King of Trees

by Carmen Webster Buxton

“What if the world we’re on is only one thread out of millions of threads in the rope of time?” The question the Outsider woman posed to him left Bardolph as confused as ever. He knew the Outsiders had appeared as if by magic many years before, during his great-grandfather’s reign, but he had never understood where they came from. He only knew they had changed Albion forever. Melissa York might have been grateful to her rescuer, who called himself King of Albion, but she saw no reason to let her gratitude influence her opinion of antiquated notions like monarchy and pagan religions. Let the Druids go back to their forests. She and her people were the best defense Albion had against the invaders. Bardolph knew better. All the people of Albion would need to work together or they would find themselves conquered again. Only this time instead of a Roman emperor, their tribute would be paid to one in faraway China. He only hoped the Outsiders were as clever and as powerful as rumor said they were, because Albion needed all the help it could get.

Genres: Time Travel, Science Fiction, Fiction

346 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2013

About the author

I live in Maryland with my husband and a sweet-natured beagle named Cosmo, who gets me out of the house every day.

Reviews

[Sherry Fundin]

I have been reading Carmen Webster’s work for some time now, and she never fails to entertain me. Her writing is captivating and many times she creates an original story that keeps me reading until the last sentence is read, like with King Of Trees, a novel approach to time travel. Instead of going forward or back, we go sideways, into a parallel universe, and due to damage to their ‘vehicle’ they will not be coming back.

Their mission: stop the desecration of the environment. I love reading novels that include global warming, pollution…who knows what fictional ideas could become our new reality.

The world Carmen Webster Buxton has created took me back in time with the characters, looking through new eyes and an open mind. At this point, I became wrapped up in the paperback I was reading and quit taking notes. Now I regret it. There was so much I wanted to share and I waited too long.

As I sit here thinking, one of the first things that came to mind was how the characters learned to work together, grew to trust each other and become a community, each part of the whole. I love books that get me thinking and King Of Trees does that.

The story, for me, is about the characters…the personal sacrifices they make and their growth that Carmen has so richly developed.

King Of Trees by Carmen Webster Buxton is a complete novel, no series. The story is finished and I enjoyed my time in Albion. I look forward to more from Carmen. I feel my review does not convey how much I enjoyed the story, the fantasy, the perils…

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of King Of Trees by Carmen Webster Buxton.

[David King · Rating 4 out of 5]

“King of Trees” is the latest novel by Carmen Webster Buxton, an author whose previous works I have thoroughly enjoyed. Due to the book’s title and synopsis, you could easily make the same mistake that I did in thinking that this would be a fantasy novel. However, it is more Science Fiction with Buxton utilising the principle of travel between alternate realities to provide her with the backdrop of a pre-industrialised society for more technologically advanced travellers to influence.

The story itself begins with several people ranging in age and skill set who decide they no longer enjoy the time line in which they live. Therefore, they find a way in which to travel from their own polluted world to an alternate Earth that failed to industrialise like their own. After making contact with the local people, they decide to try and “improve” the world in which they now live.

Several generations later, the people they influenced in the country of Albion have removed their King and now utilise a parliamentary system. Bardolph, the current heir to the lost throne now makes a living as a village Blacksmith. However, Albion is thrown into chaos when Chinese invaders arrive utilising guns, tanks and other advanced weaponry. Before long even the descendants of the original travellers known as the outsiders realise that they require the help of the King to inspire the people of Albion to stand up against the invaders.

This was another enjoyable story from Buxton that explores an alternate Britain that never got to embrace the industrial revolution. The plot itself had a good blend of excitement and action interspersed with politics, diplomacy and discussion. In addition, the writing was competent and flowed well which is something I have grown to expect from Buxton.

Whilst the story was entertaining there are still a few weak points in the plot to be honest. A fundamental one in regards to the unfolding of the plot is to do with the outsiders agreeing that Bardolph would somehow be the best option to extract a kidnap victim. I didn’t fully understand why they would agree to this over anyone else as they didn’t know anything about the King. Whilst it did turn out that being King did actually help, this more due to happenstance than anything concrete. This didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story but it did feel to me like Buxton was grasping at a way to introduce the King back into the governance of Albion.

In regards to the characters, Bardolph is on the whole a likeable person who tries to be noble and do the best for Albion. He does have some character flaws such as his obsession with a girl that causes him to betray his word. I liked the fact that Buxton tried to ensure her hero was not 100% perfect. However, this very flaw also irritated me a little as it is in regards to a relationship that I found rather childish. Considering, the rest of the time Bardolph was sensible, mature and noble it seemed a little bit far-fetched that he would act in such a manner as he does over the girl. I suppose love can drive people to do very strange things but it felt more like infatuation to me.

Overall, I found this to be a entertaining and fun story that introduces some interesting characters who on the whole are likeable even if at times they can make some rather frustrating choices. The odd minor weak plot point is also easily forgotten as you read the novel and I appreciated seeing that the story was nicely tied up by the end of the novel. If you are a fan of novels that explore the mingling of technologically advanced people with pre-industrialised societies then I suspect this book will be right up your street.

[Doreen Dalesandro]

Kindle freebie, 3/1/13