I just reread this, the first book in an awesome fantasy trilogy for children or young adults. It surprises me that this trilogy has never been that well-known or popular. It deals with serious themes: how a society might choose to rebuild after war and chaos; what happens when a corrupt government exists to sustain itself; how the average person will cling to the status quo, even if that means turning a blind eye to evil actions. There are similarities to The Giver, but this trilogy preceded The Giver by a couple of decades, I think. Actually, there are probably similarities to tons of works -- I'm also thinking of the Fifth Season, which was published last year... and I don't even read much in this genre. This trilogy precedes all of that, maybe even set the standard for addressing these issues. The world-building is top-notch; I've had a clear picture of the Kindar way of life that has stayed with me since I first read the series.

Snyder's Below the Root trilogy is a nice introduction to fantasy and science fiction. It gets young readers ready for such heavy and layered series as the Lord of the Rings or Narnia.

Like a lot of other people (or so it seems from these reviews!), I played and loved the "Below the Root" video game when I was young. I had never read the books; when I looked them up recently, I was excited to realize that they were written by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, a young-adult writer who I remember having creeped me as a child with such subtle and unsettling books as _The Headless Cupid_ and _The Eyes In the Fishbowl_.

I've found it both delightful and weird to read _Below the Root_ for the first time as an adult. Weird, because the construction of the novel is so clunky in so many ways. This isn't at all like the subtlety I remember from Snyder's other books -- which I think maybe I should also revisit, to see how they feel to me now.

On the other hand, from what I understand Snyder didn't write any other fantasy or science fiction books, so perhaps the information-dumping and failures of psychological subtlety in this book come more from inexperience in a challenging genre than from any general failures of craft or imagination. Also, I understand that Snyder was heavily involved with the video-game adaptation of "Below the Root," which in contrast was extremely nuanced and subtle for its genre.

In any case, I found the story gripping and I'm interested in Snyder's approach to the "binarisms" of traditional, or Tolkienian, fantasy. I'm looking forward to reading the two sequels -- in part, I have to admit, because I'm hoping their structure and writing will get smoother as the story progresses.

Loved the computer game, but the book was a slow read.

I think I liked this better at 13, when it seemed absolutely amazing and unprecedented. I do love the world-building herein. A very cool and interesting set-up.

Update: I still love the world-building here. But this time it reminded me strongly of The Giver right from the start.

I read Below the Root ages ago, and it's one of the worlds that sticks with me. That tree... I used to dream it. A wonderful book.

Rereading a beloved childhood favorite as an adult is always risky.

I read Below the Root by Zilpha Keatley Snyder and its sequels over and over and over again as a voracious young SF lover in the early 80’s (and surprisingly was oblivious to the computer game based on the same world). At the time, I was fascinated by the ability of Raamo to read minds, or at least emotions, and swept along by the idea of gliding through the treetops. I was totally immersed in the immediate events and not too concerned by the larger moralizing of the story.

Re-reading as an adult, I keep being struck by the parallels to The Giver.
> The attempt to create a utopia free of violence and pain
> A small group of privileged elites who know the secret
> That these elites commit violence to maintain the innocence of the masses
> The protagonist being chosen to join the elite
Now these items are very common in utopia/dystopia stories, but the similarity is easy to find.

When reading as a child, the many made up words used to create the foreign world of Green Sky, pense instead of telepathy, nid for home-place bower, Ol-zhaan for the priest class, just were accepted without thought. Reading as an adult, the way the wonderfully detailed world is described feels a bit dated and I wasn’t sure that the made-up words added value. Reading as a child, I was also oblivious to certain other details that just jumped out at me this time around, such as the specifics of the special medicine taken the youth halls and what exactly was alluded to by people sharing “close communion.”

Reading today, the minimal character development is grating to my adult eyes. It’s hard to decide if it is intentional because Ms. Snyder was writing for a younger audience or if the much shorter book length in 1975 just didn’t allow the space for the complex internal dialog that we have become accustomed to. But despite the flaws that my adult eyes see, I wish that Below the Root is better known and more widely read.

My memory is that I always preferred the middle book in the trilogy And All Between best. I do intend to continue re-reading to see if that holds, since I was able to pick up all 3 volumes as free ebooks during a big “sale” last year.

Loved this series as a tween, rereading it now and still really drawn to the atmosphere of the world ZKS created, as well as the moral issues. It's very much 70s forest sff but I love that aesthetic, and there's some LeGuin influence for sure (one thing in particular). My biggest feeling is this really ought to be adapted into a limited series or 3 season show by one of the streamers because it could be beautifully rendered and have deeper exploration. (I'm doing a vague review because I think giving away too much of the story spoils it)

scifi/fantasy, children's book

The beginning of this book really reminded me of The Giver in that the main character Raamo lives in a community where a person's position in life is chosen for them at age 13 (though I don't remember if it was 13 in The Giver). Like the main character in The Giver, Raamo is chosen for a high position of honor much to his own surprise. From there the differences branch out much more. There are secrets this society has as well, but Raamo has friends who help him to uncover the mysteries of the evil Pash-shan, and what they will do to help the Kindar caught below the root.

I loved this book as a kid. A substitute librarian in our town library pointed the trilogy out to me, and I remember checking it out of the library over and over again. Now with 2 kids ages 4 and 6, I sometimes tell them bedtime stories about the people who live in trees, describing how they glide from branch to branch. I still find the idea of living in enormous trees simply magical! So, after months of telling the kids these stories based on the books, I ordered a set of the books from Alibris to refresh my recollection, and got great library editions of Below the Root and And All Between. Unfortunately, the copy of Until the Celebration that arrived is a cheap paperback version without the beautiful drawings that so enchaned me as a child. So, I am going to try to find the third in hardback to complete the collection. I am looking forward to both my kids' reading and enjoying the series (and am re-reading it myself).

Read this way back in middle school. Whoah, it blows my mind that so many people came to this book through a computer game! A game I didn't even know existed, because - I'm admitting it - I'm of an older generation!

I haven't reread this recently, but I thought it was wonderful when I was young.