{"id":5827,"date":"2014-12-19T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2014-12-19T12:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.epictales.org\/treskillard\/2014\/12\/19\/review-of-the-fatal-tree-by-stephen-lawhead-day-3-plus-a-double-giveaway\/"},"modified":"2015-05-16T23:59:44","modified_gmt":"2015-05-17T04:59:44","slug":"review-of-the-fatal-tree-by-stephen-lawhead-day-3-plus-a-double-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.epictales.org\/treskillard\/2014\/12\/19\/review-of-the-fatal-tree-by-stephen-lawhead-day-3-plus-a-double-giveaway\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Fatal Tree by Stephen Lawhead – Day 3 – PLUS A DOUBLE GIVEAWAY!"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>As Bilbo Baggins said … THIS IS THE END …<\/strong> meaning this is Day 3 of touring the THE FATAL TREE<\/a><\/strong> by Stephen R. Lawhead<\/a><\/strong> — the very last novel in The Bright Empires series.
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\nOne of the difficulties <\/strong>of writing a full review is that if you don’t know anything about the other books in the series you’ll be quite lost by my comments below. <\/p>\n

So … if you want to read<\/strong> my other reviews of the novels in The Bright Empires, please click THIS LINK<\/a><\/strong>, which will lead you to a long list of all my posts related to Stephen Lawhead. <\/p>\n

In that link<\/strong> you will find near the top of the list 10 blog posts covering in great detail these other books. <\/p>\n

There’s some creative stuff in there,<\/strong> including a fictitious interview I had with Archelaeus Burleigh<\/a><\/strong> himself, as well as a recounting of when I spent the better part of a week with Stephen Lawhead, his wife, and his son, Ross<\/a><\/strong> at a writer’s retreat!<\/p>\n

Today I want to finish<\/strong> off my review by talking about the plot and then finally giving my recommendation. <\/p>\n

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THE PLOT THICKENS<\/h3>\n

The plot centers around <\/strong>trying to prevent the “End of Everything” … meaning the rending of the universe one world at a time until it all falls a part. Why? Kit reasons that it was because Arthur Flinders-Petrie raised his wife, Xian-Li from the dead using the power of The Spirit Well.<\/p>\n

One of the things I think is interesting<\/strong> is how Lawhead portrayed the Spirit Well … not as I wrongly guessed originally … as a well of souls … but rather as the power of the future, and since Arthur stole some of the future, the future is now ceasing to exist and reality is ripping apart.<\/p>\n

This makes for a VERY interesting plot<\/strong> as our characters try to navigate a world where anything can happen and traveling by ley line between worlds and times becomes more and more unpredictable. <\/p>\n

I would really like<\/strong> to talk about Burleigh’s conversion from an evil, scheming scoundrel of scoundrels to … well … to a man possessed by remorse for his sins. And why? Because the baker he tried to kill, Etzel Stiffelbeam, has forgiven him and keeps on providing food for him while Burleigh is in prison.<\/p>\n

Etzel says he does this<\/strong> because that is what Christ would do, and that drives Burleigh mad until he finally falls to pieces and repents.<\/p>\n

Even then,<\/strong> the man struggles. He contemplates murdering Etzel. He tries to kill himself. His entire life has been a lie, and he simply cannot see beyond that.<\/p>\n

And so, once our band of heroes <\/strong>realizes that Burleigh might have the knowledge they need to get to the Spirit Well, the remorseful man tags along without permission.<\/p>\n

This sets up a very bizarre ending for the novel<\/strong> … one so fantastic that my mind is still reeling trying to figure it out. One of those “my head hurts” moments … and my head rarely hurts from such things! <\/p>\n

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MY THEORY ON THE ENDING OF THE FATAL TREE<\/h3>\n

Okay, here it goes.<\/strong> I have heard some complain that the ending of THE FATAL TREE was like the movie INDIANA JONES … the main characters really accomplished nothing. By this, they accuse THE FATAL TREE of having such an ending that all of the main characters are not required for the universe to be saved because a second Arthur Flinders-Petrie appears and stops the first one.<\/p>\n

Well … I strongly disagree with this conclusion.<\/strong> I think the main characters HAD to be there for the universe to be saved. How? This is my theory of what *actually* happened. <\/p>\n

FACT #1)<\/strong> The main characters (Kit, etc.) know where the portal to the Spirit Well is.<\/p>\n

FACT #2)<\/strong> Burliegh is the only one who knows how to use the ports properly, especially now that everything has become unstable.<\/p>\n

FACT #3)<\/strong> However, Burleigh would never cooperate with the main characters unless he repents.<\/p>\n

FACT #4)<\/strong> He can only repent if Etzel forgives him loves him as Christ would.<\/p>\n

FACT #5)<\/strong> So, once all of these pieces are in place, we have now setup the ending where everyone is at the Spirit Well just as Arthur Flinders-Petrie arrives to raise his wife from the dead (and destroy the universe accidentally.<\/p>\n

FACT #6)<\/strong> However, Burleigh isn’t content with his miserable life anymore and enters the Sprit Well on his own and begins to change his own past. This causes the Spirit Well and everything else to be quickly destroyed.<\/p>\n

This is where my speculation comes in. It is my theory that:<\/strong><\/p>\n