The Winter Oak

Rating:
Summary: Avid Reviewer and Reader
Review: Camelot is long gone. Merlin was not the benevolent wizard nor was Arthur the true hero. Very little about the legends are true - except that a magical place exists called the Summer Country. James Hetley has taken a modern fantasy tale and reminded us that happy endings never happen in the real world. Winter Oak is a wonderful follow-up to the Summer Country.

At the conclusion of the Summer Country, Maureen had come into her own as a witch by killing Dougal and defeating Fiona. Maureen rescued Brian from his half-sister Fiona's twisted binding and found a way to free her sister, Jo and David, Jo's boyfriend. Maureen suddenly finds herself in possession of a castle with slaves, a boyfriend, a very pissed-off dragon, powers she is just beginning to understand, and benefactress of a forest with unknown delights and dangers.

Winter Oak starts with Jo and David's return to the real world and all its troubles. Time has elapsed and Jo and David cannot just return to their lives as if nothing has happened. Too much has happened for all to be as it was. David and Jo must find a way to face all the changes and to decide if they do indeed love each other.

Childhood sexual abuse and other abuses have scarred Maureen and negatively effected Jo. Each finds a sort of solace and succor in a bottle. Of course alcohol only provides temporary relief and creates more problems. Jo is forced to reckon with her parent's relationship - the outcome of which will change everything for Jo and Maureen.

Maureen is haunted by all around her. She cannot accept Brian's love nor can she fathom why he remains. The bottle provides a means to deaden all the pain in her mind. Luckily, Maureen has the forest to support and love her unconditionally.

Brian finds himself thrust into a web of deceit and betrayal involving the Pendragons. He is unwilling forced to leave Maureen and in order to hang onto his own life. Much is revealed in his struggle to return to Maureen.

The wicked black witch Fiona lends a macabre presence in the Summer Country. Having impregnated herself with her own half-brother, Brian, she plots to destroy Maureen and Jo. Fiona crafts magic and science to bring ruin to those she feels threatened by. Fiona lies in wait, probing for weaknesses she can use to destroy Maureen, Jo, and Brian.

After reading Winter Oak, I was stunned by the depth of the continuing story started in the Summer Country. The dark, twisted, urban fantasy only expanded to another level while allowing us readers to enjoy the ride. Maureen is so burdened by all her problems that it is easy to understand how hopeless she feels. The addition of alcohol makes the scene that much more depressing. Maureen's descent into alcoholism is incredibly realistic and painful to read.

The realism of Jo and David's difficulties further validates James Hetley as not your average fantasy author. While most fantasy books rely on the fantastic to convey interesting stories, Hetley relies on the underbelly of what we all have come to believe in as real. Reality is gritty and has teeth. The Winter Oak is earthy, dark, and yet redeeming all at once. Each character plays a part in their own redemption. No one waves a wand or casts a spell that suddenly makes all their unhappiness and pain go away. Instead, magic only enhances their abilities to survive and to heal.






Rating:
Summary: A soap opera and a depressing one at that...
Review: Hands down, "Summer Country" had more hope and more humor than this book.

I admit, I stopped at page 150. By that time, I felt as though I'd trudged through Maine's snows, had a hangover, and various other maladies. Hetley's writing is quite evocative; however, in "Winter Oak" the work was depressing to the point of near hopelessness.

By page 150, Maureen had admitted she was an alcoholic, tried to dry out and decided she didn't want to because Brian left her. Brian hadn't left her, though, he'd gotten lost in some other dimension and if his ditzoid girlfriend had not been so self-absorbed, she might have figured that out.

Jo and David return to Maine from the Summer Country to find their apartment is police-taped and they have no more jobs. Worse, Jo's Mom is in the hospital because her Dad caused a stroke.

Oh, and their enemy, Witch Fiona, who is pregnant with Brian's child is going to use the child's power to exact her revenge then dump the changeling on some poor human mother to raise til she's of use to her again.

The capper was when Jo's Dad came to his wife's nursing home room with a gun. He'd intended to kill Jo's Mom and Jo. Jo didn't stop him in time to prevent her Mom's death, but she used her power to get him to suicide instead of killing her...

I stopped at that point. I don't expect a fantasy to be funny, or even 'light' but "Winter Oak" has to be one of the grimmest novels I have ever read. A major disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Not equal to The Summer Country!
Review: This book is the continuation of James Hetley's The Summer Country. This time around we barely ever leave The Summer Country, while in Oak's predecessor we visited the normal world quite often. The plot centers on Maureen dealing with the repurcussions of the death of Dougal and her battle with Fiona. During this process, Maureen falls into the clutches of her old friend, alcohol, which can't be good...

I only gave this book two stars because only the last fifty pages are worth reading, the rest of the book drags ON and ON. This will be worth the money for fans of The Summer Country but everyone else would be best advised to stay away from this book! Hope that helped.

-Bohema

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent and powerful work of high fantasy
Review: When the creatures of myth and legends were kicked off the human world they went to the Summer Country in another dimension that has portals allowing travel between the worlds. Sisters Maureen and Jo Pierce accidentally traveled into the Summer Country and learned that the blood of the Old Ones run through their veins giving them power to cast spells. Maureen fought against Fiona, the witch and her brother who she killed and a female dragon was killed with its mate vowing revenge.

Jo returns home with David to Naskaag Falls, Maine and troubles. Her mother is dying, they lost their jobs and the police don't believe her story insisting they produce Maureen and her lover Brian who stayed behind in the Summer Country. Fiona plots with the dragon to have their revenge on Maureen who has power but is drinking herself into oblivion to blot out the awful memories. Brian disappears and has to outwit the Pendragons in order to return to Maureen while Jo must come to terms with her power if she wants to find a place for herself in the Summer Country. She must also find a way for David to live there since humans are hated, unwelcome and many become slaves to the magical beings.

THE WINTER OAK, the sequel to THE SUMMER COUNTRY, is a magnificent and powerful work of high fantasy in which alliances change with the wind and nobody can be trusted because the bonds of fellowship are weak. Maureen accepts the power more readily than Jo does while Fiona proves a worthy adversary who underestimates her enemies; she is so evil that readers will hope she gets what she deserves.

Harriet Klausner