Beneath the Twisted Trees (The Song of the Shattered Sands #4)

I just finished reading, its 3:15 AM, and I have to work in a few hours, so Im going to keep this short(ish) and to the point. This is Mr. Beaulieus best book yet, by a large margin. I still take occasional issue with syntax and word choice/repetition, but the pacing and story progression are spot on, and I didnt feel like any of this text was filler. The perspective changes will likely be frustrating for some readers, but I think they work to create tension and keep separate timelines in sync with one another.

However. You CANNOT just leave Emre like that until the next book comes out! It borders on the criminal. I mean, 20 years ago, (give or take), Robert Jordan left Mat buried under a collapsed building for an entire book, but that is not the precedent to follow! I may need stronger anxiety meds until we get some resolution here. (What I am saying is that, if you do not appreciate cliffhangers, wait until the next book is out before opening this one. Really.)

Other than that, though, its a great book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Or at least I will have thoroughly enjoyed it once Emre gets out of there and certain other people, ideally, end up in his place.

I’m on page 446 right now, and I’m starting to feel upset and angry that I’m almost done with the book and will have to wait for the next installment to come out.

I dislike the constant changes of perspective, and would rather read longer stretches of a single characters experiences, but that doesn’t knock the book down any. Interesting secrets were revealed, and I suddenly feel like I an understanding of what the underlying plot is and has always been. The first books left me feeling like the kings were all nice guys in a bad position, but this book has really emphasized just how evil they are to the core, and how much worse the gods are. On the other hand, the ehrekh are turning out to be a lot nicer than I’d have ever thought.

A synopsis of the first three books was included, but I’d suggest just rereading them all. They are worth it.

Compared to the author’s previous books, this was really disappointing. There’s graphic sex scenes, both hetero and same-sex, littered throughout the book. The author’s level of writing had been of such quality, previously, where such sex scenes weren’t needed. Now, they only act as a distraction, and detract from the writing’s quality.

Also, as another reviewer noted, same-sex relationships, at least one incestuous, are also strewn throughout the book.

The world being what it is, I’d expect at least one same-sex pairing, but raised my eyebrows at the number mentioned in this book. It seemed as though the author was trying to target one segment of readers; something quite different from the author’s earlier works in this series.

All in all, I’m very disappointed. I’ve bought one other book in this series, but am seriously considering returning it for a refund. The quality has dropped precipitously.

I was really excited when the latest book in this series came out and its just gotten better and better. The various characters are becoming more fully developed and the world keeps expanding. This is an epic series, where the author does an excellent job of getting you to turn the page and find out what happens next. It’s one of my favorites and I highly recommend it because of the action, characters and world building.

I like this series. It has not disappointed so far. I am sorry, I cannot go into details. Amazon prompted me into a review so I do not know which plot comes in which book. Suffice to say that crimes of humanity were committed against a tribe by all the other tribes in the area and this lead to very interesting events in the future.

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