A review by joosty
Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It is difficult to write down all my thoughts on this book without spoiling things. Like its predecessor, the story meanders a bit through the daily livees of various characters, some from Batiara, some from Sarantine, some from Bassania. Some of the things that happen are mere points of interest along the journey, while others turn out to defining moments in the history of the world.
I think this is one of the major strengths of the book. We don't know if something will be important later on as something unfolds, but it is always important to the characters, and because we get to spend considerable time with them, we as a reader start to care too.
Another thing the author does very well, is economic use of the number of pages. The events of the story don't spiral out of control, requiring ever more words to resolve, and the stories of characters intersect in clever ways to make something that happens impact various characters at once, and in different ways.
I've never given mosaics a lot of thought to be honest, although I've accidentally seen a few classical ones up close. At that time, someone joked that this is what people did before they had the internet. Now I don't think I'll ever look at a mosaic with just a casual glance again.
It is more court intrigue than epic fantasy, but mostly through the perspective of people who are outsiders to the court, entangled with it through circumstance. We are promised a war, but we get something much more intimate. This is a world which really comes to life, and it is one which doesn't reveal all of its mysteries.
And there's chariot racing, which turns out to be awesome.
I think this is one of the major strengths of the book. We don't know if something will be important later on as something unfolds, but it is always important to the characters, and because we get to spend considerable time with them, we as a reader start to care too.
Another thing the author does very well, is economic use of the number of pages. The events of the story don't spiral out of control, requiring ever more words to resolve, and the stories of characters intersect in clever ways to make something that happens impact various characters at once, and in different ways.
I've never given mosaics a lot of thought to be honest, although I've accidentally seen a few classical ones up close. At that time, someone joked that this is what people did before they had the internet. Now I don't think I'll ever look at a mosaic with just a casual glance again.
It is more court intrigue than epic fantasy, but mostly through the perspective of people who are outsiders to the court, entangled with it through circumstance. We are promised a war, but we get something much more intimate. This is a world which really comes to life, and it is one which doesn't reveal all of its mysteries.
And there's chariot racing, which turns out to be awesome.