The Lions of Al-Rassan

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Summary: Fantastic! Funny, witty and sad all at the same time.
Review: Each book of Mr Kay's is unique and this one is no exception. His characters are complex and interesting, and I find his style a joy to read. In this story you have strong male and female characters trying to live in a warring world. As with all his other books you end up laughing, crying and lamenting the fact that a character(s) which you have taken into your soul ends up dying! Yet how else could the issues be resolved? I find his books thought provoking, if only trying to think up solutions which may keep my favourite characters alive. A strongly recommended book, I am eagerly awaiting his next!

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Summary: This book is simply brilliant.
Review: I am not a man to cry easily, but this man had me sniffling in a crowded train. This novel is, in a word, brilliant. G.G. Kay has the ability to create vivid characters, witty dialogue, and very emotional prose. I rank novels according to the Alexlit scale. I've given the "fabulous" rating to only a few novels - they can be counted on the fingers of a maimed hand. But "The Lions of Al-Rassan" is one of those novels. Read it.

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Summary: Kay's Writing Supreme Over Fantasy-Hack Writers
Review: The historical undertones make this seem less of a fantasy and more like a fairytale or a fable, and the lesson to be learned here would be religous fascism. Through the eyes of the main characters, all who hail from the various warring fractions, we see the pointlessness of this holy war. The beauty in this book is the beauty that is found when people forget their religions and instead, be human. The horror in this story are scenes illustrating the religious followers exercising their faith on their neighbours; the Nazi-persecution of the Jew-like Kindath and the Christian-like crucifictions. Kay is a master in that, by using different backrounds, the reader transcedes religious rightiousness and sees the self-destructiveness in it. Anyone, no matter their religious/ athesist backround would find something in this story of a world that is torn away from those who, given their choice, would love it, and instead are forced to watch it burn in the name of their respective gods. This would be a great story for grade 7 to read, a very eloquent arguement for tolerance, and the travesty of war. Something for everyone in this book. A masterpiece without the usual horrendous writing done by fantasy authors.

Rating:
Summary: Good enough to fend off sleep
Review: As a fan of fantasy and and one to shy away from lessons in history , I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did . As I have come to expect from GGK , there was a tone of high-dramatism to the whole novel , even in its supposed lighter moments . I equate those to the missed jokes one often hears while watching Mulder deliver them in all seriousness to a silent audience. Even if I hadn't known how historically based this book was , there is enough of the fantastic elements to please SFF fans . There's the usual ingredients of religion , war, political intrigue , assasinations and the usual sprinkling of lascivious scenes and graphic gore . An aspect I always enjoy about Kay's characters is the fact that none of them are blackened by evil nor are they angelic and dripping with the milk of human goodness . Although the protagonists are pretty much the classic good guys of such novels , they at least are torn by conflicting loyalties and past vices . Adds more to the realism I think . I also admire the depth of events which Kay manages to explore within a single volume . Much like Tigana , more occurs in his 600 pages than in many other series that I have lumbered my way through . There's something about his writing that's almost lyrical , something that sustains interest without being too difficult to read or metaphorically deep . I guess the only reasons I didn't give this book a higher rating were (1) Lotsa similar characters to Tigana eg ALvar-Devin (2) I enjoyed his other books more (3) Being a SFF fan, of course I'm eagerly awaiting new and inventive systems of magic and whatnot (4) I'm a sucker for cover art and without having read Kay's other books - not a fly's chance in an electric swat storm that I would have picked this one up . No kidding though , it's a decent read throughout and if you're the teary type , better have some Kleenex on standby .

Rating:
Summary: world-sweeping historical fantasy - wow.
Review: I've just re-read this book, and once again been awed by Kay's ability to draw out raw emotions based on the adventures of his characters. Despite its being in more 'earthly' a realm than his earlier works, I don't feel it loses anything for this - gains credibility, if anything. Read it. and weep, for these conflicts occur within us all. I loved this book, and its characters.

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Summary: Heart-twisting tragedy
Review: Kay returns to a mythical peninsular for this novel. Again, music and poetry play a big part in his story telling. What is different abou this novel from his others is the use of religion as a catalyst for the events. Amazing complex characters, who bond through, create and cause tragedy for each other. It is a very moving read, with emotive language that draws you in, twists your heart, into knots and then rings it dry. I was exhausted after reading this book, but will read it again and again.

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Summary: A simpler, more historical Kay - and still beautiful
Review: 'Lions' is Kay's latest novel and profoundly illustrates his gradual change of style from pure fantasy in the Fionavar triology towards the more historical fiction in this book. There is virtually no magic in 'Lions', but a haunting sense of personal tragedy and percieved destiny, a shade of style which also occurs in Kay's other books, and helps make the story beautiful and believable. He skillfully illustrates the almost percieved shadings of life and feeling that we all catch a glimpse of from time to time, but never quite can name.
Regretfully, 'Lions' lack the brilliant sublety and complexity of earlier novels such as 'Tigana'. The development of the story is less surprising and the plot itself more simple. The poetic and hauntingly beautiful language is still there, though this, too, is simpler and less compelling. Though the story itself is tragic, I miss the sense of greatness - there is some small nuance missing in the language or a depth to the story to make it a truly perfect book.
It is, however, still Kay's writing, obviously done with a master's hand, and as such definitely worth reading. Though not at his best in 'Lions', Kay is a gifted artist in the field of writing and a great inspiration to someone who appreciates beauty in any form.

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Summary: I cried all the way from Newark to LAX.
Review: I purchased this to read on a three month travel assignment. It only lasted a couple of days. Lions' has beautifully defined characters with a well described roughness and honour believable of the time and place. I was so drawn into the story, and the lives of the characters that the death of... left me totally in tears. Few books have such well described characters that become part of your life. This is the first 'Kay' book I've read. If they are all like this it will not be the last!

Rating:
Summary: Flawed but evocative
Review: _The Lions of Al-Rassan_ is clearly based on the Spanish Reconquista. While I barely know anything about the era, tipoffs such as Rodrigo (El Cid's first name was Rodrigo...) and references to a Sancho as king make me want to find out how much history went into the tale.

That said, I greatly enjoyed Kay's dreamy prose and his characters, especially the physician Jehane. It puzzles me that this was billed as fantasy rather than more-liberal-than-usual historical fiction; you can almost chart the decline of Kay's use of fantastic elements from the Fionavar Tapestry through _Tigana_, _A Song for Arbonne_, and now this.

Unfortunately, like Kay's other works, _The Lions of Al-Rassan_ is flawed. (The good news is that he does seem to learn; at least, it's a different flaw each time.) In a number of places he employs a coy narrative trick no doubt intended to be suspenseful, namely making the reader play "guess-who," especially at the conclusion; I found the technique more irritating than anything else. Another problem is the distance: I came to love the characters but culture was very sketchily defined and hard to mourn for. (The prologue, like so many of its kind, could probably have been discarded.)

Nevertheless, Kay remains worth reading despite the flaws in his works. Go forth and enjoy. :-)

Rating:
Summary: A Remarkable Book!! Go on, READ IT!
Review: It has been a while since I read this book but I can still remember the music, the colour, the excitement, the loves and the subtle nuances of this remerkable book. Kay manages to takes us away with him as he plays the part of storyteller for this superbly rendered book and as always we are caught up in the lives of the characters. I won't give away any of the plot so that you may enjoy this book absolutely as I did the first time I read it but I will say that [e-mail] (07/08/97) is wrong when they say that this is not a fantasy book. So what if there is little magic spoken of in the text! The magic is in Kay's description of the land and the ease with which he is able to carry you away with him. If you liked Kay's other books you'll love this and if you havn't yet had the joy of experiencing his works...Go on, give him a go and read it!!

I became addicted to Kay's works when I first read his Fionavar Trilogy and ever since I have brought every book he has released as soon as it has come out. While this latest novel is well and truely up there with "Tigana" and "A Song for Arbonne", I can not put it above the Fionavar trilogy as this work is special to me and introduced me to the wonders that are Guy Gavriel Kay and his writing