Guest Raidne Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 I've only read Tigana, but I really enjoyed it. It is a bit conventional at times, and, IMO, there is one part of the story that seems out of place, unnecessary, and pretty boring. Still, I just really enjoy his style of writing and thought his prose was a pleasure to read. And I was pretty satisfied with the ending, which had a nice twist that I didn't see coming, even though I probably should have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 I've only read Tigana, but I really enjoyed it. It is a bit conventional at times, and, IMO, there is one part of the story that seems out of place, unnecessary, and pretty boring. Still, I just really enjoy his style of writing and thought his prose was a pleasure to read. And I was pretty satisfied with the ending, which had a nice twist that I didn't see coming, even though I probably should have. If I do read another one, I think that's the one I'm most likely to go with. It seems to have the most good things said about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Sun Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 I liked a Song for Arbonne best, but then I'm partial to the Occitan culture , and it's now quite a while since I have read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 OK, would those of you that know this writer well do a poll for me and rank the books of his that you have read spoiler free? I really liked Lions of Al-Rassan and I will read Kay again for sure. But what should I go to next? i'm leaning towards either Tigana or Song for Arbonne. (I lived in Provence for 5 months so "Song" may have special meaning for me.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angalin Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I preferred Tigana to Arbonne, myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mashiara Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 My favorite would be Sailing to Sarantium/Lord of Emperors. Other than that, Tigana. I didn't care much for Song of Arbonne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horza Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Might as well read him. It won't kill you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Dibley Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 (edited) I only read Tigana and was a little disappointed. sure, this book has its great moments but I just couldn't bring my self to like the "good heroes". edit: spoiler tags gone bad. I removed them until I figure out how to use them properly. Edited December 12, 2007 by Khal Rhaggat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Might as well read him. It won't kill you. Thanks for your input. I did, and it didn't. I'm just trying to decide which book to go to next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ran Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 See the FAQ. It explains proper usage. I'd say Tigana as well as the next book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfella Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 I've only read Lions and Song. I loved Lions. Just read Song this year, and it was pretty close to the quality of Lions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insert Edit Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 (edited) Kay is one of my favorite authors, I usually read 'Lions' every couple of years, and the others less often. Responding to some things from earlier in this thread: 1. Fionavar Tapestry - he was young when he wrote it. It's set at the U of T, because I think, he was a student there when he was writing it. He's matured a lot as a writer since then. 2. On Kay being 'manipulative.' Well he takes you on an emotional journey - so if you buy in, you don't notice the strings - and if you don't, you feel them jerking you. I don't think you can accuse him of being 'ham-fisted' in how he does it - at least compared to the genre as a whole. 3. The one trait that I notice in Kay's writing that kind of irks me a bit - is that his main characters are all so GOOD at things. They're unbelievably clever, the women are usually beautiful as hell. He'll have some minor characters that run counter to this - Tilliticus in 'Sarantium' forinstance - but all too often the lead characters are just so charismatic - so smart and able and capable. I've enjoyed reading reading GRRM partly because his characters seem to fallible and human by comparison. Edited March 6, 2008 by Insert Edit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Callers Only Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Read Sarantium. Warning : Larger than life characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Storm Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 I like him, some of his characters are too perfect, but the stories are still good and I like the world that he has created. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insert Edit Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 In Lions, that certainly seems to be the case. Ammar and Rodrigo are the two biggest badasses on the peninsula. Alvar is a young stud. Jahane is not only beautiful but brilliant. What's his name, the Kindath adviser to the king is brilliant as well. This didn't really bother me but I would agree that the book is full of amazingly gifted characters. I found this with the Sarantium duology as well. I loved Valerius and his empress, but they were SO damn smart. The charioteer character isn't just a great athlete, but solves puzzles like nobody's business. It's like a mensa club for the beautiful. I enjoy the hell out of the books, and I'm hooked in by them - but I REALLY notice the difference when I read stuff like Martin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watcher Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 The reason I don't mind that Kay's hero's are all very clever and beautiful is that his villains normally have a lot of depth to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 I have been meaning to re-read Lions for some time, before my images of it are spoiled by the forthcoming (ish) movie and since my mum lives near Valencia and seeing that countryside really helped me get a better grip on the feel of the book (since Lions is a riff on El Cid). Also, the same for Arbonne, since my dad lives in the south of France. No relatives in Italy though, so Tigana will have to wait for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serious Callers Only Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Sarantanium is also like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insert Edit Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 I have been meaning to re-read Lions for some time, before my images of it are spoiled by the forthcoming (ish) movie and since my mum lives near Valencia and seeing that countryside really helped me get a better grip on the feel of the book (since Lions is a riff on El Cid). Also, the same for Arbonne, since my dad lives in the south of France. No relatives in Italy though, so Tigana will have to wait for now I have a feeling that you're not going to have to worry about the movie ruining your mental snapshots of the characters/settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automne Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 I lived in Aix-en-Provence France for about 5 months so maybe I should go with Arbonne. You might read Ysabel as well. I enjoyed reading about places I know in Aix and its region in a fantasy book by one of my favourite writers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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