Rating: 
Summary: A little disappointing, frankly
Review: Having read "Russka," "Sarum," and "London," I couldn't wait to get my hands on Rutherfurd's latest, "The Forest." But it just didn't measure up to the author's previous endeavours. For one thing, it is far, far shorter, and I felt that either it didn't do justice to the full history of the New Forest, or perhaps the author ought to have chosen a more historically deep setting. Starting in 1099 seemed like a sell-out, after his previous novels, which often began several thousand years ago. For another, I agree with one reader who said that Rutherfurd was going formula on us. Though it is a genre, it seems that his techniques -- for example, in distinguishing members of a same family -- are all too familiar. However, "The Forest" is still a good read, and perhaps standing alone, it would rate 4 or 5 stars. But in comparison to "London," for example, "The Forest" just doesn't rate...
Rating:
Summary: pleasant but not thrilling
Review: This novel was a bit of a disappointment, especially after the outstanding "London". It's a less dramatic tale. But it does involve the reader in Rutherfurd's usual style of tracking multi-family histories. I'd say it's a good, but not great, read.
Rating: 
Summary: Despite what others say ...
Review: The Forest is a rich, vivid historical read ~~ with fiction intertwined with history of England's most lush forest. If you are a history buff, this book is a good read. It seems long but unlike "London", this book didn't drag in some places. Keeping track of the families were easier this time for some reason. Maybe it's because after reading all of his books, you tend to get an idea of how he writes.In my opinion, Rutherford gets better with every book, though "Russka" is still my favorite Rutherford book. Rutherford goes out of his way to find the little historical facts as well as the well-known ones. The characters are vividly drawn in their periods of time. The scenery is terrific ~~ the whole time I was reading this, it was below zero outside and all I could think of was hiding in the woods in the middle of summer to feel the breeze going through the treetops. If you are looking for a long read during these cold winter nights, this book is a great bet. Just grab your glass of wine, a blanket and light the logs in your fireplace and settle down for a nice winter read. It's worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Disappointment
Review: I read 'The Forest' because one of the places mentioned in the book is my home town, Ringwood. I enjoyed the author's first historical fiction, 'Sarum', but couldn't finish 'London' because of the sloppy writing and editing. 'The Forest' is another disappointment. He is now writing to formula and getting very lazy. All his research ends up in the story whether it relevant or not. It disrupts the narrative, which is poor at best. The characterisation is weak, the plot lacks tension and the section on the thoughts of the deer is laughable. An opportunity to write an exciting and interesting novel about a beautiful area has been missed.
Rating:
Summary: A good book, but more of the same
Review: I very much enjoyed Rutherfurd's latest work, but find he is relying more and more on formula rather than strong character development. In his previous books, the locale has played a strong role in the book, as the history of a city and the buildings in it has been woven into the narrative; unfortunately, the changes within the New Forest over time are less concrete and so some richness is lost. One thing missing in this book that I enjoyed in his other works was watching the rise and ebb of family fortunes; in this book, the gentry more or less stay gentry and the yeomanry stay yeomanry throughout the book, which stretches credibility. Rutherfurd needs to develop the individual characters a little more and to allow the families to evolve through time, rather than establishing a few immutable family characteristics and overrelying on them. Still, his work is well-researched and quite entertaining--the reader comes away with a little knowledge about history as a bonus. As much as I love English history, I'm hoping he'll move on to a different area next time, which might inject a little more freshness into his work.
Rating:
Summary: Painful to hear, painful to the ear
Review: In seeking a way to alleviate the boredom which hours of car driving can bring on - I thought I'd try the much recommended books-on-tape strategy. 'The Forest' was not the best choice with which to start - and this is where I disagree with Audiofile - the multiple voices of Lynn Redgrave get to be near laughable by the third or fourth disk - especially when she tries to sound like a French person speaking English - layer that over trying to sound like a man - and it gets really weird. It was very painful to listen to and we never finished the tape.
Rating:
Summary: Something of a Disappointment
Review: I've read all Rutherford's books, starting with the wonderful "Sarum" and "Russka," then "London" (which seemed to me to be interesting but slightly stale) and, now, "The Forest." I suspect he's written too much, too quickly, because he uses the identical plot devices for each of his novels but the originalty of his stories is now beginning to suffer. In each case, you start WAAAAAY back when in history (usually Stone Age) and work your way up to the present through a series of interesting vignettes or snapshots of human-interest stories set periodically through the history of the specific place. James Michener, of course, perfected this technique, and Rutherford is never less than interesting in his version. But ...somehow, by "The Forest," it just didn't seem to me that he had that much to say. The book felt repetitive, as if I was simply reading rifs on his earlier English books. Oh, yeah, another Norman-vs-Saxon episode, another Augustan Age seque, etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you'll enjoy this book if you've never read him before, but I'd certainly recommend any of his earlier works ahead of this one. He feels, somehow, like he's gone formula on us.
Rating:
Summary: Same song, different location
Review: Sarum was fabulous, London was fascinating, even Russka was interesting... but enough already! It's not that The Forest is a bad book. It's quite good, if you've never read another Rutherfurd book. It's just that it's like every other Rutherfurd book, which is getting a little monotonous. The families have physical or psychological attributes that carry on down through the millenia as if no other bloodlines ever come into the picture. It also seems like Rutherfurd is running out of interesting plots. The chapter Albion Park is simply a take off on Jane Austen (Mansfield Park?)and not a particularly good one. ("It was no doubt part of the divine plan that, having been endowed with an insatiable desire to rise in society, Mrs. Grockleton had also been created absent-minded.") Despite all of this it was interesting to learn about the New Forest, an area with which I am unfamiliar. I only hope the author will try to be a bit more creative in his next book.
Rating: 
Summary: A visit to an overlooked corner of Merry Old England
Review: With THE FOREST, author Edward Rutherford continues his love affair with England begun with SARUM and LONDON. (His other book, RUSSKA, was apparently an aberrational dalliance.) In all of his novels, Rutherford goes back in time and selects fictional families living in a specific geographical area, then visits members of each family at key points down through history as they interact with each other and the environment of the chosen area. In SARUM, it was the land surrounding the English town of Salisbury, including Stonehenge. In LONDON, it was ... well, London. In THE FOREST, it's the New Forest in the English county of Hampshire, a triangular patch of land approximately anchored by Salisbury, Christchurch and Southampton, and on the mainland immediately northwest of the Isle of Wight. "Forest", a French term, originally meant "reservation", and the New Forest was such a place set aside by Duke William of Normandy as a royal hunting preserve after becoming William I, King of England, in 1066 by defeating King Harold at Hastings. Rutherford begins his narrative in 1099, and continues in chapters headed 1294, 1480, 1587, 1635, 1794, 1868 and 2000 respectively. From previous exposure to the author's style, I've found it convenient to consider each chapter a short story more or less independent from the overall chronology. That way, I don't get too confused by the intersecting genealogical lines of the featured families as they thread through the centuries. This is a collection of vignettes portraying the human dramas encountered in the everyday lives of ordinary people, both gentry and commoners, as influenced by the time and place of their life spans. Thus, one becomes acquainted with Adela, a Norman noblewoman in search of a husband soon after the Conquest, and Brother Adam, an abbey monk suffering a crisis of faith after being seduced by a local housewife. Then there's Jonathan, a young boy living in the port of Lymington, caught in a storm at sea during a boat race, and Clement, a young gentleman threatened by his crazy mother's treasonous behavior as the Spanish Armada seemed poised to invade. And Alice, caught in the turbulent and dangerous times of Cromwell's Civil War and the subsequent Restoration. Or Fanny, an heiress pulled in opposite directions by love and an age-old family vendetta, on trial for shoplifting a piece of lace. Finally, Colonel Albion, fighting to save the forest he loves from the depredations of the London politicians. If you're looking for a thriller, or epic conflicts between a series of protagonists and antagonists, then THE FOREST is not for you. However, if you love England - especially that - and you enjoy vicariously immersing yourself in the everyday joys, heartaches, triumphs and defeats of others, then you'll love this book. Moreover, THE FOREST contains interesting information about non-human elements of the region: the mating rituals of the local deer population, the life cycles of the forest's oak trees, the method for harvesting salt from seawater, the formation of bogs, the proper use of timber in the art of building wooden sailing ships. Additionally, England's southern coast was once a hotbed of smuggling (oh, sorry ... "free trade"), and Rutherford gives some insight into its economics and methods as practiced there. If, by serendipity or design, you should find yourself on the A31 between Southampton and Ringwood, perhaps leave the main route onto the B3078 or A337, and explore the villages and landscape of the New Forest. I've been on the A31 several times, yet have never taken the time to explore this small corner of England. Now, I wish I had.
Rating:
Summary: Light reading for genealogues
Review: Another thoroughly enjoyable historical voyage by Rutherfurd. While I personally find Rutherfurd less engaging than Michener, he gives a vivid portrayal of the place and the people that make it up. I have some trouble with his anthropomorphic depictions of deer and trees. However, the archetypical families, which evolve through what amounts to several novellas, make a very satisfying read.
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