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lizziestudieshistory's review against another edition
5.0
My review is too long so, read the review here: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/lizziestudieshistory/685613830635700224?source=share
Conclusion is, Tigana has some genuine problems in light of the modern political world (this book was written 30ish years ago) BUT I don't care, I love it. Or, more accurately, I love Dianora and Brandin so much the rest doesn't matter.
Conclusion is, Tigana has some genuine problems in light of the modern political world (this book was written 30ish years ago) BUT I don't care, I love it. Or, more accurately, I love Dianora and Brandin so much the rest doesn't matter.
rdelagarza's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
3.0
I enjoyed the prose here l, and there were some interesting moments, but overall this wasn’t for me. There were themes running in the undercurrents that attached to political and philosophical ideas in our world, but you needed more context to pull those out reading this decades after its original publish. The book itself also felt dated and of a time when writing was more slow paced, building worlds and stories through small more mundane events. I can understand why this book could be touted the way some of the more artistic story driven movies are, but I‘m personally looking for a bit more pace and noticeable story/character development.
rj_owen's review against another edition
5.0
Guy Gavriel Kay is truly a wordsmith. Yes, sometimes he does go overboard with extraneous content, but in the end you are left with a marvelous work of art. Tigana is a beautifully woven story that comes together at the end in a mostly satisfying way. There isn't really a way for me to briefly sum up the story line for anyone reading this, but suffice to say, if you are an epic fantasy fan, this is a MUST READ.
slothrop_garp's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eimes's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
yelisiei's review against another edition
3.5
That was a great journey. It’s my first GGK novel, I had high expectations, and they are justified. One of the best books I read this year, probably the second best. And definitely I will continue exploring of GGK’s works. He is a great author.
The beginning of the book was fantastic. The conclusion was even better. There was a period in the middle which I didn’t like so much and I was losing my concentration. So if I would like to find flaws, there is the one - the book is uneven. But anyways this is a fantasy book with great world building, big themes, which is wrapped in only one volume, it’s a singleton. Some of the best prose is here. What do we need more?
The beginning of the book was fantastic. The conclusion was even better. There was a period in the middle which I didn’t like so much and I was losing my concentration. So if I would like to find flaws, there is the one - the book is uneven. But anyways this is a fantasy book with great world building, big themes, which is wrapped in only one volume, it’s a singleton. Some of the best prose is here. What do we need more?
ramb0two11's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
pedroalmeida's review against another edition
3.0
Having spent the last few readings with the classics, or other books of deeper emotional caliber, I felt in need of relapsing into the soft, ephemerous embrace of a light novel. Airport literature as I normally call it. Tempted by fantastic themes I started browsing Goodreads lists on standalone novels (the unending horde of duologies, trilogies and sagas!) and, quite suddenly actually, I fell upon a 700-page tome whose name immediately captured by interest.
Tigana by Guy Graviel Kay (who I discovered extemporary to the reading to be a major assistance in assembling The Silmarillion) is a tale set in the Peninsula of the Palm a land torn between the twenty year-long tyrannical rule of two powerful sorcerers: Alberico of Barbidor in the east and Brandin of Ygrath in the west. But while Alberico’s conquest was largely uneventful, Brandin was met with unexpected, and perhaps underestimated, resistance by the kingdom of Tigana which led to the death of his son Stevan of Ygrath by the hand of the Prince. Mad with grief, Brandin laid a powerfull spell which dissolved the name and history of Tigana from the minds of the people of the Palm, except to those who had born in the land who had so defied Brandin.
The narrative follows two interlacing plot: on one hand there is the rising silent rebellion of Alessan, son of the Prince and heir to the Kingdom of Tigana, with his long standing friend Beard. Through all those years of they have schemed to take both rulers in the single blow and free the Palm while restoring Tigana’s name. On the other hand, we find Dianora, sister to Beard, who masking her past under a new identity slithers her way into proximity as Brandin’s consort, in an ultimate attempt of assassination. But the closeness to the sorcerer and the years of union have twisted her simple hate into a complex amalgam of yearning and sorrow, and Dianora’s being lays split between the pledge to her land and the love that has grown for Brandin.
Tigana is a well-written novel, well thought out with good-developed characters, if not for the more-often-than-expected contradiction and deux ex machina. It tackles powerful themes like the importance of the legacy of a people, the value of friendship and camaraderie, redemption and the double-edged blade of love. Which is also where it fails, feeling at times trite and repetitive and ever so pop in it’s undertones and dialogues.
Both plot lines are also very distinct in quality, with Alessan’s quest the typical campebillian monomyth while Dianora’s dilemmas frame a very credible report about the unstable nature of human emotions.
Expecting very little from the beginning (airport literature!), the book makes for a good and enjoyable read, well paced and captivating. I think it stretches the genre as much it can, and where it lacks it does so only out of personal taste.
Tigana by Guy Graviel Kay (who I discovered extemporary to the reading to be a major assistance in assembling The Silmarillion) is a tale set in the Peninsula of the Palm a land torn between the twenty year-long tyrannical rule of two powerful sorcerers: Alberico of Barbidor in the east and Brandin of Ygrath in the west. But while Alberico’s conquest was largely uneventful, Brandin was met with unexpected, and perhaps underestimated, resistance by the kingdom of Tigana which led to the death of his son Stevan of Ygrath by the hand of the Prince. Mad with grief, Brandin laid a powerfull spell which dissolved the name and history of Tigana from the minds of the people of the Palm, except to those who had born in the land who had so defied Brandin.
The narrative follows two interlacing plot: on one hand there is the rising silent rebellion of Alessan, son of the Prince and heir to the Kingdom of Tigana, with his long standing friend Beard. Through all those years of they have schemed to take both rulers in the single blow and free the Palm while restoring Tigana’s name. On the other hand, we find Dianora, sister to Beard, who masking her past under a new identity slithers her way into proximity as Brandin’s consort, in an ultimate attempt of assassination. But the closeness to the sorcerer and the years of union have twisted her simple hate into a complex amalgam of yearning and sorrow, and Dianora’s being lays split between the pledge to her land and the love that has grown for Brandin.
Tigana is a well-written novel, well thought out with good-developed characters, if not for the more-often-than-expected contradiction and deux ex machina. It tackles powerful themes like the importance of the legacy of a people, the value of friendship and camaraderie, redemption and the double-edged blade of love. Which is also where it fails, feeling at times trite and repetitive and ever so pop in it’s undertones and dialogues.
Both plot lines are also very distinct in quality, with Alessan’s quest the typical campebillian monomyth while Dianora’s dilemmas frame a very credible report about the unstable nature of human emotions.
Expecting very little from the beginning (airport literature!), the book makes for a good and enjoyable read, well paced and captivating. I think it stretches the genre as much it can, and where it lacks it does so only out of personal taste.
jostafinski's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ruminating_blayne's review against another edition
4.0
I'm realizing fantasy is not my preferred genre, but Kay, in this 25 hour audiobook epic, attempts some really challenging and interesting ideas with varying degrees of success including memory and erasure, and the ethics of resistance. The one villain Brandon is the most compelling, thoughtful and wise when seeing his pov but a rigid tyrant from the other side.