Tigana

Rating:
Summary: Good (of course!)
Review: There seems to be two fractions of Kay readers. One side thinks Tigana the best, the other the Lions of Al-Rassan. Belonging to the latter, I did not like this book as much as Al-Rassan. I don't know exactley how to explain way.

Its characters, for a start, are somehow plain, they lack the depth of real people. Normally Kay can write as if the people themselves told him the story. In Tigana I never managed to feel for the people, and I need to do that if I have to like a book.

In my personal opinion Tigana is the worst book of Kay. Well, the worst book of Kay is as good as the best of any other writer, including Tolkien.

If you are looking for as stunning, breathtaking book, with a story that is everything, but classic, then read it. If you want a good book, this is yours.

Rating:
Summary: This book kicks booty!
Review: I loved this book! To those of you who don't know a good book when you see one, this is a wonderful book that OBVIOUSLY deserved 5 stars. I liked this book, because it was so magical and mysterious. You just want to keep reading more and more, to find out what will happen. What I liked best was how spontaneous it was. Also, the twisting plot and suprise ending made it all the more interesting. I recomend this book to everyone who loves, likes, or detests fantasy, because it puts a new spin on a new plot, and it is different and better than everything else I have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully complex novel
Review: Most works of fantasy are melodramas - the author sets up a 'good guy' and a 'bad guy,' making it pretty clear all along that you should root for the good guy. It's something fantasy readers have grown to expect. It's the absence of this that makes Tigana such a wonderful book. Kay breaks the genre with this book, and after reading it, many fantasy novels seem shallow in comparison. He sets the reader up, really - at the beginning, he lets you think you know who the protagonist is. By the middle you're not sure any more. This isn't a melodrama. If you like your fantasy with hard lines between good and evil, this won't be your cup of tea. It's a character-driven story with depth well beyond most fantasy novels. There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the finest works of fantasy ever written.

Rating:
Summary: A fantasy - but not quite...
Review: The book misses... magic. Not the magic in the book, I mean, the wizards in the book use it generously and in every mean possible, from killing, destroying, creating, contraception... I mean the magic of fantasy genre. It is shallow.

The characters are guys you meet every day, forced into something they don't really wanna do, but doing it anyway. The bad guys, for example. When Darth Vader, Sauron or Thulsa Doom "enter" your room while reading, something enters with them, an aura of mysticism, something thrilling that makes them distant, different, wondrous. Kay's bad guys are but neurotic. After some time you start wondering "These guys are wizards! Why don't they DO something? " The guy chops some heads off just for fun, but he can't get one lousy merchandiser out of his way, not control his own people? Some tyrant! Instead of being evil wizards, they are reduced to the level of politicians, and after you read the book twice, you'll see it's a great work in fields of politics and economy, but a poor one in the filed of fantasy. Disney's bad guys are better than Kay's. And that's a great insult.

Good guys? There isn't really a big difference, but they're a bit better, I'll admit that. Though the book misses a grandiose good guy as well, someone mysterious and awkward. There's a character who's such to the other characters, but the reader loses the feeling because he's told everything he could possibly know about that character on the first 100 pages. Sexuality helps a lot to ruining the mysticism. I'm not saying sex shouldn't be in the book: we all know how mystical Vampires always were, exactly because of the feeling of sensuality and sexuality. I'm just saying: in this book it doesn't work. I couldn't help but declare Brandin pathetic. Also, ancient religions, symbols, foresight, all that works wonderfully in other books - seems to fail here because of the general "commoness" the book is filled with.

There are also some very annoying things about the book I want to warn you about. One: take a pen and pencil when starting the book, and write down the names and a short description. After the page 300, you'll thank me for this advice. That's not all. 20 days after I have read the book, I was convinced that every "voice" who "spoke from behind them" (me) was Erlein come to life. I mean, it's nice to make a popup sometimes, but does Erlein have to "pop up" every time he speaks? This book does have it good sides. It has a wonderful love story (stories) in it, and somehow... the entire book seems like a background for them. As if the characters got out of hand, in a way they're all too emotional, too.

I'm not saying this book is unreadable: it is very good; but if you are coming from Tolkien, Kalorigis, Lucas and such in search of a similar book - you'll be disapointed. On the other hand, if you're not a "sworn" fantasist, but cherish good characterization, emotions, sex and messy plots, go right ahead and buy it - you won't be sorry!

And one last remark. There are wise thoughts in the book, where Kay actually reflects on our own world. They ARE wise, I'm not saying they're not. Don't worry, you won't miss them. They're italicized. (? )

Rating:
Summary: The best fantasy I've ever read!
Review: Kay started out writing fantasy like most fantasy writers, incorporating arduous voyages, magic and spellcraft, prophecy, and the conquering of ultimate evil. YAWN! Haven't we seen enough of the same basic story? Apparently, Kay's realized this, and his later books focus just on people and deeds, resulting in refreshing, hard-hitting, and ultimately satisfying fantasy. And "Tigana" is the crowning masterpiece.

There is some minor spellcraft in "Tigana." Well, it is a fantasy novel, after all. But the story's depth and poignancy place such magic well into the background. At its heart is a story of a conquered land struggling to regain its freedom and identity from two invaders. But it's also a human story, as the reader discovers the emotional ties developing between our interpid protagonists as they rally the land.

There's more: again, unlike most fantasy where the ultimate bad guy is a detestable demon driven by instinctual evil, the two invaders are human beings: one's driven by greed, and the other by revenge over the death of a son. A sister of the intrepid band has taken it upon herself to bring down one of these invaders, and this becomes a second scintillating story in itself.

The ending is awe-inspiring and cathartic as it brings these two threads together, but not necessarily happy either. I won't give it away, but the bittersweetness I felt was wonderful.

"Tigana" will remain in my memory like a blade in the soul. That's a good thing.

Rating:
Summary: Not a bad story--horrible ending
Review: First off, I would like to say that I did feel for all of the characters in this book, especially Dianora. What a tragic character! I had some problems with the bumbiness of the ride, however. There were times when it seemed like Kay was just throwing in another sub-plot only because it had been about 50 pages since the last one.

I will say that this book does elicit rather strong emotions, mostly rage in the last hundred pages or so on my part. I don't like being deceived I guess. None of what Kay foreshadowed came true. He just kept throwing in new elements, and I found myself thinking, Have I actually been reading this same book? It was like a completely different story almost. It's like Kay had to meet a deadline and didn't have time to finish out the rest of the story.

I still give it four stars though because I loved the story until about page 600. I figure that 600 pages of really good writing deserves more than 2 or 3 stars. On the whole I would recommend reading Tigana. Who knows, you might even enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Great, but...
Review: First I must commend the great writing style used in this book... It is detailed and yet mystical, thorough and straight-forward, but not common or plain. What I liked the most about the story was definitely the human aspect: the happenings, the intrigues, the plots, the fight for freedom, the longing for the better-than-today past, love, sex, ... What I didn't like (me like this, me no like that ;) was the influence of the 'Italian' (or Italian-sounding); don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Italy or Italians - they are, among other things, quite bareable neighbours, but the 'feel' of the story (names of the people, places...) is almost too 'ranaissantial', and I'm not sure I want this kind of feel from a fantasy. It also lacks greatness in some aspects, the 'why' or the road to 'why', if you know what I mean... I also miss the 'unexplored' or 'a-long-time-ago-there-was-something-but-now-it-isn't-anymore-and-there's-a-great-forest-in-'its'-place-that's-full-of-mystery-and-interesting/dangerous?-cretures' kind of feeling ;) I don't know... I guess that individual aspects kick in at this point (or probably even at the earlier ones) - I enjoyed the book immensely, but not as I enjoyed for example the works of Ursula Le Guinn, even though they were much, MUCH too short (hint to Ursula here - the greatest thing would be if you wrote an (at least) 2000 pages trilogy in the Earthsea style ;). Therefore I would add as a conclusion to my humble opinion a thought, that it is better to invent a world or a culture, or derive (but not directly!) from the mystic past of the more exotic or misterious Earth cultures, than to make excessive use of the latin-, christian- or anglo-american- based elements.

Rating:
Summary: Tigana is one of the greatest works of fabtasy literature
Review: Surpassed only as a single volume work in fantasy literature by Tolkien's Simarillion, Tigana is a brialliant piece of work. The plot is brilliantly interwoven, and the juxtaposition of good and evil in the story offers a refreshing light on the central theme off all fantasy literature. Kay has crafted a beatiful tale about redemption, revenge, lust, sorrow, and triumph. The ending of the novel was wonderfully poetic, nearly moving me to tears; never have i seen a fantasy story so beautifully ended.

Rating:
Summary: People have it backwards
Review: Many people are complaining that they don't have nearly as much sympathy for the protagonists as they do for the antagonists. Perhaps it's because they have them backwards. I think by the end of the book, Brandin IS the protagonist, not the Tigana people.

And I agree that he ended the story rather poorly; it seems rather slap-dash and messy, when there are so many opportunities to make it beautiful, meaningful, or tragic.

I'm also going to have to add my voice to the others who claim Kay is among the best writers that live. And he shouldn't be compared with Tolkein! It has become a meaningless comparison due to overuse.

Rating:
Summary: A potentially great author getting better...
Review: I read some of the reviews that called Tigana the 2nd best fantasy novel of all time so I had to read it. Tigana is a great story, and when compared to the fionovar tapestry, Kay shows that he has come a very long way. I rate it 9/10 but not 10/10 so it gets 4 stars.

But the first time through, I put it down after only 100 pages. Then half a year later I decided to really read it and I had to start again. Tigana is great because it has a large (but manageable - hear that Robert Jordan?) scope. The intertwining of the story is in the end extremely fulfilling. But the pace is varied because as a whole the dual plots of the story are unbalanced. That is the only really bothering flaw because the story is extremely fulfilling in the end.

I'm only writing this review because a lot of people here seem to be overly critical of the actions and motivations of some of the characters. I guess it's great that Kay can paint a picture that is so open to interpretation, but for my part, I think you can see what Kay's interpretation is if you think about the nature of the Beast on Ember Night. That alone should show you on which side lie Good & Bad.

But if that doesn't do it for you, think about the story of Rhun the Fool, could anybody that was not Evil do that? Wouldn't the Heroes knowing that have taken a bite out of the emotions of the day and maybe destroyed them all? I think so.

The rest of the actions people criticize are just human failings in human situations. War is War and conflict is conflict. I don't think you can criticize an author for presenting situations that you don't like - at least Kay shows both sides. And the ability to present those things is one of the greatest parts of GGKs writing.

I particularly like the dilemma of Sandar's decision to bind as a wizard or not when face with the death of loved ones. You have to ask yourself whether or not he would have acted in exactly the same way if the characters were swapped the first and second times. What I mean is the following, does her really love one more than the other, or has he grown? These questions are left open for you to decide. That is the greatness of Tigana.

I'm sure that if Kay makes a film it will be great, and I can't say that about Robert Jordan, because I don't think he could do it at all. But that is a verrrry long story indeed, one that would take years in the telling...