Becs's Reviews > Seven Endless Forests

When you've loved a book and you discover that there is a companion novel set in the same world as that book you obviously have to read it. But Seven Endless Forests was like going to see a band that you really love, only to discover that their new album isn't anywhere near as impressive.

Tucholke is a real poetic master. Her writing is the epitome of atmospheric and is absolutely the reason I persisted with a book that I was otherwise finding boring. Seven Endless Forests is marketed as a retelling of sorts of Arthurian legend (seems to be a popular trend right now!). And much like some of the other Arthurian retellings of late, this one doesn't really have that something special which makes it stand out from the heavily saturated crowd and it has only an exceptionally tenuous link to the legendary tale (although there is some extracting of weaponry).

I didn't really mind that this wasn't much of a retelling, and was instead more of a rescue mission for a girl trying to find her kidnapped sister. But I really struggled with the way the story was told and with the sluggish pacing. The majority of the book feels very much like a collection of stories shared around a campfire, switching between past and present often in a series of old wives tales passed between the characters. This makes the story hugely uneventful - nothing happens really and when it does it's fleeting and just an action point to change the scene a little bit. If it wasn't for the nods to The Boneless Mercies or the great writing I would have given up.

I think in order to enjoy this book you would need to be prepared to become immersed in the atmosphere and whimsical world without expecting any emotional connection or character input. Might work for some people, but didn't work for me.

ARC provided from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.