The Summer Tree

I'm not a huge fan of crossover fantasy, or any kind of fantasy that attempts to maintain a secondary world alongside the primary. The language was also not entirely to my taste: it was much too conversational and "modern-sounding" (I prefer elevated language in fantasy), and it was too often rather exaggerated and melodramatic. Nonetheless, Kay always kept me curious as to what would happen next, and I'm glad I read this series---it got me into Arthurian literature.

Nostalgia read, sparked by a bookclub desire to read the series. What can I say?

I first read this not long after the series came out (1984 for the first one). I was in my early teens, and there wasn’t much fantasy that felt inclusive of females, stories told in a lush world of sweeping scope. You know how desperate my thirteen year-old self was? Two words: Thomas Covenant. Kay was a refreshing summer breeze, and the writing–oh, the writing! It remained shiny in my memory, musical and strong enough to pull at the heart.

Like many nostalgia reads, I was somewhat afraid to approach it again, afraid it wouldn’t hold up to twenty-five years of memories. However, I found it remained satisfying, almost as delicious, just as emotional and show more evocative, and somehow, even more balanced than I remembered.

Continued at:
http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/the-summer-tree-by-guy-gavriel-kay/ show less

A beautiful work of high fantasy, unsurprisingly similar, and perhaps in response even, to Tolkein. Kay did, after all, work on Tolkien's posthumous tomes. Its recognizable echoes of Tolkein don't, however, cheapen Kay's meticulous and intricately woven work into mere imitation. It is a rich world, shot through with all that I expect from high fantasy: involved history, mythology drawn from our own, characters who inspire empathy, luscious description and epic choices with moral implications. Kay's prose, which risks (and sometimes succumbs to) purple tones, paints his world brightly and richly. An absorbing, compelling, imaginative read and a reminder of why I return to high fantasy again and again.

The Summer Tree, the first in Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry, is high fantasy in the order of The Lord of the Rings and tells the story of five people brought from our world to the realm of Fionavar, which is "the first of all worlds." Our world is just a shadow of Fionavar, and if Fionavar ceases to exist, all the worlds will fail. Loren Silvercloak, the mage who brings the five University students—Kevin, Dave, Paul, Jennifer, and Kim—to the kingdom of Brennin, is fearful of the return of Rakoth Maugrim, who has been bound under the mountain for centuries. When the vigilant rituals fail, he will return to wreak his vengeance on a world that has rejected him. Only the five outsiders can resist him.

Kay mixes a lot of mythologies show more and traditions into this story. Paul's sacrifice on the Summer Tree is unmistakably an echo of another sacrifice on a Tree two thousand years ago in our world. And like Christ, Paul gets to return from death, his sacrifice complete and effective. Arthurian legend also gets some attention in this story and is developed further in the next two books.

Apparently Kay is a much better known figure in the realm of modern fantasy than I suspected; he helped Christopher Tolkien edit his father's sprawling work to posthumously publish The Silmarillion. How do you get that job?

I had high expectations going in, especially for Kay's prose that has been so highly praised by fellow fantasy lovers. And so I was disappointed at some of his odd stylistic choices in this book. Kay certainly has a way of turning a graceful phrase, but I can't stand his habit of fragments. "So and So did this. Which was just what So and So intended." This is okay very occasionally for effect, but on almost every page? It gives me the impression of a ploy for profundity and gets annoying really fast. And yet there are powerful moments in the prose, where Kay really does plunge his reader into the story. Some of his descriptions are lovely.

I could have done with a lot less of the sleeping around that Kay's characters engage in. They move in and out of sexual encounters with no residual effects, no regrets or emotional repercussions. Sorry, I just don't buy it. And while we're on the subject, there is a graphic rape scene that is not appropriate for younger readers.

Other readers cautioned me that the Fionavar Tapestry is not Kay's best work, and although I enjoyed it, I am looking forward to reading more of his work and seeing him improve. show less

I need to say upfront that this is a hard novel to get into and begin to feel a connection to its characters. More times than enough the reader will be overcome by the feeling that the contents are all too familiar, and they would be right as it gives more than a passing nod to some of the better known epic fantasy novels out there; it fully embraces themes, countries and characters, but this isn’t a bad mark that I can hold against this book.

In the beginning all the characters are portrayed as being rather one-dimensional, their conversation is stilted and they almost appear to be awkward appearing on the pages of the book, but as the storyline progresses and the reader begins to learn more about these people they visibly develop and show more grow into true three-dimensional characters before the readers eyes, and a connection is made. With a skilful hand the Author is able to turn trite and shallow characters into fascinating, enigmatic people the reader takes a real interest in.

The book itself is full of the modern and classic, the mystic and mysterious, tragedy and victory all set in the flowing and expansive locations of a fantasy world that weaves its spell and stretches the imagination with each page. It doesn’t matter if the locales seem familiar; it is the way the Author takes the familiar and turns it into something new that makes this book wondrous.

So why only four thumbs; it just wasn’t long enough and this will mean I will definitely be picking up other books in this series to continue the adventure. Yes, I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of the fantasy genre, and those who are looking for a new, but at the same time oddly familiar read.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/01/10/review/


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. show less

"In the first book of the Fionavar tapestry, Kay introduces an intricate world, complicated plot, and a whole cornucopia of characters. This is pure fantasy, in the style of Tolkien, yet unique in the elements it brings together. I have a particular fascination with world myths - the stories that humanity tells in every place, in every age, over and over - and the Fionavar tapestry weaves and layers many of the most powerful, showing the depth of overlap and the consistency of theme. Kay's language is not always easy to follow, and the book's complexity demand attention and effort from the reader. The reader will be rewarded by an aborbing plot, complex emotion, and a stunning picture of humanity against the backdrop of our most deeply show more held beliefs.[return][return]Normally, since this is a series book, I'd put an in-depth plot summary to help myself remember what happened, one book to the next. This plot is simply too complicated for that. I highly recommend reading all three parts of the trilogy back-to-back." show less

This book has been on my to-read list for a long time. I've read other Kay (and loved it all), but for some reason I just kept putting this one off. Every time I decided it was time to jump in, I'd read the blurb and decide to go with something else. "Five men and women find themselves flung into the magical land of Fionavar, First of all Worlds." Yeah.. About that.. The whole magically transported into a fantasy world thing? Thanks but no thanks. It just doesn't do it for me.

So needless to say, I went into this sort of dreading it and not really expecting to like it. And for about the first 25 - 30% of the story, it lived up to that expectation. One of my biggest gripes with the transported into a fantasy world thing is how show more unbelievable trusting people are. "Hey! I can do magic! We're going to take you to a magical world to meet our King! Are you in?" And of course... They're in. And when it actually happens, when they actually pop into existence in another world, complete acceptance. I don't know about you, but if it were me... First, I'd think whoever was asking me to go was on drugs, and I would call the police so they could come pick up the crazy man wearing a robe... Then, if I still managed to somehow make it to the other world, I'd kick the crazy man's ass thinking that they somehow managed to drug me.

So like I said.. Auto-strike against it. Another problem I had with the first 30%, there are a lot of main characters. The POV bounces around a lot, and with so many characters, you don't have much time to connect to any of them. I spent a lot of time forgetting who was who, and then figuring it out and not really caring.. It was not a good time.

But then somewhere around chapter seven (about 40%), it all clicked. And after that... Wow. It was beautiful. I was moved over and over again by the story, the writing, the characters... Everything. It was so strange... I was pretty much committed to not really liking this one, and then all of a sudden I feel myself tearing up, my heart pounding, completely wrapped up in the words I was reading. I went from forcing myself to pick it up and read a little, to hating the fact that my lunch break was over and I had to put it down. Suddenly the characters who I had spend the first 30% feeling disconnected from came alive to me. And when the characters came alive.. So did the world.

So against all odds, I ended up really loving this book. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy, this is how good traditional fantasy is done. I'm only giving it 4 stars instead of 5, because of the rocky start, but depending on how the rest of the story plays out.. I have a feeling this will be jumping onto my favorites shelf very soon. show less