The Old Ways

by R.K. Summers

Something snapped. He let the arrow fly. The night Thomas Rhymer's young sister is stolen away by shadows and smoke, he discovers there's more to life than the fields and forests he knows so well. If he has any hope of rescuing Alissa, he must first cross into a realm where magic is lifeblood, and where shadows dance with dragonfire. With the help of the seelie faery Thistledown, Thomas embarks on a treacherous quest, deep into the heart of war-raved Albion. But getting his sister back means pledging aid to Mab, the usurped Queen of the Old Ways, against the tyranny of the Dark Prince. Yet danger and deceit lie around every corner, and some secrets are better left untold.

424 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2015

About the author

British author, poet, and Cloudcuckoolander. If found, please return to the faeries.

Born in 1990, England native RK Summers is a great lover and hoarder of books. Her love of the literary world began at the tender age of five, when, as a ridiculously serious child, she wrote her first ‘story’ about a dancing tree, complete with a bittersweet ending as a lament for the loss of fairy tale magic.

Her debut novel, The Old Ways, was released September 2015, and is available from Amazon and Waterstones in ebook and paperback.

Reviews

[Nicola Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something snapped. He Let the Arrow Fly.

I honestly do not know where to begin talking about The Old Ways. That this book has been published since 2015 and has only just made it to my bookshelf, is truly a crime.

From the moment the book fell open in my hands, I loathed putting it down. Summers masterfully crafted a magical world which sucked me into a warm embrace within the first few pages. Thrilling descriptions of characters and the world in which they roam litter the pages of this novel, making for a beautiful setting in which she could tell her story.

The story of young, hotheaded Thomas Rhymer is an exciting, fast paced wonder. The reader, like Thomas, is forced head first into a world of mystery and magic. Wonderful creatures and adventures on each page. Each page had me frantically guessing what could come next, and yet Summer’s never failed to surprise me.

Her storycrafting is impeccable, I am completely invested in the world and characters she has created and I simply can not wait to rejoin them once more in the coming sequel.

The thrilling conclusion to the first novel set up the sequel perfectly and had me hanging off the edge of my seat wishing I could read the words faster!!


I already plan on reading this a second time before the sequel is released, I would encourage anyone who has an interest in Fantasy to do the same!

[Steven Guscott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Old Ways, by RK Summers, is a 50% traditional journey style Fantasy and 50% Fairy Tale story that takes you on a rollercoaster of action, emotion and adventure.
In the first part of The Old Ways we are introduced to Thomas who has to set out on a quest to rescue his sister from the evil Lord Erlik. I was very concerned at this point because I was like, ‘Oh no, yet another cliché fantasy journey story.’
However, I was quickly put in my place as the story progressed fast and in a short space of time Thomas met various companions on his adventure, as is to be expected, but then the plot takes various unexpected turns, which was good. I can’t say more without giving spoilers so will keep my mouth shut. I'm not sure in what exact way this feels 50% like a Fairy Tale story, but that's just how it felt to me as I read. In summary of the plot, it is very cliché at times, but at others times completely new, unexpected and fresh. This made the story fun to read as I was never sure if the plot would take a traditional or unexpected route.
Character interaction and development is very good, with most characters being very memorable. I didn’t have a character I had a very strong attachment to but I did enjoy reading about them all. What I did really like was the interaction between Erlik and his children and thought this was done very well. It’s always fun to read about power hungry characters and how they interact with those around them, especially family. At times it got a bit sinister, but that adds to the character development, and showing evil and good, rather than just saying someone’s evil or good.
A great strength of this story is its world building and you do feel part of the magical world RK Summers has created. It can be hard to do this so well done to Summers.
Overall, The Old Ways is a good representation of good versus evil and covers a lot of interesting themes that the reader can ponder. As I said, there are some very cliché moments, which more cynical readers might get bored with, but there are enough twists and turns if that’s what you want from a story. The characters are realistic and most stand out as worth knowing and reading about. This is a fine story, with a fitting end that leads room for more stories.

[June Douglass · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good first novel by a young author. hopefully lots more to come.