In Seven Endless Forests, the gorgeous standalone companion to the critically acclaimed fantasy The Boneless Mercies, April Genevieve Tucholke spins a bold and blood-hungry retelling of the King Arthur legend that is perfect for fans of Naomi Novik, Garth Nix, and Laini Taylor. On the heels of a devastating plague, Torvi’s sister, Morgunn is stolen from the family farm by Uther, a flame-loving … farm by Uther, a flame-loving Fremish wolf-priest who leads a pack of ragged, starving girls. Torvi leaves the only home she’s ever known, and joins a shaven-skulled druid and a band of roaming Elsh artists known as the Butcher Bards. They set out on a quest to rescue Torvi’s sister, and find a mythical sword.
On their travels, Torvi and her companions will encounter magical night wilds and mystical Drakes who trade in young men. They will sing rowdy Elshland ballads in a tree-town tavern, and find a mysterious black tower in an Endless Forest. They will fight alongside famous Vorseland archers and barter with Fremish wizards. They will feast with rogue Jade Fell children in a Skal Mountain cave, and seek the help of a Pig Witch. They will face wild, dangerous magic that leads to love, joy, tragedy, and death.
Torvi sets out to rescue a sister, but she may find it’s merely the first step toward a life that is grander and more glorious than anything she could have imagined.
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“There’s no hiding from life, just as there is no hiding from death.”
‘Seven Endless Forests’ by April Genevieve Tucholke is a standalone companion to a 2018 title called ‘The Boneless Mercies.’ It’s an interesting retelling of the legend of King Arthur.. melded with distinctly Norse influences, though here they’re called the Vorse, and featuring a strong female lead instead of Arthur.
A destructive plague wipes out most of Torvi’s family. Only she and her sister Morgunn survive. When Morgunn is stolen away by a Fremish wolf-priest who bears the name Uther, our main character begins her quest to save the only family she has left.
Joined by a magic wielding, shaven-skulled druid named Gyda who seeks a mythical sword lodged in a cursed tree, the two quickly stumble across a group roaming artists called the Butcher Bards. The group already on a quest of their own, accompanies the two girls.
“I put my palm to chest and pressed in, as if I could hold the shards of my heart together by sheer force.”
Along their path, they meet many more unique groups. Sea witches, mystical Drakes who trade in magic readings and young men, a mysterious black tower in a forest corrupted by dark spells, a pack of bold Vorseland Quicks.. archers that hunt the wolves, Fremish wizards who deal only in trades that may be too costly, rogue Jade Fell children, and even a Pig Witch converge with them here and there. There’s much more that I haven’t mentioned, plenty of difficult trials and unexpected turns.
Each magic system is relatively distinctive, though the author doesn’t go into them too deeply. The scenes of conflict are vividly described and memorable. There is love and loss, joy and tragedy, and Tucholke is not afraid to kill a character.. so be prepared. The adventure is grand.. they travel for weeks, there’s extensive character and story development, and a lot to experience before you reach the end.
“Quick moves, quiet blades–this is the way of the Bards.”
The writer is gifted. In the early pages when the plague kills those around Torvi, while we never really meet the boy she’s in love with.. as he’s already dead, she does such a good job of conveying the longing and sense of loss the Vorse girl feels for him, I found myself saddened at his passing too. In the small ways she remembers him.. honors him.. it feels like we’ve met him.. and I could feel the hole in her life he left behind.
While not everything I hoped for happened in the novel, the decisions the author made still felt right. My hopes were based on the emotions she created in me during the read and she’s a bit fearless in not always giving into those hopes she must know we have.
“You are part of our family now. Our success is your success. We are one.”
I loved the way she wove the Norse legends and mythologies together with the King Arthur tales. It felt original and elegant. The female characters were strong, but not overdone to the point they felt more like caricatures of strength. Their doubts and weaknesses.. their missteps.. felt natural.
If you enjoy medieval tales, Norse mythology, Vikings, Druids, and classic magic.. this book is for you. I enjoyed it so much, I’ll be seeking out other titles from Tucholke in future.
(More reviews like this at Betwixt The Sheets.)
(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)
When I saw there was going to be a companion to The Boneless Mercies, I knew I needed it! And this cover alone is golden!
Torvi was the perfect MC with an emotional backstory. On her journey, she doesn’t forget about what had happened to her in her past, but instead, let it make her new path stronger. Madoc was probably my favorite side character, but I loved them all, especially the Pig Witch, too!
I always love Tucholke’s writing so much! This book was beautiful and strong and I never wanted it to end! I loved the characters, the world building, the myth. Perfection!
Seven Endless Forests is the story of a journey. In some ways, it’s a journey of self-discovery, beginning with Torvi losing everyone she loved and forcing her to go on an adventure, something her mother said she would never do. In other ways, it’s a journey of friendship, the people Torvi meets along the way, those she will learn from, travel with, fight, or simply encounter along the way. It’s also a journey of quests, as each of the companions seek something, though none seek the same thing. And the story is the journey, as more time is spent on the journey and in conversation than doing anything else. As such, the story works. It’s slow. It’s straightforward. It’s simple and to the point, while introducing myriads of new factions and peoples. Unfortunately, there is not enough action to keep the story moving along, which made it easy to put the book down and forget it. The characters were mostly all fascinating. It’s too bad the story didn’t measure up to them.
Content warning: There is brutal violence (slitting throats, etc.) and Torvi has sex with three different men in the story (this is tastefully written, rather than described in detail).
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and have reviewed it willingly.