published 1997, Avon Books

The plot blurb on the inside cover of The Family Tree doesn't give you the smallest feeling of where this book is going. It covers the first plot line, that of Dora Henry, a recently separated policewoman in a near-future earth where plants are suddenly taking over the suburbs. Dora doesn't mind, because she's getting along with the plants. She's also investigating murders of geneticists, and she begins to find strange correlations between her ex-husband's past life and what's happening in the present.

Meanwhile, an entirely unexpected second plot (the quest) appears with the second chapter; even more interesting, one of the new characters is telling that story in the first person. Her name is Opalears, and she's been assigned as a servant to a local Prince. It's obvious that this plotline takes place quite a while in the future, but it's nothing like our society, more like a fantastical dark age, with princes, sultans, kings and emperors abounding. There are portents and prophecies everywhere, with almost a dozen characters joining Opalears as they travel towards the mysterious St. Weel for the answer to "The Great Enigma". And there's something wrong with the trees in their time, too: they attack people who try to cut them down. In fact, the trees are scared, as Izzy, Opalears' love interest, finds out with magic.

The two plotlines converge when, at St. Weel, Opalears, Izzy and all are sent to Dora's time by the (still mysterious) monks and St. Weel. I almost fell off my chair at the next plot twist, but if you read carefully and look closely at the futuristic/magical plotline, maybe you'll be less surprised than I was. I don't want to say anything else about this or the ending, which is great, because I'll ruin the book for you. The shock is part of the fun of this book, as are the wonderful characters.

Review by Catherine George
Reviewed January 5, 1999

ISBN 0380974789

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