Summer King, Winter Fool

As revolution simmers, a poet finds himself with a chance for the crown In Etrara, the winter is bitter and endless, but Valemar does not feel the chill. A loyal courtier, he prefers wine and poetry to palace intrigue and has never let ambition draw him into danger. But when the dire portents of a soothsayer darken a royal feast, all the land learns that the king’s days are numbered. Revolution is coming, and soon a new head will wear the crown. But whose will it be? While carousing at a gambling den in the lower city, Val’s cousin kills one of the king’s favorites in a barroom brawl. Rather than leave his kin to the mercy of the city guards, Val helps him flee and take refuge in a fishing village on the far side of the kingdom. Here Val learns a secret that could change Etrara forever and turn this carefree poet into the savior of a frostbitten land.

Amazon.com Review

An inept monarch; a double brace of scheming siblings; a mannered, stratified society; and a long, cold winter are the background for this drama of duality. Would-be poet Valemar, a young courtier, is entangled by his cousin Narrion in murder and intrigue and is soon further entangled in old deceptions and new war with the city-state Etrara's rival nation, the Shai. Surrounded by duplicity and forced to conceal himself, his resilient adaptability becomes an asset in a polarized world. Tightly plotted and plainly told, this novel furnishes better meat than most trilogies.

From Publishers Weekly

This classy fantasy combines an original take on religion with a realistic view of political intrigue to create an intellectually solid, if not viscerally gripping, adventure. Valemar, a minor courtier who is loyal to the bastard King Gobro, becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue and finds himself exiled to the rural fishing community of Tobol An, home of the library where ancient knowledge about the kingdom is watched over by the beautiful librarian Taja. Once Valemar returns home, Taja receives a magical intuition and discovers documents that show that Valemar is really the legitimate heir to the throne. She manages to reach Valemar with the news, but he decides to bide his time; when Gobro's sister, Callia, installed on the throne after Gobro's demise, starts a war, Valemar joins her in battle. He spends the rest of his time learning how to be a good leader, why the winter is endless, what the gods have been up to and where his heart really lies. Taja also learns the importance of being true to herself and her burgeoning magic. Unlike the characters in Goldstein's earlier work ( Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon ), who seemed freed from convention by the magic in their real-world setting, the characters here are strangely constrained by their fanciful environment. Yet the poetic interplay and philosophical intricacies have their own beauty, and eventually both the characters and the story thaw into something noble and rich. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As winter threatens to overwhelm his world, a young nobleman-exiled by circumstances from the heart of his kingdom-discovers his destiny in a rural village where the secrets of the legendary poet-mages have long been hidden. Goldstein's (Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon, Tor Bks., 1993) approach to fantasy is always unique. With lyrical simplicity, she delineates a believable world in which appearances are deceptive and the power of the word can control the actions of the gods. This happy blend of style and content belongs in most fantasy collections.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In a land where the changing of the seasons is literally ruled by the ascent of the gods of summer and winter into heaven, the courtiers of the royal capital spend all their time and effort at intrigue and competition for status. A young aristocrat named Valemar is caught up in these intrigues, tossed about by powers, both political and magical, beyond his understanding. While the kingdom is shattered by war and the affairs of sorcerors, Val must unravel the mystery behind his exile. His journey through the whirlpool of events ultimately leads him to an astonishing revelation and the discovery of his own nature. Goldstein sculpts her action vividly, moving her characters through a landscape both intimate and immense, reminiscent of Zimiamvia, the land made famous by E. R. Eddison in a famous fantasy trilogy beginning with Mistress of Mistresses. Dennis Winters

From Kirkus Reviews

Ancient solar-king myths are combined with quasi-medieval monarchies in Goldstein's new fantasy (after Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon, 1993, etc.). The god Callabrion is supposed to ascend at midwinter, presage summer, and cause the days to lengthen. But, though midwinter has passed, Callabrion refuses to take his place in heaven: So the days grow still shorter and winter deepens. Gobro, the weak and ineffectual king of Etrara, is poisoned and supplanted by his sister Callia, just as the young nobleman Valdemar goes into exile. Val lodges with a beautiful librarian- -with whose help he discovers that he is the true heir to the throne of Etrara. Callia, meanwhile, declares war on neighboring Shai, but her armies are easily defeated--by treachery, force of arms, and magic. The Shai occupy Etrara, executing Callia and her retinue. Val must find allies where he can, and somehow Callabrion must be persuaded to ascend to heaven and bring summer. Insipid characters and feeble dramatics in a bland setting: not one of Goldstein's better outings. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

“Noble and rich.”

Interzone

“With its clear, spare style and knowing reversals, Summer King, Winter Fool is a fantasy that uses its exotic setting to universalize a poignant examination of the follies of the human heart.”

SF Age

“Builds a magic intricate spell of wonder for the reader who will allow herself to be challenged and her imagination to be stretched.”

About the Author

Lisa Goldstein has published ten novels and dozens of short stories under her own name and two fantasy novels under the pseudonym Isabel Glass. Her most recent novel is The Uncertain Places, which won the Mythopoeic Award. Goldstein received the National Book Award for The Red Magician and the Sidewise Award for her short story “Paradise Is a Walled Garden.” Her work has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards. Some of her stories appear in the collection Travellers in Magic.Goldstein has worked as a proofreader, library aide, bookseller, and reviewer. She lives with her husband and their overexuberant Labrador retriever, Bonnie, in Oakland, California. Her website is www.brazenhussies.net/goldstein.

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