Rating: 
Summary: excellent, where is the sequel?
Review: i loved it and need to get the second book.
Rating:
Summary: rich and deeply textured high fantasy
Review: In Naskeag Falls, Maine, Maureen Pierce is thought of as the mad one who talks to trees and receives responses from the woody dwellers. She attended a four-year college but works at a menial job while her sister went to a technical school and makes a good living with benefits. Maureen is afraid of men so when one follows her home one night, she is grateful for the intervention of Brian Albion.Maureen doesn't know that Brian is a Pendragon, a being whose job it is to keep apart the world of the Old Ones separate from that of the humans. Brian realizes that Maureen is an Old One and that the being who tried to abduct her was trying to take her back to The Summer Country where he can take her for a mate. Maureen doesn't believe him so that when another old one uses glamour to seduce her into coming to THE SUMMER COUNTRY, she eagerly goes. her sister follows her thee along with Brian and Jo's boyfriend. That is when the battle between good and evil really begins. This stand alone novel is a rich and deeply textured high fantasy novel that will appeal to readers who want to visit a land that never was but should have been. Maureen is an interesting protagonist who doesn't fit in the human world but is right at home in THE SUMMER COUNTRY. It's hard to believe this is James A. Hetley's first novel because it is so well constructed, colorful and imaginative that it seemingly defies the laws of writing as only a seasoned vet could have written this. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous Blending of Fantasy and Real World
Review: Jim Hetley does a marvelous job of blending modern day Maine to his Celtic Fantasy universe "Summer Country." Hetley starts the book having us follow Maureen who seems quite paranoid; it turns out that she has reason to be! Shining knight Brian comes to her rescue and vanquishes her foe...oh, wait...he isn't a knight. Maureen lets him walk her home, where she dumps him upon finding her "boyfriend" in bed with her sister Jo. Hetley's characterization is phenominal and true to life. His settings are detailed, but not intrusive. If you like extraordinary fantasy, dragons, magic and a good read, you will like this book. I did. I've already read it twice! Candy
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous Blending of Fantasy and Real World
Review: Jim Hetley does a marvelous job of blending modern day Maine to his Celtic Fantasy universe "Summer Country." Hetley starts the book having us follow Maureen who seems quite paranoid; it turns out that she has reason to be! Shining knight Brian comes to her rescue and vanquishes her foe...oh, wait...he isn't a knight. Maureen lets him walk her home, where she dumps him upon finding her "boyfriend" in bed with her sister Jo. Hetley's characterization is phenominal and true to life. His settings are detailed, but not intrusive. If you like extraordinary fantasy, dragons, magic and a good read, you will like this book. I did. I've already read it twice! Candy
Rating:
Summary: Darkly Different Read!
Review: Maureen Pierce, a 30 year old stuck in a dead end job, is going crazy. Talking to trees, petrified of all men, and hearing voices that no one else hears, her sister Jo is fed up. With a new man in her life, Jo doesn't need the baggage her sister presents and threatens to kick her out of the house...that is, until a tall, blonde stranger walked into Maureen's life.
Brian Arthur Pendragon Albion is a Templar, of a race of Ancient Ones from a magical land three steps away in any direction. The Summer Country is a place where talented witches shape the land, and everything is only as good or bad as you make it. Brian scents the power in Maureen's blood, and that one smell tells him that she is also an Ancient One, separated from her true home.
Through the work of a ruthless dark witch, Brian, Maureen, Jo, and Jo's fiancé all end up in the Summer Country. Maureen captured by a warlord, Brian serving as a pleasure slave, and Jo and her fiancé trapped as blood sacrifices to the land. Does Maureen have the power she needs to escaper her prison and save the others?
With this novel, James A. Hetley has woven a mystical Celtic world that is as dark as it is beautiful. Unlike most Celtic novels on the shelf today, he doesn't shy away from the blacker side of Celtic myths, and that is what makes the book so unique and wonderful. The characters are engaging and the dialogue true to life, the villains wonderfully crafted and the world richly described. This book is a fabulous debut from a new writer, and I hope Hetley continues in this same vein for future books.
Rating: 
Summary: A Nice Try, but No Go
Review: Sometimes I have to wonder if I read the same book as some of these highly exuberant reviewers. Not to say the book was bad; it wasn't, but it wasn't good either.
It could have been good. The premise is interesting, the writing - although a bit too crisp Hemingway-like for me - was decent and the characterization depthful. The book, however, fell prey to the author's own lofty expectations, lack of research - problems common to first timers. (But not all.)
First of all, this book mixes Arthurian legend - mainly of the La Mort D'Arthur vein - with Pagan mythology, and fails. Not to say the two can't mix - and frankly, authors such as Marion Zimmer Bradley have done a beautiful job of pairing the two - but Hetley has not spent enough time in the library researching the Arthurian mythology. Some of the ideas used are misappropriated. His use of the legends is more in at home in superficial tv series than a book named, 'The Summer Country'.
This book also seems confused about what it wants to be about. Is it about the psychological traumas of a character? Is it about the power struggles in the Summer Country? Is it about Christianity versus Paganism? Is it about genetics? The book would have been much more successful if the author had focused on one or two main points and elaborated on them, rather than trying to mish-mash everything he wants to talk about together.
The usage of genetics and science in general is particurally disturbing, especially to myself, a scientist. Some of the references to genetics are outrightly incorrect, confused, or lacking. And in fact, I don't believe the whole discussion of genes needed to be included; not only was it done incorrectly, it weighed down the book and added in superfluous information.
Overall, the book could have been so good - if the author had done more research and more editting.
Rating:
Summary: Avid Reader & Reviewer
Review: The Summer Country by James A. Hetley is a wonderful first novel not to be missed. Maureen Pierce is a very troubled young woman. She was sexually abused as a child, and as a result feels damaged. She feels like she wears a psychic chastity belt as a result of the years of abuse. Maureen is unable to trust any man and has allowed her fears to push her into an existence that she loathes. Her sister, Jo has just stolen the man Maureen has spent the past two months allowing to get close to her - David. The betrayal she feels erodes any sense of self-esteem she has fought for. One fateful evening, Maureen is attacked in an alley by a very strange being - almost looks like a troll. Maureen's worst fear has come true - someone is attacking her. To the rescue comes a knight in shinning armor - Brian Albion - a Pendragon Knight. Brian dispenses with Maureen's attacker and then continues to explain to Maureen that she is not a normal woman. She is a carrier of the 'Old Blood' and unaware of its power. The Old World is literally the old world of magic. It's called the Summer Country and is home to magical beings of all kinds. Maureen's power is very desirable to the residents of the Summer Country. Most of the residents of this Celtic Otherworld are sterile. Maureen is not and that makes her a target. Women in the Summer Country are either sorceress or slaves. Dougal MacKenzie has decided Maureen is his perfect mate and he will do anything to posses her and her future children. Brian has been sent to protect Maureen as best he can. The Pendragon Knight's are all that stand between the Summer Country and the 'real' world. Maureen does not play the damsel in distress and fights any protective measure Brian takes. The Summer Country is a very fun book to read. It deals with many dark emotions, but is tempered by true love and friendship. The characters are well written and diverse. Maureen is such a wonderfully damaged person who decides to live and overcome her demons. Charles de Lint says it best - "Like an old Irish whiskey - dark and smoky, abounding in flavor and detail .... All the tings a good novel should be." The Summer Country is James A. Hetley's first novel. The sequel, the Winter Oak will be published in November, 2004. According to the author's website, he is an architect and retired Kempo karate instructor who lives in Maine. He also served three years in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, and has worked such diverse jobs as electronics instructor, trash collector, and operating engineer in a refrigeration plant. (...)
Rating:
Summary: The Summer Country...a book worth reading.
Review: The Summer Country is the story of Maureen Pierce, a strong young woman, who is thought by her peers to be stark, raving, bonkers. Whatever the case, there is definitely something different about Maureen. She is terrified of men (due to a horrible experience with an old beau of her sister's), she talks to trees, has a vocabulary that could have come straight out of a Stephen King novel, and carries a gun with her just in case the situation arises. Maureen makes for an excellent heroine.
Maureen's life changes forever when she meets a stranger in a dark alley who saves her life during a fight with another mysterious stranger- and she finds out that she is an Old One (meaning that she is part of an age old bloodline that links her to the likes of Arthur, Merlin, and Mordred.) There is an alternate reality just a blink away from our world called The Summer Country, which is inhabited by the Old Ones. The Old Ones have just realized that Maureen exists, and they each want her and her powers for purposes of their own...
This book was definitely worth reading- so you may be wondering why I only gave it three stars. The book had a lot of potential, and they forshadowed a lot of problems that could have occured, and there was a huge potential for character developement;none of this happened. The descriptions of the Summer Country-which could have been glorious-were minimal and lackluster at best.
In short, The Summer Country is a book worthy of your interest as long as you are not expecting much polish or any deeper meaning whatsoever, but if you simply want to be entertained, this book might be a good choice. Hope this helps!
Viva la vie boheme!
-Bohema
Rating:
Summary: A Twist on a Classic Theme
Review: The Summer Country, automatically I thought of Aurthurian times-Queen Guinevere, Lancelot..but no. This novel has so much more. You cannot predict the outcome of this book, nor comprehend what it is about until you pick it up and read it.
Maureen Pierce cannot escape Buddy Johnson. He raped her body, mind, and soul. Her sister, Jo, is someone she hates almost as much as Buddy; but to save the man she loves, she'll have to become her.
The Summer Country is a book rich in magic, mystery, seduction, and overcomming fears. I can't wait for Hetley's next novel.
| 
