A review by abetz20
The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay

adventurous challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This book simultaneously felt ridiculous and excellent. The 5 main characters from our world feel like the author wanted to have people unfamiliar with the world as a vehicle for exposition, but wanted to get to his plot without having to deal with the characters reckoning with their new world. The light and dark conflict sometimes almost feels comedic in how stereotypical it is. I think I would have normally stopped reading after the first 100 pages, but I'm a sucker for worldbuilding, and this book has such a fascinating world. 
At some point around a third of the way through the book, I'm not sure what happened, but I had become very invested. Something about the powerful sense of mythology and well done writing had hooked me. Although some of the characters remained flat and uninteresting, many of them began to show real motivations and tragedy that made me interested in their story. The peak of the book imo happens halfway through. There are multiple scenes with such powerful writing that I had goosebumps/tears. After that it doesn't quite reach that peak, but I knew I had to keep reading.

One side note is that this book has a slightly weird relationship with sex. I'm not sure how exactly to describe it but I think it has a weird way of interjecting sexual descriptions or comments in a way that feels unnecessary. There is also a sexual assault scene in the book near the end that just left me with a sour taste. 

This book feels like stereotypical fantasy at both it's very highest highs and some of its lows. For those that like that, I think this book is excellent. Those looking for more character driven stories could come away disappointed.
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