Treespeaker

3/5

by 

Katie Stewart.

Genre: Fantasy
Amazon.com
Amazom.co.uk

I love paranormal type novels, and even though this was a fantasy and something I normally avoid I thought I'd give it a go. The main reason I don't like fantasy is because of all the strange made up names, and there were a few of them in Treespeaker, and quite a lot in the beginning. It took me a while to sort the main characters from the minor.

The Treespeaker opened fast and furious as the tribe's shaman, Jakan the "treespeaker", saw a vision of a hellish future for his tribe called Arrakesh. At first he is unable to understand the foretelling but when a stranger (Beldror) arrives he realises his visions will come true if doesn't act. Beldror's charm wins over all but Jakan, and it is Jakan who is ousted from the tribe instead of Beldror. After the explosive start it did make the rest of the book seem less exciting, but please don't confuse that with boring. The plot was delicately woven, and although I think a few more things could have happened to spice it up I realised that maybe there is a niche for gentle fantasy?


I identified Treespeaker (at first) similar to Avatar in the way that it was set in a strange land with even stranger creatures and mind (physic) abilities. But Treespeaker was much less action than I'd expect from a fantasy (and indeed Avatar), it had more of a subtle plot, and seemed to focus primarily on problems that could be found in the modern day.


Overall,  I quite liked Treespeaker. Its plot didn't exite, or have me fast turning the pages until the end but I was pleased to finish and know the outcome. I enjoyed meeting all the character's that Treespeaker introduced me to.

Blurb: 

A Treespeaker is one with his forest, moving with its spirit, inseparably bound to it.

Terrifying visions warn Jakan that a visitor to his tribe is not who he claims to be. As the villagers fall under the spell of the stranger’s mind-bending sorcery, Jakan grows desperate to be rid of him. Events take a sinister turn when he accuses the stranger of sacrilege — and it is Jakan, not the outsider, who is expelled from the forest.
Join Jakan on his perilous journey across a blighted land as he searches for the secret that will save his people — and himself. 

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