The Cloven
Book Three in the Vorrh Trilogy
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
The Cloven is the epic climax to B. Catling's beloved genre-busting Vorrh Trilogy.
In the stunning conclusion to Brian Catling's Vorrh trilogy, the colonial city of Essenwald gives up all its secrets, as the ancient forest seeks to reclaim what has been taken from it. Those who have been enslaved shall be no longer, and two heroes once thought dead shall reemerge stronger than ever. A man will be split in two, and a young woman will rise to the height of her powers. Meanwhile, the threat of war looms over London. Germany is gearing up to begin the Blitz, and only Nicolas the Erstwhile senses the danger to come. Will he be able to save the man who saved him? The Cloven is a book of battles and betrayals, in which Catling's incredible creations all fulfill their destinies and lead us to an epic conflagration with the fate of mankind hanging in the balance--an assault in which the Vorrh realizes the ultimate weapon and attacks the one thing man can't live without.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Catling's creative imagination is again very much on display, but newcomers to his Vorrh fantasy trilogy, and even those who haven't refreshed their memories of the earlier books, are likely to be baffled by this concluding volume (following 2017's The Erstwhile). The Vorrh is a vast and dangerous African forest that is reported to contain "the remains of paradise where the great tree of knowledge grew." In Catling's alternate creation story, humans were never intended to be more than tenders of the Garden of Eden, and divine knowledge was meant only for the trees. Adam eating the forbidden fruit initiated a struggle between trees and people that continues to play out in a very alternate 20th century. As the plants modify the gases they emit to increase human conflict, the Vorrh comes under assault from German soldiers. The portrayal of plants as the intended dominant life-form is intriguing, but the stories of myriad characters, including real-life South African naturalist Eug ne Marais, are harder to engage with. The dense plotting and complex backstory make this installment inaccessible to all but devoted fans.
