Harvest

Hyddenworld #3

by William Horwood

ONLY SACRIFICE CAN SET THEM FREE

It is August, time of the first harvest, traditional time of plenty. But at the farthest reaches of the Hyddenworld, in sea-bound Englalond, disaster looms. A blight in the land is growing, marked by quakes and increasingly unnatural blizzards. Judith is tasked with healing the land, but this burden is almost unbearable. Lonely and lovelorn, she threatens to reap a terrible harvest of her own.

Yet a trio of hidden travellers hold out hope - for both the land and the war threatening the hidden people. For Jack and Katherine, Judith's parents, the shadow of the hydden Empire's army looms large. They must muster allies or it will mean disaster for the city of Brum. And only Bedwyn Stort, Brum's famed scrivener, has the courage to unravel a secret that could heal their world.

The lost gem of Autumn must be found and Stort must risk death to seek it. Only his love for Judith will give him the will to endure - and bring her the gem she needs to tame the wild earth.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

441 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

William Horwood is an English novelist. His first novel, Duncton Wood, an allegorical tale about a community of moles, was published in 1980. It was followed by two sequels, forming The Duncton Chronicles, and also a second trilogy, The Book of Silence. William Horwood has also written two stand-alone novels intertwining the lives of humans and of eagles, The Stonor Eagles and Callanish , and The Wolves of Time duology. Skallagrigg, his 1987 novel about disability, love, and trust, was made into a BBC film in 1994. In addition, he has written a number of sequels to The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

In 2007, he collaborated with historian Helen Rappaport to produce Dark Hearts of Chicago, a historical mystery and thriller set in nineteenth-century Chicago. It was republished in 2008 as City of Dark Hearts with some significant revisions and cuts under the pen name James Conan.

Reviews

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book three in the Hyddenworld series is even more exciting than books one and two, as it takes you on a thrilling quest for a magical stone and to restore balance to the universe. Having fallen in love with a colorful cast of characters, Harvest introduces more characters that add variety and depth to the plot. I was also equally excited to be re-united with loveable Bedwyn Stort, Barklice, Blut, Sinestral, Katherine, Jack, Arthur and Judith again. The beautiful, timeless and irrevocable love between Stort and Judith is truly touching, that it makes you believe in anything is possible.

Only sacrifice can set them free…

It’s harvest time, traditionally a season of plenty for sea-bound Engalond. But within its borders, at the furthest reaches of the Hyddenworld, disaster looms. A blight is growing, marked by quakes and unusual blizzards. Judith is tasked with healing the land, but this burden is immense. Lonely and lovelorn, she threatens to reap a terrible harvest of her own.

Yet, a trio of Hydden travellers offer hope –for the land and the war threatening their people. For, Judith’s parents, the shadow of the hidden Empire’s army looms large. They must summon allies or the city of Brum will fall. And only Bedwyn Stort, Brum’s famed scrivener, can unravel a secret that could heal their world. Stort must risk death to find Autumn’s lost jewel. Only his love for Judith will drive him forward –to bring her the gem she needs to tame the wild earth.

This hugely enjoyable book was a true delight, hence I cannot wait to read the next and final instalment in this fantastic fantasy series.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in the saga, still manages to keep the action and suspense up.

Jack and Katherine are trying to find the Autumn gem to pass to their daughter Judith, whilst involved in protecting Brum from the attack of the Fyrd. Lots of stuff going on, and multiple characters to follow, and the book takes a darker twist with betrayal within the Empire.

A really good series, it is a blend of urban fantasy and Tolkien. Looking forward to the final instalment.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

No no no. I don't like this story anymore, but I will finish this series now. If Sinistral knows where the freaking stone is and if Judith apparently also knows then whhhyyy can't they just tell someone?? Also why can they suddenly see humans so clear when Half Steeple drowns? I thought Hydden couldn't really see humans? But that entire concept doesn't make sense anyway.
What's also more than annoying is that the point of view switches randomly within one chapter without any indication that it did. That might be because I read it on an ereader, I don't know, but it confused the heck out of me.
And then could we please get some emotions? Half of the cast died in this series so far and the only person I was sad about was Margret. Arthur just died and it was mentioned in like the last sentence. And it's now like I didn't like Arthur it was just un-emotional as heck!
Also I don't understand so many things that are going on when there are finally things going on. Because I feel like most of the book nothing happens. I hated Judith, she was super annoying and whenever something with her happened I didn't understand it because time works different for her and crap. Seriously the only reason I'm gonna read the fourth book is because it's the final one and then I'm at least done with this and not tempted in the future to re-read these books just so I can finish the series.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75*

The third book into the Hyddenworld quartet, I continue to struggle with this series. I am not entirely sure what it is about these books, especially considering how much I love some of the author’s other work, but these just feel like such a slog.

The ideas are interesting, and there are some interesting characters and storylines, but at no point have I felt fully invested in the story. I think especially Judith got a rough deal in this one. Her character and relationships feel so underdeveloped. However, Jack and Katherine also kind of lost any personality they had.

The pace also feels unnecessarily slow, maybe that is part of the problem. Too much time with characters who no idea what they’re supposed to be doing. Maybe this whole quartet of books should have been condensed into one. I am not sure, but it just feels so so long! There are quite a few POVs as well, not all of which seem necessary.

Because of all of that I have to admit I started to skim-read parts from about a third in. I was just bored with some of the POVs and I was ready to be done. I am so sad about that.

I will complete the series as I have only one book to go and I am just about interested enough to want to know how it ends. I will just have to find the courage to pick it up soon, otherwise I never will. I still have a small hope it will all wrap up in a satisfactory way.

[Claer Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one....and now very looking forward to reading the last in the series "Winter over the winter. The tension built up beauitfully in this book...so I had to stay up yo finish much later than bedtime. Sad to loose a character I had really liked. Shades of Duncton books definitely came through in this one. Not a bad thing at all.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb again, now going onto the final book

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great series that keeps getting better.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, beautiful book, by a genius of a writer.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harvest is the third book of William Horwood’s Hyddenworld series, following on from Spring and Awakening. These three, along with the recently published Winter, mark the author’s return to writing after a considerable pause. Those that have read and loved his tales of Duncton or the very moving Skallagrigg, amongst others, will be delighted to see him back in print, especially as many of the older books are no longer available.
The flow of time of the Hydden, the little people that live unseen at the edge of the human world in William Horwood’s Hyddenworld series, might seem laborious to us, accustomed as we are to rushing from one event to another without taking the time to stop and look and listen. Maybe it is this failure to pause and savour life to the fullest that contributes most to our inability to see and appreciate the Hydden and their way of life. For the reader of Horwood’s book the difficulty is similar. Weened as we are on the breakneck speed of modern films and TV series, as well as books such as The Hunger Games or Divergent, slowing to the pace of Horwood’s narrative can be challenging. But slow you must if you want to enter this world full of unimaginable richness and delightful lightness, not to mention profound wisdom.
Or so I thought as I began Harvest! Then I was abruptly whisked off my feet and whirled away in eddies of action and a flood of emotions. All is not a whirlwind, though. The pace of Harvest varies often. The action reaches an apotheosis when the Earth heaves up wreaking vengeance on a town who citizens remain oblivious to the very last, while the main characters look on, deeply touched by the cataclysm but unable to move. Yet in those moments when the story picks up speed, and that was what intrigued me, it didn’t skim precariously over emptiness as many fast-paced novel do. It had depth to its intensity.
As an author, I couldn’t help searching from the roots of that intensity in the language. Several possibilities were apparent. The restrained use of dialogue and the brilliance of the descriptions of people and places often built around action and verbs. But above all, the power of Horwood’s writing lies in his challenge of the self-evident, in the density and richness of his imaginings and finally, the depth and delightfulness of an astounding range of main characters.
When I reached the end of Harvest, it was not the hallmark emptiness left behind by those helter-skelter, breath-taking novels that awaited me, but rather a dense and satisfying plenitude. All was far from right, Winter was yet to come and losses had to be mourned, but William Horwood’s book had nourished me in a way that left me feeling richer and more human.
Review first published on secret-paths.com.

[Joanne Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've previously praised William Horwood's Hyddenworld series, a quartet of novels about the 'hydden' - the small people who have lived secretly alongside humans for thousands of years, adept at 'hyddening' to make themselves go unnoticed. Each book corresponds to a different season and an increasingly urgent quest to recover four missing gems that will, ultimately restore the Earth to its natural balance and avert the end of time.

That description makes the books sound rubbish. But bear with me: they aren't. They're rooted in British folklore and landscape, with an underlying environmental theme, and draw on ancient history and pre-Christian traditions. The characters, both human and hydden, are vividly realised, and the books seem to me to have more in common with, say, Watership Down, or Horwood's own Duncton Wood series, than they do with 'high' fantasy.

The latest Hyddenworld book is Harvest, the Autumn instalment in the quartet, and picks up the story pretty much where the previous book, Awakening, left off. I think most people would struggle to get to grips with Harvest if they hadn't read Hyddenworld and Awakening first; however, in case they haven't, there does appear to be a fair bit of recapping and exposition in Harvest which might grate a little on some readers who are familiar with the previous two novels - although personally I found it useful, as the Hyddenworld quartet is epic in scale with a huge cast of characters and a complex back-story of mythology and it's been around 18 months since I read Awakening.

Harvest is the darkest Hyddenworld novel so far. With a military coup putting the ancient hydden city of Brum in danger from the vicious Fyrd, and the Earth herself apparently wreaking revenge on humanity with a series of natural disasters, Harvest has its fair share of deaths, and there are times when much-loved characters suffer. However, there's still plenty of the warmth and hope and charm that has characterised the series so far, and once again, love in its truest and purest sense is a strong thread that runs through the narrative. There are heroes and villains, but as always, Horwood makes most of his characters far more complex than that, and it's not unusual for them to surprise us.

The novel starts relatively slowly - as did its predecessors - but builds to a conclusion that is genuinely nail-biting stuff as eccentric hero Bedwyn Stort races to find the gem of Autumn before Samhain and Brum battles the Fyrd. I can't wait to see what Winter brings for the Hyddenworld.

[Nerine Dorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

MANY of us know William Horwood as the author of the popular Duncton Chronicles, featuring his anthropomorphosised moles. He later did something similar with wolves, and his great love for animals and nature shines through in all he writes.

With the Hyddenworld series, he offers his readers an entire culture attached to the Hydden, a diminutive race that exists parallel to our own but, as the name suggests, out of sight of our world.

Although I didn’t get round to book two of the series, I didn’t feel as though I missed out on key information and could pick up the thread quite easily (although it certainly helped that I’d read the first). Each novel is named after a season – the first is Hyddenworld: Spring, the next Hyddenworld: Summer, and so on.

We continue with familiar characters such as Jack, Katherine and Bedwyn Stort, who are continuing on their quest to find the missing gems – this time the gem of Autumn – before the Earth itself will come to a cataclysmic end.

The antagonists seem a little one-dimensional, with an unmistakable nod to the Nazi regime. Consequently, it’s easy to dislike the sinister, leather-clad Fyrd – which might work for some. I would have loved to have seen bad guys with a little more depth.

These obvious divisions between good and evil are even more apparent when viewing the protagonists – sometimes bumbling, decent folk who happily get on with their lives with good, British cheer.

Fantasy fans who are regular readers of the likes of George RR Martin and Mark Lawrence might find Horwood’s writing a little too sentimental for their GrimDark tastes.

That said, if you’re looking for fantasy that delivers a satisfying, rollicking epic with plenty of feel-good moments and a heavy dose of Celtic myth for flavour, then the Hyddenworld series will probably hit the mark.

Horwood remains a consummate storyteller, vividly capturing each moment. Though sometimes whimsical, his stories offer a deep resonance and tap into those universal myths that make for satisfying tales that stay with you for a long time after you’ve closed the book.

[Wal.li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Einkehr

Um die Schildmaid zufrieden zu stellen und ihr auf ihrem Weg zu helfen, muss der dritte Stein, der Stein des Herbstes gefunden werden. Dazu müssen sich die Freunde Jack, Bedwyn Stort und Katherine auf den Weg nach Brum begeben, denn nur dort, glaubt Bedwyn, lässt sich die Spur des Steins finden. Ein Mission, die sch als schwierig erweist, da die Fyrd eine Invasion der Stadt vorbereiten. Professor Foale, der sehr um seine verstorbene Frau trauert, hat dagegen ganz andere Probleme. In der Menschenwelt soll er einem ehemaligen Studenten und jetzigem Wissenschaftler helfen, das Rätsel der Zeitverschiebungen zu lösen. Gleichzeitig macht sich Ex-Kaiser Sinistral auf den Weg zur Ernte und auch sein Nachfolger Nicolas Blut begibt sich auf den Weg.

Der Herbst, eine Zeit des Nachdenkens und der Einkehr. Es kann die Ernte eingebracht werden, doch auch die Reflexion beginnt, was hat man ausgesät und was kann man nun ernten. Welche Fehler sind einem unterlaufen, was hat man gut gemacht. Welche Entwicklungen haben zu der Ernte geführt, kann man zufrieden sein, hätte man es besser machen können. Und so ist auch dieser dritte Teil der Reihe von einem Bezug zur Vergangenheit der Protagonisten geprägt, was ihm einen eher ruhigen Verlauf gibt. Einige vorher unbekannte Wahrheiten werden enthüllt, etliche Erklärungen geliefert, weshalb die Helden so handeln. Immer wieder wechseln diese Passagen mit solchen großer Spannung, in denen man Jack und seine Gefährten auf ihrem Weg auf der Suche nach dem Stein des Herbstes begleiten kann, den Blick voller Sorge auf die beginnende Invasion Brums.

Für mich eher ein Buch der Sorge, des Zweifels, der Unsicherheit, ob die Aufgabe gelöst werden kann. Es fehlt - vielleicht sogar der Jahreszeit angemessen - der heitere Optimismus der vorherigen Bände. Hier muss natürlich jeder Leser selbst entscheiden, wie er damit umgeht. Ich persönlich fand diesen Band etwas schwächer und erwarte nun mit Spannung, ob der Autor seinen Lesern mit seiner Interpretation des Winters eine frohere Fortführung der Reihe genießen lässt.
3,5 Sterne

[Sophie Yorkston · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Horwood’s Harvest is the third in a tetralogy of books written in his Hyddenworld, and it’s where we finally are seeing significant ramping up of tension leading to the culmination of the story.

Awakening (summer) left Hydden journeyman Bedwyn Stort and the others fleeing the home of the Emperor of the Hyddenworld, Bocum, with the gem of Summer, which he gives to his now-grown love, the Shield Maiden Judith, daughter of his giant-born friend Jack, and partner Katherine.

Stort has no idea where to find the next gem, and only knows that he must look to the original holder of the gem, Al Faroun, the Emperor’s former teacher and famous Hyddenworld designer.

Meanwhile, back in the human world, Professor Arthur Foale, Katherine’s surrogate father, becomes of interest to the military through his former student, Erich Bohr. When taken into custody to help ascertain what role the Hyddenworld plays in the current geological disasters, Arthur must figure out how to escape, back to his friends in the Hyddenworld.

That’s where his wyrd (fate) brings him into contact with the former Emperor’s trusted right-hand man, Nikolas Blut, who in his mentor’s abdication, has become the Emperor himself. But his intentions are being thwarted by some shady machinations of the military wing of his own government, the sinister Fyrd.

All this while the earth begins to rebel against centuries of abuse by the humans, and the retrieval of the gems is all that stands in the way of the end of days.

Harvest has what was lacking in Awakening: a significantly tense plot. And while that could be somewhat forgiven as part of the thematic structure, as summer is a time of growth and play and good times, this is the book where the series starts to come into its own.

Rest of the review at: http://smoph.org/2014/08/30/review-of...

[Judith Horrocks · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Horwood is the author of my all time favourite books ever, and these do not disappoint. Another brilliant series based around the Wheel of the Year, a Celtic Myth, and little people who live underneath the towns and cities of England, focusing on Birmingham. The Hydden are a people who live underneath our world and who are on a quest to save the world from being destroyed, ours and theirs. Brilliantly told with lovable characters. I do keep picturing them as moles, though, because of the Duncton Chronicles, which are my all time fave books!! lol They are not moles, they are people, and the stories and plots are rich and the message about our world is valid and it is just a layered, brilliant story!! Told over one year, this is the third book, with the fourth and final book yet to come!! Can't wait!!

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly better than the previous two entries in the Hyddenworld series. The first half was especially painful with all sorts of clichés thrown in, including an American secret military base and various scenes of natural disaster. (Which is unusual, given that this is actually a fantasy novel about a race of small people.)

I've also been reading this simultaneously with one of Horwood's Duncton series, which serves as a reminder of how potent his writing used to be. Still, by the end, the characters were growing on me and I'm now curious as to what their final fate might be (all of which is waiting in the fourth book in the series).

[Debby Kean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was somewhat handicapped by not having read the previous books in the series, (and I don't plan to do so) but I know William Horwood's work and so my expectations were high.
I was not disappointed!
Harvest (the Hyddenworld generally) seems as if it is part of a mythology of England, something ancient re-discovered, as each character is him/herself, but also an archetype. Judith, the Shield Maiden, is amazing - an exploration of what it would be like to be an ordinary girl/woman, and at the same time, a prophesied supernatural being!
Very much recommended!

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

another season and Horwoods Hydden story continues. I like these books they are a nice play on English mythology and have really strong characters. I felt at times this book was not quite a filler but building the story to a climax more than telling the 3rd story. Which is fine and it made for a very interesting book all in. No spoilers in this review if you've read the first 2 you know you will be picking this up and its so well written you'll read it quickly.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing that strikes me about this book is the warm and approachable writing style. the ups and downs of the story and the action in contrast to the slow-paced moments. The main characters each have their own strengths throughout the story in a way that delightfully accentuates the ways in which they are able to pull one another through the obstacles faced.
Ultimately it is a story of courage, adversity, friendship and adventure.

[Cornelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice read again, the story taking up pace as the time starts to jump in the book. Horwood knows how to combine lore and myths into something new - without it feeling like that. I'm looking forward to the last book of Hyddenworld.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent series of books about the Hyddenworld. Book 4 (last in the series) is due to be published at the end of this year.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking forward to number 4. A good read.

[Jane Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have long been an admirer of Horwood's work; but this is not among his best. Although he writes as well as ever, the subject is unoriginal, Tolkienesque quest fantasy and I was not riveted by it.