The Dreaming Tree

By: C. J. Cherryh

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman

Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

The classic fantasy duology, combining The Dreamstone and The Tree of Swords and Jewels in an omnibus for the first time.

It was that transitional time of the world when man first brought the clang of iron and the reek of smoke to the lands which before had echoed only with fairy voices. In that dawn of man and death of magic, there yet remained one last untouched place - the small forest of Ealdwood - which kept the magic intact and protected the old ways. And there was one who dwelt there, Arafel the Sidhe, who had more pride and love of the world as it used to be than any of her kind.

But fear of the world of Faery ran deep in the hearts of men, and when Ciaran Cuilean, Lord of Caer Wiell, a man with Elvish blood in his veins, found himself the object of increasing distrust and suspicion from his men, his king, and even his own family, he knew he must once again put his humanity aside and return to Ealdwood.

For shadows of a newly awakened evil swarmed across both lands, and unless Ciaran reclaimed his haunted weapons from the Tree of Swords and joined Arafel, he would see this evil overtake not only the warm hearthstones of the mortal keeps but the silvery heart of Ealdwood itself....

©1997 C.J. Cherryh (P)2018 Tantor

Do Not Miss This Book!

First class fantasy novel! This not anything like her other Sci-Fi work. Really great story and perfect narration!

Beautifully written

Good story that lost my interest when it kept repeating similar situations with no development. The narrator was excellent.

unsure

this book was confusing to me I had to start it twice. the narrator kept putting me to sleep. maybe this just wasn't my kind of book.

very good

Never knew about the last book. Delighted with the series and narrator. I listened twice as the narration and eriting were lyrical.

Loved it!

Been a while since I've enjoyed an audiobook this much. The narrator was great and the story made me feel like a kid again, with wonder at the world that could be.

what a beautiful book!

This is a truly timeless story, one I never tire of. I can listen to Ms. Cherryh's books over and over, they always make me feel hope.

Good story and performance

No, my eyes were watering, those weren’t little tears. I enjoyed the story As one would enjoy echos of JRRT. Towards the end of book two before the big battle there seemed to be some filler chapters with Branwyn generally being a B and just saying “no” to everybody, and the honor of loyalty in the heroes being lengthily reestablished. I put it to 2x speed during those few chapters.

Phenomenal

The story is very well written and the Narrator did an excellent job with it.

mysterious, authentic, beautiful

This book harkens back to Gaelic folklore and has a real sense of mystery and beauty in it. In terms of deeply exploring the relationship between humans and the Fae/Elves/Sidhe, this book is really the true master work in fantasy literature.

in short, this piece follows a few generations of humans in a small kingdom that borders an ancient eld forest. when the world of men is broken by chaos and war, the gods and fair folk of the forest may be their only salvation, or perhaps their undoing. dark and ancient things live beneath the mountains.

we've all seen the fantasy tropes and we all know about elves and magic and cold iron and the like. but rather than feeling like a rehash of the old tropes, the Dreaming Tree really feels like it digs deep into the past of folkloric fantasy and has such a sense of wonder and beauty in it. the writing is absolutely exquisite and the narrator is perfect.

I have read dozens of fantasy books. this one is not only Cherry's best work, but one of the finest books in the genre. if anyone tells you that fantasy is childish or not literary or too predictable, this book is the perfect counter argument. a masterpiece of prose. hearing this audio version is like visiting an old Gaelic storyteller and hearing an authentic ancient tale of the fair folk. it just sings. I love it.

An enchanting story beautifully told

I have loved C.J. Cherry’s beautiful writing for decades. I don’t know why it took me so long to listen to this duology, but it was worth the wait. The story is imaginitive, the characters are three-dimensional beings with complex emotions, and the depictions of action and scenery are vivid. There’s so much warm-hearted humanity and elvishness in these pages to savor. I can happily say that these two books lived up to all my expectations of works by C.J. Cherryh. It’s engaging, the plots are well-executed, and the writing is so good that one can just read fluidly through the story. C.J. Cherryh never disappoints. I found the narrator wonderful. She does different accents well, and portrays voices of different characters well. The only thing about this recording I found confusing was the breaks between sections were too short. That’s not the fault of the author or narrator, and fortunately, the writing made it clear that a section break was happening. But I did have to rewind a few times because there was no time difference between some section breaks, which was confusing the few times it happened. Definitely not a deal-breaker, given how great these books are. Totally worth it.