Review of The Summer War by Naomi Novik

Novik's novella The Summer War reads like a fable, with unexpected twists and turns; duty, clever evasion, and curses; a strange world full of vengeful creatures; and satisfyingly proud, brave moments for each of our main protagonists.

Naomi Novik is one of my very favorite authors, and The Summer War is her recently published novella.

The day young Celia's oldest brother Argent left the house in their war-torn homeland, determined to head to battle, he did so with barely a backward glance, and she was furious with her idol. But she didn't know that her enraged curses, uttered in the heat of the moment, carried immense weight. Until that moment Celia didn't understand that she held magical powers, nor that in spouting off angry words, she would dooming her brother to a life spent seeking fame for brave acts without the possibility of feeling love.

Now Celia must try everything she can to undo the hex she placed on her beloved Argent. The key might lie within the centuries-old war her people have waged against the ruthless summerlings--and the ferocious grudges those mysterious creatures have nurtured against the humans.

After Argent deserts the family, Celia makes nice with her often-overlooked, glum, not particularly academic or talented middle brother Roric (whose mother was a lowly traveling performer, and whose own life was preserved in infancy only because he was foretold to be useful to his siblings in the future). Roric and Celia forge a bond, with Celia nurturing his abilities and taking time with him, and Roric thinking through how to achieve success in a hypothetical, shared quest. Despite the legendary dangers awaiting them there and the almost certainly futile idea of ever returning home, the two of them become determined to pass into the Summer Lands to reach Argent and break the curse.

Celia is tricked, loses track of Roric, is bound by her own curse and a maddening circular set of unbreakable oaths, and proves herself exceptionally brave. Events go delightfully off the rails and head in unexpected directions, with satisfyingly noble, brave moments for all key characters and a circuitous route to a happy ending.

The story dives into the plot with little hesitation (we do have to get going, after all--we only have 144 pages!), and its somewhat spare, streamlined structure made it feel like a fable or fairy tale.

I don't read very many novellas, and regarding Novik and her rich world-building, charming supporting characters, and intriguing subplots, it was probably inevitable that I was going to be left wanting more at the conclusion of this short work. But that's due to my greedy reading habits and my active denial throughout reading this that this was always going to be fewer beloved Novik words than I wanted.

My Extensive Love for Naomi Novik's Fiction

Naomi Novik is the author of richly wrought fantasy novels featuring main protagonists I love: Uprooted and Spinning Silver as well as the story collection Buried Deep and the Scholomance trilogy: A Deadly Education, The Last Graduate, and The Golden Enclaves.

Novik has also written the Temeraire series of nine fantastic books about dragons, their riders, their friendships, and their wryly funny interactions.

I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of NetGalley and Del Rey.