polishgenius Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 Under HeavenTiganaLions of Al-RassanSong for ArbonneLast Light of the Sun Lions was maybe heading for the top spot until the last third, which I found rather poor (though it would have done well to unseat Under Heaven anyway). I haven't read Sarantine Mosaic yet, nor Ysabell, and I tried Fionovar but didn't like it.River of Stars was a bit disappointing after the near-perfection of Under Heaven, but it's still good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo498 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I am interested in comments as well. I only read the Fionavar and Tigana (in the mid/late 90ties, almost 20 years ago). I preferred the latter. I do not remember so many details about the former, but I disliked both the college kids enter another world trope as well as the "re-enacting" of the Lancelot-Guinevere-Artus-Triangle and the mystical stuff like the self-sacrifice. It is very well written (better than a lot of contemporary stuff) and atmospheric, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of Godsgrace Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 River of StarsLord of EmperorsUnder HeavenTiganaLions of al-Rassan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolverine Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 (edited) Lions is the only GGK I have read and I liked it but was not that impressed. I do have Under Heaven on by TBR pile though. Edited August 2, 2014 by wolverine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologdin Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 i've read one kay, and out of that one, tigana is the worst. this review says it all: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/174413860?book_show_action=true&page=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inigima Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I've only read three Kay books, ranked like so from best to worst: 1. Tigana2. The Lions of Al-Rassan3. The Summer Tree This ranking doesn't tell the whole story on its own. I really enjoyed Tigana, and I'm prepared to say I thought it was a good book. I know plenty of other people hate it, but it struck a chord for me. This is the only book on the list I am pleased to have listed here. The Lions of Al-Rassan is a ferociously readable terrible book. The further I get from it the more it annoys me. Everything is too pat in the worst, most David Eddings sort of way. Everyone is too witty, the two main characters are too perfect, everything is too neat and tidy and predictable. The Summer Tree is a piece of shit. Plain and simple. Absolute derivative garbage. I couldn't get through it because I hated it too much. I haven't read any Kay since Al-Rassan. I am not entirely convinced that my life is the poorer for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yersinia Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I've only read Tigana and Sarantine Mosaic, and I'd rank them in that order, because I found the themes and characters in Tigana more compelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 1 - Tigana - it always seems to be a divisive book and I know some people hate it but I liked it a lot. One of the things I found I found interesting about it was that it questioned whether the heroes attempt to regain their lost homeland justified all the things they did or not, although I think one flaw is that maybe sometimes it doesn't explore the question as well as it could have done and I think that might be part of the reason for some of the negative reactions it can get.2 - The Sarantine Mosaic - the start of the first book was a bit slow but I really liked it once it got going. I liked the setting and the characters (although the way every woman in the books seems attracted to the protagonist got a bit absurd). The chariot racing was a lot of fun as well.3 - A Song For Arbonne - perhaps doesn't quite reach the heights of some of Kay's other books but also less flawed than many of the others4 - Under Heaven - the first two-thirds are among Kay's best work, unfortunately the last section gets a bit unfocused5 - The Lions of Al-Rassan - Kay's penchant for explaining in great detail how awesome his characters and how emotionally powerful the events that occur are reaches its peak, if you can tolerate that then it's a great book.---------6 - River of Stars - the opposite of Under Heaven in that it starts off a bit dull but has a strong second half7 - The Fionavar Tapestry - some bits of this are among Kay's best, other bits I didn't really like. I wasn't keen on the 'Canadian students called on to save a fantasy realm' plot device.8 - Ysabel - a fun read but a bit lacking in depth compared to his other books. Kay seems more comfortable describing medieval warriors than contemporary teenagers9 - Last Light of the Sun - I liked the setting and the characters well enough but the plot wasn't particularly compelling. I am interested in comments as well. I only read the Fionavar and Tigana (in the mid/late 90ties, almost 20 years ago). I preferred the latter. I do not remember so many details about the former, but I disliked both the college kids enter another world trope as well as the "re-enacting" of the Lancelot-Guinevere-Artus-Triangleand the mystical stuff like the self-sacrifice. It is very well written (better than a lot of contemporary stuff) and atmospheric, though. Fionavar isn't really representative of his later books (with the exception of Ysabel), his other works don't have the modern world/epic fantasy crossover and the fantasy elements tend to be much less prominent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beniowa Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 1. The Sarantine Mosaic2. Tigana3. Under Heaven4. River of Stars5. A Song for Arbonne Sarantine Mosaic has top billing because it was the first of Kay's books I've read. If I was a little bit more objective, it might be farther down the list. Also, I've often felt the oddball out in not loving Lions of Al-Rassan, but looking here it does seem like a few others had problems with it too. I've read every Kay book except for Fionovar. I do have the books, I just haven't felt the need to read them yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 (edited) 1. The Fionavar Tapestry - Yes, it is less polished than his later works. Yes, the prose is more "purple". But less polish means more raw emotion in this case and I rather like purple prose.2. The Lions of Al-Rassan3. A Song for Arbonne4. The Sarantine Mosaic5. Ysabel - I love great YA and this is great YA, with myths & legends and a Fionavar Tapestry connection. I was debating whether Tigana should be in there or not. I like some parts of it very much, but never quite warmed to most of the characters. It would definitely rank as 6, with Under Heaven as 7 and then probably Last Light of the Sun before River of Stars. The last two are the Kay books that have left me the most "cold" emotionally. Brilliant writing, but not the emotional response I was looking for. Edited August 2, 2014 by Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 1. Lions of Al-Rassan 2. Fionavar Tapestry 3. Sarantine Mosaic. All the other ones still to read, but all 3 of these were excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgambino Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 1. All of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AverageGuy Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 The Lions of Al-Rassan is a ferociously readable terrible book. The further I get from it the more it annoys me. Everything is too pat in the worst, most David Eddings sort of way. Everyone is too witty, the two main characters are too perfect Sorry for the tangent, but who do you consider the two? I'm asking because I thought of there being three, and I'm curious about which one doesn't stick out in other people's minds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewsToTom Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Sarantine MosaicUnder HeavenRiver of Stars(really big gap)Lions of Al-Rassan If Lions had been my first GGK book, instead of my third after Sarantine, there's no way I would have read a second one. I still regret that I slogged through 100 pages in instead of quitting earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Very curious to hear more boarders weigh in on this. I've only read Lions and Tigana and like but don't love both and yet feel like it's an author that could do better. Early returns not good on this account! I'm looking to see who weighed in on this so that for anyone who said Lions was good, I know never ever ever to take any recommendations from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seli Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Hmm, seems I was mixing up Kay with Kim Stanley Robinson and Clive Barker. Don't think I've ever read him. And the works don't really seem to appeal to me either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormond Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I've only read six GGK's so far (and that's counting Fionavar Tapestry as 3). My ranking of what I've read would be 1. Tigana2. A Song for Arbonne3. The Lions of Al-Rassan4-6 Fionavar Tapestry. As I understand it Fionavar is very different from his later books. I believe he actually worked for the Tolkien estate when he was young, and Fionavar is quite specifically his own response to Tolkien and was sort of getting that out of his system when he was a young man. I think it's actually meant to be "derivative." I didn't care for the Arthurian part of it myself -- but on the other hand I think it's better than a lot of other books by authors who are doing just a pure Tolkien rip-off. It used to be on this board that Tigana was a book people either loved or hated. I loved it and found its ending made me think about the morality of the characters in a new way. There have been others on this board in the past who simply hated some of the characters and find it their least favorite of GGK's works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I believe he actually worked for the Tolkien estate when he was young,. He helped edit the Silmarillion (he gets a shoutout in the acknowledgements). I actually give him a lot of credit for going the way he did with his career after Fionavar, since he could easily have made pots of money churning out Tolkien-lite fantasy quests and using that connection to sell them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I'm looking to see who weighed in on this so that for anyone who said Lions was good, I know never ever ever to take any recommendations from them. Yeah, I read the Fionavar Tapestry way back in High School)I liked it back then, God knows what I would think of it now), then read Lions and stopped. Always meant to give another novel a shot, I have Last Light of the Sun sitting here on the pile, because VIKINGS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mellybelle Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 (edited) 1. Last Light of the Sun- it's a "sparer" style than Kay's other books, and I think that works well with the setting. Plus it's smaller in scope than most of Kay's books, and the most melancholy. 2. The Sarantine Mosiac novels. I loved the juxtaposition between the sophisticated court and the more pagan aspects of the fringes of the empire3. Under Heaven This was an absolutely gorgeously written novel4. A Song For Arbonne5.Tigana There are problems with this novel, but IMO it has the most memorable characters of all of Kay's works Those are the first five. Of the next four, I'd say that they are all worth reading but Ysabel. I wouldn't reread Lions, but I'm glad that I gave it a shot. 6. A River Of Stars7. Fionavar Tapestry. These are very simple books, they have a YA feel to them8. Lions- I just didn't enjoy this book. Neither the characters nor the plot ever grabbed me. Ysabel- I didn't finish this one. I can't believe that Kay even wrote it.Melanie Edited August 3, 2014 by Mellybelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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