FREE READ ð PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook õ Guy Gavriel Kay
Do you like character development? Do you love well written action scenes, or intrigue or romantic sub plots? Please look elsewhere, as you will not find them in this book. Like a nice looking piece of fruit, Tigana's premise was appetizing with a land magically removed from memory. The idea of how a group of survivors and refugees would go about reclaiming their lost homeland seemed so good.Then I bit in and it was rotten to the core. Spoilers below:::::::Over halfway through the book, nothing has happened except the world's stupidest sex scene (a lass hiding and trying to stay silent with our protagonist in a secret cubby space has quiet sex with him to stop him from overhearing the clandestine meeting happening right next to them); a 100 pages of unneeded flashback of bad guy's concubine with random incest thrown in at the end, lots of chatting with no progress of characters shown only told and our main protagonist wondering why a wizard who has had his free will stolen and been bound into mind r*pe/magical slavery by the main characters was trying so hard to escape and make his group feel bad about it.I have read various stories where the protagonists are morally grey or even evil (Dawkdawn, First Law, Game of Thrones etc) but both the characters and the author don't try to act as if they are the good guys and the stories never frame them as such. This group of characters are boring/flat and just have the main protagonist thinking about how impressive the other characters are. (The lass is so beautiful, the Prince is so caring and decent (mere pages after he mind r*pes the wizard).Okay so maybe we have a tragedy on our hands and we will see our protagonists receive their come uppance at the end?? Nope. It ends with the our main characters getting ready to go to a wedding the prince going to become voted in as king by the greatful people. Disgusting. It doesn't explore these dark themes, it just throws them in a bland procession of nothing much happening. If this review can help one person avoid this garbage, fab. Kindle, Pasta dura, Pasta blanda, Libro de bolsillo The other two are by Anne McCaffrey, so I don't make that statement lightly! Tolkein? C.S. Lewis? Pfft. Must Try Harder.I have owned this book at least three times. I got my first, hardback copy from one of those book clubs that sends you random stuff, and I was utterly transfixed by it. Then my house was flooded, and my treasured copy was destroyed, which coincided with the start of a rather unpleasant period of my life.Years later my wife bought me an exact replacement, and order was restored.However, it's a big book, and somewhat unwieldy in hardback, so when Kindle arrived, I bought it again.Re reading it revealed that I had forgotten most of the story, but not why I loved it so much. It's well written, the characters are strong and believable, and it's somehow not like other Fantasy books, yet is.Actually, that's the thing about this book. I don't know why I like it I just do! I first read it at a time of my life when a lot of things were not going according to plan, and I found inspiration from it. Oddly, Even though my world is a very much positive place some twenty five years later, I still found it uplifting when I re read it recently.It's probably not Guy Gavriel Kaye's strongest work the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy is arguably even better. I don't read as much as I used to, and perhaps I shall rectify that by reading some of the author's newer books. Kindle, Pasta dura, Pasta blanda, Libro de bolsillo I have read a few of Guy Gavriel Kay's books and enjoyed them very much; they are in fact vastly superior to the usual wizard and sword epics. His writing style is smooth and elegant, the turns of his plot often surprising and the worlds he conjures up seem real and convincing probably because he bases them on what we know of ancient societies. The author understands that magic on its own is boring; to be effective supernatural elements need to be just a small part of the interplay between character, plot and atmosphere.However, I found Tigana very disappointing.At first I was intrigued to see a gay character play a vital and heroic role but disappointingly this interesting character was killed off very quickly and we were left with the usual fantasy crew of lost princes, grumpy wizards, loyal friends and impossibly beautiful women. It seems that all male fantasy writers find it easier to imagine a man capable of slipping out of his body than a woman who looks well, just like a woman. And these heroic women as well as stunning every man they meet have sex and never worry about getting pregnant, never struggle with their periods and they are all so annoyingly knowing and arch. They are male fantasy figures, not real people and since the author is trying to bed his spells and sorcery in reality this matters.Also, it is all a bit too easy for our gallant band of lost princes and supermodels I think the novel would have benefited from struggle and hardship and too many strands are left dangling and unexplored. The night walkers appeared out of nowhere and disappeared again, and why did one of the wizards do something for one character but not for another; that was an interesting theme that was just abandoned.There was one satisfying twist at the ending, but overall the last few chapters were rushed and unconvincing.I hope one day that this talented author writes a book peopled by reluctant heroes, gay characters and women who can't bring a market place to a halt just by buying a pair of gloves. Kindle, Pasta dura, Pasta blanda, Libro de bolsillo Overarching story was engaging and elaborate, with plenty of interesting twists, but the contrived romances scattered throughout were frustratingly poorly written. Every character neatly falls in love with the first person who catches their eye and it is always reciprocated. It was enough to make me roll my eyes every time two characters of opposite genders noticed each other. Sadly, loose ends left unresolved at the end also felt a bit hollow. The final chapters build this growing sense of despair and conflicted emotions and motivations. The author, instead of committing to that, ends the story by pairing on off every character and making everything appear sunshine and roses. Kindle, Pasta dura, Pasta blanda, Libro de bolsillo I’ve been meaning to read Guy Gavriel Kay for the best part of twenty five years and finally got around to reading the one people tell me is one of his finest. This is the story of how a courageous bunch of people plan to overthrow two sorcerer conquerors and let the land regain its real name, Tigana, which has been wiped out of the minds of almost everyone on the Palm by magic. The tyrants must die, and there ensues some nifty political skullduggery. Alessan, prince of Tigana, escaped death in battle because he was too young, but it’s now twenty years later and he has a plan, carried out with the aid of Baerd, Devin, and a supposedly dead duke. The prose is gorgeous, but the pace is measured – at times downright slow. This is a long book. There are also some questionable ethics. Is it okay to do bad things if your intentions are good? It’s largely a tale of memory and identity. I have to admit I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected to, even though I appreciated the skill that went into creating it. Kindle, Pasta dura, Pasta blanda, Libro de bolsillo
With this rich masterfully written extravaganza of myth and magic the internationally acclaimed author of the Fionovar trilogy has created an epic that will change forever the boundaries of fantasy fictionSet in a beleaguered land caught in a web of tyranny Tigana is the deeply moving story of a people struggling to be free A people so cursed by the dark sorceries of the tyrant King Brandin that even the very name of their once beautiful land cannot be spoken or rememberedBut not everyone has forgotten A handful of men and women driven by love hope and pride set in motion the dangerous uest for freedom and bring back to the world the lost brightness of an obliterated name TiganaWith this rich masterfully written extravaganza of myth and magic, the internationally acclaimed author of the Fionovar trilogy has created an epic that will change forever the boundaries of fantasy fiction.Set in a beleaguered land caught in a web of tyranny, Tigana is the deeply moving story of a people struggling to be free. A people so cursed by the dark sorceries of the tyrant King Brandin that even the very name of their once beautiful land cannot be spoken or remembered.But not everyone has forgotten. A handful of men and women, driven by love, hope and pride set in motion the dangerous quest for freedom and bring back to the world the lost brightness of an obliterated name: TiganaWith this rich masterfully written extravaganza of myth and magic, the internationally acclaimed author of the Fionovar trilogy has created an epic that will change forever the boundaries of fantasy fiction.Set in a beleaguered land caught in a web of tyranny, Tigana is the deeply moving story of a people struggling to be free. A people so cursed by the dark sorceries of the tyrant King Brandin that even the very name of their once beautiful land cannot be spoken or remembered.But not everyone has forgotten. A handful of men and women, driven by love, hope and pride set in motion the dangerous quest for freedom and bring back to the world the lost brightness of an obliterated name: Tigana Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
