Summerblood

A Tale of Eron #3

by Tom Deitz

In this stirring sequel to the epic dramas Bloodwinter and Springwar , a new king must strive to heal a war-torn land, master a dangerous and world-altering magic, and defeat a secret and fanatical religious sect that will stop at nothing to gain total power.

Peace has come to the realm of Eron, and with it a new High young, inexperienced Avall, victor in the war against Ixti, sole possessor of the magical gems taken from the mines of the frozen north. But as Eron attempts to heal from the bloody conflict and a devastating plague, unrest once again grips this troubled land, stirred up by a secret cabal of powerful priests who call themselves the Ninth Face.

Avall struggles to quell the unrest and to understand and control the boundless magic of the mysterious gems. At the same time, his twin sister, Merryn, must make her own arduous journey a step ahead of those who would gladly claim her life. But it is the fanatical leaders of the Ninth Face who pose the greatest danger. They have put in motion a deadly plan to drive Avall from the throne, destroy the power of the noble clans, and take possession of the gems themselves–all in the name of their unbending god. For Eron the choice is stark an imperfect and inexperienced king...or the tyranny of the righteous.

Genres: Fantasy

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Thomas Franklin Deitz (January 17, 1952- April 27, 2009) was an American novelist from Georgia. He had a B.A. and M.A. in medieval English from University of Georgia. He was the author of the "Soulsmith Trilogy," comprised of the books Soulsmith , Dreambuilder , and Wordwright . He also wrote a popular series consisting of Windmaster's Bane , Fireshaper's Doom , Darkthunder's Way , Sunshaker's War , Stoneskin's Revenge , Ghostcountry's Wrath , Dreamseeker's Road , Landslayer's Law , and Warstalker's Track . His stand-alone novel The Gryphon King centers around a few of the characters from the later novels in the last series mentioned.

Deitz also won the Phoenix Award in 2007. This award is given at the annual DeepSouthCon to a professional who has done a great deal for Southern Fandom.

Deitz was a well-liked college instructor as well, with stints as an adjunct English faculty member at Gainesville State College, Lanier Tech, and Tri-County Community College, and received a tenure-track appointment as assistant professor in Fall 2008 at Gainesville State College. He was recognized as GSC's adjunct faculty member of the year in 2008.

In addition to writing, Deitz's creative outlets included visual art (murals, fantasy art, and more); drama (with minor roles in a number of community and college productions); model automobile collecting; costumery; and other pursuits via the Society for Creative Anachronism. He was a founding member of the SCA's Barony of Bryn Madoc.

Deitz died on Monday, April 27 2009 of heart failure. He had a heart attack in January of this year and was a candidate to receive a Ventricular assist device (VAD) but had suffered too much damage to his heart for the device to be implanted.
(From Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Micax]

Summerblood continues the tale of Eron. As the books summary also notes, Avall has become King of Eron, and master of the gems that bestow magic power. Now he has to face up to the priestly cabal who were briefly hinted at in the first two volumes.

This book expands on the world building about Eron, which is really the greatest strength of the series. Unfortunately, it also indulges in the author's greatest weakness - a tendency to make the characters do and say whatever is needed to move the plot along, irrespective of characterization or logic. Which leads to the most stupid moment in the series. Because the author has a problem - Avall, our hero, is basically the most powerful person in the world at the beginning of the story. King, unquestioned Master of the Magic Gems, before whose power none can stand. So he of course immediately takes a decision so dumb that he should be committed - and everyone just goes along with the idea as if he is not insane.

The tendency of the characters to act idiotically whenever the plot requires them to is present throughout the series, but this is by far the worst case - to the point that the last two books wouldn't be a story without the stupidity of the "genius" in the beginning. It's a pity, because there is an interesting world and a potentially good story inside this series, but it is undermined by the plot idiots.

This book also (like the first book in the series) ends on a cliffhanger, so should basically be read together with book 4. Don't bother with it, if you don't have access to the final book.