Reviews

The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay

littlelynn's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

hivequeen's review against another edition

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1.0

Why do so many authors feel the need to spoil a perfectly good story with a rape scene? And the one in this book is especially bad, just warning anyone who might want to read it. Well... This story wouldn't have been perfectly good if there had been no rape scene, but still. While the plot was interesting, the way the author wrote it was incredibly hard to follow. Add to that the unbelievable characterization of the 5 main characters. There is no way they would adapt that quickly to a magical parallel universe, nor would they pick up the speech patterns of that world in less than a week. This story could have been so good, but it just wasn't.

billymac1962's review against another edition

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5.0

This is first in the Fionavar trilogy. Five University of Toronto students are wisked away to the land of Fionavar. This is excellent high fantasy, and the story marches along at a good pace.
I'll be reading other books between the other two just so I can make it last! Highly recommended.

boreasword's review against another edition

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3.0

Having read a couple of Kays' middle to late tenure books, this was a really rough start. It totally felt sophomoric, fumbly, and overwrought as Kay struggles to find his voice amid an ambitious weaving of Celtic, Norse, and even Abrahamic mythologies into Tolkienesque plot points. Peak 80's high fantasy. Not a favorite after reading the gorgeous prose of Tigana or Song of Arbonne. I'm going to see what the trilogy holds, even after a very triggering, glorified female character's torture in the last chapters.

cosmic_nova_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

lindetiel's review against another edition

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3.0

This is a good fantasy novel. Story of the world, Fionavar, is intricate, rich and very well thought out. Narration is flowing, it's hard to put the book down, because the plot is so gripping and most of the characters are really complex. Furthermore the reader isn't overburdened with the world's story, it's rather slowly unravelling and each step forward happens at a very good moment. It's also easier to get acquainted with Fionavar, because we do so through the eyes of five people who are, just like the reader, outsiders.

There are some elements of this novel that were somewhat irritating, and influenced my reading, but maybe they won't be for others:
1) the beginning styled as if from children's novel, that can be summed up as: "here are four random people and one that was predestined for great things in a world full of monster and magic. Let's go on an adventure!"
2) poorly created female characters - one can be described in three words: beautiful, proud, kind, the other has to be made into a seer in a matter of a few hours after her arrival (forget your home and family, right? She doesn't even bother to think about that for a second). Of course the beautiful one
Spoilergets kidnapped
, because there's nothing more that a female character can offer - she can either be put as a beginning of the quest (Kim) or it's destination (Jennifer).
3) Kay used to work with Christopher Tolkien, that doesn't give him right though to use J.R.R. idea in his own novel, which is also totally redundant. There is nothing wrong with having this graceful, long linved creatures of light (elves) in fantasy novel. Having them yearning for the sea and travelling to a land that is not on any map... And let's just say that it's mentioned without any real reason by one of the characters, totally unnecessarily made scratch on the whole story.

Overall the story is very enjoyable and well written.

spitzig's review against another edition

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3.0

Can't say I was disappointed, because I only recognized the name. I hadn't really heard anything about him.

Characters weren't really interesting. Not enough magic. World wasn't very original.

sam_clouthier's review against another edition

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I just could not get into the story. 

kayteeem's review against another edition

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Just wasn't in the mood for this one. I'll probably get it out from the library again sometime.

marlisenicole's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5