A lonely island. An ancient manuscript. And a lust for power.
Twenty years have passed since Zossimo, Legator and Librarian of the Island and City of Southernwood, mysteriously disappeared. His daughter, Silva, is convinced there is more to Zossimo's demise than she knows.
Now evil stirs on this island, where man and tree have lived in harmony for centuries. And Silva's quest to discover the truth about her father unravels a tale of thwarted ambition and murderous betrayal. Among humans and trees alike.
Take a large cooking pot, add a beautiful island, its trusty inhabitants, a handful of roots, a treequill and a flagon of raging ambition. Stir it all up and what have you got? The Mazer - a fantasy mystery set on the Island of Southernwood.
Man and tree live in peace here - or so it seems. Oh yes, any Southernwooder would be pleased to tell you of the island's tree: Master Ash, legendary ruler of Ashenwood; Great Oak by Zossimo's old greenhouse on the way to Deep Dock; the Yew of Yewlith in Westernwood, or Great Aspen, whose trunk bursts out of the Albatorium building in Southernwood City.
Now trouble brews on our island. A mysterious message on a leaf haunts Silva, daughter of Zossimo. A foul treesmoke blows through the woods south of the city. And at the Albatorium, the Session is plunged into political turmoil as an election is held for a new Legator. And the result? A shock for the Session - but not for the trees!
Join Silva, Winifred the cook, Filibert the Treasurer, Harold the bell-ringer, Bassan the Librarian and many other unforgettable characters in an enjoyable fantasy quest.
You'll never look at another tree in quite the same way again!
Download a map of the Island of Southernwood
Meet some of the trees of Southernwood
What would the people of Southernwood tell you about their island?
I think they'd say that it must be the most beautiful place on earth. Not that they're able to compare it to any other island, however. Despite many attempts, no expedition to other lands has ever been successful. And the last great expedition resulted in many lives lost.
So the islanders are a lonely people in some ways; but their trees more than make up for any lack of human contact.
There are many famous trees around the island, the most well-known being Great Aspen in Southernwood City. He grows through the middle of the most important building - the Albatorium.
Over in Oakenwood, not far from Deep Dock, grows Great Oak.
And the Yew of Yewlith, old and wise, has always stood in the garden of the sanctuary there.
Everyone can tell you about Old Elm, the wishing tree in the north. Not many of the younger folk have visited him, but the older generation remember a time when a trip up to Old Elm was an occasion not to be missed!
Oh, and we mustn't forget Great Ash, the tree all islanders have read about in the children's story Tree Tales.
Around the city, there are plenty of things to do. You could take a walk through Skeps Wood and have a picnic on the beach, and then stroll along to Quagfen and see if the fishermen have caught anything today. Or why not take a hike through the Hintermounts?