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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FraserRonald" data-source="post: 1202406" data-attributes="member: 7892">I am a huge, huge Guy Gavriel Kay fan. I've met him twice, once before Tigana was released and he was reading a selection from it at the University of Waterloo. I was able to spend 45 minutes with him, just the two us, discussing mythology and Fionavar. He is an amazingly intelligent man with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of myth and culture. He puts an incredible amount of research into his novels and it shows. I have every one of his books, except for the newly released book of poetry (I never read it, though I may go and buy it in order to have something for him to sign next time). I have every book from Tigana to Lord of Emperors in hard cover and signed.I am a freak.So, basically that's a long-winded way of saying that what I write below is as an unabashed admirer of the man and his work.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> I loved it. I have to admit, that I usually end up considering the last Kay book I've read to be my favourite. Now, though, I have to say that "the Sarantine Mosaic" is my all-time favourite. That is not to denigrate Tigana. What an accomplishment! Considering it is almost diametrically opposed to "the Fionavar Tapestry" (which was very high-magic, traditional Tolkien-esque fantasy, though without the usual cookie cutter approach and applying the Arthurian and Celtic mythos in the story). His skill with characters was evident in the Tapestry, but I remember reading Tigana for the first time (the year it came out) and being totally blown away. Nothing new in fantasy has ever had that effect on me again, so this remains a favourite both for stylistic and nostalgic reasons. Kay single-handedly proved to me (in university and getting snobbish at the time) that fantasy could produce literature, real literature, the kind that doesn't need to excuse its rough usage, transparent plots and stereotypical characters behind the curtain of 'escapism.' Long story short: loved it! Still do! I've read just about everything (save for his book of poetry) he's written or edited (he helped Christopher Tolkien compile and edit the Silmarillion. Check out the foreward which refers to Guy Kay). I've never been disappointed. He's at work now on a new book, I believe based on the friction between Anglo-Saxon and Celtic cultures in a pseduo-Europe. Don't quote me on that, just going by memory. I think Tigana spurns being fit into RPG stats because it is far too real. To call Alessan simply a fighter/bard or something would be a disservice to his unique character and abilities. But, yes, Tigana delivers on everything I want out of a book. Not only is this a completely realized setting, the characters are real, very real, with real emotions, motivations far below the surface that they might not even be aware of and they do not act in accordance with some 'script' but act as I would expect real people to act. Kay's dialogue is crisp and resonant. His narrative and descriptions are almost poetic. Yes, we have bashed the heck out of Dragondoom, but that kind of writing left me cold even in high school. I saw the man behind the curtain pulling all the levers, trying to make me believe in this other era. Kay's effortless prose has the same inner music as his settings and his characters. He does not need artificial devices--like rude and rough pseudo-Elizabethan prose--to transport the reader to a different time and place. It is as natural as it is wonderful. </li> </ul>It's so hard because all the characters are great, even the minor ones. I have always been amazed at the characterization of the villains. They are so human, so understandable. Yes, they are villains in the sense that they oppose the quest of the protagonists, but they are no villains in the 'Evil Overlord' sense. Even Alberico, while extremely self-centred and brutal, is not one-dimensional. He has a goal that is all too understandable. Power. He wants it for power's sake, as Brandin points out, and not for any goal he can apply that power to reach. In short, he's a politician or a CEO in the modern world. They surround us in our daily lives, so we understand them well.However, my favourite character is Sandre. I love the fact that he is as ruthless as the villains (letting his own son die) at the outset, locked in his own world of scheming and revenge, but comes to understand Alessan and Baerd's conviction of freeing all of the Palm. I found his actions in regards to a certain episode with Catriana (don't want to spoil it for anyone, it comes near the end) understandable and perhaps an act of contrition for allowing his own son to die. I wish we had seen more of him. There are snippets of how his paternal affection for Catriana grows, but I wish we could have seen more. Heck, I would've been happy with Tigana as a trilogy, but I also think that Mr. Kay knows better than I what was necessary for his work to be complete.Bright Weavings is a great website, one I found a few years ago and one I regularly visit (though not as regular as my visits to E.N. World, long may it reign!). It has a wealth of resources, including further readings for people interested in the periods and places on which Kay's books are based.I'm really glad that we were able to look at Tigana. I think I need to re-read all my Kay books. Every one of them is great. Heck, one could pretty much have a Kay Book Club, endlessly re-reading and discussing his books. Okay, maybe that's a bit of hyperbole. Still, I would highly recommend everyone take the time to read the rest of Mr. Kay's books. Personally, they are my favourite fantasy works, bar none (including Tolkien), These are the books I'd take if I was lost on a desert island, without even the Skipper and Gilligan.Take care all</blockquote>

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