Review: Tangleweed & Waterbloom by Justin Greer
Blurb:
After years of travel in the wide world, Derry Melyvante has made his home near the quiet woodland village of Haverdell. Derry lives with his dog Barrow on a small island outside town and spends his days in singular pursuit of his craft and passion: Derry is a gardener, a master of woodlore and plants and green growing things, a man whose heart belongs in the trees and high hills and soft grassy meadows around sleepy Haverdell. He and Barrow have built a home and found friendship in Haverdell—a quiet, fulfilling life.
An unknown blight has taken hold in the Brightoak Tree. Derry's efforts to care for the great tree are interrupted by the appearance of a knight from the king's court with a summons for the gardener of Haverdell—a message specifically requesting Derry by name. The gardener is escorted to the capital by Caedan, Knight of Mira, where he is asked to investigate a similarly strange affliction in the holy gardens of the king. Derry performs his work, makes his recommendations for care, and thinks to return to Haverdell and the gentle calm of his chosen home.
But strange magic and stranger maladies are afoot, both in the king's court and in Haverdell. Derry and Barrow swiftly find themselves embroiled in affairs beyond their imagining, as monsters and blights and shadowy figures foment catastrophe throughout the land. Plants have begun to turn against the gardener. The king has been kidnapped. Allies have become traitors. Together, Derry, Barrow, and Caedan seek to end the mayhem and find a solution to the strange curse that has gripped the kingdom—before wild plant-monsters overrun everything and swallow the land into their greedy, leafy maw. Even if the trio is successful, they will have to contend with traitors in the king's court, magical devices now stolen by rebels, and ancient temples reawakened for unknown purposes...
Review:
After loving the Garden Knight 0.5, I was once again blown away by Greer’s masterful storytelling, and how he draws you right in from page one. I have ever loved a good cozy read, and this is shooting right to the top of the list. Previously, I compared Greer’s works to that of Travis Baldree, and I would do so again, that’s how good it is.
This time, we are once again in cheery Haverdell, but a strangeness falls over two of the quaint towns oak trees. Not quite a blight, or a rot, but something other. At first, Derry, our wonderful main character, is stumped. Before he figures it out, he receives a summons from the King, to attend a similar, yet markedly different, problem in the capital. There, a blight takes hold of some of the grove’s trees, and Derry puts them to bed, healing the grove once more. Upon his return to Haverdell, the oak trees have worsened. He finds a magical box of exotic origins buried deep within the earth, fouling the soul, the water, the oak trees. Taking it to a friend, he learns of a way to dispose of it and its magic, but something goes wrong, and the box nearly kills him in its death blows.
Was his friend lying? Why? What had happened?
And then something worse occurs. The grove in the kingdom’s capital falls to a tremendous overgrowth of wild and malicious plant life, forcing the king to evacuate. With the help of the very knight that brought Derry to the capital, he must determine what the source of the problem is and how to stop it, all while unraveling the mystery of the magical box.
Things take turns for the worse time and time again, but our optimistic MC and his wonderful dog Barrow, as well as some keen friends, never let it best them. They tackle obstacle after obstacle until restoring things to exactly as they should be. But a lot has to happen before that comes to pass, and it was navigated wonderfully by Greer.
The prose was an absolute joy, with scenes fully fleshed out in every capacity. I found myself hungry when they were eating meals at the tavern, on the road, or in the capital. When they wandered throughout the wild country and the hills, I wanted to do the same, and I might have, if I didn’t live in the middle of a city with no green space.
The story is, as always, compelling. We are made to sympathize with the plight of Derry, the King, and all the other allies we come across. They are kind, forgiving, and want what is best for people. They are all truly people we can root for, which is a very refreshing thing to find. But above all, I was rooting for Barrow, who deserved more pats and probably more screen time. That's my only complaint; I want a Barrow standalone. Now, I’m not sure how a standalone story about a dog would work, but I’m more than happy to find out.
We are introduced to a concept called waterbloom. Which is hard for me to quantify since I’m no master gardener like Derry. It roughly equates to the spreading of life with the grace of water, and if I’m paraphrasing incorrectly, I apologize, and that means you should read for yourself to find out what it means. It is introduced time and time again, to the overgrowth, to the natural things and the wild things and everything in between. It's used for remedies and healing, for sequestering chaotic magic, for subduing enemies, it's versatile and beautiful, just like this book.
My favorite scene of all has to be one of the more simple ones towards the end, where the King—yes the King—stops to help a young boy round up a goat that's escaped its pen. That, I think, perfectly encapsulates Tangleweed & Waterbloom. It's a story of appreciation for life and those around you, no matter your station in life. It's giving back how you can, when you can, and if we all did a little bit more of that, I think the world would be a much better place.
If none of that has convinced you, well then I’m not sure what to tell you, Ebenezer Scrooge, because this is a fantastic time wrapped into 300 or so pages that go in a flash because you just can’t help but read. Every sentence is a joy, every chapter a new adventure, and I eagerly await to see what comes next for Derry, Barrow, and all those we’ve come to love in the world of the Garden Knight.
