Title: Uninspired and uninvolving
Product review: Lisa Goldstein has a good reputation in fantasy circles, but on the basis of this book I have to assume either that she is highly overrated or else that "Summer King, Winter Fool" is not particularly representative of her work as a whole. Some nice work in creating a promising setting and some intriguing ideas along the way are deep-sixed by a formulaic plot and characters who stubbornly refuse to come to life. Ms. Goldstein ignores the essential injunction to show, not tell, and the book hurries to its ending without creating the slightest tension along the way. Inexplicably recommended as one of the best fantasy novels of 1994 in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's annual "Year's Best" anthology, which is normally a fairly reliable source for finding quality fantasy literature. Go figure.
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