The Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry, #1) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Mar 25, 2013 Bradley rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I'm of two minds with this work. I think I'd rather give this one a 3.5 on sheer enjoyability, having the reaction that I'd read this all before, and it's pacing was slow, slow, slow, but after having read it and having some thoughts as to what Kay was trying to accomplish, I'm revising it up to a solid 4.

There is a lot to love in this novel, but unfortunately, it takes a long time for it to develop and ripen. Right off the bat, I noticed that this was taking an old trick that so much Fantasy (a I'm of two minds with this work. I think I'd rather give this one a 3.5 on sheer enjoyability, having the reaction that I'd read this all before, and it's pacing was slow, slow, slow, but after having read it and having some thoughts as to what Kay was trying to accomplish, I'm revising it up to a solid 4.

There is a lot to love in this novel, but unfortunately, it takes a long time for it to develop and ripen. Right off the bat, I noticed that this was taking an old trick that so much Fantasy (and much SF) seems almost "Required", coming from the late seventies and eighties. I'm referring to the need to pull ordinary people from our modern world and putting them dab square in a Fantasy. (I'm looking at you, Donaldson and Zelazny.)

I don't like it. I never really have. The character's lives are usually unremarkable in the real world and using them as a hook in a Fish-Out-Of-Water tale tends to get very old, very quickly. Too much time is spent acclimating the reader into either a rich tapestry of mythos and worldbuilding, or a flat and slow slog through old themes done YET AGAIN.

This one starts out that way, and I groaned. I truly don't mind being thrown head first into a rich tapestry without any foreplay, and that is what I love most about modern Fantasy titles. I call it respect for the reader. Drawing out a tale to poke the butterflies and unicorns or to see how grand the King and Kingdom is as a modern yokel just bores the living shit out of me. That being said, this novel wasn't too bad. It was slow and the general pacing could have been much improved, whether by actual plot or just the illusion of things happening, but once I got over that, I discovered that the whole book was nothing more than a novel about character discovery. There's a good deal of Tolkeinish things going on, including names and events we aren't privy to yet, and may never be. We've got standard Fantasy tropes everywhere we look. It's not really about that. It's about the character growth.

Something big does happen, but it's more of a prelude to the rest of the novels.

What really struck me as Important in this read was the language that Kay used. I'm not referring to dialogue. The dialogue was functional. No, I'm referring to the placement of words, the economy, and the sheer beauty of what was being conveyed. If I wanted a rip-roaring fantasy tale, I came to the wrong place. If I wanted beautifully written prose, minus the dialogue, then I definitely hit the lottery. I got into the book by this door, and it continued to surprise and amaze. The characters who first started pretty flat began showing grand definition by way of their actions. They grew. Some of them grew a lot. Others just grew more powerful.

There weren't any glowing light shows or epic battles, save for a few economical scenes that were positively Spartan or even Hemingway in their brevity, and I might have taken umbrage at that, because I like exciting scenes, but they were written pretty and evocative, if short, and they were good enough that I couldn't help being extremely impressed.

It took a long time to get into this novel, but I'll give it this: Once I did get going, I was good to go. I'm now in a state of mind that I could keep going with this tale forever.
It reminds me of later works that are so huge (I'm looking at you, WoT) that it takes 4-5 books before we start to even LIKE a particular character, or get impressed with how much he's developed.

It's a DAMN GOOD THING that this is a trilogy, or I'd probably throw it at someone. (I'm looking at you, Kay.)

...more

33 likes · Like · see review

Dec 15, 2015 Lindsay rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review is from my reread of this series in 2015/16.

The Fionavar Tapestry was a formative work for me in many ways, with my first read from soon after they came out in the 80s and with multiple rereads since. I mention this to explain why I'm not completely objective on them, as there are several issues from the lens of a 21st century reader including the way some of the women are portrayed here and the lack diversity in a book set across multiple countries and peoples that is meant to be th ...more

26 likes · Like · see review

Sep 22, 2015 Amanda rated it it was ok

A bunch of my friends just love this series but unfortunately it just didn't click for me. I think if I had read it when I was a teenager I would have liked it better. I just couldn't get into the story or the characters. I didn't hate it, just not for me. ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Jan 23, 2014 Robyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015

This is the kind of high fantasy that I can easily see re-reading, and rather wish I had come to earlier in life. (It's definitely not a kid's book, but I'd almost rather my fictional progeny read this than Narnia.) Kay takes touchstones from mythology and weaves them together in a haunting opener to this trilogy about the first world and the impact five people from our own world have on it, in the midst of an epic struggle between good and evil.

It's not without it's issues, but they're easily ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Oct 22, 2014 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy-challenge-2015, audio

I really enjoyed this story. I did have a few quibbles, mainly that the way that the story had people from our world transported into this fantasy world was quite jarring. I can see where this is his first novel but it's a novel of an author finding his sea legs and I'm looking forward to how the rest of the series develops. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Dec 20, 2015 Nathan rated it liked it

It took a long time for me to connect with any of the characters, but once I did I enjoyed the tale. This definitely isn't one where you can just read the first book and feel like you've gotten a complete story. Kay does pick a decent pause point to end book one. I'm looking forward to the next volume. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Oct 20, 2016 Dawn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, can-lit, series-abandoned, audiobook

I have to say that I think this is a well written book and once through most of the introductions, the series feels like it has great potential. The book is definitely more interesting through the second half versus the first.
But I am not, at all, a fan of books that involve characters from our current world being transported anywhere, never mind to an entirely fantasy, magical world and I could not get over that aspect of the story enough to enjoy it.

5 likes · Like · see review