I had planned on waiting a month between reading the first and second books in T.R. Thompson’s magnificent series, The Wraith Cycle.
I had also planned on reading for a half hour during lunch, instead of ignoring my own work all afternoon to finish THE FORKED PATH in a breathless rush.
There is magic here.
Exploring the Tangle, accompanied by Wilt, my dear Higgs and the rest of Wilt’s entourage, was too much of a temptation to read at a regular pace over a reasonable period of time. Thompson’s description of the forest itself converts the place into the main character, particularly because many of the people who are touched by it achieve incredible forest-like attributes. I loved meeting Shade, the untrained boy with powerful magic, as he darted amongst the trees, feeling the presence of evil and sensing the moods of the nervous soldiers who patrolled in the hopes of containing the hideous force that was killing villagers and causing chaos. Thompson’s lush language drew me into that forest “filled with the shift and sway of young saplings, the creak of aged timber, the naked threat of the living trees that loomed around them.”
Thompson also pulls off the trick of clearly describing Wilt’s internal conversations with the friends who now live within him, like Higgs, who occasionally takes over Wilt’s body in order to warm up his crafter skills, as well as realistically depicting animals capable to transforming into human beings and back again. While the Tangle captivated me, the conclusion at the capital made me yearn for a third book in the series.
My advice, if you plan on picking up THE FORKED PATH? Clear your schedule.