Katherine
Honestly, I think I want to wait to truly review this until I’ve read all three books. This is clearly a series that NEEDS the entire trilogy to get a better grasp on everything. Overall though, for THIS book? Wow. The prose is gorgeous. There is clearly going to be SO much to this story that has yet to come. The Summer Tree was a setup book. And it has done that job beautifully.
As an overview: The set up is very typical 80s fantasy to me. It has many of the old tropes with a chosen one, and seems to have some things that fit directly in LOTR (elves, pretty much. Also, Not-Gandalf and a dangerous dark land, all-powerful dark entity versus the light etc). However, it’s certainly not a clone of LOTR. There are MANY mythologies that are woven together into this, from Arthurian legend to Norse to Celtic. It’s a portal fantasy which is a bit weirder to me- I haven’t read that many portal fantasies, as many tend to be set in their own world entirely.
The first third of this book is SLOW. And for most of that third, things just happen to the main characters and they go along with it. That did bother me some. The characterization later, though? It’s so rare to see men in fantasy novels get to be emotional and empathetic. There’s still some characterization sorely lacking, but given how slowly all of this has played out, I’m hesitant to say more until I read the whole trilogy.
Another aspect that I wanted to mention is that the lack of male gaze has been astounding to me. This is a book published in the 80s. So many of those are *incredibly* misogynistic. Now, Fionavar is still a largely patriarchal society. And I don’t love how often the men are “sent” women. There’s one character in particular that is absolutely a womanizer… but in general, the women aren’t described boobs and butt first. In fact, many of the characters are hardly described at all, appearance wise. Mostly you get that they have dark/fair hair or dark/lighter eyes. The women mentioned are mostly mothers and random courtesans, but there are some very powerful female characters as well. The main female characters seem to have extremely important roles to play, though I’m hesitant on where one of them is going so I’ll have to see how the series continues.
Honestly, I think I want to wait to truly review this until I’ve read all three books. This is clearly a series that NEEDS the entire trilogy to get a better grasp on everything. Overall though, for THIS book? Wow. The prose is gorgeous. There is clearly going to be SO much to this story that has yet to come. The Summer Tree was a setup book. And it has done that job beautifully.
As an overview: The set up is very typical 80s fantasy to me. It has many of the old tropes with a chosen one, and seems to have some things that fit directly in LOTR (elves, pretty much. Also, Not-Gandalf and a dangerous dark land, all-powerful dark entity versus the light etc). However, it’s certainly not a clone of LOTR. There are MANY mythologies that are woven together into this, from Arthurian legend to Norse to Celtic. It’s a portal fantasy which is a bit weirder to me- I haven’t read that many portal fantasies, as many tend to be set in their own world entirely.
The first third of this book is SLOW. And for most of that third, things just happen to the main characters and they go along with it. That did bother me some. The characterization later, though? It’s so rare to see men in fantasy novels get to be emotional and empathetic. There’s still some characterization sorely lacking, but given how slowly all of this has played out, I’m hesitant to say more until I read the whole trilogy.
Another aspect that I wanted to mention is that the lack of male gaze has been astounding to me. This is a book published in the 80s. So many of those are *incredibly* misogynistic. Now, Fionavar is still a largely patriarchal society. And I don’t love how often the men are “sent” women. There’s one character in particular that is absolutely a womanizer… but in general, the women aren’t described boobs and butt first. In fact, many of the characters are hardly described at all, appearance wise. Mostly you get that they have dark/fair hair or dark/lighter eyes. The women mentioned are mostly mothers and random courtesans, but there are some very powerful female characters as well. The main female characters seem to have extremely important roles to play, though I’m hesitant on where one of them is going so I’ll have to see how the series continues.
Added to listIndigenous Books with 1 book.
Added to listMy Friends Cursed my TBR Againwith 21 books.
A few goblins accidentally get behind the enemy (human and elf) lines. Elf James Herriot lives in the forest. They meet and magic insanity ensues.
It’s cute and funny, not much else to it. Great for a palate cleanser or to break a reading slump!
A few goblins accidentally get behind the enemy (human and elf) lines. Elf James Herriot lives in the forest. They meet and magic insanity ensues.
It’s cute and funny, not much else to it. Great for a palate cleanser or to break a reading slump!
I seem to have a penchant for picking up some WEIRD books lately. The Library at Mount Char. definitely fits that. It requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief. The plot? Insane. The characters? Definitely more insane. But if you go along with all of the insanity it’s a book about what happens when someone gains too much power and knowledge, but not enough wisdom. A person so hell bent on their goals that they don’t consider the others they will destroy in their wake. Do the ends actually justify the means?
I can’t say this is an incredible book. I think it’s good, but there are some things that happen that I find too hard to believe even in a book this crazy. It’s certainly captivating, but I’m not sure all of it works well together. It’s also FULL of extremely graphic violence, SA, torture, cannibalism, suicide, animal death and abuse… was all of that necessary to get the book’s message across? I really don’t think so.
The plot is complex and intriguing, though hard to follow at times and you have to accept you will NOT understand until later on. And even then you might not know why. The characters other than Carolyn are mostly shallow and exist to fulfill their role, sometimes to their detriment. Would that character *really* go along with all of this?
Overall, weird but good book. Not sure why it had to be so violent and parts of it are way too unbelievable for my tastes.
I seem to have a penchant for picking up some WEIRD books lately. The Library at Mount Char. definitely fits that. It requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief. The plot? Insane. The characters? Definitely more insane. But if you go along with all of the insanity it’s a book about what happens when someone gains too much power and knowledge, but not enough wisdom. A person so hell bent on their goals that they don’t consider the others they will destroy in their wake. Do the ends actually justify the means?
I can’t say this is an incredible book. I think it’s good, but there are some things that happen that I find too hard to believe even in a book this crazy. It’s certainly captivating, but I’m not sure all of it works well together. It’s also FULL of extremely graphic violence, SA, torture, cannibalism, suicide, animal death and abuse… was all of that necessary to get the book’s message across? I really don’t think so.
The plot is complex and intriguing, though hard to follow at times and you have to accept you will NOT understand until later on. And even then you might not know why. The characters other than Carolyn are mostly shallow and exist to fulfill their role, sometimes to their detriment. Would that character *really* go along with all of this?
Overall, weird but good book. Not sure why it had to be so violent and parts of it are way too unbelievable for my tastes.
Overall, I thought this book was outstanding. It’s a weird one! It’s confusing at times, hard to grasp, but it’s one of those stories where you can sit with what is going on and really think about how everything is connected within the book and how the book is establishing connections between itself and society. It delivers a powerful message while weaving a web of intrigue that pulls you into this world. I very much want to dive into the rest of the series.
Don’t trust the synopsis for this book. It undermines itself by describing it in such a plain way and going in with that expectation will leave you extremely confused. While those events do happen, the synopsis sets it up as a more typical urban fantasy/horror novel, and it is ANYTHING but a typical novel. Structurally, the series is meant to be read as a trilogy. Nothing in it will be standalone. So, adjust your expectations for that going in. The author has a post explaining more that I’d recommend reading first: https://cadwellturnbull.com/2021/09/30/a-sort-of-guide-to-reading-no-gods-no-monsters/
This book focuses on a LOT of different characters in this intricate web of connections. I found myself taking notes and looking forward to seeing how everyone fits together within the story. The overall narrative isn’t concerned so much with the individual- rather, it is about the community as a whole. Each character introduced has a different personality and background- none of them blended together for me despite how many there are. I LOVED how each storyline came together, but it is hard to follow because of the structure. It’s a very unique storytelling style.
The seeds of plot are sparse throughout the whole book. Small actions by certain characters will pay off much later. Information that seems tangential will come up again and be vital. The plot itself is mostly in the beginning and end of the book. The middle has a “lull” of a lot of setup (absolutely enthralling to me), but I can easily see someone getting bored during it. I enjoyed the vibes of the book so much that I found each chapter engaging.
This book also doesn’t hold back on delivering some brutal, real lines that will have you thinking. There are multiple passages that, even if you haven’t experienced something similar to the character, the insight given is so raw and powerful you will find yourself looking inward at yourself and outward at your society. I highlighted many passages that I found very insightful and loved how they were delivered. Because of this, it is a very timely read in 2026.
Overall, I thought this book was outstanding. It’s a weird one! It’s confusing at times, hard to grasp, but it’s one of those stories where you can sit with what is going on and really think about how everything is connected within the book and how the book is establishing connections between itself and society. It delivers a powerful message while weaving a web of intrigue that pulls you into this world. I very much want to dive into the rest of the series.
Don’t trust the synopsis for this book. It undermines itself by describing it in such a plain way and going in with that expectation will leave you extremely confused. While those events do happen, the synopsis sets it up as a more typical urban fantasy/horror novel, and it is ANYTHING but a typical novel. Structurally, the series is meant to be read as a trilogy. Nothing in it will be standalone. So, adjust your expectations for that going in. The author has a post explaining more that I’d recommend reading first: https://cadwellturnbull.com/2021/09/30/a-sort-of-guide-to-reading-no-gods-no-monsters/
This book focuses on a LOT of different characters in this intricate web of connections. I found myself taking notes and looking forward to seeing how everyone fits together within the story. The overall narrative isn’t concerned so much with the individual- rather, it is about the community as a whole. Each character introduced has a different personality and background- none of them blended together for me despite how many there are. I LOVED how each storyline came together, but it is hard to follow because of the structure. It’s a very unique storytelling style.
The seeds of plot are sparse throughout the whole book. Small actions by certain characters will pay off much later. Information that seems tangential will come up again and be vital. The plot itself is mostly in the beginning and end of the book. The middle has a “lull” of a lot of setup (absolutely enthralling to me), but I can easily see someone getting bored during it. I enjoyed the vibes of the book so much that I found each chapter engaging.
This book also doesn’t hold back on delivering some brutal, real lines that will have you thinking. There are multiple passages that, even if you haven’t experienced something similar to the character, the insight given is so raw and powerful you will find yourself looking inward at yourself and outward at your society. I highlighted many passages that I found very insightful and loved how they were delivered. Because of this, it is a very timely read in 2026.
