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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2023 first read:
Beautiful writing, but the characters dont always make sense
2025 re-read review:
Diarmuid dan Aillel, my heart, I hate you so much you charming bastard. Diarmuid’s introduction in this book should be taught as a masterclass in character writing. He comes in, immediately steals the show, and tells us everything we need to know about him as a character: he likes to drink and have fun; he’s used to getting what he wants; he can be dangerous when he doesn’t; despite appearances he does take his role of prince seriously and cares about the protection of his kingdom; he’s charming as hell and despite being rude, you can’t help but instinctively like him (or at least I couldn’t). Diarmuid alone makes this book 4 stars.
Now for our 5 travelers. On my first read, I didn’t understand why they took to Fionavar so quickly and so fully. They are initially only supposed to be visiting for a few weeks, but they quickly start acting like they’ve lived here their whole lives. Of course, now I see this is the point. Their fates are tied so closely into this world, that some part of all of them feels like they belong here. And they all serve a purpose.Paul is meant to die on the Summer Tree. Kim is meant to become the new Seer. Dave quickly falls in with the Dalrei and shows us life on the Plain (and his adventures feel like they’re leading up to something more in future books), while Kevin quickly befriends Diarmuid’s men and shows us a glimpse at the court politics in Brennin.
And then there’s Jennifer. It seems, outside of a brief conversation with the High Priestess, that Jennifer’s only role is toget kidnapped and raped by the Big Bad. Well, she is first “claimed” by Diarmuid, and then by Maugrim, and in the torture she undergoes we see that she belonged to Kevin and her father before that. She is defined over and over again by her beauty and by the men in her life. I would like to see her break out of this and develop more in future books, but with this first book we are not given enough of her as a person to make me feel at all good about how she is treated as a character.
The writing itself is Tolkien-esque — unsurprising, given that Kay worked on the Silmarillion before this. Unfortunately, this can lead to some rather clunky exposition, and prioritizing worldbuilding at the expense of other elements. But in the end I don’t mind so much, since that worldbuilding (and some character highlights, namely Diarmuid, Paul, and the Dalrei) are what draw me into the book.
Beautiful writing, but the characters dont always make sense
2025 re-read review:
Diarmuid dan Aillel, my heart, I hate you so much you charming bastard. Diarmuid’s introduction in this book should be taught as a masterclass in character writing. He comes in, immediately steals the show, and tells us everything we need to know about him as a character: he likes to drink and have fun; he’s used to getting what he wants; he can be dangerous when he doesn’t; despite appearances he does take his role of prince seriously and cares about the protection of his kingdom; he’s charming as hell and despite being rude, you can’t help but instinctively like him (or at least I couldn’t). Diarmuid alone makes this book 4 stars.
Now for our 5 travelers. On my first read, I didn’t understand why they took to Fionavar so quickly and so fully. They are initially only supposed to be visiting for a few weeks, but they quickly start acting like they’ve lived here their whole lives. Of course, now I see this is the point. Their fates are tied so closely into this world, that some part of all of them feels like they belong here. And they all serve a purpose.
And then there’s Jennifer. It seems, outside of a brief conversation with the High Priestess, that Jennifer’s only role is to
The writing itself is Tolkien-esque — unsurprising, given that Kay worked on the Silmarillion before this. Unfortunately, this can lead to some rather clunky exposition, and prioritizing worldbuilding at the expense of other elements. But in the end I don’t mind so much, since that worldbuilding (and some character highlights, namely Diarmuid, Paul, and the Dalrei) are what draw me into the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
{Background: I read this 30 years ago and for some reason never made it through the 3rd book in the series so I'm re-reading the first two so I can finish the trilogy}
Let's take five kids from college in N. America and transport them to a fantasy world by a wizard and a dwarf, let's put them in the middle of torture, cruxifiction, rape and see how much they like living in a fantasy world.
So this is a flawed book. A great writer who was not yet a great novelist when he wrote this book. Lots of flowery prose and great world building but hasn't quite figured out how to capture the reader. I'll give it 4 stars and I'm rounding up because I think it is honorable to reach for the stars even if it's obvious you're not quite there yet and can't quite touch the stars. Does that make sense? I would rather have an author try to write the greatest fantasy series ever and fail then to never try.
So....4 stars it is and moving on to the next in the series.
Let's take five kids from college in N. America and transport them to a fantasy world by a wizard and a dwarf, let's put them in the middle of torture, cruxifiction, rape and see how much they like living in a fantasy world.
So this is a flawed book. A great writer who was not yet a great novelist when he wrote this book. Lots of flowery prose and great world building but hasn't quite figured out how to capture the reader. I'll give it 4 stars and I'm rounding up because I think it is honorable to reach for the stars even if it's obvious you're not quite there yet and can't quite touch the stars. Does that make sense? I would rather have an author try to write the greatest fantasy series ever and fail then to never try.
So....4 stars it is and moving on to the next in the series.
This book was not what I expected. I guess I was expecting Tolkien-esque fantasy, which it was, but also was not. I certainly didn't expect five randos from modern earth to be the protagonists, but I definitely loved it.
As some reviewers have said, the characters are a little awkward at first, and hard to get to know. There's so much lore and backstory that we don't know, but everything in the story is full of it. It's like walking through an old European city and not knowing any of the culture or history-- you know it's there, but you don't know what it is. The magic system and world building are just incredible, and the whole book put me into this dream-like mood with the writing style. I'm excited to start the next one.
Warning, though. Potential pseudo spoiler.
The rape scene at the end was not exactly explicit, but it was about as horrifying as it gets.
As some reviewers have said, the characters are a little awkward at first, and hard to get to know. There's so much lore and backstory that we don't know, but everything in the story is full of it. It's like walking through an old European city and not knowing any of the culture or history-- you know it's there, but you don't know what it is. The magic system and world building are just incredible, and the whole book put me into this dream-like mood with the writing style. I'm excited to start the next one.
Warning, though. Potential pseudo spoiler.
The rape scene at the end was not exactly explicit, but it was about as horrifying as it gets.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A group of people from normal Earth get pulled into a fantasy world that is dying.
The story pulled me in, but the writing was not at the top of my list. There were a lot of disconnected plots that sort of tied together later, character development was a little lacking. A lot of random bouncing around, with just in the nick of time events working out for no obvious or credible reason.
The story pulled me in, but the writing was not at the top of my list. There were a lot of disconnected plots that sort of tied together later, character development was a little lacking. A lot of random bouncing around, with just in the nick of time events working out for no obvious or credible reason.
Kumski Book Club 2019 - 4
Pa wooow. Jako sam ugodno iznenađena.
S Kayom sam se prvi i zadnji put družila još davne 2003. kad sam čitala njegovu Tiganu. Ne mogu se više sjetiti o čemu se u njoj radilo, ali mi je ostao taj neki osjećaj tuge zbog neke ljubavne nesreće koja se dogodila glavnom antagonistu (a koji mi je iz tko zna kojeg razloga prirastao srcu).
Nakon toga bih povremeno pomislila: "Hej, pa mogla bih uzeti nešto od Kaya...", ali nekako nikad do sad nisam tu ideju i ostvarila.
A i sad namjera nije bila moja. Knjigu je odabrala moja kuma (s kojom zajedno čitam knjige u našem Kumskom Book Clubu) i pitala me hoću li joj se pridružiti. A ja sam baš u fazi kad mi ne pašu neke teške teme tako da sam prihvatila njenu ideju.
Moram reći da mi je Stablo ljeta pravo osvježenje u fantasy žanru. Očekivala sam da će biti na foru Igre prijestolja i Gospodara prstenova. Što u neku ruku i je, ali opet i nije.
Isprva, u prvih par poglavlja, Kay je nekako sve zbrzao i sve je nekako bilo nedorečeno. Mislim da zapravo ni do samog kraja nije objašnjeno zašto je petorka iz Toronta odabrana. Ali kako se priča počela rasplitati, postalo je sve zanimljivije i zanimljivije. Kay je osmislio opet neki novi svijet magije, čarobnjaka, čudovišta i fenomenalnih legendi. Priča mi je bila prezanimljiva. Privukla me je ta ideja prelaženja iz svijeta u svijet. Malo drugačiji koncept od ostalih knjiga tog žanra koje sam čitala. Osim toga stalno se nešto događalo i nije bilo previše nekakvih detaljnih opisa krajolika kao u ostalim takvim knjigama koji se rastegnu na petsto stranica (što mene ajme smara), a nije bilo ni previše pjesama.
A završila je ultimativnim cliffhangerom i sad me strašno zanima što će biti dalje.
Pa wooow. Jako sam ugodno iznenađena.
S Kayom sam se prvi i zadnji put družila još davne 2003. kad sam čitala njegovu Tiganu. Ne mogu se više sjetiti o čemu se u njoj radilo, ali mi je ostao taj neki osjećaj tuge zbog neke ljubavne nesreće koja se dogodila glavnom antagonistu (a koji mi je iz tko zna kojeg razloga prirastao srcu).
Nakon toga bih povremeno pomislila: "Hej, pa mogla bih uzeti nešto od Kaya...", ali nekako nikad do sad nisam tu ideju i ostvarila.
A i sad namjera nije bila moja. Knjigu je odabrala moja kuma (s kojom zajedno čitam knjige u našem Kumskom Book Clubu) i pitala me hoću li joj se pridružiti. A ja sam baš u fazi kad mi ne pašu neke teške teme tako da sam prihvatila njenu ideju.
Moram reći da mi je Stablo ljeta pravo osvježenje u fantasy žanru. Očekivala sam da će biti na foru Igre prijestolja i Gospodara prstenova. Što u neku ruku i je, ali opet i nije.
Isprva, u prvih par poglavlja, Kay je nekako sve zbrzao i sve je nekako bilo nedorečeno. Mislim da zapravo ni do samog kraja nije objašnjeno zašto je petorka iz Toronta odabrana. Ali kako se priča počela rasplitati, postalo je sve zanimljivije i zanimljivije. Kay je osmislio opet neki novi svijet magije, čarobnjaka, čudovišta i fenomenalnih legendi. Priča mi je bila prezanimljiva. Privukla me je ta ideja prelaženja iz svijeta u svijet. Malo drugačiji koncept od ostalih knjiga tog žanra koje sam čitala. Osim toga stalno se nešto događalo i nije bilo previše nekakvih detaljnih opisa krajolika kao u ostalim takvim knjigama koji se rastegnu na petsto stranica (što mene ajme smara), a nije bilo ni previše pjesama.
A završila je ultimativnim cliffhangerom i sad me strašno zanima što će biti dalje.
This is possibly one of my favourit series ever, even though I spend half the book crying.
So I will probably pick up the next books in this series because there is something good here and I want to know what happens. But man. It felt like the first 2/3 of the book was introduction, and was sometimes unnecessarily confusing in the effort to be poetical. Or something. Also damn those are some deeply entrenched gender roles and that was really disappointing.
I first read this several years ago, and the first forty pages or so didn't grab me, so I put it down for awhile. I returned to it later after reading most of Kay's other books, and had a different experience that time - I ended up devouring the trilogy quickly. It's a more direct fantasy series than his other books, which are usually historical fantasy with a heavy emphasis on the historical piece.
I re-read it this weekend and enjoyed it more than last time. The story is a bit darker than his others, and I still prefer most of the others (especially Tigana, Lions, and the Mosaic series).
I re-read it this weekend and enjoyed it more than last time. The story is a bit darker than his others, and I still prefer most of the others (especially Tigana, Lions, and the Mosaic series).
The setting of the Summer Tree is as close to classic fantasy as I have read in a while, however Guy Gavriel Kay avoids some of the common pitfalls of his era of fantasy.
This is Guy Gavriel Kay's debut novel, and I have been told, his worst book.
It was pretty darn good
It did have some issues though, and made a strange combination of small bits of being amateurish and brilliant.
The premise is a portal fantasy, 5 Toronto students meet a wizard, and get teleported into Fionavar, the first of all the alternate worlds.
This world has all the stuff you would expect in classic fantasy. It's got a dark lord who was defeated a thousand years ago and imprisoner beneath a mountain, it's got kings, princes, mages, dwarves, and what are basically high elves.
One thing that was somewhat common in 80s fantasy that it manages to avoid, is the romanization of things that are...not good.
It also is GGK, so the writing itself is really excellent. It isn't quite as smooth as the writing of Tigana or Al-Rassan. But Guy Gavriel Kay could make the most mundane things seem full of grandeur, and beauty, and emotion. Additionally the pacing of this book was pretty spot on. GGK does the thing where halfway through the book at the end of part 2 he moves to a different part of the world, but he also almost instantly got me hooked on that part of the world. Overall this was a pretty eventful book, and the vents happened at a steady and logical place. I will say the characters do not stand out to the degree they do in his later works, and there are decisions and actions they make that just don't fit with their backstory.
Another thing he avoids from 80s fantasy is actually having well fleshed out female characters who seem to play as big or bigger of a role then the guys. Although there is one character who played the getting captured and needs to be rescued role, so I will probably see where that goes.
What may be my biggest criticism is that it seems the Toronto university students adapted unrealistically, and maybe even absurdly quickly to the challenges of a fantasy world. Why are all these people amazing horseback riders. I'm pretty sure riding a warhorse into a fight probably is pretty damm hard, and is not a part of the law curriculum at Toronto University.
Overall this was a book that embraces classic fantasy, and clearly wears it's influence of LotR and Narnia on it's sleeve. It manages to have a compelling and complex cast of characters, emotional moments, and gorgeous writing. Even if I will say the dialogue is definitely not as smooth as Al-Rassan or even Tigana.
7.7/10
This is Guy Gavriel Kay's debut novel, and I have been told, his worst book.
It was pretty darn good
It did have some issues though, and made a strange combination of small bits of being amateurish and brilliant.
The premise is a portal fantasy, 5 Toronto students meet a wizard, and get teleported into Fionavar, the first of all the alternate worlds.
This world has all the stuff you would expect in classic fantasy. It's got a dark lord who was defeated a thousand years ago and imprisoner beneath a mountain, it's got kings, princes, mages, dwarves, and what are basically high elves.
One thing that was somewhat common in 80s fantasy that it manages to avoid, is the romanization of things that are...not good.
It also is GGK, so the writing itself is really excellent. It isn't quite as smooth as the writing of Tigana or Al-Rassan. But Guy Gavriel Kay could make the most mundane things seem full of grandeur, and beauty, and emotion. Additionally the pacing of this book was pretty spot on. GGK does the thing where halfway through the book at the end of part 2 he moves to a different part of the world, but he also almost instantly got me hooked on that part of the world. Overall this was a pretty eventful book, and the vents happened at a steady and logical place. I will say the characters do not stand out to the degree they do in his later works, and there are decisions and actions they make that just don't fit with their backstory.
Another thing he avoids from 80s fantasy is actually having well fleshed out female characters who seem to play as big or bigger of a role then the guys. Although there is one character who played the getting captured and needs to be rescued role, so I will probably see where that goes.
What may be my biggest criticism is that it seems the Toronto university students adapted unrealistically, and maybe even absurdly quickly to the challenges of a fantasy world. Why are all these people amazing horseback riders. I'm pretty sure riding a warhorse into a fight probably is pretty damm hard, and is not a part of the law curriculum at Toronto University.
Overall this was a book that embraces classic fantasy, and clearly wears it's influence of LotR and Narnia on it's sleeve. It manages to have a compelling and complex cast of characters, emotional moments, and gorgeous writing. Even if I will say the dialogue is definitely not as smooth as Al-Rassan or even Tigana.
7.7/10