The Fionavar Tapestry was one of the great reads of my high school years. It spoke to me in ways that Tolkien didn't and in a grand style that was very different than, say, George R.R. Martin's. Reading it again as an adult it holds up very well, but not without some problems.

'The Summer Tree', after some mythic foreshadowing, begins with five college students at the University of Toronto attending an after-term lecture by a famous and reclusive expert on Celtic culture. Dave Martyniuk is a loner who is slightly dismayed to see fellow law student Kevin Laine, and his sparkling personality, coming into the crowded lecture hall. With Kevin are Paul Schafer, Jennifer Lowell, and Kimberly Ford. It soon turns out that the lecturer is more than he appears and after some intense eye contact and reception-dodging he reveals that he and his associate are actually from the world of Fionavar - the center of the universe and the bright light that every other world reflects imperfectly. The five of them are invited to the High King's Jubilee and will be returned to their world with no time lost.

Of course the offer is too good to be true and the Five are drawn, one way or another, into the complicated, dangerous, and beautiful world of Fionavar.

Kay's writing is beautiful and he uses many narrative tricks that make the novel seem like a legend from the oral tradition. There is foreshadowing aplenty and myth-lovers will see the roots of many myths from the Nordic, Celtic, and Romantic traditions in these stories. Unfortunately, as you may have already guessed, there is no reference to mythology from other cultures - except maybe a bit of 'Arabian Nights' and the American plains - that can't be found in 'Bulfinch's'. This isn't really a problem until you think that the main conceit of this world is that it is the center of all things, so we're left with the implication that most if not all of the cultures of the Americas, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, India, the South Pacific and-and-and are all reflections or aberrations so imperfect they don't merit a place in main pattern of the Weaver's tapestry. That takes some of the enjoyment out of this 1980s fantasy trilogy.

Obviously, this was not Kay's intention. At worst this is the result of thoughtlessness. I won't blame him for it, especially as later books of his have drawn from a global and deeper historical perspective. I've written a lot and I'm just realizing I should write about the place of women in this universe, which in many ways is far less excusable than the above - next time!

This is a grand adventure story that doesn't flinch from having its characters take part in the darker elements of our folklore. Poor, benighted Jennifer has the worst of it (more on that in 'The Wandering Fire'), but the other characters suffer for a world they barely know and this continues as they become more entrenched in Fionavar. There are many other characters as well, archetypical fantasy types that refuse to be diminished because of their roles. This is a wonderful series and is a great, if flawed, beginning to Kay's mastery of the fantasy genre.

The Fionavar Tapestry

Next: 'The Wandering Fire'

This is a fantasy trilogy where Guy Gavriel Kay made a knowing and deliberate decision to emulate J.R.R. Tolkien. Perhaps this was to be expected after Kay spent a considerable time helping Christopher Tolkien (J.R.R.’s son) edit The Silmarillion, but he himself has explained (in numerous interviews) that this series was undertaken to prove that “High Fantasy” was complex enough to spawn many original stories, and that inferior Tolkien imitators need not become the norm for the genre. Whether Kay completely succeeded in this endeavor can be debated, but The Fionavar Tapestry is definitely a trilogy well worthy of its Lord of the Rings comparisons.

In The Summer Tree, the story begins with five college students from Toronto being transported to Fionavar (the first world that all others emulate) by Loren Silvercloak. This other worldly mage is a kindly man, who assures the frantic five that he is merely “borrowing” them for a short while so they can be guests of the royal court for a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the king’s ascension to the throne, but that he has ever intention of immediately returning them to their homes. Soon after their arrival in the Kingdom of Brennin, however, things begin to turn sour when the evil god Rakoth Maugrim, the Unraveller, escapes from his imprisonment under the great mountain of Rangat. Our unwary travelers then find themselves trapped in the struggle to overcome Rakoth, slowly realizing that each of them will have some special role to play in saving Fionavar.

The second book, The Wandering Fire, is a standard middle of a trilogy tale, in that it focuses on aligning all the good and evil characters up for an epic confrontation in the final volume of the series. But Kay also finds time to do something else here: integrate real world myths into the fantasy narrative. These run the gamut from the very prominent Arthurian legend of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere to the less well-known tidbits of Celtic and Northern mythos.

In The Darkest Road, Kay brings the “High Fantasy” tale to a close with the inevitable final battle between the forces of Good and Evil, the end of the quest for the mountain, and the decision of the hero who holds the fate of all in his hands. As familiar and simplistic as that might seem, Kay fills the narrative to the brim with dark broodiness, fertile hope, and an “eucatastrophe” that is deeply moving to read and wraps up all the characters’ storylines.

Now, as I alluded to earlier, The Fionavar Tapestry is very similar to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. There are dwarves, elves, a nation of horsemen, an ancient god-like villain once cast down but now returned, traitorous mages, the heir to a powerful kingdom in exile who has now returned, and the quest of someone to the evil mountain itself. (I’ve only named the most prominent examples; there are actually many more.) And, at its core, the series is very much a Tolkien-like chronicle of the battle between Good and Evil with little suspense as to which side each character will ultimately align with. So if you are one of those readers who views Tolkien-like fantasy as “brain candy” with no redeeming value, then I doubt you will like this trilogy very much . . . but there is still a chance you might.

The reason why is that, in The Fionavar Tapestry, Kay has delivered a deeply moving, richly imaginary world, crafted with some of the most lyrical prose ever to grace a fantasy page. The work is grand in scope, deep in emotions, brimming with detailed characters, and crystallizes quickly into something hauntingly beautiful.

None of which means you are guaranteed to love it. Everyone’s tastes are quite different. However, I would encourage naysayers to take a leap of faith, pick this series up at the used books store or on Amazon or wherever, and sit down with an open mind about what emotions “High Fantasy” can still invoke. I realize that the Tolkien clones have ruined this sub-genre to a certain extent, but it is still a powerful medium that a master storyteller can mine for powerful themes and emotional reactions – and Guy Gavriel Kay is definitely a master.

I've probably read this book for the first time, more than ten years ago.

Since then, i've re-read it a couple more times. And i can trully say that after all this time, it still remains as one of my favourite all time stories.

In fact, this was the book that got me addicted into fantasy.

Thank you Mr. Kay.