The River Has Roots

The Sweeping, Magical Solo Debut by the Best-Selling Co-Author of THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR

De: Amal El-Mohtar

Narrado por: Gem Carmella

* * * Longlisted by the British Science Fiction Association for BEST SHORTER FICTION * * *

Follow the river Liss to the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, and meet two sisters who cannot be separated, even in death.

'Oh what is stronger than a death? Two sisters singing with one breath.'

In the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, dwells the mysterious Hawthorn family.

There, they tend and harvest the enchanted willows and honour an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. None more devotedly than the family's latest daughters, Esther and Ysabel, who cherish each other as much as they cherish the ancient trees.

But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of a lover from the land of Faerie, not only the sisters' bond but also their lives will be at risk...

The River Has Roots is the hugely acclaimed solo debut of the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award winning author Amal El-Mohtar.

Features beautiful interior illustrations.©2025 Amal El-Mohtar

Reseñas de la Crítica

Half delicious murder ballad, half beguiling love story, Amal El-Mohtar transports us to Faerieland so seamlessly it seems as though she just stepped out of it

When it comes to storytelling, Amal El-Mohtar is like one of the grammarians of Thistleford, a magician capable of deftly transforming the familiar into the unfamiliar and the numinous into the humane. The River Has Roots is an utterly enchanting tale of love and longing, language and song, and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood

Gorgeous and glorious! Every sentence sings! Amal El-Mohtar weaves a lovely and poignant fairy tale that will linger in your heart

This book is lyrical, elegant, and above all, kind. I devoured it in one sitting. This story feels like the smell of rain. This is a fairy tale wrapped in brilliant language. An absolute must-read. Amal El-Mohtar is quite simply one of the best writers on the scene in ages

The River Has Roots is the perfect fable: both bright and brutal, very old and brand new. It's a story that outlasts itself, lingering like a song; I adored it

Amal El-Mohtar's genius fairytale reflects a truth we can never forget: words carry enormous power. The River Has Roots is truly exquisite

The River Has Roots is a beautiful, musical, and loving story, perfectly rendered in El-Mohtar's beautiful, musical, and loving prose. This novella has all the dark comforts of an old tale and all the light vigors of a new classic, and will inspire you to raise your voice in song with those you love

A powerful, gorgeous little story of sisterly love, the power of words, and revenge as a dish best served in verse

A pitch-perfect story of love and sacrifice, yearning and discovery, like a classic folk tale, but freshly minted

A rich and evocative story that's one part fairy tale, one part murder ballad, and one part ode to the magical power of language itself

One consequence of the spell that El-Mohtar weaves is that the reader is taken out of the mundane everyday world of seconds, minutes and hours. There are sentences and paragraphs here, not to
mention the riddles, which induce reverie and contemplation such that one loses track of the passage of time . . . All in all, this is a book to savour and wonder at.

The narrator brought the stories to life.

The subtle pace of these fairy tales is hypnotic. The folk songs are woven smoothly into story telling.

Wonderful poetic writing, but very meh story

To take the good stuff first, both the performance and language is top notch. Sadly, the story itself is lacking and way to short. There is almost no build to any characters or events in the story, leaving it all very lackluster. The bonus sneak-peak of the author's next book is almost as long as the main story, and it feels like it was included to beef up the length.

Sadly, this can't be recommended at full price