What do you think?
Rate this book
Bright Empires #5
The Fatal Tree
What do you do when you're faced with The End of Everything?
The evidence is compelling—not only is The End of Everything approaching, it's approaching rapidly. Desperation sends the Questors to the four corners of the universe in search of answers.
Tony and Gianni are in Rome gathering additional data on the collapse of the universe, and Haven and Giles are captured by Huns and taken to Byzantium.
Mina travels to Egypt to recruit Dr. Thomas Young, "the last man in the world who knows everything." But when he accompanies Mina, Kit, and Cass to the ley guarded by the giant tree, he manages to activate the ley and he and Mina disappear.
Before disappearing, Dr. Young dubbed the giant Yew the Fatal Tree—but what fate is it leading these Questors toward?
347 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 28, 2014
59 people are currently reading
1,046 people want to read
About the author
Stephen R. Lawhead
120books2,657followersStephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. His works include Byzantium, Patrick, and the series The Pendragon Cycle, The Celtic Crusades, and The Song of Albion.
Also see his fanpage at Myspace:
Stephen was born in 1950, in Nebraska in the USA. Most of his early life was spent in America where he earned a university degree in Fine Arts and attended theological college for two years. His first professional writing was done at Campus Life magazine in Chicago, where he was an editor and staff writer. During his five years at Campus Life he wrote hundreds of articles and several non-fiction books.
After a brief foray into the music business—as president of his own record company—he began full-time freelance writing in 1981. He moved to England in order to research Celtic legend and history. His first novel, In the Hall of the Dragon King, became the first in a series of three books (The Dragon King Trilogy) and was followed by the two-volume Empyrion saga, Dream Thief and then the Pendragon Cycle, now in five volumes: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail. This was followed by the award-winning Song of Albion series which consists of The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot.
He has written nine children's books, many of them originally offered to his two sons, Drake and Ross. He is married to Alice Slaikeu Lawhead, also a writer, with whom he has collaborated on some books and articles. They make their home in Oxford, England.
Stephen's non-fiction, fiction and children's titles have been published in twenty-one foreign languages. All of his novels have remained continuously in print in the United States and Britain since they were first published. He has won numereous industry awards for his novels and children's books, and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Nebraska.
also write under the name Steve Lawhead
Also see his fanpage at Myspace:
Stephen was born in 1950, in Nebraska in the USA. Most of his early life was spent in America where he earned a university degree in Fine Arts and attended theological college for two years. His first professional writing was done at Campus Life magazine in Chicago, where he was an editor and staff writer. During his five years at Campus Life he wrote hundreds of articles and several non-fiction books.
After a brief foray into the music business—as president of his own record company—he began full-time freelance writing in 1981. He moved to England in order to research Celtic legend and history. His first novel, In the Hall of the Dragon King, became the first in a series of three books (The Dragon King Trilogy) and was followed by the two-volume Empyrion saga, Dream Thief and then the Pendragon Cycle, now in five volumes: Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail. This was followed by the award-winning Song of Albion series which consists of The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and The Endless Knot.
He has written nine children's books, many of them originally offered to his two sons, Drake and Ross. He is married to Alice Slaikeu Lawhead, also a writer, with whom he has collaborated on some books and articles. They make their home in Oxford, England.
Stephen's non-fiction, fiction and children's titles have been published in twenty-one foreign languages. All of his novels have remained continuously in print in the United States and Britain since they were first published. He has won numereous industry awards for his novels and children's books, and in 2003 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Nebraska.
also write under the name Steve Lawhead
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
August 24, 2015
This fifth and final volume of the Bright Empires series is much of a piece with the four volumes that went before, in terms of content, style, and quality. Reader's reactions to the first four would probably be predictive of their reaction to this one. (And the first four should definitely be read, in order, before tackling this one!) As readers of the Shadow Lamp already know, and as the cover copy (which also serves as the ŷ description) states, our major characters are now caught up in the climactic effort to respond to, and hopefully prevent, the End of Everything: a reversal of the universe/multiverse's expansion in a rapid contraction that will annihilate everything that exists.
Both the characteristic strengths and weaknesses of the series continue to be in evidence. For perhaps the first two-thirds of the book, the plot actually seemed to me to be somewhat more aimless than in the preceding books, with our "questors" seeming to act in a relatively random fashion in the face of the emergency. On the plus side, Lawhead delivers a couple of surprises in his plotting that I did not see coming; but character development continues to be believable. Multiple plot strands are juggled probably about as well as they can be, with so many. And the author creates an impressive vision of the cosmic scope of a meaningful multiverse, suffused with an explicitly theistic perspective and expressed in majestic and beautiful prose, which didn't fail to impress this reader. We even have some clean romance, presented tastefully and intelligently, as is Lawhead's wont.
A major point that for me cost this volume, and the series in general, stars is the heavy reliance on quantum physics, which I don't fully understand (and am not unreservedly convinced is valid anyway), and which tends to be only vaguely explained here. Also, the internal logic of the premise seems weak to me. It isn't a spoiler (since the preceding books state it) to mention that the contraction of space-time is happening because Arthur Flinders-Petrie misused the Spirit Well to restore the dead Xian Li to life. But that raises other questions that don't get answers. How does the Spirit Well do this in the first place? What is its relation to the multiverse? If it can be misused in this fashion and can thus threaten the End of Everything, why wouldn't the Creator whom Lawhead posits take measures to prevent this in the first place? Why would one action that wasn't "meant to be" cause the contraction of the universe? (How do we know what's "meant to be," in this sense?) Why does the contraction wait three generations to start happening? Inquiring minds want to know!
Related to this, the logic behind the ending is unsatisfactory, IMO. Arguably, this whole scenario is not really well thought out, and just operates the way that Lawhead wants it to independently of internal logic.
In summation, I liked the series moderately well, and liked several of the characters. But generally speaking, I don't regard it as Lawhead's best work. Personally, I'd recommend the King Raven trilogy as a better introduction to his corpus.
Both the characteristic strengths and weaknesses of the series continue to be in evidence. For perhaps the first two-thirds of the book, the plot actually seemed to me to be somewhat more aimless than in the preceding books, with our "questors" seeming to act in a relatively random fashion in the face of the emergency. On the plus side, Lawhead delivers a couple of surprises in his plotting that I did not see coming; but character development continues to be believable. Multiple plot strands are juggled probably about as well as they can be, with so many. And the author creates an impressive vision of the cosmic scope of a meaningful multiverse, suffused with an explicitly theistic perspective and expressed in majestic and beautiful prose, which didn't fail to impress this reader. We even have some clean romance, presented tastefully and intelligently, as is Lawhead's wont.
A major point that for me cost this volume, and the series in general, stars is the heavy reliance on quantum physics, which I don't fully understand (and am not unreservedly convinced is valid anyway), and which tends to be only vaguely explained here. Also, the internal logic of the premise seems weak to me. It isn't a spoiler (since the preceding books state it) to mention that the contraction of space-time is happening because Arthur Flinders-Petrie misused the Spirit Well to restore the dead Xian Li to life. But that raises other questions that don't get answers. How does the Spirit Well do this in the first place? What is its relation to the multiverse? If it can be misused in this fashion and can thus threaten the End of Everything, why wouldn't the Creator whom Lawhead posits take measures to prevent this in the first place? Why would one action that wasn't "meant to be" cause the contraction of the universe? (How do we know what's "meant to be," in this sense?) Why does the contraction wait three generations to start happening? Inquiring minds want to know!
Related to this, the logic behind the ending is unsatisfactory, IMO. Arguably, this whole scenario is not really well thought out, and just operates the way that Lawhead wants it to independently of internal logic.
In summation, I liked the series moderately well, and liked several of the characters. But generally speaking, I don't regard it as Lawhead's best work. Personally, I'd recommend the King Raven trilogy as a better introduction to his corpus.
April 11, 2019
(First posted here.)
In the immortal words of Bilbo Baggins (at least in a certain film), “I’ve put this off for far too long.�
I was waiting for the right words, but I’ve realized that there’s simply no way to do justice to this book in a review, and so instead of waiting for a time that will never come, I’m simply going to say something about it, even if it’s not enough.
You see, the Bright Empire series (of which The Fatal Tree is the fifth and final book) meant so much to me that I can’t quite put it into words.
I enjoyed it, loved it, and it had a profound influence and effect on me. The series worked its way into a deep part of me that makes it hard to get at to explain. I’m not sure if you’ve had this experience, but sometimes you read something that becomes a part of you. It changes you. And so you can’t really talk about it—not really, not in a way that could explain to anyone why it happened to reach you at that soul level, because if it didn’t do the same for them, then they just won’t understand. And that’s all right, because every book affects people differently, if at all. It just makes it difficult to explain.
So it’s seems silly to attempt it, and I won’t try, but I will say that this series is a part of me, like several other book milestones along the way through my younger life—I won’t go through those here. It’s enough a part of me that I don’t really think about it, but it is and it’s there.
So here are a few things about the series that made it something special, at least for this literary traveler.
For one thing, there’s Mina. She was the first female role-model I’d met in a book since I was very young. I want to be her. Heroines never interest me in fiction much; I don’t know why, but I’m usually more drawn to the heroes. So Mina was something new and different. She showed me it was possible to do oh-so-many things. She’s the bravest character I’ve ever read about, but she started as a stressed, tired young woman from our modern days. Literally plucked out of her life and thrust into another one, she refuses to give in and transforms her situation into something incredible. She is clever and heroic and rather more brave than I think I’d ever be, but she is so incredibly loving and steady too, and she shines. She makes a way in the world, and is loyal to her friends, and capable, and an entrepreneur, ready to try new things whether in a bakery or fearlessly treading the roads between worlds, but she’s still human and shows that it’s okay to wish you could be home taking a hot shower to avoid the world at times. And, I mean, who wouldn’t want to go visit her and Etzel’s joint Kaffeehaus in 1600s Prague? It’s the most amazing place! I think what I’m trying to say is that I didn’t really have role-models in fiction, and that we need those. I’ve had plenty of fictional heroes, and I needed those too, and I had Eilonwy and Princess Irene and Eowyn and others, but I hadn’t met a modern heroine I could look up to, and I think in a rush to write “realistic� characters (read: dull and flawed, or fake and artificially “strong�), people just don’t write truly heroic characters anymore. Not the ones who can actually be looked up to, and show a blueprint of what might be, and meet me where I am and inspire me and show me that I can be something more and do things. I won’t ramble on about her more than that, but Mina is one of the best things that ever happened to me.
The series also firmly embedded into my mind that whole “there are no coincidences� thing, which as much as I always knew in theory I didn’t really believe if you know what I mean, until reading this fascinating series. If there’s one thing I took away from these books, it was that, and I adore it.
Then there’s how I’ll run across things in life, or in other literature, or in a song, or history, and I’ll see it echoing back to this series—whether it’s a name, or a place, or something else—and I’ll go “Aha! It’s like Bright Empires!� and I’ll do a little dance of intrigued joy. (For example, I stumbled across a translation of a Welsh song called Adra (Home) by Gwyneth Glyn and it so strongly fit this series I thought “What a coincidence! Oh, that can’t be right . . .� ;)) Aside from simply being great fun to find things in life that remind me of a beloved series, it opened up a whole new world to me—and how could it not, with such a broad canvas of times, places, people, and thoughts painted together with such intricacy and skill?
And also with beloved characters and humor and enjoyment, because that’s the important bit that makes the rest stick in your mind. Because there’s the thing: you can have the most interesting or enlightening book in the world, but if it’s not fun, it’s not going to stick with you—or with me, at any rate. And you can have an enjoyable story, but how much more enjoyable is it if, amidst the fun, it stretches your mind far afield and shows you a whole new world and makes you think? I love how this series did all of those things for me, and all in a mind-bending, genre-defying, completely new sort of way.
But aren’t you going to talk about this book, not just the series, then? you ask.
Oh, very well.
I see the series as a whole and so I don’t have terribly much to say specifically about the final book, other than as the end of a saga. (Especially not without massive spoilers, which nobody wants because you must discover them on your own when you read the books; and you ARE GOING TO, right? *stern but loving look*) But there are a few things, so I’ll mention them.
I don’t know how I feel about a few things that happened, and at least at one point I wished that some of the characters could have come in at the end with the others and they didn’t—but then I realized that they were perfect where they are. Several pairs of people are THE MOST ADORABLE THING. (I’m sorry, I’m a romantic. XD)
Familiar places (like Black Mixen Tump) swirl back into the story, and continue to be fascinating. Desert sand in Egypt to frozen ice and the Stone Age, with Prague and Constantinople and all the rest in between. I love the richness of all the different countries and times we get to visit in this series, and how vivid they are (even if some can get downright frightening!), and especially the good hearts of many of the people we meet. Everything’s so genuine, laced with a thread of nobleness and light.
I still adore all of the characters, fiercely. Mina, Kit, Etzel, Cass, Giles, Tony, Haven, Gianni, the members of the Zetetic Society, and all the rest. They’re my friends now. ^_^ I was so delighted to get to finally complete their story in this book, and I absolutely love how all of their tales intertwine and fit into the book so neatly but with threads trailing afterward to the future. And I love all of their interactions SO MUCH. They make the book. :D
Even the villains are interesting, and far from straightforward. Burleigh’s plotline is one of the two most skillful ones of its kind I’ve read in my life.
And, of course, there’s a time-related thing or two that finally happen in this book, which I’ve been waiting for since the first one. One in particular made me SO HAPPY. (Looking at you, chapter 11.) Speaking of timey-wimey things, that sort of thing always makes my head spin (in a good way) and I think I filled a couple of pieces of paper with diagrams of different people’s timelines and where and when they crossed and it was still dreadfully confusing and I love it so much. XD Someday I’m going to carve out the time to read the whole series again, and I’m looking forward to that with relish. (And maybe then I’ll finally fully understand the ending, which tied my mind in knots. :D)
Then there’s that whole having-to-save-the-world thing, what with the whole universe about to end and everything, which is as serious as it sounds and just as exciting—and there may or may not be some death in there, and I’m not saying I totally understood how everything turned out (I like a good goes-slightly-over-my-head-and-requires-a-rereading ending—just look at Diana Wynne Jones), especially with science-y things going over my head, but everything came together from the previous books and on the whole I was terribly pleased with how The Fatal Tree wrapped up the series. (I’m also so glad we got a what-happens-next bit at the end too! *collapses*)
It was an experience, and one it’s taken me nearly two years to get around to finally externalizing and typing up in the form of a “review� (or shall we call it an essay?), but I can safely say that the Bright Empires is one of the most delightful series I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Even if only as an enjoyable adventure, I recommend them highly to anyone who cares to try their luck. Or, since there is no such thing as coincidence, let’s say that luck is the wrong word and leave it at that. ;)
I’m deeply indebted to Mr. Lawhead for penning such a—well, brilliant is the only word for it, in so many ways—series, and I look forward to delving into more of his books very soon.
(Also . . . THE SPOON. :O WHAT. DOES. IT. MEAN. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.)
In the immortal words of Bilbo Baggins (at least in a certain film), “I’ve put this off for far too long.�
I was waiting for the right words, but I’ve realized that there’s simply no way to do justice to this book in a review, and so instead of waiting for a time that will never come, I’m simply going to say something about it, even if it’s not enough.
You see, the Bright Empire series (of which The Fatal Tree is the fifth and final book) meant so much to me that I can’t quite put it into words.
I enjoyed it, loved it, and it had a profound influence and effect on me. The series worked its way into a deep part of me that makes it hard to get at to explain. I’m not sure if you’ve had this experience, but sometimes you read something that becomes a part of you. It changes you. And so you can’t really talk about it—not really, not in a way that could explain to anyone why it happened to reach you at that soul level, because if it didn’t do the same for them, then they just won’t understand. And that’s all right, because every book affects people differently, if at all. It just makes it difficult to explain.
So it’s seems silly to attempt it, and I won’t try, but I will say that this series is a part of me, like several other book milestones along the way through my younger life—I won’t go through those here. It’s enough a part of me that I don’t really think about it, but it is and it’s there.
So here are a few things about the series that made it something special, at least for this literary traveler.
For one thing, there’s Mina. She was the first female role-model I’d met in a book since I was very young. I want to be her. Heroines never interest me in fiction much; I don’t know why, but I’m usually more drawn to the heroes. So Mina was something new and different. She showed me it was possible to do oh-so-many things. She’s the bravest character I’ve ever read about, but she started as a stressed, tired young woman from our modern days. Literally plucked out of her life and thrust into another one, she refuses to give in and transforms her situation into something incredible. She is clever and heroic and rather more brave than I think I’d ever be, but she is so incredibly loving and steady too, and she shines. She makes a way in the world, and is loyal to her friends, and capable, and an entrepreneur, ready to try new things whether in a bakery or fearlessly treading the roads between worlds, but she’s still human and shows that it’s okay to wish you could be home taking a hot shower to avoid the world at times. And, I mean, who wouldn’t want to go visit her and Etzel’s joint Kaffeehaus in 1600s Prague? It’s the most amazing place! I think what I’m trying to say is that I didn’t really have role-models in fiction, and that we need those. I’ve had plenty of fictional heroes, and I needed those too, and I had Eilonwy and Princess Irene and Eowyn and others, but I hadn’t met a modern heroine I could look up to, and I think in a rush to write “realistic� characters (read: dull and flawed, or fake and artificially “strong�), people just don’t write truly heroic characters anymore. Not the ones who can actually be looked up to, and show a blueprint of what might be, and meet me where I am and inspire me and show me that I can be something more and do things. I won’t ramble on about her more than that, but Mina is one of the best things that ever happened to me.
The series also firmly embedded into my mind that whole “there are no coincidences� thing, which as much as I always knew in theory I didn’t really believe if you know what I mean, until reading this fascinating series. If there’s one thing I took away from these books, it was that, and I adore it.
Then there’s how I’ll run across things in life, or in other literature, or in a song, or history, and I’ll see it echoing back to this series—whether it’s a name, or a place, or something else—and I’ll go “Aha! It’s like Bright Empires!� and I’ll do a little dance of intrigued joy. (For example, I stumbled across a translation of a Welsh song called Adra (Home) by Gwyneth Glyn and it so strongly fit this series I thought “What a coincidence! Oh, that can’t be right . . .� ;)) Aside from simply being great fun to find things in life that remind me of a beloved series, it opened up a whole new world to me—and how could it not, with such a broad canvas of times, places, people, and thoughts painted together with such intricacy and skill?
And also with beloved characters and humor and enjoyment, because that’s the important bit that makes the rest stick in your mind. Because there’s the thing: you can have the most interesting or enlightening book in the world, but if it’s not fun, it’s not going to stick with you—or with me, at any rate. And you can have an enjoyable story, but how much more enjoyable is it if, amidst the fun, it stretches your mind far afield and shows you a whole new world and makes you think? I love how this series did all of those things for me, and all in a mind-bending, genre-defying, completely new sort of way.
But aren’t you going to talk about this book, not just the series, then? you ask.
Oh, very well.
I see the series as a whole and so I don’t have terribly much to say specifically about the final book, other than as the end of a saga. (Especially not without massive spoilers, which nobody wants because you must discover them on your own when you read the books; and you ARE GOING TO, right? *stern but loving look*) But there are a few things, so I’ll mention them.
I don’t know how I feel about a few things that happened, and at least at one point I wished that some of the characters could have come in at the end with the others and they didn’t—but then I realized that they were perfect where they are. Several pairs of people are THE MOST ADORABLE THING. (I’m sorry, I’m a romantic. XD)
Familiar places (like Black Mixen Tump) swirl back into the story, and continue to be fascinating. Desert sand in Egypt to frozen ice and the Stone Age, with Prague and Constantinople and all the rest in between. I love the richness of all the different countries and times we get to visit in this series, and how vivid they are (even if some can get downright frightening!), and especially the good hearts of many of the people we meet. Everything’s so genuine, laced with a thread of nobleness and light.
I still adore all of the characters, fiercely. Mina, Kit, Etzel, Cass, Giles, Tony, Haven, Gianni, the members of the Zetetic Society, and all the rest. They’re my friends now. ^_^ I was so delighted to get to finally complete their story in this book, and I absolutely love how all of their tales intertwine and fit into the book so neatly but with threads trailing afterward to the future. And I love all of their interactions SO MUCH. They make the book. :D
Even the villains are interesting, and far from straightforward. Burleigh’s plotline is one of the two most skillful ones of its kind I’ve read in my life.
And, of course, there’s a time-related thing or two that finally happen in this book, which I’ve been waiting for since the first one. One in particular made me SO HAPPY. (Looking at you, chapter 11.) Speaking of timey-wimey things, that sort of thing always makes my head spin (in a good way) and I think I filled a couple of pieces of paper with diagrams of different people’s timelines and where and when they crossed and it was still dreadfully confusing and I love it so much. XD Someday I’m going to carve out the time to read the whole series again, and I’m looking forward to that with relish. (And maybe then I’ll finally fully understand the ending, which tied my mind in knots. :D)
Then there’s that whole having-to-save-the-world thing, what with the whole universe about to end and everything, which is as serious as it sounds and just as exciting—and there may or may not be some death in there, and I’m not saying I totally understood how everything turned out (I like a good goes-slightly-over-my-head-and-requires-a-rereading ending—just look at Diana Wynne Jones), especially with science-y things going over my head, but everything came together from the previous books and on the whole I was terribly pleased with how The Fatal Tree wrapped up the series. (I’m also so glad we got a what-happens-next bit at the end too! *collapses*)
It was an experience, and one it’s taken me nearly two years to get around to finally externalizing and typing up in the form of a “review� (or shall we call it an essay?), but I can safely say that the Bright Empires is one of the most delightful series I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Even if only as an enjoyable adventure, I recommend them highly to anyone who cares to try their luck. Or, since there is no such thing as coincidence, let’s say that luck is the wrong word and leave it at that. ;)
I’m deeply indebted to Mr. Lawhead for penning such a—well, brilliant is the only word for it, in so many ways—series, and I look forward to delving into more of his books very soon.
(Also . . . THE SPOON. :O WHAT. DOES. IT. MEAN. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS.)
November 25, 2015
As I think I've mentioned before, Stephen Lawhead is one of my favorite (living) authors. He's one of the few authors whose books I will just pick up automatically when they're released. The problem with Lawhead, though, is that he frequesntly has a problem with endings, especially endings of series. The Fatal Tree proves to be one of those ending failures, and it's unfortunate that such a strong story had to end with a face plant.
The first problem with the book is, as it turns out, the conflict is "cosmic" in nature. As revealed at the end of the previous book, The Shadow Lamp, the end of the universe is coming. As I mentioned in my review of The Shadow Lamp, this is an issue because it changes the focus of the series. We believe during the first three books and most of the way through the fourth that conflict is with Burleigh, but, suddenly, no, although Burleigh is a bad guy, he is not the bad guy. He is not the antagonist.
In fact, there is no real antagonist, not at that point, just an event that previously happened that, now, needs to be prevented. Remember the part in one of my previous reviews where I said this isn't a time travel story? Well, it's still not, but they still have to figure out a way to prevent something from happening that already happened. Except they don't really know that.
Actually, the major issue with this book is that the catastrophic event that was only discovered as a possibility at the end of book four is just suddenly happening. It's like if you were making tea: You put your water in your tea kettle, you turn on the burner on the stove, you set the kettle on the burner... You expect to need to have to wait for the water to heat up before you can make your tea, right? But not in this book. Instead, as soon as you set the kettle down, not only does the water start to boil, it explodes into steam. The sudden shift from trying to find the skin map to the universe could be in danger to THE UNIVERSE IS IMPLODING RIGHT NOW! was unenjoyable to say the least.
And, then, what do you do about the universe imploding? Absolutely nothing, that's what. It's kind of like standing in front of a tsunami and trying to stop it by holding up your hands. But Kit and his gang (because Kit has somehow become the leader) decide they're going to stop it. So they spend a lot of time talking about it and doing not much and never figure anything out.
The other issue, from a plot stand point, is the tree. The fatal tree. The fatal tree that, really, has nothing to do with anything. It's just there. There's a whole book, basically, devoted to this tree, and it doesn't really mean anything or have to do with anything. That was annoying.
Then there's Burleigh...
So, look, Lawhead writes Christian-themed books. I get that. As a Christian, I appreciate his general subtle application of Christianity into his stories. But not this time. Because Burleigh, as it turns out, isn't really our bad guy, he needs to have a conversion experience, which would be fine, except... Except that Lawhead spends chapters and chapters dealing with Burleigh and his descent into self-loathing so that he can finally come to understand that he's powerless on his own and does, yes, need God. This is all handled more like someone with an addiction needing to hit bottom to know that he needs help rather than someone coming to understand that it's grace that is needed. Also, it goes on way too long. In detail. It's tiring.
Basically, I was very dissatisfied with the book and how it ended the series. Too many things happen for no real reason other than that the author needed them to happen so he made them happen. There's no explanation or rational or anything. I'm sorry, but you don't write a whole book about a tree that just happened to be there and has no other purpose than that it happened to be there. Also, you don't have the "heroes" essentially save the universe on accident, even if that's what they wanted to do. I can't say the series, overall, was a waste of time (because books two, three and four were really very good), but I might have been more satisfied if I had never read this one and just wondered what happened.
The first problem with the book is, as it turns out, the conflict is "cosmic" in nature. As revealed at the end of the previous book, The Shadow Lamp, the end of the universe is coming. As I mentioned in my review of The Shadow Lamp, this is an issue because it changes the focus of the series. We believe during the first three books and most of the way through the fourth that conflict is with Burleigh, but, suddenly, no, although Burleigh is a bad guy, he is not the bad guy. He is not the antagonist.
In fact, there is no real antagonist, not at that point, just an event that previously happened that, now, needs to be prevented. Remember the part in one of my previous reviews where I said this isn't a time travel story? Well, it's still not, but they still have to figure out a way to prevent something from happening that already happened. Except they don't really know that.
Actually, the major issue with this book is that the catastrophic event that was only discovered as a possibility at the end of book four is just suddenly happening. It's like if you were making tea: You put your water in your tea kettle, you turn on the burner on the stove, you set the kettle on the burner... You expect to need to have to wait for the water to heat up before you can make your tea, right? But not in this book. Instead, as soon as you set the kettle down, not only does the water start to boil, it explodes into steam. The sudden shift from trying to find the skin map to the universe could be in danger to THE UNIVERSE IS IMPLODING RIGHT NOW! was unenjoyable to say the least.
And, then, what do you do about the universe imploding? Absolutely nothing, that's what. It's kind of like standing in front of a tsunami and trying to stop it by holding up your hands. But Kit and his gang (because Kit has somehow become the leader) decide they're going to stop it. So they spend a lot of time talking about it and doing not much and never figure anything out.
The other issue, from a plot stand point, is the tree. The fatal tree. The fatal tree that, really, has nothing to do with anything. It's just there. There's a whole book, basically, devoted to this tree, and it doesn't really mean anything or have to do with anything. That was annoying.
Then there's Burleigh...
So, look, Lawhead writes Christian-themed books. I get that. As a Christian, I appreciate his general subtle application of Christianity into his stories. But not this time. Because Burleigh, as it turns out, isn't really our bad guy, he needs to have a conversion experience, which would be fine, except... Except that Lawhead spends chapters and chapters dealing with Burleigh and his descent into self-loathing so that he can finally come to understand that he's powerless on his own and does, yes, need God. This is all handled more like someone with an addiction needing to hit bottom to know that he needs help rather than someone coming to understand that it's grace that is needed. Also, it goes on way too long. In detail. It's tiring.
Basically, I was very dissatisfied with the book and how it ended the series. Too many things happen for no real reason other than that the author needed them to happen so he made them happen. There's no explanation or rational or anything. I'm sorry, but you don't write a whole book about a tree that just happened to be there and has no other purpose than that it happened to be there. Also, you don't have the "heroes" essentially save the universe on accident, even if that's what they wanted to do. I can't say the series, overall, was a waste of time (because books two, three and four were really very good), but I might have been more satisfied if I had never read this one and just wondered what happened.
June 15, 2021
Initial Response
HOW DO I FIND WORDS HELP.
High Lights
- THE WHOLE THING.
- Okay, more specifically, THE CHARACTERS! Kit is still great, Mina is still plain AWESOME, and Cass is so sweet!
- I really enjoyed Tony's character, though, every time I pictured him, all that came to mind was Tony STARK. XD It was amusing, to say the least.
- The description and imagery, as always, TRANSPORTS me into the story. I feel like I'm watching a movie, it's so vivid and REAL!
- The stakes just about killed me.
- Burleigh. Hmm.
- Etzel is just so sweet and I feel like everyone should strive to be like him. Really.
- Yeah, everything.
Low Lights
- Okay, so maybe I have ONE teensy-weensy complaint. The ending...it just didn't quite satisfy me.
Conclusion
I'd just love to thank Deborah for introducing this series to me!! I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! If you're looking for a wild, multiverse, slightly time-travelish, historical fiction-ish, fantasy-ish epic series, look no more. THIS IS IT! :D
5/5.
HOW DO I FIND WORDS HELP.
High Lights
- THE WHOLE THING.
- Okay, more specifically, THE CHARACTERS! Kit is still great, Mina is still plain AWESOME, and Cass is so sweet!
- I really enjoyed Tony's character, though, every time I pictured him, all that came to mind was Tony STARK. XD It was amusing, to say the least.
- The description and imagery, as always, TRANSPORTS me into the story. I feel like I'm watching a movie, it's so vivid and REAL!
- The stakes just about killed me.
- Burleigh. Hmm.
- Etzel is just so sweet and I feel like everyone should strive to be like him. Really.
- Yeah, everything.
Low Lights
- Okay, so maybe I have ONE teensy-weensy complaint. The ending...it just didn't quite satisfy me.
Conclusion
I'd just love to thank Deborah for introducing this series to me!! I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! If you're looking for a wild, multiverse, slightly time-travelish, historical fiction-ish, fantasy-ish epic series, look no more. THIS IS IT! :D
5/5.
December 22, 2014
The bar was raised a little bit by the back cover promising an "immensely satisfying conclusion" to the Bright Empires series. Substitute "somewhat" for "immensely" and that's much closer to the truth for me.
The author did bring the overall story to a conclusion and that is a positive after a lot of meandering through the ages. A major change in the person of one of the major characters is plausible to me, perhaps because it is nuanced. I did enjoy reading this series overall.
And now to the negatives. This last book in the series was probably the most difficult to read. Heavy on verbose descriptions of surroundings and light on conversations and action, it made it hard to keep the attention on the story. As some might say, it was easy to put down at any point. It was also rather disappointing that the whole paradigm for the story changed drastically in this final book. And the author's "essay" after the epilogue just feels like the author sticking his tongue out at the reader. I think I would have felt better about the book without it. To explain what happened to a few supporting characters and not the main characters is bad enough. Then, to hide behind the claim that this is all real and the author just doesn't know what happened to them sounds rather idiotic. Or perhaps the author just can't be bothered to make something up. Of course, that is the author's prerogative, as it is my prerogative not to read anything by this author again. And so, I believe, it shall be.
The author did bring the overall story to a conclusion and that is a positive after a lot of meandering through the ages. A major change in the person of one of the major characters is plausible to me, perhaps because it is nuanced. I did enjoy reading this series overall.
And now to the negatives. This last book in the series was probably the most difficult to read. Heavy on verbose descriptions of surroundings and light on conversations and action, it made it hard to keep the attention on the story. As some might say, it was easy to put down at any point. It was also rather disappointing that the whole paradigm for the story changed drastically in this final book. And the author's "essay" after the epilogue just feels like the author sticking his tongue out at the reader. I think I would have felt better about the book without it. To explain what happened to a few supporting characters and not the main characters is bad enough. Then, to hide behind the claim that this is all real and the author just doesn't know what happened to them sounds rather idiotic. Or perhaps the author just can't be bothered to make something up. Of course, that is the author's prerogative, as it is my prerogative not to read anything by this author again. And so, I believe, it shall be.
August 9, 2017
So much rides on the conclusion of a series--for the characters yes, but also for the reader. Expectations and suspense have been built up for hundreds of pages, and we wonder how it all will end. The Fatal Tree ended...differently than I expected, but it was still really, really good. I can say very little without plunging straight into spoiler territory, but suffice it to say that:
a) I love the crew, especially Kit, Cass, Mina, Etzel (dear, dear Etzel!), and Gianni.
b) I am endlessly fascinated by this multiverse of ley lines and by the topics this series has examined, such as time, the humongous effect everything and everybody has on everything and everybody else, redemption, human will, and WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE UNIVERSE STARTS TO SHRINK.
c) That cover. *pets lovingly*
If you want a wide, sprawling adventure through time; if you want to fall in love with a bunch of wonderful characters; or if you want to contemplate history and time and how we're all connected--READ BRIGHT EMPIRES.
a) I love the crew, especially Kit, Cass, Mina, Etzel (dear, dear Etzel!), and Gianni.
b) I am endlessly fascinated by this multiverse of ley lines and by the topics this series has examined, such as time, the humongous effect everything and everybody has on everything and everybody else, redemption, human will, and WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE UNIVERSE STARTS TO SHRINK.
c) That cover. *pets lovingly*
If you want a wide, sprawling adventure through time; if you want to fall in love with a bunch of wonderful characters; or if you want to contemplate history and time and how we're all connected--READ BRIGHT EMPIRES.
July 5, 2022
What an amazing series! I'm really going to miss these characters. It was a wild ride!
May 23, 2017
I have a new top favorite series. In other news: a re-read of all five books is called for ASAP!
P.S. Please go grab Book 1 THE SKIN MAP at your local library, bookstore, or online someplace. Because these books are epic on so many levels.
P.S. Please go grab Book 1 THE SKIN MAP at your local library, bookstore, or online someplace. Because these books are epic on so many levels.
February 22, 2015
Disappointing from a writer of quality. The structure seemed stilted, characters largely uninteresting, plot and devices were imprecise mumbo-jumbo. That's what I wrote for #1 of the series, I kept going until I finished. I don't have the level of OCD required to comment on #2, #3 and #4. And I shouldn't have kept going through #5.
Unfortunately, I did. It was almost a "Mandrake gestures hypnotically" resolution to the story. Brief, vague and unsatsifying. In 5 volumes (~1500 pages!) I'd have thought a satisfying denouement could be made. But the story petered out unclearly at the end - indeed so unclearly that Lawhead himself wrote a 'what happened next' chapter and then a concluding essay.
Amongst the various things which set my teeth on edge, the most annoying to me was the author simply dumping in stuff which came from his own recent reading or viewing - one of the characters is Benedict Cumberbatch (yes, right). Another one is Thomas Young - as Lawhead refers to him (often!!) "The Last Man who Knew Everything" - which is the title of a very recent biography of the man. And Thomas Young is a real person - quite a character indeed, but he doesn't achieve much in the progress of the plot - save to be announced most times as "The Last Man who Knew Everything"! (Personally, I don't like real people to figure as apparently important people in fiction. I don't even like other fiction character to arrive on the set of a different author. So, I couldn't really engage Farmer's "Riverworld" series.)
Unfortunately, I did. It was almost a "Mandrake gestures hypnotically" resolution to the story. Brief, vague and unsatsifying. In 5 volumes (~1500 pages!) I'd have thought a satisfying denouement could be made. But the story petered out unclearly at the end - indeed so unclearly that Lawhead himself wrote a 'what happened next' chapter and then a concluding essay.
Amongst the various things which set my teeth on edge, the most annoying to me was the author simply dumping in stuff which came from his own recent reading or viewing - one of the characters is Benedict Cumberbatch (yes, right). Another one is Thomas Young - as Lawhead refers to him (often!!) "The Last Man who Knew Everything" - which is the title of a very recent biography of the man. And Thomas Young is a real person - quite a character indeed, but he doesn't achieve much in the progress of the plot - save to be announced most times as "The Last Man who Knew Everything"! (Personally, I don't like real people to figure as apparently important people in fiction. I don't even like other fiction character to arrive on the set of a different author. So, I couldn't really engage Farmer's "Riverworld" series.)
January 3, 2020
A beautiful conclusion to what is perhaps my favorite book series of all time.
February 5, 2025
I'm calling this a 3.5 star book to end the series. There were certainly things I liked about it, and it's a step up from book four, though only slightly. Stephen manages to reign in the preaching a little bit, though we do still get some infodump chapters that stymie the pacing of the story. The whole jail bit was interesting as well, giving us some great character development for several characters.
That said, unfortunately, the actual ending is kinda underwhelming, and at times outright annoying. I won't even complain that it makes no sense because I don't know how I would judge that, but having a cliche character flip from someone who already flipped once in this book feels like a lame excuse to force the ending. And then after all is said and done, there is little to no effort to tell us what happens to everyone. We get a very short epilogue that explains two side characters fates in decent detail, and an afterword of sorts that explains some of the other side characters. What happened to the leads though? How did their lives play out?
So yeah, I won't say this is a bad book, or series, but after a decent high early on, the whole thing kinda peters out into a convoluted, overly preachy mess that is at time thought provoking, and even exciting on occasion, but ultimately a fair bit frustrating once the ending is in sight and you finally realize just how much wasted material there is in this series. On the up side, if you liked Giles and Lady Faith, these two are about the only characters that we get a real, proper ending for, and one that I did really enjoy, so there is that.
That said, unfortunately, the actual ending is kinda underwhelming, and at times outright annoying. I won't even complain that it makes no sense because I don't know how I would judge that, but having a cliche character flip from someone who already flipped once in this book feels like a lame excuse to force the ending. And then after all is said and done, there is little to no effort to tell us what happens to everyone. We get a very short epilogue that explains two side characters fates in decent detail, and an afterword of sorts that explains some of the other side characters. What happened to the leads though? How did their lives play out?
So yeah, I won't say this is a bad book, or series, but after a decent high early on, the whole thing kinda peters out into a convoluted, overly preachy mess that is at time thought provoking, and even exciting on occasion, but ultimately a fair bit frustrating once the ending is in sight and you finally realize just how much wasted material there is in this series. On the up side, if you liked Giles and Lady Faith, these two are about the only characters that we get a real, proper ending for, and one that I did really enjoy, so there is that.
July 3, 2019
Well like most Lawhead series, this was a fun romp. I loved the characters. The story was well plotted, well researched, and well written. And I recommend any Lawhead fan to read this series.
However, this is not my favorite of Lawhead’s work. There’s a little more X position in this series than what I think is necessary. It seems to have elongated it somehow. Also, while I understand that Thomas Nelson is a Christian publishing house, (and I also am of the Christian faith) I did feel that there was a little bit too much of a stretch with religious themes/symbolism. I have no problem with this. However it seemed a bit of a reach at times. I appreciate the way that Lawhead makes his religious themes much more subversive and subtle in his other works (in my opinion that makes it even more powerful).
There are some plot holes related to some of the quantum physics stuff. The ending leaves more unaccounted for than I would have liked (but that’s the choice of the storyteller and I respect that.
If you’re a Lawhead fan read all five of these books. They’re a lot of fun. If you’ve never read any of Lawhead’s work before, I recommend starting somewhere else. (My favorite by him is Byzantium. I highly recommend this as a Lawhead primer).
He’s a great writer. All in all this was an entertaining story about people I cared about.
However, this is not my favorite of Lawhead’s work. There’s a little more X position in this series than what I think is necessary. It seems to have elongated it somehow. Also, while I understand that Thomas Nelson is a Christian publishing house, (and I also am of the Christian faith) I did feel that there was a little bit too much of a stretch with religious themes/symbolism. I have no problem with this. However it seemed a bit of a reach at times. I appreciate the way that Lawhead makes his religious themes much more subversive and subtle in his other works (in my opinion that makes it even more powerful).
There are some plot holes related to some of the quantum physics stuff. The ending leaves more unaccounted for than I would have liked (but that’s the choice of the storyteller and I respect that.
If you’re a Lawhead fan read all five of these books. They’re a lot of fun. If you’ve never read any of Lawhead’s work before, I recommend starting somewhere else. (My favorite by him is Byzantium. I highly recommend this as a Lawhead primer).
He’s a great writer. All in all this was an entertaining story about people I cared about.
November 18, 2017
Culmination! In this final installment of the Bright Empires series, I especially appreciated Lawhead's references and parallels to famous moments (and teachings) in the Bible. While this series isn't overtly Christian, the underpinnings of truth ring through the finale. A satisfying conclusion to a complex tale. I look forward to reading more of Lawhead's work.
July 23, 2023
Overall, this was a very enjoyable series. Previously, I had only read his Fantasy series and not any of his SF. I liked the different take on a time travel in a multiverse and the moral dimensions of this. There are a lot of appreciative character arcs involved in the series. Lawheads' Christianity has some nice influences regarding this that I rarely see.
July 7, 2018
I wonder if I would have enjoyed this more if I wouldn’t have taken so long between books. I had a hard time remembering who what when and where for a lot of this book.
May 16, 2019
This series was EXCELLENT! Great writing and imaginative alternate universe!
June 1, 2019
*religion intensifies to peak*
I think I have the same problem with this book as some of the issues I have with L.E. Modessit Junior.
The first books in this series were subtle and felt well paced and balanced, containing a mix of strong male and female leads. They were an interesting, well thought out premise with pacing which I enjoyed.
That all changed somewhere in book 4, and I was left with a sour taste in my mouth for the following things:
*minor spoilers below*
* the strong female characters dissolve and disappear for the most part behind the men - all of whom look reverently up to their elders. One of the most headstrong is only happy when she marries and looks after kids - it's a bit one dimensional and the implication that everyone should be happy in their place is at best dated.
Where L.E. Modessit's Imager series feels like the author rewriting the world in his image and getting revenge on his school bullies, this last book feels like it's written to be inspiration on how to leave a proper god fearing life and know thy place.
* it's clear the message here is believe in god = good, atheist = bad guy only redeemable through religion - and to top it all off it's stated there can be no moral compass without religion. Burley is no Inspector Javier.
* the premise of the end of the world is an interesting one, but it's undermined by appearing so late in the narrative arc and upsetting the pacing. In the same vein the purported logic which leads the characters to their summation of the problems the world is facing are at times far fetched and feel a bit forced. It does to an extent reflect what is happening to the universe in the story but doesn't quite hit the mark - it feels like this was just a wrap up in places.
* there are more people basking in holy love per page and marveling at the wonder of "His Plan" per page than the bible.
In summary - it wraps up a series which I enjoyed - that bit gets 4 stars but is dragged down by the author seemingly having found god in the last couple of books.
I think I have the same problem with this book as some of the issues I have with L.E. Modessit Junior.
The first books in this series were subtle and felt well paced and balanced, containing a mix of strong male and female leads. They were an interesting, well thought out premise with pacing which I enjoyed.
That all changed somewhere in book 4, and I was left with a sour taste in my mouth for the following things:
*minor spoilers below*
* the strong female characters dissolve and disappear for the most part behind the men - all of whom look reverently up to their elders. One of the most headstrong is only happy when she marries and looks after kids - it's a bit one dimensional and the implication that everyone should be happy in their place is at best dated.
Where L.E. Modessit's Imager series feels like the author rewriting the world in his image and getting revenge on his school bullies, this last book feels like it's written to be inspiration on how to leave a proper god fearing life and know thy place.
* it's clear the message here is believe in god = good, atheist = bad guy only redeemable through religion - and to top it all off it's stated there can be no moral compass without religion. Burley is no Inspector Javier.
* the premise of the end of the world is an interesting one, but it's undermined by appearing so late in the narrative arc and upsetting the pacing. In the same vein the purported logic which leads the characters to their summation of the problems the world is facing are at times far fetched and feel a bit forced. It does to an extent reflect what is happening to the universe in the story but doesn't quite hit the mark - it feels like this was just a wrap up in places.
* there are more people basking in holy love per page and marveling at the wonder of "His Plan" per page than the bible.
In summary - it wraps up a series which I enjoyed - that bit gets 4 stars but is dragged down by the author seemingly having found god in the last couple of books.
February 20, 2015
The Fatal Tree is the final book in the Bright Empires Series that spans 5 books. I cannot remember how I first heard of these books but I am glad I found them. I am hooked on anything that has to do with time or inter-dimensional travel. It is a continuous story/journey through the 5 books that keeps revisiting the plight of the various characters that you have come to know and love. This final book brings everything to a close and luckily it was a happy close as the universe was preparing to collapse and take the whole world with it.
The Fatal Tree is an amazing ending to the journey that Kit and Mina have been on. Wouldn't it be exciting to be able to travel that way.
The Fatal Tree is an amazing ending to the journey that Kit and Mina have been on. Wouldn't it be exciting to be able to travel that way.
March 24, 2016
- I probably would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t so ticked at the last one.
Disappointed in the evolutionary viewpoint, rather than a creationist perspective. I wasn't so fond of the last one: The Shadow Lamp, due to that. There was even an essay in the back by him about how creationists were wrong. I went back and reread it and it was a bit more balanced than I’d thought.
- This book wasn’t so blatantly evolutionary; it got into multi-universes.
- SPOILER:
I liked that Burleigh became a Christian due to the example of Etzel, although I don’t recall a gospel presentation. Everything did get resolved, although it seemed to get ‘fixed� really fast, right at the end.
Disappointed in the evolutionary viewpoint, rather than a creationist perspective. I wasn't so fond of the last one: The Shadow Lamp, due to that. There was even an essay in the back by him about how creationists were wrong. I went back and reread it and it was a bit more balanced than I’d thought.
- This book wasn’t so blatantly evolutionary; it got into multi-universes.
- SPOILER:
I liked that Burleigh became a Christian due to the example of Etzel, although I don’t recall a gospel presentation. Everything did get resolved, although it seemed to get ‘fixed� really fast, right at the end.
December 22, 2014
I have been enjoying Lawhead's books for quite a while now. I think I began reading him with Hood. Once I picked that book up, I was hooked. This last installment in his bright empires series did not disappoint. Good characters, great story, and novel concepts are what drew me in and kept me reading. Thanks, Stephen, for this lovely book. I can't wait to read what you come up with next.
November 17, 2014
Really like this writer (especially his intepretation of Robin Hood) and I like this series as well - really weird use of "leylines" to build the world. But for whatever reason, I just wasn't as excited by this one. Seemed like a way to get the characters from the last novel to the next.
October 28, 2020
3.75 ⭐️
Unfortunately, probably my least favourite of the series...though, I did still enjoy it. The twist was fun.
Not much a person can say about the fifth and final book in a series without giving away spoilers....
Unfortunately, probably my least favourite of the series...though, I did still enjoy it. The twist was fun.
Not much a person can say about the fifth and final book in a series without giving away spoilers....
November 26, 2014
Yes, the book was good to close the story, but looking back over the series I don't think that it was up there with his best.
June 26, 2015
This book is a good wrap-up of this series that deals with ley-lines, alternate realities, and time travel. The series is populated with very interesting characters and multiple story lines.
July 15, 2021
This is an overall review of the "Bright Empires" omnibus series by Stephen R Lawhead. I dug the premise, the idea of parallel worlds is one I've always liked, and I prefer Everett's MWI over the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (at least, from a layperson's POV, I don't know the math and the heavily technical aspects of the theories). And the idea of using supposed ley lines to travel to alternate worlds (and times within those worlds) was pretty cool.
But that's about where the Good in this series ended. The rest was horrendous. The characters did do some development, but it was bland and boring for the most part, and predictable and convenient for the rest. Motivations for the protagonists and villain alike were vague and squishy, never really making much real sense of WHY anyone was doing what they were doing (and nobody was ever really sure exactly WHAT it was they WERE doing to begin with, besides trying to go someplace; but then what?).
Now, I don't mind religion being an aspect of the stories I read, I just prefer fictional religions. Not a fan of real world religion being a part of the story, unless it is set in an ancient setting (this was, at times, but also in the modern period, both early and late modern periods). The preachiness got a bit annoying rather quickly. And I don't even mind a redemption story, and though this one was attempted fairly well, I can only give it a B- for success on that aspect.
Lawhead has a decent reputation as a good writer, and I've even read one other book of his that was pretty damned good. So I don't know what happened here. Perhaps this was just his bad series, and it had to be gotten out of the way.
Whatever you do, DO NOT LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK OF THIS. The narrator's American accent is frakking painful to listen to, and he does a bunch of them throughout the series, especially towards the end. As an American, it hurt to hear. Normally, Brits doing American accents do not bother me, bit this was atrocious, and must not be heard by living ears ever again!
But that's about where the Good in this series ended. The rest was horrendous. The characters did do some development, but it was bland and boring for the most part, and predictable and convenient for the rest. Motivations for the protagonists and villain alike were vague and squishy, never really making much real sense of WHY anyone was doing what they were doing (and nobody was ever really sure exactly WHAT it was they WERE doing to begin with, besides trying to go someplace; but then what?).
Now, I don't mind religion being an aspect of the stories I read, I just prefer fictional religions. Not a fan of real world religion being a part of the story, unless it is set in an ancient setting (this was, at times, but also in the modern period, both early and late modern periods). The preachiness got a bit annoying rather quickly. And I don't even mind a redemption story, and though this one was attempted fairly well, I can only give it a B- for success on that aspect.
Lawhead has a decent reputation as a good writer, and I've even read one other book of his that was pretty damned good. So I don't know what happened here. Perhaps this was just his bad series, and it had to be gotten out of the way.
Whatever you do, DO NOT LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK OF THIS. The narrator's American accent is frakking painful to listen to, and he does a bunch of them throughout the series, especially towards the end. As an American, it hurt to hear. Normally, Brits doing American accents do not bother me, bit this was atrocious, and must not be heard by living ears ever again!
August 27, 2023
This is the conclusion to Stephen Lawhead’s Bright Empires series. A quick background to this series. It is five books, but they should be seen as one long story that is divided into five equal chunks. The books are definitely not stand alone reads. And given the complexity of the overall story and meandering threads, it is best to read all five books at the same time. Also, be aware that Lawhead’s writing style seems to me to have somewhat YA, though i don’t know if he intends it that way. So the villains seem a bit innocent and naive and if you’d give the story a rating, it would definitely be a G. As to the overall series (this fifth book included), I found it to be way too long and weighted down with excess characters and plot lines for what the story is. I think the whole story (55 hours across 5 books) would be much tighter and better if it was a third the length. As to this book, I found it to be a let down after the build up of the first four books. I thought that the conclusion seemed like Lawhead was writing an epic story and then he ran out of creative inspiration and just ended the story. It left me wondering what the point was. I am a fan of Lawhead, and I think that maybe he was aiming for something like a non-Celtic “Song of Albion� conclusion but that it didn’t really work. I did enjoy his characters though, so even if the plot was a disappointment, the characters weren’t. Finally, while I did like the idea of a villain being redeemed, I do think this was also done overly simply. It made me think of another Lawhead book, Byzantium, where the lead character had a somewhat simplistic crisis of faith. Maybe these are both due to Lawhead’s YA writing style mentioned above. Stephen Lawhead is a great storyteller and I think he has some great ideas. If you are a Lawhead fan, do read this, enjoy the characters but be prepared to be a bit letdown by the conclusion. If you are new to Lawhead, I’d recommend starting with a different series.
December 28, 2023
I finished this a few months ago, and just delayed writing a review due to.. disappointment. Lawhead is one of my favorite authors, and the series started off with such a strong premise. It felt to me as though the series went one, if not two, books too long, and there's a lot of filler and extraneous material to achieve a five book series. This isn't to say book 4 itself was bad; to the contrary, it was good, although my personal least favorite up until this final book—I just believe it would've been strongest as a trilogy. The worst problem in this book for me, was the repetition of the exact same exposition at least three times: with little variance in wording used each time. Also, it suffers from the same problem as the final book of various other (usually YA) series I've read, in which the entire plot is suddenly changed into a completely different direction from the previous several books, which so far I've never found works well.
However, some of the positives:
Despite the elements mentioned above, the plot is interesting and fun. Having all the characters eventually interact with each other throughout the various places and, especially, times is well-crafted. Almost all characters had a satisfying conclusion to their arc, and even though a few weren't quite the ending I would've wanted, they were still good as is—and with a future open to headcanon a "return", to leave this spoiler-free. And, up to this final book, I was incredibly invested and excited to read the series because it was so good.
All told, I'm not terribly likely to re-read this series anytime soon, and it would benefit from abridging this finale, so it's not one of the first several series by Lawhead I'd recommend. However, it is enjoyable, the earlier books in particular are pretty well-written, and obviously I'm not representative of any reader other than myself, so the Bright Empires series is still worth reading, to form your own opinion on.
However, some of the positives:
Despite the elements mentioned above, the plot is interesting and fun. Having all the characters eventually interact with each other throughout the various places and, especially, times is well-crafted. Almost all characters had a satisfying conclusion to their arc, and even though a few weren't quite the ending I would've wanted, they were still good as is—and with a future open to headcanon a "return", to leave this spoiler-free. And, up to this final book, I was incredibly invested and excited to read the series because it was so good.
All told, I'm not terribly likely to re-read this series anytime soon, and it would benefit from abridging this finale, so it's not one of the first several series by Lawhead I'd recommend. However, it is enjoyable, the earlier books in particular are pretty well-written, and obviously I'm not representative of any reader other than myself, so the Bright Empires series is still worth reading, to form your own opinion on.
January 16, 2018
Please note there might be some spoilers below - I have tried to be as vague as possible with my review and so hope they don’t give too much away.
I personally found this book the most engaging out of the 5 book series... it was more interesting and action packed than most of the others and got me through to the end quicker. Some of the chapters such as those in the observatory I found repetitive and lacking much actual useful information to the story except small paragraphs here or there to confirm small details you already have a good idea about.
The final chapter titled “what happens next� was quite disappointing. S. Lawhead introduces the chapter by stating the understanding of wanting to know where characters end up and yet go into detail about only 2 main characters - being Gianni and Tony - as well as into detail about the 4 Burley Men.... however didn’t ever conclude or write anything about Kit, Cass, Mina, or the Earl Burleigh himself... Lawhead did write a brief “vision forward� of their lives in one of the final chapters but never really confirmed this further. And we never got any information about where Burleigh went or what happened to him after his “revelations�.
Overall I found the concepts interesting, very well informed, and based on scientific theories and research I know to be real which increased my interest and displayed the large amount of research, dedication and work that went into writing this series. However, I am sad to add that I found it a slow read, with information that did not seem relevant or required for the story progression. This made it hard to read at times with the consideration not to continue on many occasions. Thankfully it was interesting enough to keep me going however I doubt I would re-read the series again as I do with so many of my other favourites.
I personally found this book the most engaging out of the 5 book series... it was more interesting and action packed than most of the others and got me through to the end quicker. Some of the chapters such as those in the observatory I found repetitive and lacking much actual useful information to the story except small paragraphs here or there to confirm small details you already have a good idea about.
The final chapter titled “what happens next� was quite disappointing. S. Lawhead introduces the chapter by stating the understanding of wanting to know where characters end up and yet go into detail about only 2 main characters - being Gianni and Tony - as well as into detail about the 4 Burley Men.... however didn’t ever conclude or write anything about Kit, Cass, Mina, or the Earl Burleigh himself... Lawhead did write a brief “vision forward� of their lives in one of the final chapters but never really confirmed this further. And we never got any information about where Burleigh went or what happened to him after his “revelations�.
Overall I found the concepts interesting, very well informed, and based on scientific theories and research I know to be real which increased my interest and displayed the large amount of research, dedication and work that went into writing this series. However, I am sad to add that I found it a slow read, with information that did not seem relevant or required for the story progression. This made it hard to read at times with the consideration not to continue on many occasions. Thankfully it was interesting enough to keep me going however I doubt I would re-read the series again as I do with so many of my other favourites.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2018
The Fatal Tree concludes Stephen Lawhead's Bright Empires series, so it has a lot hanging on it. I've loved the previous 4 books for the characters, the plot, the lovingly portrayed details, the interplay of science, philosophy and theology and the different themes. And this final book had great doses of these things, but I was still not quite satisfied with the ending.
It felt rushed and almost contrived --- a sudden, drastic scaling of the stakes (though there had been some foreshadowing, it was subdued) and the seeming premise behind it all as foreshadowed in Douglas' sudden death and Turms thoughts of newly hatched chick - is it always right to save a life, and at what cost? I felt a bit cheated in a way (I loved Arthur and Xian's story, the image at the Well of Souls was central to the story) and I wonder where such a line of thought takes us ... How can we know whether a life should be saved or not? Surely, if it has been, then providence has allowed it and, besides, in Christian thought God allows many things to happen (including bad things, things he doesn't ultimately approve of) but nevertheless ultimately weaves good and beauty out pain, suffering, betrayal (cf Joseph or Jesus). And while I loved the whole premise of the multiverse of expanding consciousness, if all choices happen doesn't mean that choices are arbitrary and meaningless? Over all, I think I'd preferred a less cosmic climax and one that plumbed deeper.
That said, The Fatal Tree it was still a achievement to bring all (or at least most) of the disparate threads together and it was still an enjoyable read. I'm glad to have read the series. I'll be seeking out more of Lawhead's books in the future.
It felt rushed and almost contrived --- a sudden, drastic scaling of the stakes (though there had been some foreshadowing, it was subdued) and the seeming premise behind it all as foreshadowed in Douglas' sudden death and Turms thoughts of newly hatched chick - is it always right to save a life, and at what cost? I felt a bit cheated in a way (I loved Arthur and Xian's story, the image at the Well of Souls was central to the story) and I wonder where such a line of thought takes us ... How can we know whether a life should be saved or not? Surely, if it has been, then providence has allowed it and, besides, in Christian thought God allows many things to happen (including bad things, things he doesn't ultimately approve of) but nevertheless ultimately weaves good and beauty out pain, suffering, betrayal (cf Joseph or Jesus). And while I loved the whole premise of the multiverse of expanding consciousness, if all choices happen doesn't mean that choices are arbitrary and meaningless? Over all, I think I'd preferred a less cosmic climax and one that plumbed deeper.
That said, The Fatal Tree it was still a achievement to bring all (or at least most) of the disparate threads together and it was still an enjoyable read. I'm glad to have read the series. I'll be seeking out more of Lawhead's books in the future.
September 21, 2017
First, a kudos remark to one of my favorite authors. Stephen Lawhead was able to wrap up a story that had so many rabbit holes that I began to wonder if it could actually coalesce into an ending that would make sense. Thankfully, it did.
The series, as a whole, was pretty good, but certainly it didn't match up to many of his other works. It was a whirlwind adventure that ended with the main characters having made many friends and enemies, some on each side dying. It wasn't until this final book that we readers find out that Providence may have caused them to enter into the adventure in the first place. Up until this book, the storyline didn't seem to have a point except that there were several people who inadvertently entered into a string-theory maze of events that introduced a lot of chaos into their lives. It would have been better to have some foreshadowing through the first four books that pointed to God's hand being involved to bring about a specific end. Did the author even have a specific end in mind when he began the series? It almost seemed as though he'd come up with his story's conclusion only after writing book 4.
Then there were the personal comments of the author at the end of book 4. As one who holds to a literal interpretation of the Genesis account of creation, they were rather insulting, to the point that I nearly didn't buy the fifth book. I would have respected his stance on the issue if he hadn't deliberately mocked young-earth creationists.
Oh well, at least I can read The Pendragon Cycle and Byzantium again.
The series, as a whole, was pretty good, but certainly it didn't match up to many of his other works. It was a whirlwind adventure that ended with the main characters having made many friends and enemies, some on each side dying. It wasn't until this final book that we readers find out that Providence may have caused them to enter into the adventure in the first place. Up until this book, the storyline didn't seem to have a point except that there were several people who inadvertently entered into a string-theory maze of events that introduced a lot of chaos into their lives. It would have been better to have some foreshadowing through the first four books that pointed to God's hand being involved to bring about a specific end. Did the author even have a specific end in mind when he began the series? It almost seemed as though he'd come up with his story's conclusion only after writing book 4.
Then there were the personal comments of the author at the end of book 4. As one who holds to a literal interpretation of the Genesis account of creation, they were rather insulting, to the point that I nearly didn't buy the fifth book. I would have respected his stance on the issue if he hadn't deliberately mocked young-earth creationists.
Oh well, at least I can read The Pendragon Cycle and Byzantium again.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.