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Summer Country #2
The Winter Oak
Maureen Pierce has come to terms with her magical heritage and decided to remain in the enchanted land with her new love, Pendragon warrior Brian Albion, but first, she must once again take on the sorceress whom she thought she had vanquished forever. Reprint.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 2, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 15, 2007
The conclusion to the story begun in The Summer Country. I found it just as satisfying.
May 9, 2011
A satisfying sequel to The Summer Country---and has caused me to re-read DeLint because I can't read more Hetley.
December 21, 2018
I only read it since I had already finished book 1. It was better in the first one but the Pendragon side plot just seemed to be thrown in as an after thought just to remind us that Brian was a part of them.
I like some of the aspects of the magic and the Celtic lore to the story.
However, for my taste, there was just too many points of view in this one. Maybe if the book had been a little longer? Or they just combined book 1 & 2 because it almost seemed like the books were split from one longer novel.
I like some of the aspects of the magic and the Celtic lore to the story.
However, for my taste, there was just too many points of view in this one. Maybe if the book had been a little longer? Or they just combined book 1 & 2 because it almost seemed like the books were split from one longer novel.
July 8, 2020
Really liked it, but it's not as good as The Summer Country.
January 23, 2008
James Hetley, The Winter Oak (Ace, 2004)
A few months ago, I was quite impressed with The Summer Country, James Hetley's first novel. Would that I could say the same about its sequel, The Winter Oak. It does not, however, hold up its end of the bargain.
The book takes place not long after the end of The Summer Country. Jo and Doug have gone back to the mundane world to try and convince everyone back there that everyone's still alive (they've all been gone two months). Fiona plots revenge. Brian and Maureen live happily ever after, right? Not even close. Maureen has inherited Dougal's keep, but it holds terrors for her. Brian has effectively gone AWOL from the Pendragons, and has to figure out how to let them know what's going on while still keeping his head attached to his shoulders. And Khe'Sha, the mate to the dragon Brian and Doug killed in The Summer Country, is lurking around, not very happy with the fact that his girlfriend is dead.
The biggest problem with The Winter Oak, somewhat surprisingly given The Summer Country, is its pacing. The first fifty pages of this book are interminable. The next hundred are glacial (which is an improvement over interminable, it should be noted). It picks up after that, but we're halfway through the book already and nothing of note has happened-- everything's been moving far too slowly for anything to have happened. The usual immediate immersion into the story that occurs when one is already familiar with a story's characters is notably absent here. It's as if Hetley were starting over again on an entirely new novel with entirely new characters. Except he didn't. I can't explain it, I just know it's there.
If you read the first one, you should read the second; once we get to the point where things start happening, it's a good book. It's just that getting to that point is pretty tough. ***
A few months ago, I was quite impressed with The Summer Country, James Hetley's first novel. Would that I could say the same about its sequel, The Winter Oak. It does not, however, hold up its end of the bargain.
The book takes place not long after the end of The Summer Country. Jo and Doug have gone back to the mundane world to try and convince everyone back there that everyone's still alive (they've all been gone two months). Fiona plots revenge. Brian and Maureen live happily ever after, right? Not even close. Maureen has inherited Dougal's keep, but it holds terrors for her. Brian has effectively gone AWOL from the Pendragons, and has to figure out how to let them know what's going on while still keeping his head attached to his shoulders. And Khe'Sha, the mate to the dragon Brian and Doug killed in The Summer Country, is lurking around, not very happy with the fact that his girlfriend is dead.
The biggest problem with The Winter Oak, somewhat surprisingly given The Summer Country, is its pacing. The first fifty pages of this book are interminable. The next hundred are glacial (which is an improvement over interminable, it should be noted). It picks up after that, but we're halfway through the book already and nothing of note has happened-- everything's been moving far too slowly for anything to have happened. The usual immediate immersion into the story that occurs when one is already familiar with a story's characters is notably absent here. It's as if Hetley were starting over again on an entirely new novel with entirely new characters. Except he didn't. I can't explain it, I just know it's there.
If you read the first one, you should read the second; once we get to the point where things start happening, it's a good book. It's just that getting to that point is pretty tough. ***
February 14, 2011
2.75 stars is more like it. I thought this sequel was well-paced and it kept my interest, but it didn't have the same draw that the first book did, probably because primary protagonist Maureen doesn't have the same triumphant change as she does in The Summer Country. This time it's other characters that evolve and realize their abilities.
I was a bit sad that more bad guys (or gal, in this case) didn't die. That would have made the ending more satisfying. The sub plot with Brian didn't really do a whole lot for me, either.
I enjoyed the characters' interactions with the forest and animals. That was a fun twist. Reading from a dragon's point of view was also a welcome change.
I was a bit sad that more bad guys (or gal, in this case) didn't die. That would have made the ending more satisfying. The sub plot with Brian didn't really do a whole lot for me, either.
I enjoyed the characters' interactions with the forest and animals. That was a fun twist. Reading from a dragon's point of view was also a welcome change.
February 26, 2008
A good sequal, though a little disjointed as the author pivots on the idea that the different lands the characters go have different time speeds.
This book goes into the back stories of Brian, Maureen, and Jo, as well as posing the question: Does loving a magic time-bomb mean never having to say you're sorry? Because if you don't she may nuke your brain.
Also, the author makes the different magical creatures interesting and unique. They have back stories and motivations.
The author continues with really creepy imagery and bad guys.
A good read.
This book goes into the back stories of Brian, Maureen, and Jo, as well as posing the question: Does loving a magic time-bomb mean never having to say you're sorry? Because if you don't she may nuke your brain.
Also, the author makes the different magical creatures interesting and unique. They have back stories and motivations.
The author continues with really creepy imagery and bad guys.
A good read.
July 10, 2012
[3 and 1/2 stars]
An interesting blend of Celtic mythology and (fairly standard) urban fantasy tropes (e.g. damaged female protagonists, staunch male protagonists with shadowed pasts, etc). It does particularly well on the gritty urban front, immersing us in the discomforts and miseries of daily life in the human world, and it delivers a truly creepy villain, scientist-witch Fiona. However, to me the characters often felt more like collections of neuroses than complete human beings, there was little overall plot, and there was little fun to be had in the tale.
An interesting blend of Celtic mythology and (fairly standard) urban fantasy tropes (e.g. damaged female protagonists, staunch male protagonists with shadowed pasts, etc). It does particularly well on the gritty urban front, immersing us in the discomforts and miseries of daily life in the human world, and it delivers a truly creepy villain, scientist-witch Fiona. However, to me the characters often felt more like collections of neuroses than complete human beings, there was little overall plot, and there was little fun to be had in the tale.
August 3, 2014
A not-quite-as-fun sequel to a very fun book. As my wife aptly put, this felt like an epilogue, not a standalone novel. It also has oddly slow bits – the first started slow but gathered steam, this one has pauses at random points and drags. The multiple storylines don't fully gel together until the end, and I'm not sure that it worked. It does pick up though, and is a fun end.
Still, very satisfying and a really good summer book.
Still, very satisfying and a really good summer book.
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August 9, 2007A continuation of the story begun in Summer Country, though both stand alone easily as well. Dragons, witches, magic and all.
November 25, 2010
Not as good as the first book, but they seldom are.
November 8, 2012
Crass but sweet. Love a reconstruction of fantasy as deconstructions are too depressing.
February 25, 2013
Even better than the first one!
June 2, 2017
I fell like "The Summer County" and this book, its sequel, could have been combined to make one better book. Some of the character development was better here, but the plot seemed uneven.
November 19, 2017
No improvement
Everyone is hard, grim and sadistic. Not really sure who there was to like in this book. Do not care how this turns out.
Everyone is hard, grim and sadistic. Not really sure who there was to like in this book. Do not care how this turns out.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews