Amy Faulks’s SUMMONERS is a fantasy book that focuses a lot on trust and conflict. In this story, being strong isn’t enough to stay alive. It comes from learning how to work with other people, even when it’s hard to trust them. The book shows how people can face their fears, doubts, and uncomfortable truths when they have to work together to stay alive.
There is always danger in the world of SUMMONERS. When someone dies, their spirit doesn’t always leave the living world. Some spirits fade away without a sound, while others stay behind feeling confused or angry. If you don’t lead these spirits away, they can become dangerous. This threat makes people scared all over the world.
The city has set up strict systems to deal with this threat. The Veil is the most important of these. The Veil is a strong wall that keeps the living world and the spirit world apart. It stops spirits from moving freely and keeps the city from going crazy. Even if they don’t fully understand it, people trust the Veil to keep them safe.
Executors are trained professionals who help the Veil. After someone dies, executors help spirits move on and keep things in balance. Their jobs are hard and important. They need to act quickly, follow the rules, and keep their feelings in check. Without Executors, the systems that keep society safe would break down.
The story is about Terry Mandeville, an experienced Executor who strongly believes in order and discipline. Terry believes in rules because they help him feel safe in a world that is dangerous. He thinks that following rules is the best way to keep himself and others safe.
Terry’s life is built around routine. He stays away from people and doesn’t get emotionally attached to them. This way of doing things helps him get through his job, but it also makes it harder for him to connect with other people. Terry thinks that control is safer than trust.
When Terry meets the spirit of a man named Whip, this belief is put to the test. Whip is not like other spirits. He is still aware, alert, and unwilling to fade away. Instead of being led away, his spirit is tied to Terry.
This unexpected bond makes Terry and Whip have to live together. Terry loses control over skills he used to rely on. He no longer thinks or does things by himself. Whip is inside him, which causes him to be tense and fight all the time.
They don’t trust each other very easily. Terry thinks Whip is a problem that needs to be dealt with. Terry sees Whip as a system that let him down. At first, they are frustrated, angry, and scared of each other. Neither of them wants this connection, but neither can get away from it.
Whip’s point of view goes against what Terry believes. Whip lived outside of strict systems in real life. He doesn’t trust rules or authority because they didn’t keep him safe. He doubts Terry’s faith in structure and shows how little control there is.
Through their interactions, SUMMONERS looks at how trust can grow even when things are bad. To stay alive, Terry and Whip have to depend on each other. Over time, need makes people work together. Small acts of understanding start to take the place of open conflict.
The slow growth of trust is one of the book’s best parts. Amy Faulks takes her time with the process. Trust grows when people face danger together, have honest disagreements, and slowly come to understand each other. This makes their relationship seem real and earned.
As Terry and Whip’s relationship gets worse, a bigger threat grows in the background. The city’s Veil is getting weaker. Little signs of failure show up, and fear spreads. People start to understand that their best protection might not last forever.
The Veil getting weaker makes things more tense in society. Leaders, witches, and Executors have to work together. Old fights come back, and it’s hard to trust people. The book shows how fear can tear people apart when they need to work together the most.
This crisis makes people think about the past. A long time ago, strong magic was used to build the city’s protective systems. The Witch Queen, Iris Westheide, is the most important person in this history. Her knowledge shaped the Veil and the rules that spirits have to follow.
It might be possible to fix the Veil by calling on the Witch Queen’s spirit. But what she did in the past both helped and hurt her. This causes problems for people who want to save the city. People’s trust in old power starts to fade as they argue over whether they can trust it again.
This problem adds another level of trust to the story. Characters have to choose who to trust and whose judgment to follow. These choices have an impact on both survival and the moral compass of society.
Amy Faulks shows that magic requires people to work together. Rituals need a lot of people, planning, and focus. No one character can fix every problem by themselves. This strengthens the idea of survival together.
The way SUMMONERS is written backs up these ideas. The words are simple and clear, which makes it easy to understand emotional conflict. The pacing lets relationships grow on their own, without pushing them to end.
The book doesn’t rely on constant action to build tension; instead, it does so through relationships. Conversations, arguments, and times of silence all matter. Trust and conflict are just as important to the story as magic is.
This is also true of Terry’s journey. His fight isn’t about getting power. It has to do with learning to trust other people and deal with the unknown. He must depend on people instead of just rules as systems break down.
Whip’s role shows how much it costs to break trust. His life and death show how people can be hurt when systems don’t take care of their needs. The book asks if safety can last if it is built without trust through Whip.
These themes are also present in the city itself. The way its systems and protections work shows that it is a society based on control, not understanding. As trust fades, the flaws in these systems become clear.
Amy Faulks’s SUMMONERS is, at its heart, a story about people working together to stay alive. It shows that no one can live on their own. You have to trust, even when it’s hard, to face fear and change.
Readers who like fantasy that looks at relationships and deep emotions will find SUMMONERS to be a meaningful book. It has magic, great character development, and deep themes.
Amy Faulks’ book SUMMONERS reminds readers that survival depends not only on systems, but also on people who are willing to trust each other when it matters most.