Chronicles of the Tree - 3 - Oracle's Fire product reviews

A planned trilogy is often staged in a fairly standardised manner - the first book is all about introduction - characters, world, plot, special features. The second book is plot development - setting the stage, covering the overarching back-story, and then finally kicking the plot into high gear by setting up all the key 'lead-in's... this leaves the third book free to pursue the plot and characters, build the tension and set everything up for those last 1 or 2 key chapters that nail it all into place. This... this is that vital third book in the Chronicles of The tree trilogy. This is where it all comes to a head, and a resolution.

I must say that I always find it tough to get into fantasy, especially if it is 'fantasy' enough to be unreal, yet somehow still plausible... and the revelations that come out in this book make the unreality seem totally unexpected. And you can trust me when I say there are more than a few revelations in this tale. The origins of The Born, the Dark Masters and the Tree of Being metaverse, the location of The World Tree, the true nature of Lacuna, The Oracle/Ama and the final resting place of Samiha. Frankly, the last 150 pages were some of the most tension-filled and thrilling pages I have read in the last 10 years of reviewing books!

I won't speak on the characters' depth and reality, the masterful subtlety of the plot, etc - been there done that in the reviews of the previous two books, but what I can and will say is that this is some of the best work I have seen come out of the New Zealand fantasy/fiction scene in years. I am keen to see what else Mary puts out in the future, because if this is her opening gambit, there's more to come for sure.