Reviews - The Summer Tree | The StoryGraph

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

550 reviews for:

I started this series because I really loved Tigana. I think the premise of The Summer Tree was very interesting because it reminded me of an adult version of Narnia or, my childhood favorite, Inkheart. I also enjoyed the writing style which was full of beautiful descriptions and added suspense to the story. However, listening to the audiobook, I often found myself losing focus, which is not normal for me. I think it’s because the main characters felt very two dimensional, interchangeable, and hard to emphasize with/ hard to care about. I also felt like the scenes were not balanced well, and either felt a scene was too short or way too long. One of the characters is absent for the majority of the book, and the whole time I was wondering what was happening with him; maybe that also distracted from the rest of the plot. When we finally come back to him, his scenes are basically in the past and then lead up to what had already happened with the rest of the characters. This scene scrambling just felt odd because his scenes could have just been interspersed with the others and the timeline would have felt more natural. Anyways, I’m glad the sequel had a summary of the plot of The Summer Tree in the beginning because I definitely missed some things, but I’m not sure if I’ll make it to the third book.

jemini's review against another edition

5.0

I wasn’t immediately invested in the story but really grew immersed with how it all unfolded. A lot of characters and POVs were introduced which was overwhelming, and even now that I finished, I’m still lost on some of the names or nicknames. Still, this was such an enchanting fantasy and I’ve already started on the sequel.

The writing is so lush and gorgeous. It’s a beautifully written story. The pacing was perfect, the switch between POVs and storylines was perfect. A very, very solid read.

llsmith05's review against another edition

5.0

maybe this isn't a 5 star book objectively, but it got me into fantasy as much as The Hobbit did, and the nostalgia alone holds up a reread for me.

phunkypbj's review against another edition

4.0

I just re-read this book because after reading [b:Tigana|104089|Tigana|Guy Gavriel Kay|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1241516828s/104089.jpg|1907200] and loving it so much, I decided I wanted to finish this trilogy. I didn't change my star-rating on the second time through--still four stars. The book owes a lot to [b:Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156043001s/33.jpg|3462456] (angry forests, elf-like race that is leaving to a distant land, etc..) but it also has a depth of character that Tolkien never really accomplished. Kay has a gift for transposing current themes that resonate onto a fully-realized fantasy realm (although this does take place partially in the "real" world). The hopes and fears and inner turmoil of the five main characters are either magnified or realized in Fionavar in a really interesting way--some being nearly broken, others realizing their full potential for the first time. Kay also has a gift for, in a relatively short time, producing a sense of intimacy between characters. Dave's relationship with the Dalrei, in particular, was poignant.

tallain's review against another edition

4.0

Standard portal fantasy is elevated by fantastically earnest storytelling and actual-by-golly 3D characters. Kay definitely improved over the years, but even here he's better than most.