Interesting book really enjoyed the imagination.

I read this because the setting, which is a green-skied planet with low gravity where people are small and birdlike and live in trees, appealed to me. Everyone wears a batwing-like garment that allows them to glide gently from branch to branch. It was like living in Myst, only not exactly Myst, but the crazy tree-world in the third Myst game.

It was a nice escape. The plot was reminiscent of [Book: The Giver] but without the bleak ending. I was hoping that Raamo would find out that ALL of his society's creation myths were actually false, but that's just my personal politics. :)

Interesting as well as thought provoking. I hope the next two books live up to the promise.

I didn't like this the first time I read it (I'm not sure I even finished it), but I enjoyed it the second time around... I never got around to reading the entire trilogy, and I may have even been disappointed that it was a trilogy, since I had such a hard time getting through the first book!

The book that began my love of fantasy and sci fi! Love this author and this is one of my favorite trilogies of hers.

This book was the basis for a computer game that I played when I was young. Since I was young and didn't fully understand the game, when I found out it was based on a book, I was excited to read it. The book is about two different groups of beings... the ones that lived entirely above ground in giant trees and the ones that lived underground - below the roots. It was an easy read with interesting ties to what could happen when a society's past is covered up. The ending was optimistic, but definitely had more story to be developed, so there are two more books in the series that I plan to read.

This is an enjoyable, if at times somewhat obvious, fantasy novel. It concerns the denizens of a place known as Green Sky. The planet seems to be largely rainforest, and a society of human-like beings known as the Kindar live in the canopy. The Kindar have a utopian society, where it is taboo to speak of or show anger, and where the concept of violence is almost unheard of. The only fear they hold is of the fearsome Pash-shan, creatures that live below the forest floor, where they are trapped by a magical network of roots that imprisons them underground. The Pash-shan have always been blamed for the disappearances of children who fall to the forest floor, and rumor has it that the Root is weakening, and the Pash-shan have started to kidnap adults as well. The Kindar used to have psychic abilities that allowed them to mindspeak, move objects with their minds, and influence the growth of plants, but the old talents have been fading and now only appear in the very young.

The setting and concepts in this book are very rich, but the actual storyline and characters aren't handled as deftly as one would hope. In many ways the characters end up feeling like archetypes, or like useful props to stand for a specific idea or personality type, rather than like full-fledged people. Still, this was a diverting read, and I plan to read the two sequels.

I've wanted to read this book for awhile because I had played (but never got very in) the intriguing 8-bit computer game that's based on it. Sadly, seems even just bungling around in that game was a better experience than reading its source material.

The world Synder sets up is interesting enough - a science fantasy dealing with a society that lives in giant trees (think somewhere between Ewok and Elvish sophistication of arboreal house-making and living), a society split into the Kindar who glide from tree to tree using worn 'shuba' wings, and the holy Ol-zhaan who rule over them, both of whom possess varying degrees of 'Spirit' powers - telekinetic and telepathic abilities, and then there's the forbidden forest floor, where the monstrous Pash-shan live. Of course, there's secrets behind this societal set-up that our young protagonist must inevitably uncover.

But the book is constantly undone by *so* much telling instead of showing - it could almost be used as a textbook case of this. Countless infodumps from the characters and the narrator, especially at every major plot turn, that undo any spell the book could have cast.

I am still going to retry the game via emulator, though, to see if it retains any of its magic.

At first I was a little put off by the narrative style, until I realized it was a reflection of the Kindar's simple and kind way of life. Past that hurdle I rather enjoyed it.

the writyng style is really excellent, very good and awesome.