The Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry, Book 1)

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Summary: Spectacular!!!
Review: I picked up this book when it first came out. I sat down and read it until the very last page, the next day I went to the bookstore to buy the Wandering Fire, but to my dismay it was not available yet!! When it finally came out I bought a copy. This time I read it slowly savouring every page, I laughed, I cried, I was taken away to a world that offers hope in times of darkness, where friendship and love can win in the end, even though sacrifices have to be made!! I have read the Fionavar Tapestry over and over and over again. This trilogy is my all time favourite and whenever I am feeling overwhelmed I read them again!! I named my children Darien and Rachel as a sort of tribute to Guy Gavriel Kay and to my favourite character Paul Schafer. There is only one thing i would like to know when will the next Guy Gavriel Kay masterpiece become available

Rating:
Summary: Wow. Just.. Wow!
Review: It is a most stimulating read that will transport you away from this world, like very few others. To give you a better idea of my rating, these following books I have rated as similar quality: Lord Of The Rings The Dune Series by Frank Herbert It's well worth the money. There is a publication in existance with all three books in one

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Summary: I WOULD DIE FOR THIS MAN
Review: Well, I could gush some more about this man, but you know what? You're damn right I will! He's superb! Reading him is like reading a poem...and not just a poem, but a Woodsworth, at that. His skill, not only with words...the way they carry you up and down on the waves of emotion...but also with his sense of realism and simplicity. It's just indescribable what he can make you feel.

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Summary: Guy Gavriel Kay at his stunningly beautiful best.
Review: This, the first volume of the Fionavar Tapestry, is my personal favorite among the books that Kay has written. Although each of his works is well-researched, with highly developed characters, believeable plots, and, most importantly, the most elegant and poetic writing this side of Robertson Davies, "The Summer Tree" surpasses them all for sheer heartbreaking loveliness. The plot of "The Summer Tree" is often compared to that of Tolkien, and it is true that Kay uses many elements of Tolkien's universe -- but Tolkien himself was borrowing heavily from mythology, and I don't think the derivation of plot elements harms the book as a whole. Kay's main story -- that of the five grad students who are brought to a mirror world of their own free will and become its most important weapons in its fight against destruction -- is familiar in its themes of good vs. evil, outsiders saving the day, culture shock, etc. However, it is immeasurably enriched by the numerous subplots involving, among other things, a clandestine visit to the nearby Garden Country which is tense, romantic, and hilarious all at the same time. My strongest praise must be saved, however, for the characterization of three men. Kevin Laine, a law student from our world, is drawn with a fine hand. Kay's subtlety shows in the fact that a beautifully understated two-page scene -- Kevin drinking tea with his father -- at the beginning of the book permeates the reader's view for the rest of the book. Every time Kevin speaks or acts his relationship with his father is somehow there; it is impossible to forget him. Yet Kevin is also a clear and independent person in his own right. Diarmuid, the brilliant, brittle Prince of the realm the five students come to, is the second of the great characters here. He is a man who is always and never serious; his followers adore him but, although he makes a great show of public arrogance and is obviously deserving of his following, it quickly becomes clear that he does not think highly of himself. He is a man deprived of love from the sources he most desperately wanted it from, and a facsinating character study. Paul Schaefer is the man you will reread this book for until it is worn out. Paul is in such pain when this book starts that it hurts the reader to look too closely. His love, the beautiful cellist Rachel Kincaid, was killed a year ago in an car accident not five minutes after she told Paul -- the driver -- that she was leaving him. Now, heart, soul, and mind still raw, he makes himself listen over and over to the recording of her graduation recital and can't force himself to cry at the second movement of the Brahms, the one where she had told him to listen for her love coming through the music. Irony twines with heartbreak in this image of music, the all-important metaphor for Paul's story. In despair, Paul finally offers himself up as a sacrifice to save a world he was not born into. Seeing the act as a penance, he hangs upon the titular Summer Tree for three days and three nights; if he can live through that time, the god whose charge the tree is in will send the rain which will save the land. Paul's catharsis is linked to the land's as he undergoes the final test of his courage: to delve into the twisted, wrecked recesses of his memories and discover the truth about what happened between him and Rachel. The man who emerges on the other side, grieving but no longer despairing, is marked by the god. He has won both of his battles. "The Summer Tree" is a dark fantasy, one which confronts head-on the pain, shame, and agony of its characters as well as the true evil of the dark force which would overcome the world of Fionavar, a force of which much more is revealed in the next two books. Yet the journeys of all the major characters show not only hardship but the growth it brings. The transformation of Paul Schaefer in particular demonstrates Kay's mastery: in Paul we see a hard clear light of hope emerging from the darkness of his life. And the writing, as I have said, is lyrical beyond almost anything I have ever read; this style in itself, with its descriptive force, points the way towards the fact that adversity only serves to strengthen the heroes' hearts. "The Summer Tree" is a triumph which goes beyond the skill of words to describe. The only way to understand the true achievement of its author is to remember what is written on Christopher Wren's tombstone inside St. Paul's Cathedral: "If you would see his monument, look around you."

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Summary: A must have for the serious SciFi / Fantasy fan
Review: Guy Gavriel Kay does a wonderful job of blending many of the myths that we know today into a story that can only be called beautiful. As most Fantasy stories go this is good against evil however, the myths of Celtic lore are blended into the story with a cast of heros that you could find at the state university. Well done!

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Summary: A well woven blanket tale, as should any tapestry be seen.
Review: The author is one of my favourites, and this book is what made him so. The plot draws you into the lives of Jennifer, Paul, Dave, Kevin, and Kimberly. Similarly, you are transported into the middle of a political and magical battle of Fionavar. The story itself may not be unique, but the fact that it can draw me back to read it five times is a mark in its favor. In fact, the story was so well written that it gives the readernew insights into the way our world works. My hat off to Mr. Kay, as he has earned a place in the annals of history.

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Summary: If I were stuck on an island this would be the book to have
Review: This is one of the best set of books I have ever!! read The second book is a little weak but well woth the time and effort to read all three books!!!!!

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Summary: I wanted to like it more than I did.....
Review: Kay has some interesting ideas, but I was a little surprised in reading that most reviewers liked the Summer Tree so much. I found it very much needed the directing of a really good editor who could point out that making a jumble of a plot instead of a more straightforward story is going to disturb even those readers who are fairly bright. I confess that I've not read a lot of fantasies -- Lewis, Tolkien, L'Engle, Pullman, Heinlein, Azimov... and not for years. Lately, I was introduced to Robin Hobb and have to admit that after her book in nine volumes, nothing could compete with her glittering writing, nor her literary bent. This is by way of admitting that comparisons are odious.[G] I shall read the other two Kay books in the Fionavar trilogy and I also have Tigana and two other of his books. I also have three George R.R. Martin books -- clearly, I'm on a kick. It may also help to know that I'm seventy-four and might have other -- stronger -- views about reading material.

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Summary: This is really a classic???
Review: This is really a classic fantasy trilogy? This is really the guy who wrote Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, and The Lions of Al Rassan? I must be missing something. I know that millions of people should not be able to be this wrong, but in this case they most certainly are.

This is probably one of the worst fantasy novels I have ever read. Nothing that happens seems to be natural, but happens because the author wants it to happen. No characters seem to be alive, but only exist because the author needs them to exist. The conversations are stilted and dull. Nothing works in this novel.

In the reviews, there seems to be a consensus that things get better later in the series, but I say so what? This book stinks and the fact is there are better starts to better series. The sad thing is that I was / am a big Kay fan.

If you like the standard, derivative, sub par, fantasy, then eat your heart our. If you are like me and read Tigana, read the Lions of Al Rassan, A Song for Arbonne, read the Sarantine Mosaic, heard that Kay's first work was a trilogy and got real excited to see what he could do with traditional fantasy, then do not bother. Trust me, you will be very disappointed.

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Summary: "We are the Children of Light, and the Dark is rising"
Review: The first book in the Fionavar Tapestry begins in Toronto when five university students attend a lecture given by a man named Lorenzo Marcus. Kim, Jennifer, Paul, Dave, and Kevin are asked to meet privately with the man after the lecture and their lives are changed forever. Marcus is actually a mage named Loren Silvercloak and he travelled to Toronto from Fionavar, the "First of all the worlds." He needs the help of these young people because there is an ancient evil stirring in Fionavar and he sensed that they would be instrumental in the battle.

The five agree to travel with Loren and in Fionavar, they discover their five very different destinies. Kim, who has always had psychic powers, becomes the next Seer of Brennin. Paul, who has never forgiven himself for his girlfriend Rachel's death, offers to sacrifice himself on the Summer Tree to bring rain to the scorched land, with unexpected results.

The battle that Loren had forseen begins when the God Rakoth, "The Unraveller" frees himself from his mountain prisoner in the north of Fionavar. He is fueled by his need for revenge and a desire to destroy the world. Then, Jennifer is kidnapped and taken to his mountain fortress. The wranggling for power in the Royal Court of Brennin must be put aside to rally under the leadership of a once exiled king. All of the peoples of Fionavar must unite, with the help of the God and the Goddess, to defeat Rakoth and rescue Jennifer.

This is an exciting and beautifully written first installment of the series and will leave readers eager to get their hands on the next book, "The Wandering Fire." I think I'm one of the few people that wasn't offended by his use of some of Tolkien's ideas (I save my anger for such blatant Tolkien rip-offs as Terry Brook's amazingly bad, "Sword of Shannara"). But, back to Kay, he takes these ideas and really makes them his own. Tolkien's story takes place entirely in the fantasy world of Middle-Earth but Kay takes four ordinary students from our world and puts them in a land of fantasy where they hold the key to that world's fate. And he makes them more sympathetic and more worthy of our admiration by giving them their own emotional demons that they must battle. Yes, Kaye does take some obvious ideas from Tolkien, such as the lios alfar (compare to the elves) and their mythic home in the West. But you must remember that he did help to edit Tolkien's "The Silmarillion" and how could you not want to emulate such brilliance? I understand some of the criticism, but in some cases, I really think it's a bit too harsh. The story catches hold of you from the beginning and never lets go. It is at times poetic and tries to give some sense of the depth of history of Fionavar (although it never reaches the level of Tolkien in this case). But it is still a great read and I think we should save such harsh criticism for fantasy authors who are more deserving of our loathing.