The Summer War by Naomi Novik

Blurb:

In this poignant, heartfelt novella from the New York Times bestselling author of Spinning Silver and the Scholomance trilogy, a young witch who has inadvertently cursed her brother to live a life without love must find a way to undo her spell.

Celia discovered her talent for magic on the day her beloved oldest brother, Argent, left home. Furious at him for abandoning her in a war-torn land, she lashed out, not realizing her childish, angry words would become imbued with the power of prophecy, dooming him to a life without love.

While Argent wanders the world, forced to seek only fame and glory instead of the love and belonging he truly desires, Celia attempts to undo the curse she placed on him. Yet even as she grows from a girl to a woman, she cannot find the solution—until she learns the truth about the centuries-old war between her own people and the summerlings, immortal beings who hold a relentless grudge against their mortal neighbors.

Now, with the aid of her unwanted middle brother, Celia may be able to both undo her eldest brother’s curse and heal the lands so long torn apart by the Summer War.

Review:

This is, in all honesty, probably the first book I have ever read where ‘fey’ is the main theme/a very prominent theme. I can’t really think of another time where fey have been a minor theme in a book I’ve read. They really aren’t something I gravitate to, mainly because I associate them with romance, which I am not, in truth, the hugest fan of as a genre rather than a subplot. But The Summer War has definitely changed my perspective, because I loved this story.

Now, at no point does Novik refer to the very obviously fey creatures as fey. They are called Summerlings, and they come out in Summer, to wage war on the humans of the south before autumn comes and then winter, when they must retreat to their lands. The Summer Lands. Now, like I said, I’m not an expert on fey, but I think this fits the bill, even if in a roundabout “he who shall not be named” sort of way.

We follow Celia, a lord’s daughter from near the border with the Summer Lands, who gets into a bit of an argument with her elder brother Argent, cursing him in the process with sorcery she did not know existed. Argent is leaving, off to find adventure and make his own life free from his father, but Celia cursed him to never find love no matter what he does, no matter how grand, no matter how storied. And now that Argent is gone, she becomes increasingly more important to her father, and is going to be married off to the Prince of the realm. But she needs to get Argent back first, and plots with her other brother Roric; the black sheep, the forgotten child.

What follows is an adventure through the realm and the Summer Lands full of fanciful stories, amusing summerlings, and the weaving of words and ensnaring traps. Because summerlings never break a promise. Never break a vow. And that is going to be the end of Celia and her little family.

I found the character work very charming, especially regarding Celia and Roric and the whimsy of the summerlings. Though I have not read any fey stories, the summerlings were essentially exactly what I expected them to be (probably from DnD), so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The plot itself was very interesting and well-paced considering this was a relatively short story (~150 pages) that flowed perfectly from beginning to end, and all of a sudden I’m done and wondering when I’m getting more.

Novik’s prose is, as I know from The Scholomance, a joy to read. As is her ability to make a setting sing. To make the world breathe as if it's been lived in for centuries or more, and we can imagine in exacting detail what the character’s are doing and where they are, as well as a hundred other things besides.

My only complaint is I wish this story was longer. I wish the resolution had more to it. More…oomph. I won’t spoil what happens, and while it is satisfying to an extent, it leaves a little bit to be desired for a few of the characters and their conflict resolutions. Everything else was wonderful, and made me want to go wander through a forest with a massive sword and a hundred or more riddles, all of which are stupid and tricks and meaningless at the same time. Except I can’t, so I’ll settle for reading and writing reviews instead.

If you like fey stories or ones that breath like a folktale, I bet this is right up your alley. The Summer War is a tale about family, love, and the trials we go through for them, and is absolutely delightful.