Tigana

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and Moving! Couldn't put it Down.
Review: A nation and it's people have had their name and history erased, but there are those that remember and will do anything to get it back. A Wonderful fantasy adventure that sweeps you away to another world where magic and sorcery are very real! The characters are wonderful and the story breaks your heart with twist and triumphs. I have since read other works by Kay, but nothing he as written since has come close to surpassing Tigana.

Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorites
Review: This was the first of Kay's books that I read, and I was completely swept away by it. The characters and their world stay with me still. I would highly recommend it to people who enjoyed Tolkien's work, and to anyone who enjoys very highly detailed fantasy worlds.

Rating:
Summary: The Masterpiece
Review: GG Kay has yet to write a book to quite match Tigana. Not that many people have. I borrowed Tigana from a cousin 4 years ago and he hasn't seen it since... I read it again once every year.

In a few words, Tigana is the story of a cursed, oppressed people struggling to break their own bonds as well as the magical spell that has wiped all memory of their homeland from the face of the earth. But it is also the story of a young Prince about to claim his birthright against all odds, it is also the story of a young man coming to terms with the real world and what that process does to his soul, it is the story of a woman who must walk the razor's edge dividing true love and bitter hatred. It is a story of many things, set in a world that is not our own, but seems little different.

The first thing that comes to mind as I write this, for all I have not read the book for nearly a year, is Kay's spectacular portrayal of Good and Evil. Kay's worlds are traditionally low-magic (or no-magic) fantasies, and as such force him to be more realistic as he creates heroes and villains.

EXCEPT you can't tell who the heroes and who the villains are. Brandin of Ygrath, supposedly the villain, is portrayed as a loving father, a good husband/lover and a formidable politician besides. I ended up liking Brandin and not quite wanting him to die. On the other hand, the heroes themselves are far from saints and in fact seem to believe the end justifies the means. Kay manages to do this by keeping all of his characters working and thinking on many levels at the same time, in much the same way as real people do. the result is a cast of characters you care deeply about, not because the reviews on the sleeve say so, but because you don't have much choice.

The plot in itself may not be a revelation or a feat of superhuman ingenuity, but it carries its own set of convincing sub-plots of love, hate, powerplay etc. The final twist concerning prince Valentin's fate is shocking and at the same time provides the perfect means of restoring Brandin to the status of arch-villain and lending a feeling of katharsis to his death. The way Kay manages to weave everything together in the end without resorting to cheap tricks and "chance" encounters is truly impressive too.

Kay's prose is altogether beautiful, and effortlessly so. Kay does not tell you what to feel; he tells you what happens, filters it through the eyes of this or that hero and manages to MAKE you feel what they do. His emotional power does tend to fluctuate, but that fluctuation is represented only by the occasional emotional "spikes", and doesn't fall below a certain standard which Kay has kept immensely high.

I have heard people complain about flat characters; these people probably ate through the book in 10 hours so they could put it in the shelf and look at it and say "look,I read that in 10 hours" and feel good about themselves. They have missed a lot. I will grant these people that some of the women do tend to teeter on the edge of becoming sexual playthings, but surely one should expect no different handling in a realistic medieval setting; in short, just because Robert Jordan's women rule the world, that doesn't mean Tigana is a bad book...

I will also grant those who did not like this book that there's not nearly the amount of scheming and plotting you would have expected from a prince in the making and his two sorcerer enemies. True. But I will still excuse GG Kay since it seems to me that his aim was to write an emotionally and not merely intellectually challenging tale; that, he has done excellently. I think most people will forgive him, as well.

BUY this book and lend it out if at all possible. The insights it gave me changed my choice of profession, changed the way I see the world, and still keep me coming back for more after 4 years... The people I gave it to told me it's a fabulous read that brought about many a moment of introspection, even tears.

Read it, whatever you do.

Rating:
Summary: A riselka
Review: A riselka is mythical creature found in the world Guy Gavriel Kay has created in his most superb novel. The enigmatic qualities of the beautiful female reflect the book as a whole. Kay performs his trick of forcing one to see the humanity in each character. If your looking for black and white situations, you will not find them here. Kay specializes in manipulating the grey area. Tigana, a country whose very existence has been wiped out through the magic of Brandin the tyrant, exists only in the memories of her people. Brandin, an embittered invader whose son was murdered in a conflict with Tigana's prince, has determined to utterly destroy Tigana, crush the people within it's boundaries and eliminate even it's very memory, only permitting those who lived there to remember it so they may suffer trying to tell others of their country, but those not of Tigana are deaf to their words. But even Brandin is human, painfully so, Kay's characters and their relationships, particularly between Brandin and the beautiful and tragic Dianora, captivate the reader. This book will stay with me forever.

Rating:
Summary: Sublime Paean to the Human Spirit
Review: Tigana is that rarest of books; one that dares to transcend its genre and aspire to great literature. It is not plot driven or even primarily character driven, though Kay develops both plot and character with a deftness that is a wonder to behold. Rather, this work is driven by themes: it exquisitely balances cruelty and compassion, conscience and necessity, love and tyranny, honour and betrayal, memory and loss; and it accomplishes all this with a lyricism that verges on poetry.

There are few outright villains in this work, and just as importantly, few outright heroes. In this, as in so much else, Kay seeks to reflect the complexity of life. Just one finely balanced contrast must suffice.

The key antagonist, Brandin, is a supremely complex man. Unlike the antagonists of lesser works, we come to empathise with him. He is deeply flawed - he would expunge an entire culture from human history for the sake of a bitter personal vengeance. At the same time, he is worthy of praise, of devotion, even of love. Except for the land that he has sworn to destroy, he seeks to rule wisely, justly and, within the limitations of his Machiavellian world, compassionately. We come to understand him not as a bad man but as one who betrays his innate goodness first for glory and then for a grief filled hatred.

Brandin's consort, Dianora, must live with a betrayal of a different sort, for she betrays her homeland, her family and her oath of vengeance for the love of this man. As the story unfolds, we understand why. We cannot condemn her. She sees the nobility that is in him. And the measure of that nobility is the sacrifice he is prepared to make, renouncing his larger inheritance and willingly reducing himself to the rule of an insignificant island kingdom, simply that Dianora may become his queen. Only a heart of stone would fail to be moved by the fate that eventually befalls these two.

This is only one of many intricate threads at work within the book. Yet, the whole flows with such a refined balance that to read Tigana is to sense a master storyteller at the height of his calling.

I would not recommend Tigana to everybody. It is a work rich with layers, undercurrents and deep subtlety. Those who read fantasy only for the clashes of armies, the duels of wizards, dragons, demons and vigorous action will find this book disappointing. But if you prefer your fantasy leavened with wisdom, pity and humanity, Tigana will fill you with a sublime compassion for the human condition that will have you dreaming about this haunting world for perhaps the rest of your life.

Rating:
Summary: The book that ruined all others for me.
Review: I believe in 300 years, this book will emerge as *the* fantasy novel above everything else. Even Tolkien. It is a masterpiece, and after reading it, I was sad because I knew I would never read anything as good ever again.

I've read all the reviews, and to those who disliked and/or didn't get it: the problem is not the book, it is you. Like Shakespeare and Van Gogh, Kay is misunderstood in his own time. His rich, complex writing is above and beyond anything that has ever been done before in this genre. His characters breath on the page, their motivations become the reader's. The line between good and evil becomes blurred, just like in reality.

And the climax is incredible. I'm a grown man, yet tears were streaming down my cheek. No book has EVER done that to me before.

Rating:
Summary: Bright Weavings
Review: I don't think GGK can ever go wrong. Tigana was a beautiful book in so many ways--the language, the sentiment...It is very hard to describe Tigana, it is more like a wonderful dream that leaves you feeling enriched afterwards. But then, all of Kay's books have that effect on me. Do yourself a favor and read it. You won't be able to put it down.

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Summary: Such a refreshing change
Review: Tigana is a rarity in modern fantasy, not only for the fact that it is an entire story contained in one volume. There are several other fantasy molds it dares to break, and as a result, it provides a refreshing change of pace from the standard quest fantasy that pervades the science-fiction/fantasy shelves in the bookstores today. But with these innovations, one has to accept a few failings of the story as well.

One of the best things about the book is that finally, at long last, we are given a villain that is not a cardboard cutout evil sorcerer. In fact, we are presented with two villains of the piece, and each is unique in his vileness. On the one side, the sorcerer Alberico is a sick, twisted individual whose evil rests on the motivation of his ambition to the throne of his native land. Alberico is contemptible, but at the same time pitiable in the way circumstances seem so far beyond his control and his ambition. Brandin, the sorcerer from the other kingdom, and Alberico's rival, is a sympathetic villain, powerful and controlling, yet not wholly evil. We see a great deal of his human side and in the end, respect him even as we hope for his downfall. This dual opposition keeps the reader rapt in the story, devouring the book to see just where it goes.

And if the villains are complex, the heroes are doubly so. Each character finds his or her own story arc, and the right and wrong of their goals are constantly questioned. That good and evil are not so clear cut is unusual for a fantasy novel, and Mr. Kay earns my respect for the boldness that it takes to write such a story. The main characters even question their own motivations for pursuing their goal, something we usually take for granted in such a tale.

Though this was a unique fantasy experience, I did find some drawbacks that detracted somewhat from the pleasure I derived. These points are relatively minor, and I can't even describe them fully without giving away too much of the book. But one thing that I did find somewhat irritating was that the Heir of the lost province seemed too much of a superhero. He had too many exceptional abilities. In any other fantasy novel this probably wouldn't seem exceptional, but the rest of Tigana gave me such high hopes that the "do-anything" characteristics of the heir made it difficult for me to accept. Other character problems were the inclusion of seemingly major characters that eventually came to so little that you have to wonder why Kay made them seem so important. There was also the inclusion of relatively major supporting characters that weren't even introduced until fairly late in the book.

Also, there were too many shifts in the point-of-view. This is a flaw in the writing style, not the story, and many people wouldn't really care, but I found it hard to follow when I didn't know whose eyes I was seeing events through. Kay mostly managed to keep the shifts limited to separate sections, but in one place, he starts a section in one character's point of view, then two paragraphs later makes an awkward shift to another.

All in all, the relatively minor flaws are worth working through in order to enjoy a book like Tigana. If I could give it four and a half stars, I would. It was the best fantasy novel I'd read in ages, and has me eager to read more from the author, and more fantasy in general.

Rating:
Summary: The Art of Magic on every level. Exquisite
Review: The image of Kay that I have is one of a master weaver sitting before a loom with the many colored threads of his ideas for his tapestry grasped lightly in his gifted hands. Like magic his images form into a seamless, richly textured, deeply emotional weave that portrays a battle between the forces of chaos and order in an stark yet mystical setting.

Kay's characters are utterly believable in their humanity and flaws as they seek to right a wrong, find love, empower themselves, inspire others, or to gratify their needs of lust for wealth or glory.

In this tale a prince of a land lost under the curse of a magical spell by a conquering king, disguises himself as a travelling musician. He travels the land to form an underground movement of other expatriates who seek redress for their suffering under the crushing magical control by two tyrants who have split their country, taxed and tortured them to death. The Prince seeks to recover his land's identity, restore his kingdom and to destroy the tyrants who have crushed his world.

Although Kay tells his story in the context of a land enmeshed in heavy religious influence with a plethora of gods, goddesses, and earth religions with magical superstitions, never did one feel that one was being forced to choke down the author's religious bias.

The magic portrayed throughout from the overwhelming power of King Brandin to the barbarian Alberico's crude, damaged, wavering socery to the flawed personalities and skills of the reluctant wizards who help resolve the war with magical links to the eerie night walkers was, to me, the glistening thread in the weave that, like a ray of moonlight adds just that element of surreality that makes this tale bewitchingly unforgettable.

The contrast between the bittersweet, tormented passion of sensual, sexual slave Dianora, and the militant Catriana is wrenching for each seeks to find freedom from the rule of powerful men while lusting for vengence for lost identity, families and country as they struggle with flaws that consume their thoughts while punishing themselves with self doubt.

The interwoven threads of unrequited love, grief, impassioned suffering, hoplessness, and, yet, enormous determination takes the reader all over the emotional landscape. The power of self sacrifice enobles the characters yet haunts one's heart and mind long after completion of this magnificent tapestry.

Tigana evokes awareness of the universality of humanity regardless of the time or the context of the tale. Most of all, one is inspired to look deeply within to explore the wellspring of hope and renewal that lives in each of us. A beguiling, gorgeous story.

Rating:
Summary: Distressing to read...
Review: Tigana, simply said, is one of two books of fiction that I can legitimately say changed my life. (The other being _The Brothers Karamazov_, by Fyodor Dostoevsky.) Yet such a brief bit of praise is hardly sufficient for such a masterwork.

I was reading a review entitled a "Dissenting View," and I suppose that review is what prompted me to write this one. Everything that is found faulty in that review is what is beautiful about Tigana. (Well, except perhaps for the secret sect part...) Tigana is not about swords and sorcery. Kay had the courage to write about heroes who lack godlike stature, villains who lack black capes and glowing eyes, and conflicts that lack pretty resolutions. Kay's characters are deep in ways that other writers -- Jordan, Goodkind, Anthony, et all -- cannot comprehend.

Rather than "developing" characters by giving them new powers, rather than having each adversary more magically potent, Kay weaves a tale of political intrigue and romance. Solutions cannot be found through a sorcerous artifact or mass slaughter...

I don't want to bore readers. I have recommended this book to my girlfriend (who never read fantasy before), to my best friends, and to a Dartmouth prof -- all of them loved it. You're cheating yourself if you don't read it. The only possible downside to this great novel is that you'll never see another one like it again. _A Song for Arbonne_ comes close, but after that, Kay seems to have lost his art. (Reading the Sarantine Mosaic is a bit like seeing your grandfather in the hospital with altzheimers...so much has been lost...)

Read it, enjoy it, and then reread it. I've gone through five times now.