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he well establish author Naomi Novik delivers once again, this time with a novella called The Summer War. This fantasy tale features
Celia, the youngest child of the Grand Duke of Veris. Celia has two older brothers: the handsome, accomplished Argent, and the forgettable, hapless Roric. Like everyone else,
twelve year old Celia adores Argent; She likes to watch him training in the practice yard. Any time Argent pays attention to Celia, she is in rapture. But one day, after a huge fight with his father,
the Grand Duke, Argent renounces his heritage and rides off to become a knight at arms. Celia is wounded by his departure; she feels as if Argent has abandoned her personally, and like the twelve year old that she is, Celia
wishes Argent nothing but futility in his quest for love. Little did the maturing Celia know that she had just come into her powerful sorceress abilities, and her wish descended upon her beloved brother
as an actual curse.
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The humans had been at war with the Summerlings. Summerlings are elfish immortals who love magic, festivals and sunshine. Summerlings are also
extremely prideful. But for now an uneasy peace reigns between the humans and the Summerlings. They are called Summerlings because they only visit the mortal kingdoms during
summer. When autumn rolls around, the Summerlings promptly head back across the river, abandoning whatever their current schemes were.
The war was ended by Celia's father, who is now the Grand Duke of Veris. When the war began, he was just a lowly citizen. But when the invading Summerlings proved to
be unstoppable, the wily young man concocted scheme after scheme which confounded the Fae, and each time the King was obligated to reward him with a better title and more lands. Now,
with the Summer War ended (or, paused, at least), he has become a Grand Duke, the second most powerful man in the kingdom. When it is revealed that he now has a sorceress for a daughter,
the Duke's power threatens the King himself.
Celia rues her childish curse on her brother and longs to undo the magic. But Argent is always away, slaying dragons and rescuing maidens. Celia
finds herself spending time with her younger brother, Roric, and is quite surprised to discover that the oft overlooked young man actually has skills, personality and some wits.
I thought that this was a tightly plotted novel. The book is just 127 pages, but it was carefully written, so there are plenty of surprises and
plot points. Novik did an excellent job creating the characters and the conflict between them. Proud Prince
Elythion of the Summerlings, fallible King Sherdan, plus Celia and her family. This is a quick, enjoyable read.
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