its cover, and I don't regret it."
This is what I wrote in the back of the book after I read it, and I still remember the feeling this book left with me. I was fascinated by the celts, their story and the way they chose to live their lives, and this book brought me back to that world...a world of magic, fey and true heroes.
Worth a read.
This is what I wrote in the back of the book after I read it, and I still remember the feeling this book left with me. I was fascinated by the celts, their story and the way they chose to live their lives, and this book brought me back to that world...a world of magic, fey and true heroes.
Worth a read.
Feb 19, 2008
Heather Noelle
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Dreamers
Shelves:
scifiction-fantasy
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!
High fantasy with lots of magic. I love it!
Would that I never had the notion to read a C.J. Cherryh book.
The story sounded intriguing at first, but I was mostly confused throughout, especially the ending. It could be that I read this at a younger age and probably wasn't worldly enough yet to fully appreciate all the emotions and situations the protagonist was going through.
I couldn't finish this either. Promising story, & a fascinating world that never became real or 3-dimensional - or at least, not in the 80 pages before I gave up. Both surreal & slogging through a swamp slow. My two least favorite things.
This is a strangely attractive book for me. It was very easy to put it down, at points, and to forget that I was in the middle of reading it. And yet ... there was something about it that draws. A mythical world I could live in forever.
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.
Slow and a bit unfocused writing makes for a dreamy story.
So far this is just not grabbing my attention. It started off well, but now I'm just not so sure.
I really tried to get into this book, but just couldn't.
The last Sidhe get involved in local politics
May 18, 2013
Donna
is currently reading it
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Currently 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...more
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Sep 04, 2009 09:31pm