Magnificent and powerful work of high fantasy

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	• The Winter Oak James A. Hetley, 2004 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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Magnificent and powerful work of high fantasy

When the creatures of myth and legends were kicked off the human world they went to the Summer Country in another dimension that has portals allowing travel between the worlds. Sisters Maureen and Jo Pierce accidentally traveled into the Summer Country and learned that the blood of the Old Ones run through their veins giving them power to cast spells. Maureen fought against Fiona, the witch and her brother who she killed and a female dragon was killed with its mate vowing revenge.

Jo returns home with David to Naskaag Falls, Maine and troubles. Her mother is dying, they lost their jobs and the police don't believe her story insisting they produce Maureen and her lover Brian who stayed behind in the Summer Country. Fiona plots with the dragon to have their revenge on Maureen who has power but is drinking herself into oblivion to blot out the awful memories. Brian disappears and has to outwit the Pendragons in order to return to Maureen while Jo must come to terms with her power if she wants to find a place for herself in the Summer Country. She must also find a way for David to live there since humans are hated, unwelcome and many become slaves to the magical beings.

THE WINTER OAK, the sequel to THE SUMMER COUNTRY, is a magnificent and powerful work of high fantasy in which alliances change with the wind and nobody can be trusted because the bonds of fellowship are weak. Maureen accepts the power more readily than Jo does while Fiona proves a worthy adversary who underestimates her enemies; she is so evil that readers will hope she gets what she deserves.

Harriet Klausner

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Does not hold up to its predecessor.

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. ***

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Avid Reviewer and Reader

Camelot is long gone. Merlin was not the benevolent wizard nor was Arthur the true hero. Very little about the legends are true - except that a magical place exists called the Summer Country. James Hetley has taken a modern fantasy tale and reminded us that happy endings never happen in the real world. Winter Oak is a wonderful follow-up to the Summer Country.

At the conclusion of the Summer Country, Maureen had come into her own as a witch by killing Dougal and defeating Fiona. Maureen rescued Brian from his half-sister Fiona's twisted binding and found a way to free her sister, Jo and David, Jo's boyfriend. Maureen suddenly finds herself in possession of a castle with slaves, a boyfriend, a very pissed-off dragon, powers she is just beginning to understand, and benefactress of a forest with unknown delights and dangers.

Winter Oak starts with Jo and David's return to the real world and all its troubles. Time has elapsed and Jo and David cannot just return to their lives as if nothing has happened. Too much has happened for all to be as it was. David and Jo must find a way to face all the changes and to decide if they do indeed love each other.

Childhood sexual abuse and other abuses have scarred Maureen and negatively effected Jo. Each finds a sort of solace and succor in a bottle. Of course alcohol only provides temporary relief and creates more problems. Jo is forced to reckon with her parent's relationship - the outcome of which will change everything for Jo and Maureen.

Maureen is haunted by all around her. She cannot accept Brian's love nor can she fathom why he remains. The bottle provides a means to deaden all the pain in her mind. Luckily, Maureen has the forest to support and love her unconditionally.

Brian finds himself thrust into a web of deceit and betrayal involving the Pendragons. He is unwilling forced to leave Maureen and in order to hang onto his own life. Much is revealed in his struggle to return to Maureen.

The wicked black witch Fiona lends a macabre presence in the Summer Country. Having impregnated herself with her own half-brother, Brian, she plots to destroy Maureen and Jo. Fiona crafts magic and science to bring ruin to those she feels threatened by. Fiona lies in wait, probing for weaknesses she can use to destroy Maureen, Jo, and Brian.

After reading Winter Oak, I was stunned by the depth of the continuing story started in the Summer Country. The dark, twisted, urban fantasy only expanded to another level while allowing us readers to enjoy the ride. Maureen is so burdened by all her problems that it is easy to understand how hopeless she feels. The addition of alcohol makes the scene that much more depressing. Maureen's descent into alcoholism is incredibly realistic and painful to read.

The realism of Jo and David's difficulties further validates James Hetley as not your average fantasy author. While most fantasy books rely on the fantastic to convey interesting stories, Hetley relies on the underbelly of what we all have come to believe in as real. Reality is gritty and has teeth. The Winter Oak is earthy, dark, and yet redeeming all at once. Each character plays a part in their own redemption. No one waves a wand or casts a spell that suddenly makes all their unhappiness and pain go away. Instead, magic only enhances their abilities to survive and to heal.

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Critically-acclaimed author James A. Hetley returns to the world of the Summer Country-the Celtic realm of magic and myth that's just three steps away from reality.

Maureen Pierce has come to terms with her magical heritage and has elected to stay in the enchanted land. But before she can fully embrace her new home-and new love, Pendragon warrior Brian Albion-Maureen must face the sorceress she believed was vanquished forever.