The Rowan

Rowan series #1

by Davis Bunn

A rowan tree with mysterious and unique powers is extending its grip over humanity, and investigative writer Valentina Garnier is caught up in a battle between supernatural forces and the federal government.

Prize-winning investigative writer Valentina Garnier loves a good story, so when she learns that CIA director Agnes Pendalon wants her to travel to Kunashir Island in Russia's easternmost province, she jumps at the chance. Top scientists, political aides, CIA agents and even the vice president's daughter have made mysterious trips to the island in recent weeks, and all have come back changed . . .

When Val arrives in Kunashir, she is mesmerized by a magical rowan tree and its leaves that turn to golden threads, encircling the visitors. Something incredible and transformational is happening in front of her . . . With the CIA determined to hunt down this unknown force and everyone affected by the rowan, is a new battle for the future of humanity about to commence?

Genres: Mystery, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Fiction, Christian Fiction, Speculative Fiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published July 4, 2023

About the author

Davis Bunn is an internationally-acclaimed author who has sold more than eight million books in twenty languages.

Honored with four Christy Awards for excellence in historical and suspense fiction, Davis was inducted into the Christy Hall of Fame in 2014.

His bestsellers include The Great Divide, Winner Take All, The Meeting Place, The Book of Hours, and The Quilt. A sought-after lecturer in the art of writing, Bunn was serves as Writer in Residence at Regent's Park College, Oxford University.

Davis Bunn also writes under the names Thomas Locke (for his epic fantasy and techno-thriller novels) and T. Davis Bunn (for books published prior to 2002).

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5 Stars

TL;DR - A bland, contrived mess that spends way too much time creepily describing character’s physical appearances and what kind of cars everyone is driving, and spends only fleeting moments on the sci-fi element that’s never properly explained, only to end in an abrupt and yet boring cliffhanger. The epitome of “The Audacity of This Man”.

Big thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for providing the ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review!

'The Rowan' by Davis Bunn is a "sci-fi" book about a magic tree that elevates human consciousness...or something. More on that below. It follows Valentina Garnier, a journalist who receives a tip about a big story from a former contact that leads her to a remote Russian island, and the experience changes her and (allegedly) the course of humanity's future.

I was going to write a big long rant review, but this book is so genuinely terrible that I’m going to save us all time and headaches by being as brief as possible.

The beginning is all heavy-handed, boring exposition. Characters are over-described in what I can only call, “man pretentiously describing flat characters to prove how cool he thinks he is”. We get paragraph after paragraph of the history of a building or whatever for no reason other than, you know, the author has to let us know how smart he is and how much he knows about stuff. This goes on and on for the whole book. Bro, I don’t care how cool and intelligent you think you are, move on.

This book was filed under sci-fi/fantasy on NetGalley, but it’s barely that. Mundane things are over-described and then the titular tree gets a few pages of vague nonsense before the book devolves into a political “thriller”. Fantastical elements are just…there. Never described in more than a passing way, and only ever “explained” in vague, pseudo-scientific jargon that tells me nothing about anything at all. The connection between the magic tree and the futuristic technology people come up with after encountering it is never explained, other than “being from another dimension tells us how”, and even then that’s me inferring the connection because it’s never explained. Furthermore, the link between the tree and this being is, again, never explained.

Characters are flat, boring, and nearly interchangeable. And they are described in the creepiest, most superficial way. Everyone is sexy, or a “hunk”, or a geek, or whatever - just caricatures that all speak like they’re in some soulless, testosterone-driven action film. Everyone is shallow and vague, just like the rest of this book.

I honestly have to question if the author has ever interacted with another human being in his life because the characters either speak like AI-generated captions or complete juvenile morons, even when they’re supposed to be ivy-league scientists and career politicians. No conversation reads like a real person is speaking, and it’s laughably cringe-inducing.

And then there’s the just…complete disconnected audacity of the author. A Thai character is called “Oriental” repeatedly and a Jewish-coded character nicknamed “the Rabbi” is high up in the government and responsible for ending careers of enemy politicians through subterfuge and espionage. Excuse me, sir? What year did you crawl up out of to write this shit?

And then there’s the absolute garbage nonsense about autism. This book was written within the last 3 years as it mentions Covid, and the book talks about kids with Asperger’s, which has been a defunct term since 2013. And then there’s a lot of really strange and incorrect language used when talking about autistic people - “autism scale”, “along the Asperger’s-autism line”, “mildly autistic” - as well as harmful misunderstandings and stereotypes - the main character questions why parents would dare to take their autistic kid on a vacation, and another insinuates that all autistic people are self-absorbed. Then, of course, the implication is made that nearly everyone flocking to the magic tree is autistic or have a family member who is, and they come back “cured”. Like, first off, gross. Second, as an autistic person myself (who also had an autistic best friend for close to 15 years), I can tell that this man a) knows nothing about autism except for vague (harmful) stereotypes, and b) had the audacity to just write whatever the fuck he wanted and did no research on it whatsoever. Clearly no autistic sensitivity readers were hired, either, because, simply-put, yikes.

To top it all off, this book is BORING. Like, endless chatter, endless descriptions, but no real plot. Everything has this false veneer of tension, but it’s just the author shouting “THERE’S TENSION!!!” and then, like, never doing anything about it. I started skimming at 37%, skipping over massive paragraphs of superfluous descriptions - I don’t care what they’re eating, what they’re wearing, what kind of car they’re driving. (Which, by the way, is this book sponsored by Honda? I ask because it’s only ever mentioned EVERY SINGLE TIME a car or boat is on-page.) People just know things, but it’s never explained how they know them, and at a few points, this unexplainable knowledge is a major plot point. So much useless info, so little substance. This book is only 192 pages, but it feels like a week has passed.

And then, the book just ends. Like, abruptly. Nothing is resolved. There was no plot arc, no climax and resolution. It just ends, and we get the first chapter of the next book, which I didn’t read because I don’t care what happens.

Final Thoughts:

In as few words as possible: Utter garbage.

I don’t know anything about the author other than he’s supposedly a prolific and successful writer and currently in-residence at a university in the UK, to which I have to ask - how? Why? Who does he know and whose money and name did he use to get there? Because I refuse to believe someone read his writing and thought it was anywhere close to good. Truly a mystery /s

I will not be reading anything by this author ever again. No thank you.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, I have to vent about the title of this book. As if the Christian entertainment industry didn't produce enough knock-offs of secular media, now we have an "inspirational" novel with the same title as a work by the late, great Anne McCaffrey. That's not the first time this author has done so, either; a few years ago, he wrote a book called Prime Directive, which any sci-fi fan knows is borrowed from Star Trek. Next thing you know, this author will publish a book called A New Hope, Make It So, or The Chamber of Secrets.

As for the book itself: As most of the other reviews on here say, this is not the author's best work. I think he should stick to courtroom dramas and Biblical historical novels; that seems to be what he does best.

[Vicki P ✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Severn House, NetGalley and David Bunn for an E-copy ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

⭐.25/5 Stars

I tried reading this book physically at the start of the month and ended up giving up after only 20 pages, I just couldn't connect to the writing but I hate not finishing a task I started and then I found out that on the NetGalley app you can get your phone to read the book to you... So I did.

I didn't enjoy the book in all honesty but I'm glad I finished it. I felt that the book execution didn't live up to the description. There was also way too many characters for me and I couldn't keep up with who was who or what the hell was going on to be honest and I kind of didn't car either.

I don't think David Bunn's writing is for me to be completely honest and I unfortunately wouldn't recommend this book and I will not be continuing on with this series.

[Breanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The premise is so intriguing, but the plot and characters fell a little flat for me. The writing is very descriptive, but lacks feeling or warmth. The plot could have been so great, but just fell short. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC I was able to read!

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when everything you thought you knew and understood about the world is shattered in a single moment? That's the question Valentina Garnier faces after a sudden trip to Russia at the bequest of a long time ally. Val is known in many circles as someone who gets the story without getting attached and it's for that reason, among others the reader discovers along the way, that she is chosen to find out why so many significant people are traveling to a remote island and coming back...changed.

I was intrigued by the description for this book as how often do you come across government, spy novels with elements of magical realism? Rarely for me, but it felt reminiscent of X-Files which I was a fan.

It was a little difficult to engage in the initial chapters as the author chose to start in the middle then do a classic "X many hours earlier" move to then catch the reader up and understand how we got here. I liked early Val as she took no flack off of anyone, CIA Director or not, but midway through the book once events started unfolding she pivoted into what felt like the stereotypical mid to high level cult member. A little spacey, knowing smiles and speaking in altruistic high brow phrases. We've all seen the politicians that say a lot of words but never manage to say much at all.

There was a lot of this book that absolutely went over my head which is simply because of my own inexperience or lack of understanding of some of the science that gets referenced. I won't speak to those elements because I do not have the expertise to voice an opinion, but I will say if you aren't super science-y, have google at the ready for some of the explanations of what's occurring.

The reason for my 3 stars on this book are 2 fold. First, what I just mentioned about the science going heavily over my head, was disappointing. Inserting some joking analogies from some of the non-science members of the team for the prissy scientists to be mock would have been an easy, clean way to make it more palatable or understandable for readers like myself. There were already elements of this method in the scene in the forest warehouse so I don't think it would have been a hard lift.

The second, more influencing reason for me, was that the "villian" of the story were flat and 2-dimensional. I won't call out who specifically to avoid spoilers, but the antagonist of the story is giving no humanity, no depth, nothing for the reader to consider. They are simply presented as a hyper focused career junkie with a single minded agenda and that just disappointed me. Perhaps there will be more nuance to their character arc in coming books, but rarely is it ever so black and white.

"Collateral damage is secondary to speed."

"The sudden thrill of being let off the professional leads."

"When things start moving fast, I need to be at the heart of darkness"

We get it; they're a sociopath.

I liked the premise of this book, I generally liked the execution of it. I will likely watch for the sequel to see where the story goes. If government thrillers with elements of the unknown are your jam, then this book is definitely for you!

[Alison Bradbury · Rating 1 out of 5]

What have I just read?

Let me try my best to piece this together. Val, an investigative journalist, is tasked with a special mission by her friend Carlton who is a political big hitter. Carlton asks Val to go and investigate an island in Eastern Russia that the Vice Presidents daughter has visited prior to her disappearance. Agnes Pendalon, head of the CIA, is less keen on sending an outsider but having sent other agents who come back tight lipped about what has been found there, Agnes has no choice but to trust Val.

On arriving in Russia, Val is ferried off to the island, complete with a a gaggle of other tourists and a large number of Russian guards. There, Val discovers a Rowan tree in a circle of crystal trees. Visitors select a leaf from the Rowan tree and this somehow becomes a strand of light that can be attached to their bodies allowing them to become 'enlightened'. Suddenly the light fades, the tree drops all of it's leaves and the crystal trees shatter leaving Val feeling sad that she didn't partake in the enlightenment. However, back at her apartment she is able to contact the guide from the Island and reactivate a gathered leaf from the Rowan and join the others in their enlightenment. Now she has joined them, Val suddenly has great insight and wisdom (there is a bit here about autistic people being cured and addicts miraculously rehabbed following their own enlightenments) and she joins the other enlightened people in a quest that is leading somewhere that we just aren't sure about. Add in a side serving of the CIA trying to work out what is going on, a team a enlightened scientists who have been working together for just 5 days and who manage to harness dark matter to produce an energy source that allows them to fly on a wooden platform, and a chase across the world in pursuit of a second Rowan tree in the company of a whole host of billionaires. - and you have the recipe for something that just feels...off.

I was utterly confused by this book. I didn't like the writing style at all. The characters are too numerous and completely 2 dimensional. I know that this is only the first in a series of books but even so.....I was just confused and didn't feel that it lead anywhere meaningful.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Morgan Brady · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this for book club and it was terrible. There was no character development, it felt super rushed and it was not flushed out at all. It was sci-fi so obviously it is unrealistic, but the author didn’t even try to convince you that any of it could happen. It was just a set-up for the second book. Would NOT recommend.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

"The Rowan" sounds so interesting: a magical tree, government cover ups, and an investigative journalist at the center of it. It sounds so good on paper. Reading it was a completely different experience. I really wanted to like this one, but right from the Prologue, Bunn's writing just did nothing for me. In simple terms, this book was boring, simple, and just uninteresting. Which is wild considering the blurb but Bunn's writing just doesn't really do any of the blurb justice. The characters, especially the main lead, Val, were all so unremarkable and boring. The world building? Non-existent at this point. And the narrative just lacked SO MUCH in terms of how Bunn progresses the plot, how things are revealed, and most importantly, how Bunn responds to the question of "WHY SHOULD WE CARE?" Generally it felt like Bunn himself didn't care enough about anything to make it more than a static, 2D thing. There were also just some problematic language in this, which if you know me, I generally don't care if the writing and/or story is good but since neither were and since it's 2023, there's really no excuse for racist and sexist language (he literally refers to a Thai woman as Oriental...um...yeah no). There was also so much page space wasted on very creepy descriptions of characters (especially the woman). I won't even get into the autism bs that Bunn forces you to read.

Overall, this was such a massive disappointment. From the lazy and unimaginative writing to the racist and sexist language I wouldn't recommend this to anybody.

[Nathaniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a really disappointing read.  The premise was really interesting but the book just did not live up to it at all.  The characters are all completely flat and two-dimensional, I didn't care about any of them.  The plot is seriously thin and so full of holes.  It's also really lacking in any kind of explanation whatsoever.  I didn't understand what was going on and it felt like huge chunks had been missed out.  The writing style was really clunky, and the large amount of short sentences and paragraphs broken up with ellipses made it difficult to read.  It read very much like an extended film treatment and I could certainly see it as some sort of sci fi action film. 

The author describes some of the characters using particularly offensive and seriously outdated terms - one character is referred to several times as 'Oriental' and another character who appears to be Jewish is nicknamed 'the Rabbi'.  There's a small section focussing on a young boy with autism, and some of the opinions and information given in it are either outdated or incorrect.  The main character displays surprise that he was taken on a trip, and later on asks if he was 'cured'.  There seems to be a huge amount of author bias included there. I just could not believe that these dated expressions and information were being used and published in 2023.  I almost stopped reading at that point; the only reason I continued was because I felt obliged to do so in order to review it.  I really had to force myself to finish it and can not recommend it at all. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advance copy to review.

[Vivienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

My thanks to Severn House for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Rowan’ by Davis Bunn.

I was drawn to this thriller by its premise of a mysterious Rowan tree situated on Kunashir, a remote island in Russian territory, that appears to exert some kind of influence upon the consciousness of people that have been drawn to visit it.

The phenomena comes to the attention of folk in Washington D.C. when the daughter of the Vice President visits the Rowan tree and undergoes a transformation from an out of control party girl to studying for a doctorate.

Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist, Valentina (Val) Garnier, is asked by Agnes Pendalon, CIA’s deputy chief of operations, to join a group travelling to the island and record what is happening there.However, Agnes doesn’t count on Val having a deeply profound experience of her own. Certain shady D.C. types and others feel threatened by the Rowan and whatever mysterious force is behind it with the inevitable over-the-top response.

While I enjoy political thrillers and the idea of a consciousness altering Rowan tree appealed, I found it rather difficult to engage with the plot and characters. It all felt rather flat.

However, I stuck with it and did find that the later chapters when the action moved to Morocco along with the conclusion did grab my interest. It is the opening book in a trilogy and I am somewhat interested in discovering what is behind the appearance of the tree, so may read further when available.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

[T Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am still trying to figure out what I think about this book. On the one hand, it was imaginative, interesting, tense, adventurous, and leaving me wanting to know how it would all resolve (apparently not until the next book(s)). On the other hand, I wondered throughout the book, and even now, who I ultimately should be "cheering for." Yes, the author makes it clear who he has determined to be the heroes/heroines and villians/villianesses, but there was something about the whole situation about who or what the protagonists are involved with that made me a little leery, even as there were also things about what they were experiencing that were endearing/encouraging [neither of those is quite the right word, but for now, that's what I thought of]. Perhaps it is because I am used to Bunn's Christian worldview coming through fairly clearly in previous books of his that I have read, but there was definitely no sense of that in this book. In fact, it seemed more of an "evolutionary advancement" or "new age" type view. It has been a while since I have read one of his books, so perhaps in his more recent ones (15 or less years) have moved away from a more overt expression of his Christian worldview. Or, maybe this was meant to be written more for the secular market? But still...there was something that felt off about it in that regard. I will try to read the next book of this series, as I would like to know how things will work out, and to see how (or if) he answers some of the questions it raised in my mind.

[Seriesbooklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rowan Tree by Davis Bunn was an intriguing science-fiction with an interesting concept.
I received a copy of the book for a free and unbiased review.
I enjoyed the original underlying mystery of the book- why are so many people travelling to an isolated island and returning different. The government starts to worry when the Vice-president’s daughter returns different. You must wonder why as some people have returned different in a good way- substance misuse problems have resolved, and autism cured. Val is the investigative reporter chosen by the CIA and a behind the scenes kingmaker to investigate what is going on but Val is fixated on being transformed by the miracle tree too.
I liked Val, a flawed character with troubled past but who is successful despite this. She drives the story, connecting a group of disparate characters and makes their desire to be changed believable (I think I would be a bit hesitant).
Agnes is the opposite, deeply mistrustful of the change and its cause and would do anything to stop the influence. I shouldn’t like her character but again I could understand her motivations and would imagine her response would be the most realistic.

This could be me but I wasn’t sure whether The Rowan and the intelligence behind was entirely benign, but I imagine this will form the basis of the next book.
Perfect for Fans of
The TV program The Manifest

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

+++ With thanks to NetGalley for ARC edition for fair review #TheRowan #NetGalley. +++

Thought provoking but brief: The Rowan is a novella exploring the impact of a “Black Swan” event on the economic and political landscape. A mysterious Rowan Tree appears in a remote region of Russia and starts to draw a disparate group of individuals to it. Those visiting the tree have life-changing experiences and this attracts the attention of intelligence agencies. Soon individuals and government authorities need to make critical decisions about what they believe and whether to treat the tree as a threat or an enabler.

I enjoyed The Rowan best when it was exploring the personal and political dilemmas posed by a new world-changing phenomenon. Disruption of the world order provokes extreme responses, and nations scramble to retain or obtain power.

Some of the characters are a bit loosely sketched, though may perhaps be developed further in later books in the series. The nature of the Rowan itself is also ambiguous and murky, with unspecified powers that undermine any sense of jeopardy.

I found it a diverting but brief page turner, and am interested in how it evolves in subsequent books in the series.

[Judith Trail · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is much of the same tenor as those already submitted. For the life of me, I kept asking myself as I read, "What is this book about?" Lots of exposition, long descriptions that meandered far from moving the story, characters that were stereotypical without depth, and really sort of insensitive for suggesting that autistic people need to be "cured." (There is nothing wrong with being autistic to begin with!) Who in their right mind would trust an investigative journalist with an earth-shattering secret that could change life for all mankind? The premise was interesting: an artifact from a non-earth intelligence that could propel man to a higher form of being (less violent, less likely to love racist politicians, I don't know what else) but it is completely glossed over, left completely unexplained or why its second appearance called for its destruction. I could not find a unifying plot line with all the talk, talk, talk about inconsequential details. For example, the group sent to find this artifact, upon returning from a mission, are set up in a 5 star hotel, given unlimited funds to eat and buy anything they want. From our government? That pissed me off. It was improbable and cartoonish. Could have been a great story. This iteration, however, is not.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

So...

First of all, I think some of the reviews on here are a little harsh. I don't think it was complete garbage however I don't really know if I like it.

I will agree that the characters are 2D. Also I don't really care about any of them. Whatever happens to them I'm ok with. Usually a book for me has a couple at the very least that I feel invested in. Not so here.

The idea of the book is pretty good. I never rehash the plot in reviews so you can read what it's about and decide for yourself if it sounds intriguing to you from the description on the Goodreads page. I find it hard to nail it down to a certain genre, which is not a BAD thing however it is rather confusing. I found the plot to be full of inconsistencies and holes.

This is my second Davis Bunn book and I close this book still not impressed. I'm sure I would like one of his books right? This one doesn't really do it for me sadly. Will I read the sequel? Probably as I am a little curious where it goes after this one. Will I spend money on it? 0% chance. I'll check it out from my library like I did this one. Three stars is generous but I'm feeling good today. Maybe its the Rowan tree leaves.

[Margaret Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a science fiction/speculative fiction book, but set in our world, not some made up world with no connection to ours. Bunn deals with the contrast between having personal power and giving up control to something outside of oneself, with figuring out the most important things in life (money & security or relationships & having a purpose bigger than oneself). The characters are an interesting mix – broken people who are eager to find answers, politically powerful people who will fight to keep their power, and those who decide to choose what’s right over what’s comfortable.

I’m not real happy about the fact that Bunn ends the book on a cliffhanger, and who knows how long I’ll have to wait for the next one! I stayed up too late reading this book, and it sure is a mind-stretcher.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #TheRowan #NetGalley

[Rebekka · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book a very disappointing read. The plot of the story read interesting. However the book just did not live upto it at all and fell really flat. The characters felt very two dimensional and boring. I didn't connect or care about any of them in the book. I also felt this lacked any explanation of what was happening and left so many plots that could have happened open.

I felt the author was a bit offensive and should definitely let people know there are in fact trigger warnings in this book referring to characters as "oriental" and the other character who appears to be Jewish as "rabbi". There is also such a small focus on a young boy with autism and then nothing.

I did eventually DNF this book because it felt very boring, plain and that there was no purpose to continue to read just to leave a review to state I did not enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advance copy to review.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is the appeal for visitors to a small island on the far edges of Russia? Tales are leaking out of people whose lives have changed dramatically since visiting the place. When the vice- president's daughter returns & begins to study for a doctorate after worrying her parents with her involvement with drugs & wild parties, there are questions asked on a National Security level. Val, an investigative journalist, is asked by the CIA head of Operations to see what is going on, little knowing how this will change her life.

I found this book to be a real surprise. I was unprepared for how I was drawn into the story. A combination of different genre but all spun together with beautiful writing. I wanted to read the sequel straight away & really hope I won't have to wait too long! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read this book. It's one of my favourite reads so far this year.

[Abigail Hawthorne · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I found a new Davis Bunn book on the shelf at my library, I didn't know what to expect (I never do with Bunn). This was . . . interesting. It's a dense read (I was surprised it was considered a full-length novel until I realized how long it took me to read 10 pages). It blends a political thriller with fantasy elements and hints towards sci-fi/dystopian. The characters are certainly interesting, and they're written with a certain detachment that creates an odd (but not bad) vibe. Everything ties together better than it sounds like it should, and I found myself enjoying getting lost in Davis Bunn's rich, complex storylines.
Long story short, this book has the plot of a political thriller, the vibe of a sci-fi novel, and some fantasy elements thrown in for good measure. Quite interesting, but a dense read that will probably keep most readers from becoming invested.

Content: A few swear words, many mentions of drugs and sex (from characters' pasts), some non-graphic violence.

[Kate Hyde · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book, opinions are definitely my own.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I'm not going to spend much time on this, having wasted several hours of life-force on reading The Rowan was quite enough. In short: bland, unconvincing, and very poorly written. I've given it 2 stars merely because it would be helpful to readers with insomnia (if it doesn't enrage you so much that you hurl book/device across the room). Mostly, I feel sorry for the trees that will be sacrificed to this man's hubris.
The characters are so one-dimensional as to be almost interchangeable, the plot has more holes than a sieve, and there is not a single detail that is in any way plausible, let alone convincing.
Definitely an airport/beach read, preferably with alcohol involved.

[Paul Allard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable fantasy / sci-fi / political novel.

Val is a journalist who becomes involved in a mystical / supernatural happening which changes her perspective as well as that of all the other witnesses. This brings about an alarming sequence of events with far-reaching consequences. The main characters are reasonably interesting and developed and the plot moves along at a good pace. It’s a very different experience which I enjoyed and would recommend. This is the first in a series and I look forward to whatever is going to happen next. There are quite a few poor reviews but I accepted this book just as a bit of fun.I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Fiona Brichaut · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

4* premise, 2* writing

I got pulled into this book very quickly and found it engrossing. I loved the premise, and loved the idea of people being drawn to the tree and afterwards being 'different' or 'whole' again, as well as the effect it had on the groups of people together (trying to avoid spoilers). I want a leaf!!

I have to be honest - I agree with some other reviewers: I don't think it's brilliantly written, the characterisation is a bit flat. There's perhaps a surfeit of knowing looks and shared smiles. Nonetheless it grabbed me and I wanted to keep picking it up again at every opportunity. It's fast-paced and exciting. What a disappointment when it ended rather abruptly. I definitely want to read the sequel.

[Allie]

DNF at 60%. I disagree with some of the other reviews. I didn’t think the writing was poorly done, and I felt interested in the characters. My issue was that the big reveal of the Rowan tree’s power was not that interesting to me. I didn’t feel like I understood the stakes of why this group was going against the government. There were too many moments where characters refused to explain things to each other and just kept repeating, “Wait. You can’t understand yet, but you’ll see.” The problem is, they’re delaying an explanation to the reader too, and that makes the plot confusing. By the time I reached the middle of the book, I wanted to know what the goal was and why the characters were on this mission. Since this information remained vague, I didn’t feel invested in finishing the book.

[Rhuaraidh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was tempted to knock half a star off my review as there's a fair bit of "US arrogance" in assuming that the US govt can do whatever they want on foreign soils, but it was a minor grumble in my British head, and irrelevant to the quality of the book, which I couldn't put down! So a firm 5 stars/excellent read.

What a beautiful work. The concepts involved are very unique, the style of writing is such that I page marked quite a few paragraphs so I could read them again (just a joy to read). Throw in some astrophysics (I'm an astrophysicist, and the a'physics bits were pretty good) and I simply loved this book.

As for the concept, I'm now sitting wishing the sequel, No Mans Land, would come out as soon as tomorrow.

[FangtasticBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the premise of The Rowan, and I liked the first half of the story, but I felt like it didn't hold my attention as much during the second half. I struggled to connect with some of the characters, and at times they started to feel a little 2 dimensional. Val, the main protagonist, starts off as a strong character who won't bow down to anyone. I was a little disappointed that halfway through her character changes from headstrong to being very toned down. Overall though, I think it's a cool idea for a story and I would be interested to see where the sequel takes it.
If you like government thrillers with sci fi mixed in, then you might enjoy this book!

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book.

[Henry Lazarus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Davis Bunn tells of a magical tree that suddenly appears on a mostly deserted Russian island near Japan. investigative writer Valentina Garnier is asked by members of the Government to go and investigate The Rowan (hard from Severn House). While she watches, other tourists with her seem to be affected by the tree, which explodes while she watches. People, who were changed, in a good way, start working together, which petrifies the CIA. This tale of a God-like interference in human affairs reaches a point in which missiles are shot at a second manifestation of the tree. There is a second half coming in which our heroes have to survive evil Government and bring their revelation to the world. Fun.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Euuugghhhh. I freely admit that I got this book out of the library 100% because my son Rowan was excited to see a book with his name on it. I read it in one day and I sorta wish I hadn't even spent the time.

I've seen this described as sci-fi/fantasy, but to me it hit more like political-thriller-with-a-little-sci-fi. The overall premise has potential, but the characters aren't very compelling (I probably liked Carlton the best) and there were some questionable/uncomfortable moments regarding racial terms (I haven't seen "Oriental" in a while) and autism, not to mention some awkward phrases and grammatical errors.

I didn't love it, I doubt I'll continue with the series (although nothing really got resolved in this book)... maybe the author's other books are better!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the publishers – Severn House and Canongate Books.– for giving me access to this book as an E-ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I think I can see where the author wanted to take this story but unfortunately for me it was a miss. I pretty much only finished it because I don’t like to DNF books I’ve been granted access to on Netgalley. The blurb sounded very interesting and with a beautiful cover to boot.

The story starts straight off with unnecessary description of the characters so when I read the first chapters I just knew that this wasn’t going to be the story for me but I trudged on because of the above mentioned reason.

I’m sure this story has an audience out there, sadly, I wasn’t a part of it.

[Vickiec192 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Val, a journalist, hired by the influential best friend of the Vice President goes to try and identify the source of some unusual events centering around a Rowan tree. While there, Val witnesses the properties of the Rowan tree and an extraordinary series of events follows.
A bit of a mixed bag, for me. I really enjoyed the mix of sci-fi/ fantasy and the thriller components, and the story moved at a really good pace. I will say I head to re-read a couple of chapters as they were a little confusing. The characters maybe lacked a little bit of depth but that doesn’t mean that I disliked all of them. I was, however, disappointed to finish the book so I did enjoy it. A good read all in all.

[Andy Cochrane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to the publishers Severn House for access to an E-arc via NetGalley .
Part political conspiracy, part science fiction, part first contact, part fantasy, part mass drug induced hallucination (?) - I'm not fully sure what The Rowan was trying to do - perhaps trying to do too much? The idea of a 'hive mind' while still retaining individuality is an interesting concept, but for me, this story just didn't work well, and was too implausible at times. I don't mind things being unresolved at the end of a book - and I was not interested or invested enough to read the first chapter of the next book in the series that was included. Not for me I'm afraid.