The Summer Tree

This is the first book in the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, a "portal fantasy" about five Toronto University students taken to a magical fantasy realm. There they are sweet up in a war of dark and light, cavort with gods and goddesses, and plumb both the depths and heights of life and loss.

Guy Gavriel Kay established his name as a fantasy author with this series, and it possesses all the Hallmark if great Kay fantasy. It plumbs real world history and mythology to root the vivid word he builds in it, this time the Celtic myths of Wales, and revels in the artistry of language and creation that have rise to those ancient stories.

We also see the deep humanity that always information his writing,v as characters are moved more by admiration, joy, and empathy than the usual fantasy motivators of fate, rage, or vengeance. Thought there is some of that, too.

Perhaps the only misstep for me is the rather clumsy "portal" element. This book never really shows why Loren needed to take five people from Earth back to Fionavar, and I'm honestly kind of bemused at how smoothly and quickly the Canadian kids side into their roles in this utterly alien world.

But Kay's writing is as masterful add it is today, and the world as enthralling as any in fantasy, so I'll forgive that minor stumbling block.

This is definitely one of the best Fantasy books ever written... It is a beautiful homage to [a:J.R.R. Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1329870573p2/656983.jpg]'s [b:The Lord Of The Rings|15369|The Lord Of The Rings (Radio Collection)|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1166672332s/15369.jpg|3462456], showing how amazing and powerful is the Guy Kay's knowledge on Mythology, Fantasy and Tolkien's works. [b:The Summer Tree|104086|The Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry, #1)|Guy Gavriel Kay|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348810485s/104086.jpg|3238632] has not the same flowery prose as seen in [b:Tigana|104089|Tigana|Guy Gavriel Kay|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348738842s/104089.jpg|1907200], but Guy Kay certainly knows how to write in a beautiful way.

I confess that it took a while to be hooked. At the beginning it's a little bit hard to believe in the five main characters, the university students Paul, Kevin, Dave, Kimberly and Jennifer. But as soon as we see the narrative being brightly woven, we can also observe the amazing growth of these characters. Guy Kay knows how to touch the reader who wants, for a while, to be a fantasy hero in a different world. Well done, well done, Guy Kay... now I'm getting ready for the next book, [b:The Wandering Fire|104088|The Wandering Fire (The Fionavar Tapestry, #2)|Guy Gavriel Kay|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348816263s/104088.jpg|1136221].