The Summer Isles (Hardcover)

by Ian R. MacLeod (Author) "On this as on almost every Sunday evening, I find a message from my acquaintance on the wall of the third cubicle of the Gents..." (more)
Key Phrases: John Arthur, New Dorchester, Miss Flood (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Historical irony, the superimposition of two clashing iterations of history, has rarely been this brilliantly used… -- Locus Magazine, August 2005

Historical irony, the superimposition of two clashing iterations of history, has rarely been this brilliantly used… --Locus Magazine, August 2005

In the final analysis, a dangerous novel... It's an excellent book, and it'll scare the hell out of you. -- Ideomancer, Vol. 4, Issue 3

In the final analysis, a dangerous novel... an excellent book, it'll scare the hell out of you. -- Ideomancer, Vol. 4, Issue 3

In the final analysis, a dangerous novel... an excellent book, it'll scare the hell out of you. --Ideomancer, Vol. 4, Issue 3

THE SUMMER ISLES is one of the most powerful, compelling, and compassionate novels ever written, in any genre. -- Gardner Dozois

THE SUMMER ISLES is one of the most powerful, compelling, and compassionate novels ever written, in any genre. --Gardner Dozois

Product Description
Signed limited edition of 500 with introduction by the author. This is the original novel from which the World Fantasy Award-winning novella 'The Summer Isles' was excerpted. The novel is approximately two-thirds greater in length. This is the first time it has been available in the English-speaking world. Bound in ecologically friendly materials; printed on acid-free paper. This edition took top honors for book design at the 2005 Chicago Book & Media Show.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Aio Publishing Company; 1st edition (June 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193308300X
• ISBN-13: 978-1933083001
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,281,396 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The world turned upside down, July 8, 2005

By	J. N. Mohlman (Barrington, RI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

First off, this isn't a typical Amazon title, rather it is the debut novel from Aio Publishing, which puts out limited, signed editions by various science fiction and fantasy authors. Specifically, "The Summer Isles" by Ian R. Macleod was limited to 500 signed hardcovers, and at the time of this writing, some copies were still available from the publisher as well as on the internet. It is also worth noting that Aio has made part of their mission to make books that are both ecologically friendly and visually appealing, and "The Summer Isles" doesn't disappoint. The covers are wrapped in some sort of synthetic suede, with the binding a glossy black with stamped gold print and finally, the interior pages are printed on a heavier, creamier stock than generally seen in most books. All these elements combine to create a book that offers an experience that goes beyond the words found inside.

That said, a pretty package isn't enough to carry a novel, and happily, "The Summer Isles" is as engaging on the outside as it is on the inside. On its surface, "The Summer Isles" is a remarkably detailed alternate history, in which Germany won World War I, and fascism arose in Great Britain (or "Greater Britain" as it has come to be known). And Macleod deserves a tremendous amount of credit for this creation. He creates interesting parallels between Nazi Germany and Great Britain, but doesn't make them so obvious or literal as to make the story dull. At the same time, he nicely winds up his alternate history with his characters, such that he can reveal it without resorting to the exposition which bogs down many other novels in the genre.

That said, it's what goes on beneath the surface that really draws the reader in. Macleod is exploring not just the forces of history, but our very understanding of history. At heart, what he has produced is a historiography of his own alternate history, which is a fascinating way to unfold a story. Even his narrator is two different people depending upon the source, his real name of Griffin Brooke having been changed to Geoffrey Brook by forces quite beyond his control. Likewise, he is a closeted homosexual (and quite understandably given the British regime) and as such, his own personal history is not what one would expect. Finally, there is a tenuous thread connecting him to the effective dictator of the British Empire, John Arthur, and only Brook knows that man's own secret history.

In the hands of a less gifted novelist all of these convolutions and meditations would be distracting and tedious, but Macleod has weaved them into a tale so engaging it is impossible not to be drawn in. He explores what is really a dual nature in human history, the tendency not to make waves, but the converse ability of people to rise above that comfort zone, to direct the forces of history, for good or ill, for at least a while. At the time, our ability to act (or not act) upon this stage is limited by imperfect information, and as such the law of unintended consequences will win out as often as not.

I could go on, but I suspect that this is a novel that will mean many things to many people, and I likewise don't want to go on so long that I give the impression this is a dry, theoretical novel as nothing could be further from the truth. "The Summer Isles" a fascinating alternate history, an engaging character study and a thoughtful meditation on the flow of history, not to mention a strong debut from a new small press.

Jake Mohlman

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing and disturbing, August 24, 2005

By	A. Medea - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Summer Isles is a fascinating and disturbing book; easy to see how it won awards. It describes an alternate world where England lost World War I and became fascist instead of Germany. The protagonist is an isolated gay man in a world where gays, Jews, gypsies and the Irish disappear into camps. There's one world that people admit to, matched by a hidden world that's ticking towards annihilation.

Fascist England is still disturbingly British. Their demagogue is diffident, self-effacing man named Arthur, surrounded by fascist knights of St. George rather than SS men. He's either inspired or a psychopath, and quite hard to say which.

There are flashes of outright brilliance as the writer counterposes chaos theory or turbulence theory to explain this terrible change that's come over England. The ideas are just mentioned in passing, nearly throwaways, but dazzling and disturbing enough to keep you up at night.

My only quibble is that while his description of polite British fascism is intriguing, the author's insights into the making of a demagogue are inaccurate. But then, no one understood the likes of Hitler, so perhaps that doesn't matter.

The physical production of the book is every bit as beautiful and elegant as described by the previous reviewer. If you find pleasure in fine books, this one is a worthy collector's piece.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same, August 23, 2006

By	Susan Lange (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If Ernest Hemingway wrote alternative history, the result would be something like the Summer Isles. The story is filled with detail and much sensory information. It moves slowly and emphasizes the emotions of the main character.

This is a beautiful book, inside and out. Aio press is to be commended for its use of a heavy, suede-like (albeit animal-friendly) jacket and low-enviornmental-impact thick paper. In an age when book materials are getting thinner, cheaper, and more disposable--probably in an effort to compete with a perceived threat from digital-only media--Aio takes a stand. This publisher calls a book a book instead of a flimsy excuse for a hardcopy of the Internet version. Compared to uploading an html document, putting out a book is expensive, but a book such as this will last longer than the latest hot romance, vampire novel, or expose on Christ's life. This book gives you something that nothing else in the information age can give you: a sense of permanency.

That goes for the story inside the book as well. In spite of the fact that the novel takes place during the last months of a dying man's life, the underlying feel is one of permanence. Things have changed much over the life of Griffin Brooke, not only in his own life, but in the world as well, yet somehow the book seems to underscore how very little things actually change.

The premise of this alternative history is that England is on the losing side of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles did not create the conditions in Germany that gave rise to Nazism. Instead England experienced those conditions: extreme poverty, shortages, governmental breakdown, loss of face of its subjects. Hitler, then, arose in Great Britain in the form of the great leader John Arthur.

Our main character was a teacher of young Arthur back when Arthur was a mere schoolboy. It is through this association that Brooke has achieved success, rising eventually to Oxford as a Don and eventually a well known writer of history texts. All of this despite the fact that Brooke is a somewhat inept or perhaps mediocre performer. He could not have achieved this success any other way than through his connection to the leader.

Through the use of recollection we see the life of Griffen Brooke unfold. His lost loves and somewhat mundane life are reviewed in detail. His world is described with thick use of color, light, and feel. We are in the man's head and experience what he experiences complete with the rich details he himself perceives. He is a sensitive character and we too become sensitive.

Big changes have taken place over his lifetime. Great Britain has turned from a free and prosperous world power to a second-rate poverty-stricken land. From there rises the Hitler figure who restores the status and pride of the country, but at a loss of much freedom of thought and speech and lifestyle, most notably for persons such as our hero who is a homosexual. Regardless of the major changes around Brooke and his own fabulous success, he himself has not changed much. He remains love-sick, disappointed in the world, and unable to finish his final work, and from our point of introduction, he is forever dying.

But he doesn't die. The end of the book does not give us his death. He leaves with a large sum of money from the royalty on a book others will complete for him and leaves the country of his birth where he has never truly been happy. He goes off to die alone and unremarked upon in a foreign land. In our minds, Brooke is immortal even though he has been dying from the moment we met him. In fact, he has been dead for a long time, ever since he lost the great love of his life. His actual last breath is a moot point.

His life parallels his country's. England is dying too. The end of the Great War signaled the beginning of a slow death and John Arthur urged it on, even as he appeared to pull it from the ashes. Only when England is free from Arthur can it truly be reborn. Once that happens, England can live on and Brooke can sail out of the novel to live forever in our minds.

The book is magnanimous towards Germany in its assertion that the conditions of the time created Hitler and Nazism, not necessarily the German people. Nazism will develop in any country under the right conditions regardless of the culture of its citizens. Given extreme poverty and a people under the impression that they were once great, you will get a despot. A good point, well made and certainly one not original to this text. We are fond of reminding ourselves that the people of Germany supported Nazism because Hitler gave them something they needed: restoration of pride. Of course this was at the cost of a large number of German citizens' lives, but they were in a minority and somebody had to pay the price. The point is, any one of us will follow a leader regardless of how wrong headed he or she may be. As long as they return to us our self-worth once it has been taken, any psycho can get a following.

There is a new idea in the book, however. One that is not quite so magnanimous. It is contentious almost. In the end, the British people destroy their Hitler, something the German people were never able to do, although several attempts were made. Is author Ian MacLeod saying the British people are superior since they recognized and stopped the insanity, whereas the Germans required the help of the world for that? Maybe. Maybe he's just saying that at some point, we need to recognize our folly and correct it. National pride is one thing, national insanity is another.

Sue Lange, author "Tritcheon Hash"
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