The Cloven
The Vorrh (3)
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4.3 • 13 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The epic climax to B. Catling's beloved Vorrh Trilogy. A Vintage Books Original.
In the stunning conclusion to this endlessly imaginative saga, the young Afrikaner socialite Cyrena Lohr is mourning the death of her lover, the cyclops Ishmael, when she rekindles a relationship with famed naturalist Eugène Marais. Before departing down his own dark path, Marais presents her with a gift: an object of great power that grants her visions of a new world. Meanwhile, the threat of Germany’s Blitz looms over London, and only Nicholas the Erstwhile senses the danger to come. Will he be able to save the man who saved him? And as Nazi forces descend upon Africa, will the Vorrh finally succeed in enacting its revenge against those who have invaded and defiled it? 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.
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.
