The Hanging Tree, Ben Aaronovitch
The Hanging Tree does a hell of a lot, gathering together some plot points, revealing some secrets, teasing some future potential, humanising (well, sort of) characters like Lady Ty we might be tempted to just despise… It’s one of the plot-heavy entries to the series, featuring the Faceless Man and Lesley prominently, so predictably it gets a bit frenetic near the end. Characters flit in and out of sight; Peter stumbles into bad situation after bad situation; lots of property damage is incurred.
For the most part, it really worked. The tension ratcheted up as I realised exactly what was at stake, and new characters revealed things I’d wondered about (like a tradition of British women doing magic). Little ironies came up — if the Folly hadn’t been such an old boys’ club, and the new characters had been involved, would Lesley be with the Faceless Man at all? Could he have really tempted her?
And no doubt if this had ended the ongoing plot, I’d have been disappointed that it was so ‘easy’. Yet the ending seemed a little toothless: we know more about the Faceless Man and what he can do, but do we really have information to stop him? It feels like this series could easily go on another six books in this way: a book off and then a book that ends with Peter grappling with the Faceless Man, only for him to get away… I think I wanted a little more forward progress by the end.
There has to be space, though, for appreciating how much I love the new pathologist and Guleed’s involvement. I’m surprised she’s not being trained up at the Folly yet (but then, it’s also cool that she isn’t just following the same path as Lesley, like some “better” Lesley — she’s definitely her own character, with her own approach to problems)…
Despite my slight quibbles, it’s a fun read and a more than worthy entry to the series. Bring on the next! Sooner rather than later, please.
Rating: 4/5
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I really enjoyed this entry (although I generally think the series is going from strength to strength) – I’m not bored of Peter yet, so I love that new doors are opening into other aspects of the world (the female tradition, the Americans) in each book.
imyril recently posted…A Matter of Oaths: cyberpunk space opera
I’m not bored of Peter, and I do love the female tradition and the Americans come in… I’m just worried that the Faceless Man plot is going to get stretched too thin so it’s no longer impactful, you know?
…that’s fair, I think. I was all set for this to be the Big Showdown – Aaronovitch definitely has his work cut out for himself to make whatever comes next feel equally urgent.
imyril recently posted…The Expanse Read-along: Babylon’s Ashes – Week 3
Exactly. Like, it was the perfect time to wrap that stuff up and then… nope, staggering on to the next book.
It was good to be back in the Faceless Man storyline, but I do feel the same way about the ending. Seemed like a cop out in some ways, and it’s like, come on, it’s book six! Give me some resolution already! But I’m still having a lot of fun with the series and I love Peter and Nightingale and Guleed and Beverly and all of them!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Mogsy’s Bookshelf Roundup: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads
Yeah! I want more of the series, but it feels like this specific plotline is getting played out.