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Tree Mouth
In the wake of the demon uprising, the gods went silent. Scripture ends even the priests of the world's greatest faiths cannot say how that apocalyptic conflict concluded. Centuries later, the six races continue to make annual sacrifice to the gods in the hopes of preventing further bloody conflict. For brash young Jorn and Kiri the harpy, this means a forced descent through the Tree Mouth, the ancient gateway to the world below, a desolate land of fallen divinity and madness. There is no appeal. The underworld must be fed.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 20, 2017
27 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Chris Jags
17 books27 followersMythology, horror and fantasy aficionado Chris Jags likes to talk about himself in third person because it makes him feel important. His entry in the Field Guide to Cliched Writers was rejected when the editors learned he does not drink coffee or even write at a desk. However, if you enjoy an abundance of demons, faeries, and mythological creatures in your fantasy and dark fantasy tales, you've come to the right place.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 8, 2018
I tend to say I'm not a fan of the dark fantasy genre, but every so often a writer comes along and turns me into a filthy hypocrite. Chris Jags is one of those authors. As it turns out, I really am a fan of the genre when it's done right. Tree Mouth hits all the right notes for me.
We've got a ragtag group of characters who would all turn on each other in an instant, none of whom are particularly easy to empathize with (at first, that is). We've got what seems like the classic hero's journey, but turned on it's side. And finally, we've got a creepy and wonderful world of fallen gods and twisted demons that sets the perfect backdrop for the madness to play out.
Excellent work. I'm looking forward to more from this author.
We've got a ragtag group of characters who would all turn on each other in an instant, none of whom are particularly easy to empathize with (at first, that is). We've got what seems like the classic hero's journey, but turned on it's side. And finally, we've got a creepy and wonderful world of fallen gods and twisted demons that sets the perfect backdrop for the madness to play out.
Excellent work. I'm looking forward to more from this author.
December 28, 2017
I think this was honestly a really good book. I found it through one of my freebie book emails and am glad I gave it a chance!
There wasn't any terrible romance, there wasn't anything to distract from the story as it was happening. It was faster paced so I didn't find myself getting bored, and the characters and their development kept things interesting. The writing was really good, especially the descriptions for all the horrendously gross/scary things that happened.
I liked the way the story was arranged and didn't feel there was too much information being given all at once, or too little. There were only a couple of things I saw that were missed during editing, such as a 'their' or 'too' was used incorrectly, but the grammar was structured well otherwise and nothing really bothered me, which is saying something regarding the freebies I get most of the time.
I liked that the story was succinct and to the point, and when it ended, it ended. I like that when someone died it wasn't harped on for ages. The character's realness was refreshing, even if they weren't human their quirks and prejudices certainly were.
Overall I really enjoyed this, and will be looking in to the author's other works.
4/5 stars
There wasn't any terrible romance, there wasn't anything to distract from the story as it was happening. It was faster paced so I didn't find myself getting bored, and the characters and their development kept things interesting. The writing was really good, especially the descriptions for all the horrendously gross/scary things that happened.
I liked the way the story was arranged and didn't feel there was too much information being given all at once, or too little. There were only a couple of things I saw that were missed during editing, such as a 'their' or 'too' was used incorrectly, but the grammar was structured well otherwise and nothing really bothered me, which is saying something regarding the freebies I get most of the time.
I liked that the story was succinct and to the point, and when it ended, it ended. I like that when someone died it wasn't harped on for ages. The character's realness was refreshing, even if they weren't human their quirks and prejudices certainly were.
Overall I really enjoyed this, and will be looking in to the author's other works.
4/5 stars
July 31, 2017
So a bunch of demons went up against the gods in an epic battle where no one really knows how it ended but the gods' followers decided that throwing the best example of their people into a tree probably protected them from oncoming apocalypse. This year, we're throwing a convicted murderer human guy, a harpy whose descriptions of beauty wears down on the reader's nerves, a drunk dwarf, a incurably ill centaur, a fish person who deserves better and a dryad who is probably the best character of all into the tree pit. The tree pit leads our group into a freakish hellscape with a four armed lady and four legged guy running the place. In their desperate attempts to escape this hellscape, they stumble upon a bitter truth about their religions.
Jags only writes the point of view of the human and the harpy. I absolutely could not stand the human but this is on purpose and my dislike of him didn't mean I wasn't engaged when it came to his turn of narrating the story. He at least kept the plot moving. I would probably like the harpy more if the human and the dwarf stopped having constant boners about her throughout the book. I absolutely adored the dryad. I've never seen one depicted like her, they're usually tree-hugging hippies in fiction but you don't find out how awesome she is until much later in the book.
This is definitely not a heartwarming story of different people overcoming their culture clashes to form an unbreakable bond of friendship. They don't deny that a bond is there after everything they went through but in the end, they'd rather go on their own separate ways once they escape. Looking at Jag's author description, I can see how this cynical curmudgeon with a horror and mythological interest can write this story. I like how Jags crafted the mythos of this world and the twist in the end could have been depicted a little more gracefully but idea of it was interesting.
Jags only writes the point of view of the human and the harpy. I absolutely could not stand the human but this is on purpose and my dislike of him didn't mean I wasn't engaged when it came to his turn of narrating the story. He at least kept the plot moving. I would probably like the harpy more if the human and the dwarf stopped having constant boners about her throughout the book. I absolutely adored the dryad. I've never seen one depicted like her, they're usually tree-hugging hippies in fiction but you don't find out how awesome she is until much later in the book.
This is definitely not a heartwarming story of different people overcoming their culture clashes to form an unbreakable bond of friendship. They don't deny that a bond is there after everything they went through but in the end, they'd rather go on their own separate ways once they escape. Looking at Jag's author description, I can see how this cynical curmudgeon with a horror and mythological interest can write this story. I like how Jags crafted the mythos of this world and the twist in the end could have been depicted a little more gracefully but idea of it was interesting.
January 14, 2019
A good read
I normaly do not read this genre of books but im glad i read this one. The plot sucked me in and the characters made me read til the end. The characters and were well written, each one distinctly different in personalty, yet you fell you cone to kniw each one to some degree. Some you like some you dont and some at times a little both. Im glad i read thos book, it has peeked my interest in this genre that i'd not had in past.
I normaly do not read this genre of books but im glad i read this one. The plot sucked me in and the characters made me read til the end. The characters and were well written, each one distinctly different in personalty, yet you fell you cone to kniw each one to some degree. Some you like some you dont and some at times a little both. Im glad i read thos book, it has peeked my interest in this genre that i'd not had in past.
February 7, 2018
A Pleasant Dark Fantasy
Very creative and well written book. No one main character in this read. Just an assortment of characters with their own flaws or demons that united together in their journey.
Very creative and well written book. No one main character in this read. Just an assortment of characters with their own flaws or demons that united together in their journey.
May 11, 2025
Dark fantasy bordering on horror, told from switching point-of-views between a harpie and an unlikeable human. I’m not that into horror, so the story didn’t really connect with me. People who enjoy dark stories should like it though.
October 25, 2017
Creative
Not my usual genre but gave it a whirl. Still not my first choice but well written and very creative!
Not my usual genre but gave it a whirl. Still not my first choice but well written and very creative!
October 11, 2017
A pleasant surprise. Very decent dark fantasy.
February 23, 2024
If you have ever read Dante's Inferno, this is like that with a mix of The Fellowship from the Lord of the Rings. The writing is nowhere near as lyrical, but here, there is every bit of Dark Fantasy Horror found in those books, and then some. I have never read Chris Jags before, but I own several of his novels now. I will make a point of reading more of his stuff for 2024. His writing is definitely worthy of note.
Tree Mouth is about a Dark Fantasy world recovering from a war between Gods and Demons, where the result was never determined by the victors. The priests and religious leaders of the six races have decided that they will offer up an annual sacrifice by each race at the Tree Mouth. Therefore, every year, six individuals are cast into the Tree Mouth. This year, Jorn and Kiri were selected from their races; but they want to leave the Underworld, and no one has ever been capable of accomplishing that feat.
Not really a hero's journey, more like several anti-hero's journey, sprinkled with a dash of a fantasy version of the Dirty Dozen. There's plenty of guts, gore, and horror situations to make even the most jaded Dark Fantasy follower wince. Jags has a gift in his ability to write visceral situations. One weakness that comes to mind is that he focused too much on two points of view. It might have served his characters better if he would have stayed with the 3rd person omniscient point-of-view.
There's no real romance to speak of. It's more about a pervy wet dream by the main character, but it really serves to just be a way to add to the conversation in a misplaced slight of hand. I don't think it works very well, except in an annoying kind of "grow-up dude," kind of way. Otherwise, a good novel.
Tree Mouth is about a Dark Fantasy world recovering from a war between Gods and Demons, where the result was never determined by the victors. The priests and religious leaders of the six races have decided that they will offer up an annual sacrifice by each race at the Tree Mouth. Therefore, every year, six individuals are cast into the Tree Mouth. This year, Jorn and Kiri were selected from their races; but they want to leave the Underworld, and no one has ever been capable of accomplishing that feat.
Not really a hero's journey, more like several anti-hero's journey, sprinkled with a dash of a fantasy version of the Dirty Dozen. There's plenty of guts, gore, and horror situations to make even the most jaded Dark Fantasy follower wince. Jags has a gift in his ability to write visceral situations. One weakness that comes to mind is that he focused too much on two points of view. It might have served his characters better if he would have stayed with the 3rd person omniscient point-of-view.
There's no real romance to speak of. It's more about a pervy wet dream by the main character, but it really serves to just be a way to add to the conversation in a misplaced slight of hand. I don't think it works very well, except in an annoying kind of "grow-up dude," kind of way. Otherwise, a good novel.
January 9, 2018
Could not put down!
I really enjoyed this novel. There was no "perfect character" that one would prefer over the others. All the characters had their own flaws...Their own demons, if you will. I enjoyed Kiri the best of all of them. She didn't let the status quo tell her how to think and feel even though she was born to believe that way. I'm really hoping there's another book that follows what happens with all the characters once they're back in the REAL world. Honestly, I speculated that they'd all become "gods" themselves!
I really enjoyed this novel. There was no "perfect character" that one would prefer over the others. All the characters had their own flaws...Their own demons, if you will. I enjoyed Kiri the best of all of them. She didn't let the status quo tell her how to think and feel even though she was born to believe that way. I'm really hoping there's another book that follows what happens with all the characters once they're back in the REAL world. Honestly, I speculated that they'd all become "gods" themselves!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews