Deepwood by Jennifer Roberson

Alisanos is the Deepwood, a magical forest home to demons, gods and more wild and magical creatures than anyone can know. It is a dangerous place, even to those creatures who were born and live forever within its confines.

Any human who wanders into Alisanos can never return, and most are never seen again. Those that are seen are transformed into something different, and the longer they spend within Alisanos, the greater the transformation. But Alisanos is not in some distant land. It lies slumbering within the human lands, and could awake at any time, changing its position by miles in mere moments, swallowing up those who felt... or thought... that they were safe.

That is exactly what happened to Audrun, Davyn and their children. While Davyn escaped Alisanos completely, the others vanished into its depths, along with some of the Karavaners they had taken refuge with. Now the Karavan is scattered and damaged, some dead, some vanished into Alisanos, and the rest trying desperately to survive without wandering into Alisanos themselves.

Audrun was several months pregnant with Davyn's child when she passed into Alisanos. She have birth to a normal, full-term child, but cannot escape the fact that her new child has been claimed by Alisanos. Rhuan, the guide who was protecting her, has many secrets to keep, not the least of which being that he is the son of one of the many Gods of Alisanos, but is also half-human. But he must reveal all his secrets to Audrun if both of them are going to be able to survive.

He isn't the only child of Alisanos who has had to conceal the truth of his heritage to survive. Brodhi, Rhuan's cousin, was also among those in the Karavan. Now, with Alisanos changed in position, it is up to him to bring news to the messenger's guild that he is a part of. And when the conquering lord of the lands assigns him to bring soldiers to the Karavaner's new home, he must find a way to deal with them without getting himself... or anyone else, killed.

Meanwhile, Ilona, hand-reader and true seer, must deal with a suit from Rhuan's father, who wants her to have another child for him to replace Rhuan, who he regards as ill-suited to follow him as a primary, or God, of Alisanos. Rhuan is in love with Ilona, and wants nothing more than to get back to her and propose to her, but he must keep Audrun and her child safe. And when she undoes his braids to clean wounds in his scalp, his heart sinks, for she has just declared herself married to him by so doing, no matter that she is already married to Davyn. Can she convince the Primaries to return her child to her after it is stolen, and to let her out of this strange relationship with Rhuan?

And Davyn, parted from his family by Alisanos, can he find them and bring them out of the depths of Alisanos? Or will be become the only human in a family of monsters?

I didn't realize this when I purchased the book, but this is actually the second book in what appears to be a series. The book starts with the aftermath of the storm that apparently woke Alisanos and in waking it, made it move. But everyone is left to deal with the aftermath of the storm, which shatters not only the peace formerly enjoyed in the land while Alisanos slumbered, but causes death and destruction in the forest and outside of it alike.

This was a somewhat confusing story at first, since there are so many widely scattered story threads involving different characters. But this mirrors the fact that there is much chaos in the aftermath of the storm. As the characters begin to link up, and the story begins to make more sense, it is like someone is braiding the storylines together into a cohesive whole. Though by the end of the book, not all of the characters are back together, you begin to hope they will be soon, as you have, surprisingly, come to care about them during the course of the book.

In the end, I did like this book, as the anguish of Audrun over her missing family and missing child is tempered with the fact that she will never be able to leave Alisanos, either for her sake or the sake of her children, including her missing, just-born daughter. All of her family have been touched by Alisanos, and not just in ways visible to others. Their hearts, their souls, and their memories have all been affected. But will they be able to remain together?

I want to read more, and I want to read the first volume as well. This is good stuff.