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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I don't find that the switching between fantasy and 1980s Toronto, really works all that well. It wasn't really clear from this first book that the series is meant to be a compilation of mythologies and instead seems like an overly blatant allegory of the Jesus sacrifice set to mediaeval times.
Partly this is due to the writing. The author still seems to be finding his voice in this book and has trouble switching between the very different voices in this book.
There are however, some really interesting plot elements, and an originality, even with old material that really works. The storyline is compelling and will lead me to read the next 2 books.
Partly this is due to the writing. The author still seems to be finding his voice in this book and has trouble switching between the very different voices in this book.
There are however, some really interesting plot elements, and an originality, even with old material that really works. The storyline is compelling and will lead me to read the next 2 books.
I've been meaning to read this book for forever; I've loved everything else I've read by GGK and this is one of those series that everyone has kept telling me to read.
And it's worth it. GGK is JRRT in the best way--he has a sympathy to the complexity of the world and characters in a way that echoes JRRT.
He also...trips over some of the same things that JRRT does, but he's still miles ahead--especially in terms of female characterization--even than many contemporary authors.
If you've ever wondered what the mythologies of The Dark is Rising Sequence written for adults would be like, it's this.
And it's worth it. GGK is JRRT in the best way--he has a sympathy to the complexity of the world and characters in a way that echoes JRRT.
He also...trips over some of the same things that JRRT does, but he's still miles ahead--especially in terms of female characterization--even than many contemporary authors.
If you've ever wondered what the mythologies of The Dark is Rising Sequence written for adults would be like, it's this.
The way I see it, this book makes a bridge between The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time. So, needless to say, I loved it
I enjoyed this and will probably pick up the other two books in the trilogy. Somebody referred the author to me and I say Thankee
I must be honest and say initially I had a pretty tough time. This is the first high fantasy novel I've read and processing the difficult names and lands without knowing the back-story of the worlds baffled me at first. There is a lot of set-up. I'm used to a narrative beginning pretty quickly, so I think this was a matter of how I'm used to processing information. Once I was a little over 100 pages, the explanations started flowing a bit more freely and I was able to grasp histories based on contexts of other stories that had been told.
Then it took off for me! The basic story line is that five Toronto college students are chosen by Lorenzo (a mage who has taken the form of a college guest speaker) to make the crossing to the world of Fionavar in order to celebrate the reign of the King in their world (one student per each decade of rule). Initially this is head scratching because it seems a bit extreme for a mere celebration. There are deeper meanings and eventual responsibilities bestowed on each one. Droughts and dark threats have been lurking beneath the surface of these celebrations. The regions must find a way to unite against evil forces to save the kingdom kind of thing. Like all distinctive geographic regions, all the areas have their own rituals, leadership, and lifestyles- adding excitement to the mission that must be accomplished.
Kay is a great world builder, and has an amazing imagination. My favorite people in this were highlighted in Part 3..Ivor and his tribe of the plain (Dalrei). I loved the closeness of these people, the loyalty and bonds they had to their lands, and the care they showed each other. I'm most looking forward to their story line in book two. I am a beginner to this genre and perhaps didn't even realize some references (so if you're an avid fantasy reader, help me out!) but I'm sure he was influenced by Tolkien (I believe he edited some of his work).
Okay, I hope this review wasn't confusing. There is such detail that it is hard to summarize succinctly, so I am simply leaving you with my impressions. Some of it was difficult, but now I'm in it and looking forward to seeing where this series goes!
Then it took off for me! The basic story line is that five Toronto college students are chosen by Lorenzo (a mage who has taken the form of a college guest speaker) to make the crossing to the world of Fionavar in order to celebrate the reign of the King in their world (one student per each decade of rule). Initially this is head scratching because it seems a bit extreme for a mere celebration. There are deeper meanings and eventual responsibilities bestowed on each one. Droughts and dark threats have been lurking beneath the surface of these celebrations. The regions must find a way to unite against evil forces to save the kingdom kind of thing. Like all distinctive geographic regions, all the areas have their own rituals, leadership, and lifestyles- adding excitement to the mission that must be accomplished.
Kay is a great world builder, and has an amazing imagination. My favorite people in this were highlighted in Part 3..Ivor and his tribe of the plain (Dalrei). I loved the closeness of these people, the loyalty and bonds they had to their lands, and the care they showed each other. I'm most looking forward to their story line in book two. I am a beginner to this genre and perhaps didn't even realize some references (so if you're an avid fantasy reader, help me out!) but I'm sure he was influenced by Tolkien (I believe he edited some of his work).
Okay, I hope this review wasn't confusing. There is such detail that it is hard to summarize succinctly, so I am simply leaving you with my impressions. Some of it was difficult, but now I'm in it and looking forward to seeing where this series goes!
I read this series in high school and adored it, so I decided it was time to dive back into the world. I've read other Kay since, and I've liked every one.
Unfortunately, Summer Tree does suffer from "written in the 1980s" syndrome. Fantasy has just gotten SO MUCH better since then, as has Kay's writing (his recent stuff is phenomenal). It's VERY Lord of the Rings, with some Norse mythology thrown in for kicks. Humans, elves, dwarves, evil power vanquished and rising again, the whole nine yards. I really enjoyed Dave's character, but everyone else felt sort of interchangeable, and there's a whole lot of ancient lore that bogs the story down.
Still, I found myself being drawn in by the plot and the high tensions, and I genuinely liked the section with Dave and the Riders. The horrible rapey stuff at the end was really unnecessary (oh 1980s, I'm glad you're over), and I could have done without the friends letting their suicidal friend kill himself since it was for a good cause... ahem. Yeah. But overall, it had enough going for it that nostalgia won through.
I wouldn't recommend it to a new reader of Kay, because he has far better books, but at some point I will likely read the next one.
Unfortunately, Summer Tree does suffer from "written in the 1980s" syndrome. Fantasy has just gotten SO MUCH better since then, as has Kay's writing (his recent stuff is phenomenal). It's VERY Lord of the Rings, with some Norse mythology thrown in for kicks. Humans, elves, dwarves, evil power vanquished and rising again, the whole nine yards. I really enjoyed Dave's character, but everyone else felt sort of interchangeable, and there's a whole lot of ancient lore that bogs the story down.
Still, I found myself being drawn in by the plot and the high tensions, and I genuinely liked the section with Dave and the Riders. The horrible rapey stuff at the end was really unnecessary (oh 1980s, I'm glad you're over), and I could have done without the friends letting their suicidal friend kill himself since it was for a good cause... ahem. Yeah. But overall, it had enough going for it that nostalgia won through.
I wouldn't recommend it to a new reader of Kay, because he has far better books, but at some point I will likely read the next one.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Based on the two [a:Guy Gavriel Kay|60177|Guy Gavriel Kay|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1218804723p2/60177.jpg] books I have read, I think I will continue to find his work enjoyable, but hardly world-changing or meaningful. This book has a definite "Narnia for older people" feeling to it, which I found charming. It had its silly moments, some jarring, but also managed to be frequently touching. Basically, it's well-done for a fun, light fantasy read.
Excellent book, very interesting, suspense, surprises, EMOTIONS, moving and touching.
I don't read a lot of fantasy. I won't go on too much of a rant here, but frankly, my main reason for that is that most of it is either just plain stupid, or it's ridiculously and self-indulgently long (Seriously, the only reason I can think of for a story to be twelve (or fourteen) 500+ page books long is because the author is under the impression that every idea he or she has for their characters simply must be included, and really, it doesn't.). I very much believe that, as a general rule, it takes much more skill and talent to take an epic story and tell it well in fewer words.
And that is precisely what Guy Gavriel Kay does, and why he's one of the few fantasy authors I've read in a long time. He's my husband's favourite, and this trilogy is apparently considered a pretty major work in the genre, as stated above, so I thought I'd try it out. I enjoyed The Sarantine Mosaic, and so far, this is even better. One of the things that bothered me a bit about the Sarantine books was that Kay would tell us certain things about characters, but would not demonstrate that. In The Summer Tree, he doesn't do that. He tells very little about his characters in this book, but shows you enough to paint very clear pictures of them all. The things they do and say and think make sense, and without the constant telling, it all flows and the characters just evolve naturally.
Plot-wise, this book did take a while to pick up, but that's to be expected in book 1 of a fantasy trilogy. A certain amount of time has to be devoted to setting up the world and the situation, since it's not a given the way it is in a book set in our own world. But it wasn't much farther than about halfway through, when Paul volunteers for the Tree, that I felt that I was fully in, and as the book is only 300 pages long in the first place, that's pretty darn good. (The second book, which I've started, hits you in the gut at page 6, so I have very high hopes for it.)
One thing I find somewhat fascinating about this story (so far, at least) is that, while it's obviously setting up for an epic war, Kay has made the story feel much more immediate and personal. Another reason I don't generally care for much fantasy is because really, after you've read a few epic battles between good and evil (which, let's face it, is the main gist of most high fantasy), they all kind of start to blend together. This one is different. It's written in an intensely personal way, to draw you in slowly, and it's much more interesting to read than descriptions of huge battles are. He's given each of the five a journey, and tied them together in a cohesive way, although by the end of book 1, Jennifer's journey is really just starting, and we still don't really know what Kevin's journey will be yet. But Kim has become a seer, Dave has found a place among the Dalrei, and Paul's sacrifice and resurrection has made him a hugely important figure. Not quite sure precisely how yet, but that's the great thing about reading.
In any case, I do expect the epic factor to be ramped up a bit in the next two books, but he's certainly off to a brilliant start, with a story that is simple and complex, and truly beautiful. I don't read fantasy, but I think I'm officially sold on Kay.
And that is precisely what Guy Gavriel Kay does, and why he's one of the few fantasy authors I've read in a long time. He's my husband's favourite, and this trilogy is apparently considered a pretty major work in the genre, as stated above, so I thought I'd try it out. I enjoyed The Sarantine Mosaic, and so far, this is even better. One of the things that bothered me a bit about the Sarantine books was that Kay would tell us certain things about characters, but would not demonstrate that. In The Summer Tree, he doesn't do that. He tells very little about his characters in this book, but shows you enough to paint very clear pictures of them all. The things they do and say and think make sense, and without the constant telling, it all flows and the characters just evolve naturally.
Plot-wise, this book did take a while to pick up, but that's to be expected in book 1 of a fantasy trilogy. A certain amount of time has to be devoted to setting up the world and the situation, since it's not a given the way it is in a book set in our own world. But it wasn't much farther than about halfway through, when Paul volunteers for the Tree, that I felt that I was fully in, and as the book is only 300 pages long in the first place, that's pretty darn good. (The second book, which I've started, hits you in the gut at page 6, so I have very high hopes for it.)
One thing I find somewhat fascinating about this story (so far, at least) is that, while it's obviously setting up for an epic war, Kay has made the story feel much more immediate and personal. Another reason I don't generally care for much fantasy is because really, after you've read a few epic battles between good and evil (which, let's face it, is the main gist of most high fantasy), they all kind of start to blend together. This one is different. It's written in an intensely personal way, to draw you in slowly, and it's much more interesting to read than descriptions of huge battles are. He's given each of the five a journey, and tied them together in a cohesive way, although by the end of book 1, Jennifer's journey is really just starting, and we still don't really know what Kevin's journey will be yet. But Kim has become a seer, Dave has found a place among the Dalrei, and Paul's sacrifice and resurrection has made him a hugely important figure. Not quite sure precisely how yet, but that's the great thing about reading.
In any case, I do expect the epic factor to be ramped up a bit in the next two books, but he's certainly off to a brilliant start, with a story that is simple and complex, and truly beautiful. I don't read fantasy, but I think I'm officially sold on Kay.