Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Michael Tree" data-source="post: 1201989" data-attributes="member: 1455">I read Tigana about six months ago.I adored it.  Its langauge is subtly beautiful and haunting, the plot is well written and unpredictable, and the world and characters are believable and engaging.It's also one of the best books about loss, conflicted motives, passion and pain I have ever read. I find it very had to choose a favorite character, since they're all interesting, but I was engaged most of all by Alessan, Dianora, and especially Brandin.Brandin did some horrible things, but I found him deeply sympathetic, understanding his motives and respecting them while simultanously understanding and respecting those of his enemies.  How many stories make you care for both the hero and the villain, hoping that in some way neither of them will lose?Most noves that try to create sympathetic antagonists do so by creating some arbitrary conflict (good and bad sides fighting, with the bad side winning), or by a good element tacked on to his base evilnness ("he's a murderer and tyrant, but he loves puppies and treats his mother well").  Kay avoids both these traps with Brandin.Brandin, and by extension, Kay, also understands power.  Power isn't about going to other and forcing your wishes on them, it's about making others have to come to you, and want to do your wishes.  The ballroom scene is a perfect example of this.  Conversely, Alberico doesn't understand power at all.</blockquote>

Verification