Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry, #1) (Unicorn, #1)

by Guy Gavriel Kay

[smartflutist661]

I'm incredibly conflicted about this one. I found the world to be far too derivative of Tolkien's. On the other hand, I thought the fusion of Norse and Celtic mythologies helped the feel of Fionavar as the "first world," though this is obviously a limited view of world mythology. The characters feel at the same time like mere sketches and as though they were sketched with depth. I connected particularly well with Paul and Dave, and Paul's death and resurrection on the Summer Tree alone makes me feel like I should rate this book even more highly.

Overall, there's definitely a lack of polish and the fact that this was Kay's first book is obvious. The second half (once Paul goes to the summer tree) felt infinitely stronger than the first half, however, and in the end was well worth the read.