Glencrow Summer by C. Litka
In the blurb for Glencrow Summer, the author describes the story as ‘…a leisurely paced, mundane slice-of-life fantasy novel set in a post-magic, Edwardian-era world…’ Well, I’d agree with the ‘leisurely paced part’; reading Glencrow Summer was like gently sinking into a warm bath on a cold day. It felt good. However, I definitely disagree with the ‘fantasy novel in a post-magic’ world bit!
To me, Glencrow Summer is a post-apocalyptic story without the apocalypse, and by that I mean the brutality and violence.
By the time the story begins, society is about thirteen hundred years into its Second Founding. In other words, thirteen hundred years after the possibly apocalyptic events that ended the First Founding.
Society is stable, the populous is comfortable, and the world is ‘clean’. There are vehicles that run on electricity, but most jobs are done manually, and there appears to be little in the way of high end technology. This lack of tech is explained as being a result of the Humanist revolution that ended the First Founding. Curiously though, the history books call the tech of that era magic, and magic is now banned.
See what I mean about the world building being post-apocalyptic?
We are introduced to some of this background in the first book of the series – Chateau Clare – but it’s not until Glencrow Summer that the characters slowly discover why the apocalypse happened, and why so much of their history has been either forgotten, or actively suppressed. That journey of discovery may not include space battles or dangerous acts of derring-do, but it is every bit as compelling as learning about Arrakis, the world of Dune.
I don’t know about you, but I believe that Dune continues to excite the imagination because its world is one of the main characters of the story. Yes, the plot is exciting, but what I most remember is the thrill of learning why Arrakis is so barren. And what role the giant worms play in the creation of ‘spice’.
Like Dune, the world of Glencrow Summer is one of the main characters of the story, and unravelling its history is intriguing. But, of course, no story would survive for long without human characters we can relate to, and the characters of Glencrow Summer are eminently relatable. They are people just like us. They have faults and virtues and individual histories that make them who they are, and that is why their journey of discovery becomes our journey of discovery.
I cannot tell you more because that would be like revealing who-dunnit on page one of a murder mystery. This journey of discovery you have to take on your own, but I promise it will be worth every moment. Oh, and the beautiful cover? C. Litka happens to be a fantastic painter so each cover is a Litka original!
5/5
Disclaimer: C. Litka was kind enough to send me an ARC copy of Glencrow Summer when I complained about not being able to buy books from Amazon any more. He didn’t ask for a review, and I told him I only review books that go above and beyond. Glencrow Summer does just that, and I’m more than happy to recommend it.
You can find this review on Goodreads here.
Cheers,
Meeks
