Kay, Guy Gavriel

• Tigana (8 r)

  • This is fantasy with a different kind of approach that I have a hard time explaining. It is very melodramatic and sweeping on the one hand, but it is also very realistic regarding characters and their actions. The combination works well. This is about a warrior-king who conquers and brutally suppresses a country and how the rebels of that country fight back. Lots of surprises. A great introduction to Kay for readers unfamiliar with his work. If you like this, read his other stuff.

• A Song for Arbonne (7 r)

  • Very similar style to Tigana, and an equally good story. This time, Kay dives into medieval-Europe style politics and warfare and ends up with a fun romp. Highly recommended.

• Series: The Fionavar Tapestry
  • The Summer Tree (7 r)
  • The Wandering Fire (7 r)
  • The Darkest Road (7 r)

    • Kay introduced himself to SF with this series of books. This is a "crossover" story and has some unique twists on how worlds connect. This has a similar feel to Arbonne and Tigana but is not as polished. Still, there are some very powerful scenes. Read the other two books first, and if you like them, you'll like this series.

• The Lions of Al-Rassan (9)

  • The story here is a fictional recap of the history of the Iberian Peninsula (mostly Spain) during the Reconquista, when the Spanish drove out the Moors once and for all. Though you may not realize it until you finish, this is not really fantasy. There are no elements of the supernatural here or other mythical creatures common to the fantasy genre. If anything, I think Kay has written a work that should be properly shelved as historical fiction (though it isn't, for obvious marketing reasons). The story is told from the point of view of a Kindath (gypsy?) female doctor named Jehane, as she gets caught up in the affairs of the great men who drive the history of the time.

    The more you know about the Reconquista, the more you will probably appreciate Kay's attention to detail and subtle parallels. Interestingly, when I received one of a great many recommendations for this book from browsers of this page, a common theme was that the first part of this book was a great 100 pages that set up everything else. What I found, though, was that the LAST 100 pages were the most gripping. In short, this book is a winner from beginning to end and Kay's best work so far (which is saying a LOT).

    Since writing this review, I have been informed that the Kindath are meant to parallel Jews, not gypsies. In my defense, I didn't pay attention in my high school World History class because I spent most of my time in there flirting with my high-school sweetheart and being a smartass. To be honest, though, it doesn't seem relevant...just insert your favorite historically persecuted people there.

Return to the Welcome Page of Doug's Library.