Review: Hannah and the Hollow Tree, by J.A. Browne

Description

Awoken in the middle of the night by an alarming phone call, Hannah and her mum, Caroline rush to the bedside of Eleanor, Hannah’s estranged Grandmother. One of them has been lying to Hannah and one has been keeping a magical, but dangerous secret.

With deadly forces aligning to destroy the Mother of All Nature’s bloodline, Hannah is rushed to the safety of the Hollow Tree. But will she make it in time. And can a mysterious silverback fox keep her alive long enough to save not just the world we know…

but the one we don’t…

My Review

Thanks to the author for sending me signed hardback copies of this book, and a matching bookmark, and to Anne of Random Things Tours for organising this tour.

It took me a couple of chapters to get into this novel, but once I did, I really enjoyed the story. The characters are as complex as you need for 10 to 12 year olds and the plot is entertaining. There’s some really well described and exciting action scenes and some emotionally charged moments that made me cry (I’m getting soppy in my old age).

The complicated relationship between Caroline and her mother Eleanor, rooted in Caroline’s renunciation of her responsibilities in favour of a man who divorced her seven years later, and the argument that followed, is contrasted with the uncomplicated devotion Hannah has to both her mum, Caroline, and gran, Eleanor. It’s only when she’s forced to choose between them, to save everyone, that internal conflict arises. Eleanor’s friend Joyce is just another confounding factor in the mix that causes Hannah so much confusion.

It doesn’t help that nobody is telling her anything and something supernatural is trying to kill her.

The various creatures that both aid and attack the group of four, and the unexpected arrival of a friend/traitor, are exquisitely described. I especially like the silver foxes. Description of creatures, characters, disastrous events and the places they happen are one of the strong points of this novel. Really colourful and exciting, emotive and entertaining.

The magic system is internally consistent and clearly based on a version of modern neo-pagan/Wiccan rituals, which are in turn based on 18th and 19th century ceremonial magic, which is based on Masonry and other secret society rituals. Look, there was a lot of cross-over, rich men with too much time on their hands invented things and then tried to pass them off as ancient rituals inherited from before the time of Rome, and all that claptrap. Interesting use of the structures of those rituals for fictional purposes, though, and the author has done a good job of making the rituals fit the narrative.

I hate to mention this but…Weaknesses: some of the dialogue feels clunky and some of the emotional description over-wrought – could do with an editor working on that.

I was really invested in the relationship between Hannah and Eleanor at the end of the novel, and was left wanting to know what happens next. So it’s a good job I’m also reviewing book two, Gaia’s Revenge, next week.

Random Facts: Gaia is the name of the Earth Mother in this novel. The name Gaia comes from the Greek word gaia meaning land as opposed to heavens or oceans, and is the name of the goddess and personification of the Earth, Gaia, wife of Uranus, and mother of gods, Titans and the Cyclops.

The Old English word is eorþe “ground, soil, dirt, dry land; country, district,” also used (along with middangeard) for “the (material) world, the abode of man” (as opposed to the heavens or the underworld), from Proto-Germanic *ertho. In Anglo-Saxon mythology, as reconstructed from extant texts and finds, Eorþe, Earth, is the mother of Thunor, a wife of Woden, and daughter of Niht (Night). Woden gets about as much as his Scandinavian equivalent Odin, except Woden is more of a wizard-priest than a warrior-king. Thunor is still a thunder god but he’s also Earth-tied and likes farming.

The Old Norse Jörð is the name of the goddess/giantess who personified Earth, obviously. She is Thor’s mother, and a partner of Odin. I think Frigga did well not to batter Odin with his own spear for the number of kids he brought home.

Yep, human’s have been naming their home after a goddess for forever. We should probably think about that.