The world of Guy Gavriel Kay
Hulla!
So this post is (yet again) unexpected, but unexpectedly (hah!), I've been reading (read: bingeing) Guy Gavriel Kay books, and had the brilliant(?!) idea to write my thoughts on them! These are emphatically NOT book reviews, but more my general thoughts on them after reading these fellas ONCE. Over the period of hmm, a month. XD So I'm looking forward to seeing how my opinion on them changes after I reread them again (if ever).
But enough parentheses. Let's go.
Oh, and Guy Gavriel Kay - you are a literary genius. JUST SAYING.
Woohoo~
These below will be written in order on when I read them.
Under Heaven
So this was the oldest book I read, and the intro to the world of Guy Gavriel Kay. Historical fiction has always been my soft spot so I was intrigued by the cover art (cover art works!!) and bought this book.
The title too was quite eye-catching. Under Heaven = 天下 in chinese, and that in itself was compelling to me.
I read this ho, about 3-5 years ago? And still, the story lingers with me. The characters and stories were familiar to me, bits and pieces of Chinese history and quite a delight, especially since I did not expect it, in my first foray. My impression now is really, of the wonderful world painted by the book, of ghosts and drifting and emotions. I loved the side plot of the main character's sister, which took me completely by surprise.
I shall leave that here, methinks.
Final thoughts on the book summed up in a words - ghosts, Chinese shadow warriors, unexpected generals, shamans, and one beautiful young shining pearl of a lady.
This book, I think, shall linger on in my memory.
River of Stars
The second book that I read and the one that sparked this whole binging phase for me again.
Backstory: I was looking (read: craving) for historical fiction, namely Chinese historical fiction, so imagine my delight when I found that the esteemed Kay had written another book on that.
Overall impressions: Oh man. This, to me, felt a lot more emotional than Under Heaven, mostly cos I felt it followed the two main characters immediately and established them from the start. I guess I knew they would meet (and potentially fall in love), but it still took me by surprise as to HOW. And I loved that well, our dear lady poet, for all that she was more direct and daring than ladies of that time, was still feminine by all means, and with no super strength or such inclinations. Lovely!
Thoughts in words: Words on back, strength, general, lady poet, romance, happy end
Lions of Al-Rassan
So this was my first leap of faith. I wasn't all that interested in other time periods and settings of historical fiction, but for some reason, I felt like I could//want to imagine deserts and dunes and such, so I decided to give this one a go. And man, was that a great idea.
Overall impressions: Whew, what a ride. Our dearest lady doctor. Now this was a lady who has superpowers (haha), and MAN, her dad! I loved the unabashed violence in this setting. I remember the scene of the casual slaughter of all the merchants in the palace to visit the Prince - I did a doubletake at the word "beheaded" and had to reread the paragraphs before that to make sure that I read right. That was the contrast of that action against the beautiful imagery of the setting of the place. And who can forget our two main male leads. Both tug at our heartstrings (though the Captain is my favourite, I'm afraid, as is his relationship with his esteemed wife). Dearest Alvar too... I'm glad our lady doctor got her happy ending, and still, in my minds' eye, I can see the rich imagery or the Carnival, and the sands and dunes, with the lovely oasis and our rich characters.
Thoughts in words: Deserts, oasis, lady doctor, suave "prince", the Captain, Lady captain's wife, seer child, Kindash, Alvar, Carnival, happy ends
Sailing to Sarantium
So Sarailing to Sarantium tears at me a little bit, because oh my, was this book BORING from the start. I'm so sorry, but after all the excitement to be back in the same universe as Lions... Still, the story picked up after a bit as we follow Crispin, though the addition of some other characters still puzzled me as to their significance. Chariot racing and the Hippodrone threw me off for a bit too, but certainly invoked in my head the images of togas and the appropriate era. The appearance of the bison and the disappearance of Linon, is where the story started to pick up for me. That, and when we start seeing Sarantium from Crispin's eyes.
I will leave this here. We shall revisit this when I talk about Lord of Emperors
Thoughts in words: Togas, alchemists, Linon, birds, bison, mosaics, Emperors, Empresses, Hippodrone
Ysabel
So I have to confess - I read Ysabel namely cos there was nothing else for me to borrow from the ebook cache in the library. Beltine rites? Provence? Present to past?? Bleh. Not my cup of tea.
...or so I thought.
I think Ysabel is the book that I devoured the FASTEST out of all the other books. 2 days, or 3 days, max. From start-to-finish. Looking back, I am not sure what pulled me to this book, but I remember the shocking pull and mystery and almost-horror of what is happening to our main character pulling me in. It was dark, and there always seemed to be a cloud over the colours of Provence that I could see in my head. But man, I remembered how hard I cheered when our dear main character pulled his family into the whole thing. YES!!! Finally. He may have his own superpowers, but FAMILY. That's the smart way to go about it. This book was really intense, but such a ride indeed, to the epic finish.
Thoughts in words: Dark, mystery, beltane, temples, massacre, magic, family, caves, Ysabel, sacrifice
Children of Earth and Sky
Children of Earth and Sky became available after Ysabel did, so diving back into this world we go.
THIS, was a work of nostalgia - I recognized a lot of things from the "past" that was Sarantine, and the half-world, (and some I recognized when I read Lord of Emperors later). Danica is who we follow, and hmm, surprisingly, I do not remember too much of details. This was a tale of revenge though, and love, and paintings, and unexpected love at unexpected places. We have (finally!!) a main lady character who can fight, and kick some ass in the traditional way. And awesome battle scenes. I'll just leave this here.
Thoughts in words: Merchants, the sea, ships, First Daughters (of Jad), painters, child soldiers, happy ends
Lord of Emperors
Oh man. THIS book.
So I was hesitant to pick up this book at the library, but knew I would end up reading it neways, because I am a completionist.
I am SO glad I did.
Unlike its predecessor, this book did NOT hold back on the action. And there were TONS of it. I suppose by this time we are familiar with the characters, and so we dove headlong into all the other things that are happening. Crispin has come into his own, and he knows it too. So we have plots upon plots, assassinations, coups, island visits, dancers, burnings... But what really struck me, was how MUCH I was in love with the ladies in this story. They were painted in such detail, and some were terrifying and unexpected, but they were all loved, in some way, by Crispin, and that translated to us. Shirin, Stylaine, and our dearest Empress Alixana. The ladies of this world are stunning beyond belief, and we see Crispin describe those he loves, the Emperor Valerius (Petrus), the loss, the confusion... My heart stopped when Petrus was killed and I was disbelieving. And my heart wept in relief again when Alixana, beautiful, stunning, intelligent and yet so vulnerable as she was, showed up at the end.
This story was a love offering to the ladies of Sarantium, and the roles they play, and I would be not be remiss to say that this was a very romantic story indeed.
Thoughts in words: Ladies, Alixana, Petrus, mosaics (oh that mosaic at the end), Crispin, Hippodrone, chariots, triumph, love, dancers, chefs, soldiers
Tigana
I thought that nothing could top Lord of Emperors. But, I was wrong.
I think it would not be right to say that Tigana was better. But it definitely was different, in a very good way.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the use of sorcery and magic in any Guy Gavriel Kay book, but I still was. This was no "half-world" or superstition or "alchemy" or covered by religion. This was outright magic. With the presence of wizards and sorcerors. This book, started off slow - ONE chapter of slow, then WHOO-BOY did it pick up.
I literally finished this book yesterday, but man, from when Devin was introduced, the plot simply flew away, and in MUCH unexpected directions. The first when I was reminded to have my expectations turned on their heads, was when the secret meeting was discovered, and everyone promptly killed. And this was after I started taking a liking to Tomasso and looking forward to how he'll lead the rebellion. And then, the Duke Sandre was alive. And then the ENTIRE CONCEPT OF TIGANA.
It came out of NOWHERE. And it was so heartbreakingly beautiful. From there, we are introduced to Dianora, and to her plight and story, and more characters, all interwoven through Alessan, and Baerd. The use of magic and of Brandin's fool...
I think out of all the stories I have read, this is the most "fantastical" of them, and I LOVE it. Brandin's character was a surprise, and Dianora's decisions were so heartbreakingly relateable. Alessan's plotting and maneuvering was always masterful and fun to watch, all the way till the end of it. Then when I thought it was all over, we had the last few additional twists, to Prince Valentin, and also the fact that Baerd will never know where/who his sister was.
Tigana may perhaps be my favourite work (for now), simply because of the masterful interweaving of magic into this story, and the very human reactions to them, and the unexpected vulnerability of the "tyrant' and the love he and his woman shares.
Thoughts in words: emerald seas, towers, Tigana, songs, musicians, dark, Night Walkers, love, magic, sorcery, King's fool, princes, names
A Song for Arbonne
Ok, I will preface this by saying that I am going to be completely, brutally honest here.
This book BORED me for more than half of it. I thought Sailing to Sarantium was slow, but THIS BOOK. Sighs...
I admit that part of it might be because I overhyped myself re. this book. I mean, how could I not? A story revolving around the time of the crusades, AND it won some awards. Coming off the high of Tigana, I very much expected this to be as strong an entry and as riveting from start-to-finish.
I was completely wrong. And disappointed that it was so. :(
I did like Blaise from quite early on, actually - from the fisrt scene he was in, in fact. Grumpy but competant Blaise, who was a fighting man. What's there not to like about that?
But after that introduction to Blaise's character, the story slowed with the introductions of the other characters. Bertran is remarkably unlikeable, and even the other ladies felt not as fleshed out or beloved as some of the other characters in other books. Rosalla was great at the beginning, but her character too faded as the story went on.
Master Kay still did amazing in scoping out the environment though, and in my mind's eye, I could still see the lush forest and blue lakes of Arbonne, as well as the castles painted vividly in the story. And certainly, 4/5 into the book, the battle that happened was one of the best written in all of the books.
Still, it felt too late and too little for me, sadly. There are stories of loss and pride and moving characters, but somehow I don't feel moved. Except maybe when it was revealed that Duke Urte was indeed in love with Aelis from the start, and it just made the entire story all more of a tragedy, and I truly felt for him. However, this just brings to the forefront how much more I dislike Aelis of Arbonne for her childishness and entitlement. And with her story hanging over everything that transpired in the book, perhaps that is the reason why this story lacks the punch that it could have had.
Thoughts in words: Lush forests, blue lakes, priestess isles, fights-to-the-deaths, tourneys, lovers, women rulers, songs, minstrels joglers, Arbonne
The Last Light of the Sun
Note that this entry is added on 10/9/2019. I believe that's almost 1-2 years after the above? Man, I really forgot how well Guy Gavriel Kay writes, and how absolutely CAPTIVATING it is. His prose isn't naturally "traditional", but the creativity with how he shapes his sentences and stories brings about so much emotion and imagery. MUCH LOVES.
Onto the story. Absolutely WOW. It took a while to pick up where we were and the characters, especially with all the different locations and tribes and cultures, but once we did, the story simply went at a breakneck pace. Everything happened in the span of a year, and I could certainly feel that, though of course there are the long histories and stories and legacies that hang over all our characters. I think I am surprised by how much I like almost all the characters that show up in the story? We live each arc through a particular character's POV, so we take on their likes and dislikes (again, testament to Master Kay's writing), but then we visit the "hated" character's world and pysche, and see how HE is loved by others, and you can't help but love him too. Perhaps that's what is so riveting about this book, amidst the twists (omg, ALL THE TIME, and I can't help but marvel and delight at each turn), the captivating battles, the horror at times, the half-world appearances, the call-back to other books... I tihnk this is again a testament to love, and how people as hated as Brynn ap Hwyll, Aeldred and especially Thorkell Einarson, Red Thorkell, much hated by his son, but easily my favourite character in the book for his straightforward and unwavering stance in life, could be loved, and how we come to love them too.
Thoughts in words: Vikings!!!, spirit woods, Jormsvik, blood-eagle, Jad, Ingavar, faeries, horse-riding, mercenaries, ships, creepy volur, horses
I suppose I shall end here for now, but I am nowhere near done the end of my list/thoughts/reviews. This shall/will (I hope) be updated as time goes on.
Looking forward to it. :3
So this post is (yet again) unexpected, but unexpectedly (hah!), I've been reading (read: bingeing) Guy Gavriel Kay books, and had the brilliant(?!) idea to write my thoughts on them! These are emphatically NOT book reviews, but more my general thoughts on them after reading these fellas ONCE. Over the period of hmm, a month. XD So I'm looking forward to seeing how my opinion on them changes after I reread them again (if ever).
But enough parentheses. Let's go.
Oh, and Guy Gavriel Kay - you are a literary genius. JUST SAYING.
Woohoo~
These below will be written in order on when I read them.
Under Heaven
So this was the oldest book I read, and the intro to the world of Guy Gavriel Kay. Historical fiction has always been my soft spot so I was intrigued by the cover art (cover art works!!) and bought this book.
The title too was quite eye-catching. Under Heaven = 天下 in chinese, and that in itself was compelling to me.
I read this ho, about 3-5 years ago? And still, the story lingers with me. The characters and stories were familiar to me, bits and pieces of Chinese history and quite a delight, especially since I did not expect it, in my first foray. My impression now is really, of the wonderful world painted by the book, of ghosts and drifting and emotions. I loved the side plot of the main character's sister, which took me completely by surprise.
I shall leave that here, methinks.
Final thoughts on the book summed up in a words - ghosts, Chinese shadow warriors, unexpected generals, shamans, and one beautiful young shining pearl of a lady.
This book, I think, shall linger on in my memory.
River of Stars
The second book that I read and the one that sparked this whole binging phase for me again.
Backstory: I was looking (read: craving) for historical fiction, namely Chinese historical fiction, so imagine my delight when I found that the esteemed Kay had written another book on that.
Overall impressions: Oh man. This, to me, felt a lot more emotional than Under Heaven, mostly cos I felt it followed the two main characters immediately and established them from the start. I guess I knew they would meet (and potentially fall in love), but it still took me by surprise as to HOW. And I loved that well, our dear lady poet, for all that she was more direct and daring than ladies of that time, was still feminine by all means, and with no super strength or such inclinations. Lovely!
Thoughts in words: Words on back, strength, general, lady poet, romance, happy end
Lions of Al-Rassan
So this was my first leap of faith. I wasn't all that interested in other time periods and settings of historical fiction, but for some reason, I felt like I could//want to imagine deserts and dunes and such, so I decided to give this one a go. And man, was that a great idea.
Overall impressions: Whew, what a ride. Our dearest lady doctor. Now this was a lady who has superpowers (haha), and MAN, her dad! I loved the unabashed violence in this setting. I remember the scene of the casual slaughter of all the merchants in the palace to visit the Prince - I did a doubletake at the word "beheaded" and had to reread the paragraphs before that to make sure that I read right. That was the contrast of that action against the beautiful imagery of the setting of the place. And who can forget our two main male leads. Both tug at our heartstrings (though the Captain is my favourite, I'm afraid, as is his relationship with his esteemed wife). Dearest Alvar too... I'm glad our lady doctor got her happy ending, and still, in my minds' eye, I can see the rich imagery or the Carnival, and the sands and dunes, with the lovely oasis and our rich characters.
Thoughts in words: Deserts, oasis, lady doctor, suave "prince", the Captain, Lady captain's wife, seer child, Kindash, Alvar, Carnival, happy ends
Sailing to Sarantium
So Sarailing to Sarantium tears at me a little bit, because oh my, was this book BORING from the start. I'm so sorry, but after all the excitement to be back in the same universe as Lions... Still, the story picked up after a bit as we follow Crispin, though the addition of some other characters still puzzled me as to their significance. Chariot racing and the Hippodrone threw me off for a bit too, but certainly invoked in my head the images of togas and the appropriate era. The appearance of the bison and the disappearance of Linon, is where the story started to pick up for me. That, and when we start seeing Sarantium from Crispin's eyes.
I will leave this here. We shall revisit this when I talk about Lord of Emperors
Thoughts in words: Togas, alchemists, Linon, birds, bison, mosaics, Emperors, Empresses, Hippodrone
Ysabel
So I have to confess - I read Ysabel namely cos there was nothing else for me to borrow from the ebook cache in the library. Beltine rites? Provence? Present to past?? Bleh. Not my cup of tea.
...or so I thought.
I think Ysabel is the book that I devoured the FASTEST out of all the other books. 2 days, or 3 days, max. From start-to-finish. Looking back, I am not sure what pulled me to this book, but I remember the shocking pull and mystery and almost-horror of what is happening to our main character pulling me in. It was dark, and there always seemed to be a cloud over the colours of Provence that I could see in my head. But man, I remembered how hard I cheered when our dear main character pulled his family into the whole thing. YES!!! Finally. He may have his own superpowers, but FAMILY. That's the smart way to go about it. This book was really intense, but such a ride indeed, to the epic finish.
Thoughts in words: Dark, mystery, beltane, temples, massacre, magic, family, caves, Ysabel, sacrifice
Children of Earth and Sky
Children of Earth and Sky became available after Ysabel did, so diving back into this world we go.
THIS, was a work of nostalgia - I recognized a lot of things from the "past" that was Sarantine, and the half-world, (and some I recognized when I read Lord of Emperors later). Danica is who we follow, and hmm, surprisingly, I do not remember too much of details. This was a tale of revenge though, and love, and paintings, and unexpected love at unexpected places. We have (finally!!) a main lady character who can fight, and kick some ass in the traditional way. And awesome battle scenes. I'll just leave this here.
Thoughts in words: Merchants, the sea, ships, First Daughters (of Jad), painters, child soldiers, happy ends
Lord of Emperors
Oh man. THIS book.
So I was hesitant to pick up this book at the library, but knew I would end up reading it neways, because I am a completionist.
I am SO glad I did.
Unlike its predecessor, this book did NOT hold back on the action. And there were TONS of it. I suppose by this time we are familiar with the characters, and so we dove headlong into all the other things that are happening. Crispin has come into his own, and he knows it too. So we have plots upon plots, assassinations, coups, island visits, dancers, burnings... But what really struck me, was how MUCH I was in love with the ladies in this story. They were painted in such detail, and some were terrifying and unexpected, but they were all loved, in some way, by Crispin, and that translated to us. Shirin, Stylaine, and our dearest Empress Alixana. The ladies of this world are stunning beyond belief, and we see Crispin describe those he loves, the Emperor Valerius (Petrus), the loss, the confusion... My heart stopped when Petrus was killed and I was disbelieving. And my heart wept in relief again when Alixana, beautiful, stunning, intelligent and yet so vulnerable as she was, showed up at the end.
This story was a love offering to the ladies of Sarantium, and the roles they play, and I would be not be remiss to say that this was a very romantic story indeed.
Thoughts in words: Ladies, Alixana, Petrus, mosaics (oh that mosaic at the end), Crispin, Hippodrone, chariots, triumph, love, dancers, chefs, soldiers
Tigana
I thought that nothing could top Lord of Emperors. But, I was wrong.
I think it would not be right to say that Tigana was better. But it definitely was different, in a very good way.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the use of sorcery and magic in any Guy Gavriel Kay book, but I still was. This was no "half-world" or superstition or "alchemy" or covered by religion. This was outright magic. With the presence of wizards and sorcerors. This book, started off slow - ONE chapter of slow, then WHOO-BOY did it pick up.
I literally finished this book yesterday, but man, from when Devin was introduced, the plot simply flew away, and in MUCH unexpected directions. The first when I was reminded to have my expectations turned on their heads, was when the secret meeting was discovered, and everyone promptly killed. And this was after I started taking a liking to Tomasso and looking forward to how he'll lead the rebellion. And then, the Duke Sandre was alive. And then the ENTIRE CONCEPT OF TIGANA.
It came out of NOWHERE. And it was so heartbreakingly beautiful. From there, we are introduced to Dianora, and to her plight and story, and more characters, all interwoven through Alessan, and Baerd. The use of magic and of Brandin's fool...
I think out of all the stories I have read, this is the most "fantastical" of them, and I LOVE it. Brandin's character was a surprise, and Dianora's decisions were so heartbreakingly relateable. Alessan's plotting and maneuvering was always masterful and fun to watch, all the way till the end of it. Then when I thought it was all over, we had the last few additional twists, to Prince Valentin, and also the fact that Baerd will never know where/who his sister was.
Tigana may perhaps be my favourite work (for now), simply because of the masterful interweaving of magic into this story, and the very human reactions to them, and the unexpected vulnerability of the "tyrant' and the love he and his woman shares.
Thoughts in words: emerald seas, towers, Tigana, songs, musicians, dark, Night Walkers, love, magic, sorcery, King's fool, princes, names
A Song for Arbonne
Ok, I will preface this by saying that I am going to be completely, brutally honest here.
This book BORED me for more than half of it. I thought Sailing to Sarantium was slow, but THIS BOOK. Sighs...
I admit that part of it might be because I overhyped myself re. this book. I mean, how could I not? A story revolving around the time of the crusades, AND it won some awards. Coming off the high of Tigana, I very much expected this to be as strong an entry and as riveting from start-to-finish.
I was completely wrong. And disappointed that it was so. :(
I did like Blaise from quite early on, actually - from the fisrt scene he was in, in fact. Grumpy but competant Blaise, who was a fighting man. What's there not to like about that?
But after that introduction to Blaise's character, the story slowed with the introductions of the other characters. Bertran is remarkably unlikeable, and even the other ladies felt not as fleshed out or beloved as some of the other characters in other books. Rosalla was great at the beginning, but her character too faded as the story went on.
Master Kay still did amazing in scoping out the environment though, and in my mind's eye, I could still see the lush forest and blue lakes of Arbonne, as well as the castles painted vividly in the story. And certainly, 4/5 into the book, the battle that happened was one of the best written in all of the books.
Still, it felt too late and too little for me, sadly. There are stories of loss and pride and moving characters, but somehow I don't feel moved. Except maybe when it was revealed that Duke Urte was indeed in love with Aelis from the start, and it just made the entire story all more of a tragedy, and I truly felt for him. However, this just brings to the forefront how much more I dislike Aelis of Arbonne for her childishness and entitlement. And with her story hanging over everything that transpired in the book, perhaps that is the reason why this story lacks the punch that it could have had.
Thoughts in words: Lush forests, blue lakes, priestess isles, fights-to-the-deaths, tourneys, lovers, women rulers, songs, minstrels joglers, Arbonne
The Last Light of the Sun
Note that this entry is added on 10/9/2019. I believe that's almost 1-2 years after the above? Man, I really forgot how well Guy Gavriel Kay writes, and how absolutely CAPTIVATING it is. His prose isn't naturally "traditional", but the creativity with how he shapes his sentences and stories brings about so much emotion and imagery. MUCH LOVES.
Onto the story. Absolutely WOW. It took a while to pick up where we were and the characters, especially with all the different locations and tribes and cultures, but once we did, the story simply went at a breakneck pace. Everything happened in the span of a year, and I could certainly feel that, though of course there are the long histories and stories and legacies that hang over all our characters. I think I am surprised by how much I like almost all the characters that show up in the story? We live each arc through a particular character's POV, so we take on their likes and dislikes (again, testament to Master Kay's writing), but then we visit the "hated" character's world and pysche, and see how HE is loved by others, and you can't help but love him too. Perhaps that's what is so riveting about this book, amidst the twists (omg, ALL THE TIME, and I can't help but marvel and delight at each turn), the captivating battles, the horror at times, the half-world appearances, the call-back to other books... I tihnk this is again a testament to love, and how people as hated as Brynn ap Hwyll, Aeldred and especially Thorkell Einarson, Red Thorkell, much hated by his son, but easily my favourite character in the book for his straightforward and unwavering stance in life, could be loved, and how we come to love them too.
Thoughts in words: Vikings!!!, spirit woods, Jormsvik, blood-eagle, Jad, Ingavar, faeries, horse-riding, mercenaries, ships, creepy volur, horses
I suppose I shall end here for now, but I am nowhere near done the end of my list/thoughts/reviews. This shall/will (I hope) be updated as time goes on.
Looking forward to it. :3