In her debut, CROSSROADS OF CANOPY, Thoraiya Dyer creates a verdant rainforest landscape that is original in its approach and scope. Her heroine, Unar, resides on the uppermost level, called Canopy, and serves the fertility goddess Audblayin. In doing so, she turns Canopy upside down. While Dyer’s rich scenery and worldbuilding stand out, it’s the author’s hyperfocus on those areas that causes the narrative to suffer.

"[Unar's] resentment of her peers getting promoted above her, her discovery of Audblayinland’s mistreatment of slaves, and her sexual awakening are wonderfully brought to life."

From the first page, young Unar is a rule-breaker. When she overhears her poverty-stricken parents plotting to sell her as a slave for cash, she decides she must be one of the chosen servants of the goddess Audblayin, fleeing to her temple. A handful of years later, she’s a Gardener (divine attendant) in Audblayin’s closely walled sanctuary, but when the old Audblayin dies, Unar knows she’s the only one who can find the deity’s new incarnation. As she discovers the iniquities present in her goddess’s sanctum sanctorum and sees her friends given chances she is denied, Unar resolves to take matters into her own hands. That means venturing beyond the gates of Audblayinland, violating her vows, and heading down to the forbidden realms of Understorey and Floor.

In CROSSROADS OF CANOPY, Dyer has built a fascinating world. The intricate politics of its 13 gods and their respective monarchs, temples and servants are hard to expound on fully within the confines of any fantasy novel, let alone one that’s just over 300 pages. Dyer alternately under- or over-explains this information, which causes the story’s pacing to frequently lag. There’s also the complex mythology of Understorey and Floor, whose mystique dazzles the reader, but is never explored to a sufficient extent.

And then there’s Unar, who’s a sharp, engaging character. Her resentment of her peers getting promoted above her, her discovery of Audblayinland’s mistreatment of slaves, and her sexual awakening are wonderfully brought to life. However, her stark ambition and self-concern could alienate some readers. One might imagine that zooming out a bit from the world of Canopy and allowing these characteristics to grow would allow for more gradual development.