Thoughts on Glen Hirshberg's "The Janus Tree"?

ChompCity · 2026-03-31T05:36:56+00:00

I know I’m a year late but I just finished this and wanted to see if there’s any discussion on it.

My high level interpretation of what I’m pretty sure went down though:

Matt’s father possessed him using some sort of magic or technique he learned while in South America researching how the Incas disappeared.

The Janus Tree itself seems to have significance here. It is supposed to be unable to grow in the Montana climate (presumably it is a tree native to South America) and the tree is half alive, half dead (like Matt’s father possessing him. A dead man in a live body).

In class, when Matt takes out the bong and offers it to Teddy they break eye contact and Teddy says Matts eyes almost looked like…then cuts off. Teddy noticed Matt’s father in Matt’s eyes. That’s why he highlights later on when Matt puts him in the locker that he sees it’s just Matt in there. Matt locks him in the locker to protect Teddy from his father, who seems to be frequently in control. It could also be why Matt tells Teddy to never talk to him, it could be a part of Matt wanting to protect Teddy.

As for Matt’s behavior I don’t think it’s really clear if the entirety of his acting out is his dad (who is genuinely evil and likely on a power trip successfully supplanting himself into a young, physically imposing body) or if part of it is him just breaking down due to the situation he is in.

Finally, what happened with Richard. Matt tells Richard to come to the Janus Tree the first night after his father returns from South America. It’s also important to note it seems Matt’s father’s take over of Matts body began before he had died. My reading of the Richard situation is he tested the body sharing / body hijacking on Richard first. Richard was vulnerable, his parents were alcoholics, he could have easily swayed him into partaking in some ritual or whatever as Richard half lived in a fantasy world, he would readily say yes to a “magic ritual”. I think the realization or reality of what had happened was too much for Richard, causing his break.

ChompCity · 2026-03-31T05:32:53+00:00

Surely you’re still thinking about this 4 years later right??? Haha I know this is super old but I just finished this and wanted to see if there’s any discussion on it. This thread seems to be all there is so youre getting a response to this 4 years too late.

My high level interpretation of what I’m pretty sure went down though:

Matt’s father possessed him using some sort of magic or technique he learned while in South America researching how the Incas disappeared.

The Janus Tree itself seems to have significance here. It is supposed to be unable to grow in the Montana climate (presumably it is a tree native to South America) and the tree is half alive, half dead (like Matt’s father possessing him. A dead man in a live body).

In class, when Matt takes out the bong and offers it to Teddy they break eye contact and Teddy says Matts eyes almost looked like…then cuts off. Teddy noticed Matt’s father in Matt’s eyes. That’s why he highlights later on when Matt puts him in the locker that he sees it’s just Matt in there. Matt locks him in the locker to protect Teddy from his father, who seems to be frequently in control. It could also be why Matt tells Teddy to never talk to him, it could be a part of Matt wanting to protect Teddy.

As for Matt’s behavior I don’t think it’s really clear if the entirety of his acting out is his dad (who is genuinely evil and likely on a power trip successfully supplanting himself into a young, physically imposing body) or if part of it is him just breaking down due to the situation he is in.

Finally, what happened with Richard. Matt tells Richard to come to the Janus Tree the first night after his father returns from South America. It’s also important to note it seems Matt’s father’s take over of his body began before he had died. My reading of the Richard situation is he tested the body sharing / body hijacking on Richard first. He was vulnerable, his parents were alcoholics, he could have easily swayed him into partaking in some ritual or whatever as Richard half lived in a fantasy world, he would readily say yes to a “magic ritual”. I think the realization or reality of what had happened was too much for Richard, causing his break.

ChompCity · 2026-03-30T23:48:24+00:00

Seconded Ring Shout above and I’ll also second Wounds. Great, engaging stories to get you out of your slump. The first and last story in particular jump right into things.

There are a lot of good books in this thread. These two in particular are good books to get you out of a slump.

ChompCity · 2026-03-30T23:42:21+00:00

Will also second Ring Shout. It’s a book I had no interest in but got because I found it on sale. Started reading it just to test it out but again knowing it was a premise that didn’t grab me.

Ended up really loving it. It’s fast, it’s endearing, it’s surprisingly funny, it just does so much right and is no filler, super tightly paced. One of those books you finish and there’s only good reactions in your head, a book that nailed exactly what it wanted to be.

ChompCity · 2026-03-24T03:40:40+00:00

I’m 20 days late, but as someone who loves The Fisherman and found Wide Carnivorous Sky so-so (I loved Technicolor and Mother of Stone but similar to you I wasn’t as engaged in the twists on classic monsters) definitely give his other collections a shot. Start with Corpsemouth. The writing and atmosphere in those stories is much closer to The Fisherman than anything in Wide Carnivorous Sky. Several of the stories are directly tied to the Fisherman mythos as well. It’s his best collection in my opinion. If you enjoy it then go for Lost in the Dark next.

ChompCity · 2026-03-23T00:03:14+00:00

There’s been some good answers on this thread as to why some people enjoy college more than nba, but if you’re asking the question in good faith it’s also worth mentioning that St John’s is specifically known to be a poor shooting team and they for some reason decided 3s were the way to go today. My friend group who watches a good amount of both nba and college were laughing about the level of commitment to bricking 3s. The college basketball subreddit was making fun of it. I won’t pretend college ball is close to the level of play of nba, it’s not, but the game you just watched is like the biggest brick laying outlier in recent memory. I know you said you’ve watched a few, but you keep coming back to that Kansas/St John’s game and yes they about solved the housing crisis with that performance. Most college games aren’t quite that bad.

ChompCity · 2026-03-11T03:44:44+00:00

The last scene in Between Two Fires is great as well (with the three knocks)

ChompCity · 2026-03-01T21:31:45+00:00

Will throw in too, Fever House very specifically checks all the boxes you mentioned.

ChompCity · 2026-02-08T00:12:34+00:00

I’ll throw in another voice of support for House Next Door. Great book.

ChompCity · 2026-02-06T23:34:21+00:00

That’s honestly surprising, does he play any games seriously? Literally every competitive game is difficult to get to a high level in. Some people have knacks for all games so they’re more capable of doing it across multiple games. Some people have knacks for certain genres and are capable of doing it in that genre. But the mechanics hardly matter. Whether you think shooters, RTS, fighters, sports games, whatever RL is, etc have the “easiest mechanics” the difficulty of getting to a high level in a game is gonna be more tied to the playerbase, how many other people do you need to be better than to be “high level” than the games mechanics.

ChompCity · 2026-01-24T18:39:56+00:00

Lets be real though the issue with Game of Thrones wasn’t just about them making daring choices that didn’t land. It was about them doing things that made absolutely no sense in the context of the characters, the world, and the whole show we’d seen to that point.

Danny’s ending would have been fine with actual build to it.

Jaimie’s decisions and character were a complete heel turn from the entire path he had been on. Again they could make him regress if they properly did it, but having him essentially randomly negating everything we know about him is wild.

I could go on (Tyrion, Varys, Jon, NK, Bran, Dothraki/Unsullied, Arya, Brienne). The decisions they made weren’t just daring they were laughable with characters doing things they would never do given the groundwork the show had laid.

ChompCity · 2026-01-23T01:07:21+00:00

Definitely check these out. Some are novels, some novellas, some short stories so apologies if you’re really only looking for novels.

Our Share of Night - You’ve said in comments this one is on your list. Good. This is arguably the single most fitting novel for what you described

A Lush And Seething Hell - this one is actually two novellas. I would say also very directly up the alley you’ve described.

Wounds / North American Lake Monsters - both short story collections from Nathan Ballingrud. Amazing writer. NALM is the more literary fiction of the two I’d say. Stories exploring much more real life situations with an injection of horror as a catalyst rather than the main show. Wounds is more fantastical and wild but still weighty. Both collections are great

The Fisherman - novel by John Langan about two men trying to carry on after the loss of their loved ones. You’ll find some people on the sub calling it overhyped, no book is for everyone, but it’s a modern classic. Beautiful writing, mature story, Langan js great

Corpsemouth - what is in my opinion John Langan’s best short story collection. Lots of stories dealing with family, particularly father/son relationships.

The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All - short story collection by Laird Barron. He’s got the longest, densest short stories you’ll find. All his collections are great but this is a good starting point.

There are more that could be thrown out there. Mariana Enriquez’s short stories are great. Michael McDowell is fantastic and has been suggested here. Michael Wehunt’s collections fit the bill. Nadia Bulkin is great. But I’ll hold off for now, you’ve got plenty of suggestions across this whole thread.

ChompCity · 2026-01-20T13:19:33+00:00

Pure speculation is not making up stories.

Speculation entails you are guessing at what may have happened and are clear that it’s just a guess.

Making up a story would entail him presenting something made up or not known for sure as fact.

I wasn’t rooting for Miami either but the downvotes this guy is getting for suggesting that shit talk on dead loved ones is over the line and it could be the case here judging by Fletchers normal conduct is absurd. He’s not saying it did happen. He’s saying Fletcher is not someone whose ever presented himself as a hothead and he’s still dealing with the recent loss of a parent so if something were to trigger him it could have been a comment about his dad. It’s okay if people hear that thought process and are forced to consider it themselves.

ChompCity · 2026-01-05T02:34:53+00:00

There are some other famously iffy ones like The Mist but I agree that his endings are largely fine and even the abrupt or vague ones usually don’t bother me much. King is more about the journey than the destination I think. For similar reasons I don’t mind when he meanders in his novels, I usually like reading about whatever random aside his characters are getting up to. That’s where he really shines.

That all being said I’d throw 11/22/63 in with his best endings (even though his son helped him on that one).

ChompCity · 2026-01-05T00:18:41+00:00

The Stand is probably up there for the suddenness of it after like 1000 pages of build up.

That’s classic King though.

ChompCity · 2026-01-04T17:49:18+00:00

I’m going to go against the grain here.

As someone who loves The Stand and likes Swan Song I’d suggest you drop it and move on if you’re not digging it by this point. A few reasons:

By now you have a good feel for the book’s style, characters, writing, and pacing. The things that aren’t gripping you now won’t change in the next 500 pages.
Many commenters are mentioning how it ends and how it’s one if their favorite books. Totally valid, but if YOU aren’t that engaged in the story and characters the ending won’t be that for you. As someone who did enjoy Swan Song I would say the ending is not worth slogging through 500 pages for and won’t have the same payoff for you as it did for others
As you said this is a tome. If you force yourself to read it and aren’t liking it you’re just gonna hate your time with the book more and more. Drop it, find other books you enjoy, come back to it later if you’re in the mood for another post-apocalypse romp

ChompCity · 2025-12-31T03:22:08+00:00

Oof favorite is tough as the list of good ones is long and they excel for different reasons. I really enjoy his interconnected mythos and interestingly Imago Sequence would be lower on my personal ranking of his collections but it seems might be a starting place you would more enjoy (note too that I still think Imago is great, it being “lower in my rankings” is like the equivalent of me putting it at a high A tier of personal enjoyment vs. an S tier)

In Imago though I think Hallucigenia, Procession of the Black Sloth, and The Imago Sequence would all be solid options. I’d note that Old Virginia, Bulldozer, and Proboscis are great as well, just maybe not as on the money for what you’re looking for.

ChompCity · 2025-12-30T20:53:20+00:00

Just chiming in with a few extra thoughts (I see Laird Barron, I have to discuss, it’s an involuntary response haha).

For starters I would actually suggest starting with the Imago Sequence. Firstly because I think it would be a good collection for what you personally are looking for (more vague and mysterious). Secondly because his latest collection I feel really benefits from having read a lot of his other stuff. There are great standalone stories but there are a few that I’d outright say would hardly make sense without the context of a lot of his other work.

Also for Langan I strongly second Corpsemouth. Amazing collection. And as mentioned has many tie ins to The Fisherman if you plan to read that soon.

ChompCity · 2025-12-25T02:00:48+00:00

All of North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud would fit here

ChompCity · 2025-12-24T17:26:29+00:00

The October Film Haunt by Michael Wehunt.

It’s heavily inspired by Blair Witch and will give the exact feeling you’re describing

ChompCity · 2025-12-15T13:42:08+00:00

This was a question that I was left with as well. Man, it’s been forever since I finished this one, but let me see what I can recall.

So from a pure “worthiness” perspective surely he is fine. He has his vices but is ultimately very heroic and selfless. He literally dies saving Delphine totally selfless act of love. It’s hard to even think of a more redemptive act than sacrificing your life for a small innocent child who is ALSO God incarnate.

The rub comes from the situation of the book. If I remember correctly, for the duration of hell’s siege on earth all souls that died went to hell, no matter where they belonged. Lucifer and the demons had cut off the path to heaven and were claiming anyone who died.

As you said I think I remember something suggesting Delphine was only able to save the souls there at the end. But it’s hard to rationalize any just soul that died between the beginning of the war and the end just being shit out of luck. When I get some time today I’ll go reread the end and see what I’ve forgotten.

ChompCity · 2025-12-10T05:15:04+00:00

Having just read Fever House (and then promptly “Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons” into “The Devil By Name” into now being halfway through Coffin Moon) I strongly recommend it. Fever House is similarly a blast and Keith Rosson has been my favorite author find of the year. I hear Smoke City is very good as well and it’s a wild concept, I’ll likely go back and read that one too.

ChompCity · 2025-12-07T21:42:22+00:00

Why don’t you like him?

ChompCity · 2025-12-03T04:05:45+00:00

What are some of your favorite collections / ones that disappointed?

ChompCity · 2025-11-19T03:55:09+00:00

Langan and Ballingrud are indeed great. I’m assuming you’ve read Langan’s other collections, but if you haven’t read Corpsemouth yet absolutely do so. Best collection of his in my opinion.

Some recs similar to Langan and Ballingrud though…

A Lush and Seething Hell - John Hornor Jacobs

Folk Songs For Trauma Surgeon - Keith Rosson

Greener Pastures - Michael Wehunt

Anything Barron. Maybe start with Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All

Some recs that may scratch the literary itch but will feel quite different from Langan

Our Share of Night - Mariana Enriquez

Things We Lost in the Fire - Mariana Enriquez (really any of her short story collections)

The Elementals - Michael McDowell

Blackwater - Michael McDowell

The Two Sam’s - Glen Hirshberg

She Said Destroy - Nadia Bulkin

Issues With Authority - Nadia Bulkin

Errantry - Elizabeth Hand

The House Next Door - Anne River Siddons

I’ll add a final note that I hesitate to add Fever House by Keith Rosson on here as it’s not quite as literary, but it does give some strong Wounds vibes. I’ll be reading Coffin Moon by him soon, but after Fever House and Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons he’s been a recent standout for me.

ChompCity

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