Below the Root (novel)
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Founder | Zilpha Keatley Snyder |
| Products | Science fiction and fantasy novel |
Below the Root is a science fiction and fantasy novel authored by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, serving as the inaugural installment of the Green Sky Trilogy. The 1984 video game titled Below the Root draws its inspiration from this literary series.
Plot summary
Raamo D’ok, a 13-year-old member of the Kindar community living in a serene society, discovers he has been Chosen to join the Ol-zhaan, the distinguished ruling elite of Green-sky. The central "spirit-skills"—pensing (telepathy), kiniporting (telekinesis), and grunspreking (plant manipulation)—are rare abilities fading within the Kindar lineage, yet Raamo exhibits moderate proficiency in them. He encounters Genaa, another individual who has been Chosen, and begins receiving telepathic communications from an enigmatic figure claiming to have selected him as well.
Only members of the Ol-zhaan are aware that the Kindar are descendants of colonists who fled a world ravaged by war. Their culture suppresses negative emotions; children engage in mind-blocking techniques and consume Wissenberries to prevent experiencing prohibited feelings. Raamo uncovers that Genaa’s father was taken captive by the Pash-shan, subterranean beings confined beneath the surface by the psychically reinforced Wissenroot. The Kindar are strictly forbidden from descending underground or even gazing below.
Raamo’s sister, Pomma, falls ill despite undergoing healing ceremonies led by Ol-zhaan D’ol Neric, who later discloses that Raamo is "twice chosen." Neric covertly reveals to Raamo the existence of a "Geets-kel" faction within the Ol-zhaan that conceals the fact that the roots sustaining Green-sky are deteriorating and that the Pash-shan might soon break free. During a secret expedition below ground, they discover Teera, a dark-skinned child initially presumed abducted. They conceal her within Raamo’s household, where Pomma forms a friendship with her.
Pomma eventually learns that Teera is actually one of the Pash-shan, members of an underground society known as "Erdlings." Teera informs Genaa that her father is alive beneath the surface. Subsequently, Genaa reunites with her father, Hiro D’anhk, who had been imprisoned alongside others captured by the Pash-shan.
Together, Genaa, Raamo, and Neric pledge to expose the Geets-kel faction and secure freedom for both the Pash-shan and Genaa’s father. They unexpectedly receive backing from D’ol Falla, the highest-ranking Ol-zhaan who is herself aligned with Geets-kel and attributes the decline of Spirit-powers to societal isolation. She cautions them that their plans are under surveillance. The narrative concludes with their deliberations on forthcoming strategies.
Analyses
Rob McAlear's "Ideology of the Wissenvine" and Carrie Hintz's "Joy but Not Peace" offer critical and thematic examinations of Zilpha Keatley Snyder’s Green-sky Trilogy, focusing on its societal organization and underlying implications.