Crossroads of Canopy

Titan's Forest #1

by Thoraiya Dyer

At the highest level of a giant forest, thirteen kingdoms fit seamlessly together to form the great city of Canopy. Thirteen goddesses and gods rule this realm and are continuously reincarnated into human bodies. Canopy’s position in the sun, however, is not without its dark side. The nation’s opulence comes from the labor of slaves, and below its fruitful boughs are two other realms: Understorey and Floor, whose deprived citizens yearn for Canopy’s splendor.

Unar, a determined but destitute young woman, escapes her parents’ plot to sell her into slavery by being selected to serve in the Garden under the goddess Audblayin, ruler of growth and fertility. As a Gardener, she yearns to become Audblayin’s next Bodyguard while also growing sympathetic towards Canopy's slaves.

When Audblayin dies, Unar sees her opportunity for glory – at the risk of descending into the unknown dangers of Understorey to look for a newborn god. In its depths, she discovers new forms of magic, lost family connections, and murmurs of a revolution that could cost Unar her chance…or grant it by destroying the home she loves.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Adult, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2017

Reviews

[Kitty G Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

* I was sent this book for free from the publisher in exchange for a review *

I had this on my most-anticipated list for 2017. I heard that it was a story set in the top of a canopy, with three divided worlds, Canopy, Understory and Floor, and I knew it sounded just like something I would love. I do think that the book itself is packed full of fascinating ideas, my only real quibbles were the romance (didn't like that) and the length (this is a suuuuper short book for an epic fantasy).

We follow a young girl called Unar who is a Canopian. She's living with her family at the start of the story but she quickly leaves them becuase they're planning to sell her off as a slave. She goes to a temple of a Goddess and pledges her service there instead, and there she learns that she has a particularly strong affinity for magic.

What I think I found most fascinating about this story is the set up. It's definitely set up as if you're going to see a story of a young girl coming into herself, developing powers, and finding out some big things that will change the fate of the world... This definitely does happen, but along the way I was often surprised at the directions the author took to get our main character there.

One of the things I wasn't a fan of was the romance. To be totally honest if it was cut from the book you'd not miss anything, and I just felt it was completely unnecessary and didn't add or develop the story at all. However, with that said, I think a lot of author's feel the need to give a romance so people can enjoy it...It's just not something that worked well here for me.

The main complaint I have with this book is DEVELOPMENT. If you're crafting and entire world, particularly one which is very unique and different to a lot of the fantasy worlds we typically see and know, you neeeeed to develop it. I feel like the page count of this book was soooo short and it just didn't have the space to really develop the settings and make them exciting and mysterious as was hinted. We really don't see or understand a lot about how the worlds and cultures connect, every now and then we get hints, but honestly it's not explained enough. Maybe this will be developed as the series goes on, but personally I'd wish for a 500 page book with the same story (minus romance) and just a whole lot more development on the world and characters, and this could easily have been a 4* read for me.

Overall I think it is a fun read and one which touches on some very cool ideas. I'd have liked to see the author explore things more, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe she will in later books. One thing that was nice to see is that this book does add in LGBTQ+ moments and shows slaves not just as black vs white, but both of these were just mentions to the side of the main story so they don't feature hugely.

In the end I gave this a 3* rating becuase I definitely liked it I just really wanted to see a lot more. I am hopeful that we might get more in the next books.

[Izzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Canopy is a place that lies at the top branches of a great forest, and it's ruled over by thirteen gods and goddesses who die and reincarnate into different bodies, protecting the people who are under their rule. The problem is that there are other people who weren't fortunate enough to have been born in Canopy — instead they live beneath it, in Understory and Floor, and they have to deal with nasty demons and don't get enough sunlight. Unar, our main character, is a Gardener, a citizen of Canopy with magic within herself loyal to Audblayin, the Goddess of Life. When Audblayin dies, Unar is convinced she'll be reborn as a man so that she can serve as his bodyguard, and when the Temple fails to see what a great talent she is, she decides to take matters into her own hands and find Audblayin on her own.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2017, and I don't think I've ever been more disappointed.

At the begining it was pretty confusing, but I was interested in the world and to see where the story would go. The writing reminded me of a fairytale, the descriptions were luxurious and the mythology was quite fascinating. But pretty quickly I realized what this book was really about: it's about a very horny and whiny teenage girl who can't stop thinking about sex.

When Unar wasn't thinking about how she was better than literally everyone else and how they were all stupid for not realizing how she was the bee's knees, she was thinking about sex, about people she wanted to haxe sex with, and how unfair life was because she was sworn to a goddess who made her take a chastity vow. The GR synopsis wrongly made me think this would be about a girl who would fight to right the wrongs in her world, because of the whole thing with the slaves. But the reality is that Unar spent like 97% of her time thinking about sex; she only remembers to feel enraged about the way the slaves are treated when she thinks "my parents almost sold me into slavery so that could've happened to me." She was literally unable to care about anything other than herself for like 3/4 of the novel.

And to top it all off, she was also SO childish, to the point where she literally threw tantrums over the most idiotic things and dragged people into her shit with her. If she weren't thinking about boning all the time I would've thought she was 12 instead of 16 years old.

The way the magic works here is also very weird, and even though it was one of the reasons I was drawn to this story at the beggining, it quickly annoyed me because nothing was explained. In fact, we spend so much time listening to Unar go on and on about sex and about how no one sees her awesomeness and reading descriptions of a huge variety of bodily fluids that there's very little time left for worldbuilding. The mythology that fascinated me at the beggining is rarely talked about, unless it's in a mysterious way to alude that there's more to it than we know. IF THERE'S MORE TO IT THEN SHOW IT TO ME!!! I kept waiting for explanations that never came and for that reason, the world created here lost a lot of its charm. It's hard to be interested in something you don't quite understand.

Also the characters were super weird? Like aside from Unar they didn't have any personalities (and she was so shitty and annoying I wish she didn't have one either), they were completely one dimensional and I never understood their actions. Everyone just screamed at each other or stabbed each other with forks and the narration would just brush over it, like talk about it for a sentence or two and then move on like nothing ever happened and no one was affected by anything. At first I atributted this to the fairytale-like quality of the writing, but again, like everything that endeared me in this book, it got old real quick.

I won't be continuing with the series, and I'm so angry at this book for giving me HOPES and then taking them all away from me. Because honestly, this had so much potential; the idea of the world is fantastic, the groundwork it layed out kept sparking up my interest but the execution was a total failure.

I'd actually given this an extra half star right after finishing it but now that I'm thinking about it, it doesn't deserve it lol So it's just a plain old one-star book that I'm sad I wasted my time and my hopes on.

[Althea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the face of it, 'Crossroads of Canopy' begs comparison to Zilpha Keatley Snyder's classic 'Below the Root,' and the more recent 'Updraft' by Fran Wilde. All three novels feature a culture that lives in the treetops, with a literal 'underclass' segregated to the forest floor, strong themes of social justice and a controlling religion, and an element of gliding between trees (always a dangerous activity.) However, aside from the similarities, I thought this book was quite different in feel.

Our protagonist, Unar, has a background of harsh poverty, and is traumatized by the loss of her beloved baby sister. When she hears her parents discussing selling her into slavery, she suddenly feels a convenient "calling" to religion, and presents herself at the door to the temple of the goddess Audblayin. Coincidentally, her 'calling' seems to not be entirely spurious, and she is accepted as a devotee to this fertility goddess. However, she's a less-than-obedient initiate, willful and rebellious. Although she's never cared much for anyone besides herself and her sister, her near-escape from slavery has left her with a chink in her shell where empathy for the slaves of the temple sneaks in. Unar may be an unlikely candidate to campaign for justice and to change the structure of her society - but that's just what it looks like she might end up being.

The plot is fairly standard: coming-of-age, and awakening to the problems of the world around one - but the setting and the worldbuilding elevate it above the average. I'll be happy to return to this world when the sequel is released.

Many thanks to Tor and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are unaffected by the source of the book.

[Mogsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/04/16/...

Crossroads of Canopy could have been a brilliant debut; it almost hurts to have to talk about why it didn’t work for me. While Thoraiya Dyer’s vision of a vibrant and lush world high above the forest floor is nothing short of breathtaking, I found a curious lack of impetus behind the characters and the plot, and whatever potential the story had at the beginning simply failed to materialize by the end of the book.

The story introduces us to Unar, a young woman living in a destitute household in one of the thirteen kingdoms making up the realm of Canopy. Each kingdom is ruled by its respective god or goddess, and when they die, their spirit is reincarnated into a new human body, beginning the cycle anew. When Unar discovers her parents’ plot to sell her into slavery, she quickly hatches up a plan to supplicate herself before the temple of Audblayin, the patron deity of her domain, hoping to join their ranks as a Gardener serving the fertility goddess. But while she ends up being accepted, Unar’s curiosity and ambitions are a constant source of trouble for the temple, not to mention the frequent clashes caused by her willfulness. Because of her near escape from a life of slavery though, she does come to form a sympathetic bond with some of the temple slaves.

When Audblayin dies, Unar sees this as her chance to fulfill her dreams of becoming a bodyguard for the reincarnation. This leads her to descend into Understorey, the dark and dangerous realm beneath Canopy to search for her newborn god. However, in Understorey’s depths, Unar ends up finding way more than she bargained for, including new forms of magic, a revolution in the making, and perhaps something else she once thought was lost to her forever…

First, I’d like to begin with what I really enjoyed about Crossroads of Canopy because it’s always good to lead with the positives. The world of this novel is simply stunning. It’s impossible to read to this book and not be affected by its vivid descriptions of a realm nestled in the greenery of a giant forest. While settings featuring treetop civilizations may not be an entirely new idea, I have to say I’ve never seen something quite like Canopy. Dyer has created a living, breathing realm teeming with culture, religion, and language. Like any society, it also has its ups and downs—quite literally, in fact, in Canopy, where the elites living at the top close to the sunlight are in a position of privilege while those down below in Understorey and Floor live in shadow and poverty. But even knowing about its darker truths, Canopy was a place I wanted to spend more time in, breathing in its rich atmosphere and natural beauty.

In fact, my main problem with this book was not because it was badly written (on the contrary, the writing is gorgeous), but rather because I was disappointed that it never lived up to its promise. At the end of the day, Crossroads of Canopy feels very much like a book bursting with brilliant ideas when it comes to world-building themes and concepts, but when it comes to story and plotting, things start to look a lot less rosy. There was simply no hook beyond the novel’s extraordinary world; strip it down to its core, and what you get is another standard coming-of-age tale starring a heroine who borders on exasperating in her arrogant and foolishly staunch belief that she is oh-so-special. To be fair though, Unar was probably meant to grow over the course of the book, yet by the time she finally has a change of heart, I found myself so turned off by her character that it almost made no difference.

I also found myself frustrated with the story’s pacing. This book had what I call the “sandwich effect” (an issue which seems to be quite common with debuts), kicking thing off with a fascinating intro and closing with a relatively stirring and eventful conclusion, though everything in between was rather dull and meandering. My attention starting waning somewhere in the middle of Part Two after Unar ventures into the Understorey, and unfortunately I was never able to gain back my initial enthusiasm.

That said, I don’t regret reading this book. While it’s true that the story didn’t work for me, clearly Thoraiya Dyer has got some serious writing chops. If Crossroads of Canopy sounds interesting to you, I would still encourage you to look into it (and check out the reviews by others who liked it more than me) especially if you enjoy gorgeous prose and modern fantasy featuring innovative world-building. Though personally I will not be continuing the Titan’s Forest series, from what I saw in Crossroads of Canopy, I have a feeling the author will be going places.

[The Speculative Shelf · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 out of 5 stars -- see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I maintain that if a book has tree-centric cover art, designed by Marc Simonetti (see Age of Myth), I will drop everything to read it. Unfortunately, I was much less enamored by the pages beneath the beautiful cover.

Conceptually, the novel intrigued me — there is a societal hierarchy that is based on where you live within the trees that make up the world. It feels like a fairytale, following the exploits of a girl who lives amongst the trees and the gods that rule them. Execution-wise, it just did not work for me. I found the protagonist, Unar, to be frustrating, unlikable, and whiny for most of the book. My issues with the main character created a feeling of detachment from the overall proceedings and I had a hard time caring about what was happening.

The setting made me think that there would be some sense of whimsy or joy present in such a fantastical world, but instead there is a gloomy energy that I never quite connected with. What should have been a 336-page jaunt feels like a 750-page slog.

[Christaaay]

About : The opening novel of Thoraiya Dyer’s “Titan’s Forest” series takes place in the world of a giant forest. Three realms live at different levels of this forest: “Canopy” claims the privileged position at the treetops, Understorey clings the boughs, and “Floor” settles in the shadows at the foot of the trees.

Crossroads of Canopy opens in Canopy, the most privileged of the three realms. Here, thirteen theocracies rule the Canopian citizens and interact through the usual ways of war, trade and peace. When a god or goddess dies, they are reincarnated into the body of a human babe. Unar lives in the Garden, a theocracy ruled by the goddess, Audblayin. Having run from poverty and barely escaped slavery, Unar plans to find glory by winning the position of Audblayin’s next bodyguard. But she becomes sympathetic to the slaves from the lower realm of Understorey, a complication that gets her into trouble with the Gardeners.

Then, suddenly, Audblayin dies. With her death, the magic that bound Unar to service and mandatory abstinence disappears, and new, overwhelming distractions get in the way of her plans…Fantasy. Expected publication: January 31st 2017 by Tor Books.

I requested this one immediately, when it popped up on Netgalley. Look at that cover. And the description?! Sounds amazing, right?

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it and ended up DNFing it at 47%

Why DNF?

When I started Crossroads of Canopy, I expected political divisions among the theocracies, adventure among the trees and a sense of wonder about the gorgeous forest realms. I hoped for some interesting philosophy about the religions, perhaps debated among friends.

But this book focused on other things, and unfortunately I struggled to connect with the characters, who often provoked each other with hostile attitudes; also, most of the action felt uninteresting and incidental to the plot. The purpose of each scene got lost in Unar’s focus on other things, mainly her sexual awakening.

Following the death of the goddess’s abstinence magics, most of the cast seems fixated on sex and sexual organs—and we’re not just talking about during a few sex scenes. One minute, we're discussing religions/climbing gigantic trees/social inequality, and out of the nowhere, we’re talking about male "organs" and lady “flaps” and unrequited crushes.

Some of this makes perfect sense and would have been fine, had it remained a minor distraction from Unar's plans; but it goes overboard and we end up spending lots time oogling Unar's love interest or exploring Unar's theories about masturbation when meanwhile, we only know the names of three of Canopy's thirteen theocracies.

Since Crossroads of Canopy is book 1 in a series, the author seems to be taking her time in exploring the world (and adding in sexual tensions and drama-rama to keep us interested) instead pushing forward with the plot. Unfortunately, while the descriptions did a great job portraying the social stratification, I felt like they neglected other areas of worldbuilding—although some of the imagery of the garden flowers blew me away. Clearly Dyer spent a lot of time developing the flora of her three realms. Check this out:

“The exotic plot was filled with rare blue and bronze-colored grasses from the places where Floor met the edge of the forest. A messy hedge of maroon guavas, interspersed with purple sugarcane thickets, formed a semicircle around the western boundary.”

Overall : The worldbuilding has lots of potential, if you find the style appealing, but the book just moved too slowly for my tastes.

Recommended To : Reads who might enjoy slow worldbuilding through the eyes of a single narrator. Also, readers who really appreciate gender and racial politics might enjoy the book’s diversity enough to keep reading. A couple of Goodreads reviewers really enjoyed the book for that reason.

Thanks so much to Thoraiya Dyer, Tor and Netgalley for this e-arc!

If you liked this review, you can read more of my speculative fiction reviews on my blog

[Benedict Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, thanks to a gorgeous cover and an interesting pitch, and I’m pleased to say it didn’t disappoint. I’m a pretty optimistic reader – if I choose to pick a book up, it has to work hard for me to put it down again – so take my review with a pinch of salt. For the record, I listened to the audio book version.
There are two reasons Crossroads of Canopy worked for me – the setting is unique and dense, and the main character is a glorious asshat.
The setting is what sells the book. The world of the story is a giant rainforest, in every sense of the word – the world is covered in trees, and those trees our massive. Our MC, Unar, lives in Canopy, which is the top third of the giant trees that populate the world. She, and most other Canopians, have never seen the ground. Canopy is ruled by thirteen gods and goddesses who represent different aspects of life in the rainforest – life, death, rain etc. Between Canopy and Understory is a magical barrier the gods have created to stop Understorians from invading Canopy, because there is some sort of class war taking place between these two parts of the forest (not to mention the demons that roam Understory as well). Life in Canopy ain’t all paradise and roses either – the class system is harsh, poverty is rife, and the word ‘fall’ is synonymous with ‘death’. Thoraiya Dyer has a background in zoology, and it shows – the sights of Canopy and Understory are described in vivid detail, really bringing this jungle setting to life. This is what I came for, and I loved what I was given.
Unar, the main character, surprised me. Unar is not a particularly nice person – she is self-absorbed, irrational, often outright selfish. I loved her. The thing is, all of Unar’s thoughts and actions make complete sense in the world she was brought up in. In the world of Canopy, your life improves considerably depending on your station, so naturally Unar wants to rise in the ranks of her temple. Also, it is painfully clear that Unar IS more gifted than her peers, so of course she expects to rise higher than them. What Dyer does here that really works for me is that she gives Unar all of this potential, then screws her over, and we get to read about the festering mess of frustration that Unar becomes because of this. She makes plenty of mistakes, she often acts purely for her own advancement (treating others like crap in the process), and she is a lot of fun to follow through this unusual world.
There are more in the series to come, but this first book can be read as a standalone – the story is pretty complete (much like the first Mistborn novel). I think I’ve a vague idea where things might be headed next, but there are no crazy cliffhangers here to frustrate you. If you want a non-typical fantasy setting, and you’re fine with main characters who aren’t practically perfect in every way, Crossroads of Canopy is well worth your time.

[Chris Rhodes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3.5ish. The start of a new fantasy trilogy about a giant forest and the hierarchies of its peoples and realms. Flowery, meandering at times, but half way through showed real promise. Full video review: https://youtu.be/Sd8L-mBsfps

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the lush and deadly three-tiered treetop realm of Canopy, the soul enters the body at first breath and anyone might be chosen as the incarnation of a god or goddess.

Audblayinland is one of the thirteen sovereign Kingdom niches that comprise Canopy’s great city. But despite being sustained by birth goddess Audblayin’s power, Canopy is far from Eden. Society is harsh and controlling: slaves have sigils of obedience burned into their tongues, disobedience is punished by a draining of magic and old women no longer able to work are pushed off the garden’s edge.

Below the lush, headily scented, rain-silvered boughs lies Understory and its half-heard myths, far from the reach of warming sunshine, the realm of spotted demon swarms with needle teeth and other beasts: embracers, dayhunters, longarms and chimeras. Understorian warriors sport magically grafted climbing spines and retractable claws for scaling trees.

Nobody who falls from Canopy survives. Everybody knows this, particularly Unar whose sister Isin toppled into the dark of Understory when she was small.

Unar is a gardener with a talent for sensing struggling life and strengthening it. She has pledged her life to the garden which grows in the hollowed out trunk and crown of an enormous lopped off tallowwood. Unar longs for mastery over magic. More than anything, she dreams of becoming the bodyguard of the God of life, who will surely be incarnated in male form this time around, thus requiring a female bodyguard. Unar breaks the rules whenever it suits her. She is certain she was born for better things and that her future lies upon an ordained road.

But when helping a slave results in Unar being passed over as one of the seven white robed servants of Audblayin, she vows to leave the ward-protected garden far behind, to set off and locate the new incarnation of the god and in doing so, prove herself.

This stunning debut novel from Australian author Thoraiya Dyer drew me in from the very first page, with its close attention to cultural detail and elegant nomenclature. The jungles of Canopy are alive with pungent scents and gods who walk amidst the rocking and creaking of trees. Plus a host of dangers you can’t even imagine.

Crossroads of Canopy is book one of a trilogy. I can’t wait for book two.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world of Crossroads of Canopy is utterly unique. In this world, people live in a forest of giant trees. Canopy is the highest and most privileged realm of the forest, and it is subdivided into thirteen Kingdoms, each one ruled over by a living god or goddess.

Unar is a resident of Canopy, living in Audblayinland, ruled over by the goddess Audblayin. When she is young, Unar becomes convinced that she is destined to become the Bodyguard of Audblayin, and works with single-minded purpose to ensure that this comes to be.

The worldbuilding in this novel is absolutely incredible. Dyer gives the reader a complicated world in what we see of Audblayinland alone, and this world only deepens as the book moves away from Canopy and into Understorey below. There's a definite sense that this book has only scratched the surface of this world, with so much more to be revealed of both Canopy and the lower levels of the forest.

Unar herself is likely to be protagonist who will divide many readers. She is not always someone who can be liked (which is absolutely not a bad thing), but she remains always someone who is fascinating. She is determined and strong and at all times, extremely human. Even at the times that it's hard to empathise with her and the choices she makes, it is hard to look away from her. As with the worldbuilding, there's a definite sense that the real depths of Unar have barely been revealed here, and there is going to be much more to learn about her in later books.

Crossroads of Canopy is the first in what is shaping up to be a brilliant and truly original epic fantasy trilogy, and is highly recommended, especially to readers who've burned on epic fantasy and are looking for a complex world filled with complex and interesting characters.

[Tehani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Proper review to follow, but TLDR: AMAZING and CHALLENGING and GORGEOUSLY, SUBTLY WRITTEN.

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't figure out what was going on and why I should care about anyone doing whatever it was they were up to.

[Rivqa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The amazing thing about this book is that the wondrous setting - a magical, polytheistic society living in physical hierarchy in layers of rainforest - isn't even the best thing about it. As creative as the worldbuilding is here, the characters shine brighter. Unar, the protagonist, is entitled, selfish and jealous, and she is glorious. Naturally, her conflicts with the secondary characters drive a great deal of the story. Highly recommended, even for reluctant fantasy readers like me.

(DISCLAIMER: This is a belated review of an early version of this novel. Thoraiya is one of my best friends... I seem to be writing a lot of these disclaimers lately but it's not my fault that my friends are brilliant and talented. I just have excellent taste.)

[Scratch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really on the fence about my 3-star review. I could go as high as 4, or maybe even 5.

The greatest appeal to this novel is twofold: 1) very original setting with fairly interesting magic system; and 2) impressive use of an unlikable protagonist.

If I have a criticism, it's that this original setting didn't get quite enough backstory and explanation. We know that there are three very literal "levels" to this society. The people living in the upper canopy of trees are the Canopians, and then there is a middle-class level, and then down in the dirt there are the Floorians. We don't actually see what the floor of this world is like, but it is briefly described as dangerous and untouched by sunlight. It is unclear whether there truly are hungry predators all over the forest floor, or if that is just a folklore belief that the people who live up in the trees have.

On the one hand, the characters all seem fairly human. They talk about having arms and legs and genitals the same as any other human. However, they also grow spines along their arms, and it's a social etiquette to keep their spines trimmed. I don't know if this is because this is a future Earth and humanity has evolved this physical trait, or if this is an alien planet where humans interbred with an alien species, or what. However, above and beyond these spines, there is magic.

The magic is strongly associated with 13 particular gods that the Canopians worship/serve. But the gods are all very literal, physical beings you can interact with. Their "gods" are immortal spirits that are constantly reincarnated in human infants, coming into their powers around puberty. Each god has his or her own specific powerset, so the protagonist serves a goddess of childbirth, whose powers extend into healing and plant growth. Other gods have power over rain, or battle, or what have you. The human avatars of the gods not only have these powers themselves, but gift their powers by osmosis to the humans who serve them.

So, there are at least 13 different powersets in this universe, depending on which god is the source of the power. It is also learned over the course of this novel that the lower levels of people also have some of their own magic, even if the protagonist cannot understand it.

The protagonist is deliciously selfish and arrogant. It has been a long time since I read a novel where the protagonist was so clearly acting like a villain for long stretches of the novel, completely unaware of how everything she did was for her own vainglory. I will not spoil the end as to whether she ever experiences character growth. But I will say that it was relatively satisfying by the end.

I probably will keep reading this series, but I am just shocked. I had never heard of this author before, nor this series, and I checked it out of my library on a lark, based on the description alone. It is a fascinating world. I do give the author props. I just wasn't expecting to start a new author and a new series when I am already so far behind on my 1900 books on my tbr list.

[imyril is not really here any more · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like Crossroads of Canopy, but in the end I'm giving it up as a bad job. It's not a bad book per se, but it's not for me.

Canopy is a realm in the heights of the rainforest, protected by magical wards and nourished by living deities (who are reborn from time to time in different bodies). The Temples and the Kings protect it from the residents of the Understorey, who they enslave and abuse.

Unar is an ambitious, self-absorbed, selfish, short-tempered teenage acolyte in Audblayin's temple (god/dess of fertility). When Audblayin dies and Unar is passed over for promotion from acolyte Gardener to fully-fledged Servant, she is determined to prove her superiors wrong and claim her place in their ranks as reborn Audblayin's Bodyguard.

Mix in themes of social justice and some spectacular world-building, and this should have been right up my street. Unfortunately, I found it unengaging - partly due to its difficult heroine, Unar, partly due to the narrative focus on sexual awakening. Unar starts out - as all Audblayin's Servants and Gardeners are - aromantic and asexual. When Audblayin dies, she becomes a raging mass of hormones - because apparently only the God/dess's magic was 'repressing her urges'. Which, just, ugh. While I sort of liked that sensuality was recast in terms of plant fertility (given the context), it also made for some absurd descriptions.

I'd love to call Unar a flawed protagonist in a good way, but the narrative is so firmly on her side - and she's incapable of seeing how badly she behaves - that I found her hard to swallow. This is clearly a coming of age story, but I found myself actively rooting for Unar to come a cropper. When I don't actually want to see a protagonist proceed, it's time for me to put the book down.

DNF at 25%.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Kara]

DNFing at 10%. I cannot stand the writing. It's awful. It will jump from one subject to another without any transitions to get there. This book has lost me so many times in the short number of pages that I've read.

I honestly was very interested in the premise and I was hoping this would be great, but the world-building is even hard to follow and there is SO much exposition. Too much.

Get me out of here!

[Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a new fantasy with thirteen kingdoms and thirteen gods in a society living at the top of a giant forest. Very creative and inventive. Plus, I have a weakness for forests. I didn't entirely jive with the author's writing style, but on the whole it's a fairly good debut novel. I'll be checking out the next book for sure.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Katharine (Ventureadlaxre) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unar is a brave young woman, in that she leaves her parents (who wanted to sell her for food) and offers herself instead to the Gods, where, with her surprising amount of talent, becomes a Gardener in service to the God Audblayin. In this world where a God is female, they have male bodyguards and vice versa, and Unar hopes that her God will finally change genders (as she's been female for so very long), so that she may earn the chance to rise to the position of bodyguard.

However, through helping those she shouldn't through her jealous yet kind heart, she finds herself low in talent on the day the Gardeners are selected to rise through the ranks, and she's left behind as her closest friends are chosen instead. From here, Unar focuses on other things instead - following her deepest instincts to do what's right, and we get to see so much more of the small garden that's been her home for the last few years of her life.

This is an excellent book because of Unar herself, who is a complex and believable character because her flaws are evident, and tries to do her best even when it goes against the laws of her land or otherwise, as long as it's what she believes has to be done for her own conscience. Though sometimes, yes, she does act selfishly. Her friends also manage to follow the rules and try to lead Unar correctly, but they also find themselves motivated by their friendships instead at times, which is more believable than in other books how you see them suddenly changing utterly for their job.

This is a character driven story, and it's beautiful in its landscape and the creatures that fill the backdrop. The characters surprise you at times, but a deep love and/or responsibility drive them also, and it's this that you're left with at the end. The action keeps you guessing and it all clashes together at the end in a huge tumult of emotion, how unfair yet just life can be, and so many other things. I am now desperate for book two to see where Unar finds herself next, and what will become of a character she meets right at the very end - which seemed the cruelest yet enticing barb of all. Many claps for Dyer for pulling that off!

This is first in a series, to be released at the start of 2017. Highly recommended - I must admit, I've been left in a bit of a daze after finishing it. It's been a long time since I've been basically drunk off finishing a book - I think I need a lie down!

As a disclaimer, I know the author vaguely through shared circles (though I hope to know her better in future!) so while this review could be considered that of a friend, please also note that if anything, I'm almost a harsher judge of my friends' books, as I worry too damn much about not liking it and then things being awkward. This book absolutely blew me away - I knew Dyer could write from previous things but whoa.

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won the ARC in a GoodReads giveaway, which was very exciting, as it was a book I was looking forward to reading - a fellow Aussie (though not someone I know personally) writing something that looked different from the usual fantasy fare.

Different it is, and yet not-so-different at the same time: it's a magic-rich hero(ine)'s journey in a wondrous setting. The giant rainforest setting is beautifully realised, saturating and permeating the story. The magic is thick and intricate and important. And the plot possibly follows the Hero's Journey exactly, taking a truly epic sweep through both plot and personal development for our poor orphan of destiny. But everything's given a twist, and none of the answers are easy. In the end, the book takes an interesting and thoughtful look at actions and intentions, not just of people, but of society systems, and the need for self-awareness in both.

It wasn't quite seamlessly realised, however. I never quite grew comfortable with the book's pacing, and often I seemed to trip over the big events that happened when I wasn't expecting them, after a lot of mental dithering and option-turning, and often seemed over too quickly for the weight they had in the narrative. There was a lot going on in the first two-thirds, but I felt like most of the really interesting development happened comparatively quickly in the final third. So while I liked what was going on, I never quite managed to connect with it emotionally.

More three and a half stars, rounded up for an epic and interesting read. And one that comes to a very satisfying (if bittersweet) conclusion, so I'm curious about the series tag on it here.

[Hesper · Rating 1 out of 5]

It would've been two stars, because concept, but then "fluid-filled places" made an appearance during a completely unsubstantiated by anything prior to it wlw love scene, and a really annoying child kept calling the almost as annoying main character "dank," and by then I just wanted this all to be a dank meme.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed this, and looking forward to the second in the series. Interesting rules of magic in this world, and believable characters making realistic choices.

[Zuzana Hartmanová]

Nedočteno

Kniha má zajímavý svět a celou řadu originálních prvků, je však utopená v tunách zbytečných popisů, skrze něž není více méně vidět příběh. Nevadí mi knihy s pomalým tempem, knihy, kde se "nic neděje", nepotřebuju k životu akční extrémně dynamický a zvraty nabitý děj... Potřebuji ale sympatické, věrohodné postavy a Unar je protivná od první stránky až do konce první třetiny, kterou jsem zvládla přečíst. Je to přesně ten typ spratka, který kolem sebe kope, ubližuje všem svým blízkým a dělá jednu kravinu za druhou. Dělá hysterické scény, protože jí bylo upřeno její výsostné právo - které je ve skutečnosti velmi vzácnou výsadou... -, ale ona je přece výjimečná, tak proč to kromě ní nikdo nevidí? (No vážně, proč asi...) Na jednu stranu je to lidské, to chápu, na stranu druhou by měl být u postav vidět nějaký vývoj, posun v myšlení, a ten jsem v případě Unar nezaznamenala snad ani jedinou větou (maximálně to šlo k horšímu).
Samotný styl psaní mi přišel nemastný, neslaný, dialogy šustí papírem a jsou plné bezobsažných teatrálních zvolání... Zkrátka a jednoduše mám tu hromadu knih, kterým svou pozornost budu věnovat radši.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cannot figure out why I didn’t like this book. It has so much that would normally appeal to me – an inventive fantasy setting, a flawed female lead, a diverse cast – but I just could not get into it. I procrastinated on reading it quite a bit, and it felt like work to reach the end.

Unar lives in the Canopy, the part of the forest city closest to the sun and thus the most elite. However, she has to flee her destitute family when her parents plot to sell her into slavery. She finds a place as a Gardner in the temple of the goddess Audblayin, where she uses her innate magic to help the growth of plants. When Audblayin dies, Unar sees it as a chance to fulfill her destiny by becoming the next incarnation’s Bodyguard. But Unar’s choices will lead her in a direction she never could have imagined.

As far as we know, Unar’s world is one giant forest, divided into Canopy, Understory, and Floor. In turn, the Canopy is divided into thirteen kingdoms, each the domain of one of the gods or goddesses. The forest had the feel of a tropical rainforest, and apparently many of the planets belong to the author’s Australian home. It was brilliantly imaginative and yet it left me cold. I never felt immersed in the setting or fascinated by it. I am at a loss to explain why.

Possibly some of my ambivalence regarding Crossroads of Canopy is because it’s a coming of age story, which I generally dislike. Crossroads of Canopy also heavily features one of my least favorite aspects of the coming of age genre – the young girl’s Sexual Awakening. I get that this is an important narrative for a lot of people… but I don’t relate to it at all. While this isn’t specifically on Crossroads of Canopy, I feel like this narrative tends to get treated like it’s universal, when not everyone experiences it. I also found her fixation on that one guy she’d barely talked to creepy, especially how she imagined that she’d awaken his innate sexuality and make him feel things that he’d never felt before. Urgh, save me now.

In general, I didn’t like Unar. I found her arrogant and self centered. She’s convinced that she is special, and I found it highly obnoxious. I’ve been analyzing myself and trying to figure out if I would judge her so harshly if she was a male character, since readers tend to be less tolerant of heavily flawed female characters. Yet, I can think of female characters who I love that are also arrogant and self centered. Maybe it’s because most of those tend to be anti-heroines while Unar’s presented as more of a straight up heroine? Or maybe because they had more life experience to back up their absurd arrogance? While Unar did have some self-reflection and growth towards the end of the book, it was too little too late. The story had already lost me.

Disliking Unar might not have been so bad if there was a supporting character I could latch onto, but I disliked most of them as well! The only ones who I thought were okay (the three Understory brothers for instance) also felt very forgettable and bland.

Anyway, I’m not recommending Crossroads of Canopy or planning to read the sequel. I do have the feeling that this could end up being one of those books that most people love except for me. If you try it, may you have better luck with it than me.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

I received a free ARC of Crossroads of Canopy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Elizabeth Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crossroads of Canopy is a debut novel which has some amazing worldbuilding and explores a number of social issues.

Unar is a servant to one of Canopy's thirteen deities, having come from poverty. Her escape from abuse and slavery had made her ambitious, helped by the fact she possesses a powerful potential for magic, and she firmly believes she's destined to be the Bodyguard to the next incarnation of her deity. She's not an entirely likeable character--she's impulsive, occasionally selfish and lashes out at her loved ones. However, her strong desire for justice saves her from being unsympathetic.

Despite being born to poverty, Unar grew up in Canopy--literally the highest stratum of the forest--and, as such, is privileged. Thus, it is unsurprising that she shows prejudice on occasion. However, unlike the other citizens of Canopy, she catches herself and constantly questions the injustice embedded in the status quo.

Although I felt some sympathy for Unar, I found the story held me at arm's length and didn't engage me on an emotional level as much as I would have liked. This may have been intentional, as one reoccurring theme of the story is unrequited feelings across many relationships, both romantic and otherwise.

However, there was plenty for me to engage with on an intellectual level, and it reminded me a little of Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice in that sense.There's a common perception that fantasy doesn't examine social issues in a way that science fiction does. Crossroads of Canopy dispels that notion by putting class and race at the heart of the story.

The world is separated into three different societies located at different levels of the forest. Canopy is the highest level with access to abundant sunshine and fresh water. Understorey lies below, receiving very little sunshine and dealing with the refuse that is tossed on their heads from Canopy. We see very little of Floor, but the story indicates its citizens are plagued by floodwater and monsters. These three societies combine to form a literal class strata, where the higher you are the better off you are. This class structure is also intrinsically tied to race. Canopians are dark-skinned, while the sunlight-deprived Understoreans are pale.

The story also deals with issues of ageism and ableism. This comes primarily through the Canopian society, where the citizens make offerings to one of their gods to protect their children from falling over the edge of the branches which form their home. However, the disabled and elderly too feeble to work are pushed to their doom. In this way, it highlights society's cult of youth.

Another thing I particularly liked about the worldbuilding is that it doesn't use the typical broadleaf forests found in the US or the UK. Instead, we have the kind of rainforest often seen in Australia or Southeast Asia--the kind that features an abundance of gum trees and parrots.

The story is a bit slow-paced with few action sequences. The writing style was also a bit difficult to get used to at first; there was a lot of terminology and names to wrap my head around, and I found the occasional use of alliteration distracting.

However, overall Crossroads of Canopy brings a fresh approach to fantasy, making it well worth reading.

This review first appeared on Earl Grey Editing.

[Brian Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale full of magic, suspense, and wonder, does not leave up to its promise and potential. 

At the highest level of a giant forest, thirteen kingdoms fit seamlessly together to form the great city of Canopy. Thirteen goddesses and gods rule this realm and are continuously reincarnated into human bodies. Canopy’s position in the sun, however, is not without its dark side. The nation’s opulence comes from the labor of slaves, and below its fruitful boughs are two other realms: Understorey and Floor, whose deprived citizens yearn for Canopy’s splendor. -GoodReads

Crossroads of Canopy was among my top most anticipated books of 2017 and it fails to deliver its amazing and compelling premise. We were meant to believe that we see a journey of how our heroine would rise up and support those apprised and take out those in control. All really happens is we see manipulation through various parties and at the end of the day nothing matters. 

Then we have Unar one of the worst protagonists, I have read about in a long time. She is mad at everything and has huge pride issues and everything must be about her. I would be forgiven if she seems regretful of her actions, but she is not. Another quality that made her worse, she becomes too powerful. I could not stand her constant who I must have sex with thoughts, it was too much and portrayed her as a teenager and not women. I think it is accurate when one character says she acts like a child because that is the truth.

Another problem I had was the pacing. Sometimes things slowed and nothing happened and then we had action. We get a lot of information, but not much shown about the situation. We get that canopy is bad to its people in certain ways, but we don't see it on much showing; its just exposition.

The one strength was looking forward to in crossroads of canopy was it world-building, but it was seriously lacking. besides the beginning of the story, we really don't get much into detail about the world and where the other kingdoms are. the other problem was detail way detail about the trees. at first I liked the idea, but eventually I could not really follow where on a landscape of a tree they were.

At the end of the day, Crossroads of Canopy fails to deliver on all levels of my expectation, once again do not read a book only on premise alone. I had hope for this book, but it did not succeed. 

https://www.wix.com/my-account/sites/...

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Edit: I keep thinking about this book; and not in a positive way - more in the context of my overall rating system. Because of this, I've decided to change my rating of this to 2 stars.

I found this book kind of disappointing. I really like the concept behind it - the world this story takes place in, the mythology, and the language this story is told in. The author does have a talent for writing. I also like the presence of queer characters in this story.
However.
This story is really frustrating. I really liked the idea behind the protagonist's destiny - or, rather, what the protagonist perceived to be her destiny. Nothing turns out the way that she believes it will. That's not always a bad thing in a book, but - in this case, there is no reward for the reader. This book will make you feel frustrated and mildly depressed, to be frank. In that respect, I got Old Man and the Sea vibes but I don't think this book holds that level of literary merit - just the same feeling of defeat.
On what could be perceived as a rude note - this author, while talented, is a bit... weird. The multitude of references to different bodily fluids is bizarre and unpleasant, to say the least.
Overall, I really would have loved to have loved this story but I don't really see how that would be possible; since reading it makes you feel like you're driving through the city and keep hitting dead end roads everywhere you turn. I just feel like the author missed an opportunity to tell a delightful, magical story for nothing.
As far as future sequels go - I wouldn't be opposed to reading them, just in case the story turns around, but I can't see myself wanting to spend money on such books.

[Kes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has to be applauded for its interesting worldbuilding.

The world of Canopy is divided into three: the Canopy, the Understory, and the Floor. Canopyians are the richest and they have thirteen gods and goddesses that are reborn (in varying genders). The story focuses on Unar, an ambitious girl who is determined to be the bodyguard of her goddess when she is reborn.

Unar's ability in magic is unsurpassed - and that lends her a definite arrogance. She thinks she knows best, and she's going to bend the world to get it. So she breaks rules and holds little regard for people - the main focus is what she wants. Even as her friends sacrifice for her, she doesn't care - for example, Unar trusts Sawas, who attempts to betray her to Oos. Oos helps Unar by sending Sawas away. Unar never really expresses her gratitude to Oos.

The magic is interesting, but I didn't really like the main character. I understand character growth has to take place, but it didn't feel like the character really did not have to start from zero, and that there was much more character growth (it was only at the end that it was good). I wished there was more of the mythology about the other gods and goddess as well, instead of side mentions.

2/5 stars - more worldbuilding and better characters needed.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of those books that held my attention just enough to keep me coming back, even though I set it aside in favour of other amusements quite often. I think this was because, even though the setting (the upper branches of a tropical rainforest) was fascinating and well developed, I found the viewpoint character annoying for about 80% of the book.

It's a coming-of-age story, among other things, and so the main character is meant to be naive, meant to be pursuing unrealistic goals, meant to be lacking in self-awareness and a bit self-centred. That didn't mean I wanted to spend time with her. Despite the considerable effort and risk she takes to help slaves - apparently simply because she almost became a slave herself - I didn't find her particularly sympathetic until late in the story (when she finally figured things out).

Putting aside all of that, the book is well executed, and the society is beautifully imagined.

[Jenny T · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one started out promising -- an interesting system of magic in a unique setting: the entire world for our characters is made up of the branches of a rainforest. However, I found it hard to like any of the characters, and things escalated WAY too quickly. I was not a fan of the weird, depressing ending either.

[Evan Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to give this four stars and the last 30% or so might deserve that. But the first 70% is just so focused on such a dislikable, whiny, arrogrant character that I couldn't enjoy the story.

The world building is pretty cool overall.