YOU DARE ME: January 2013 Dare
So January's nominations are in and tallied and it's time to see what the top three books were that YOU dared me to read. We had a total of 17 people nominate 51 books, which is a pretty spiffy turn out, considering this is the first time we're doing the whole "You Dare Me" format. I'm hoping that as people get used to it, we'll have more and more people nominating more and more books, and now that we've got one month's worth of tallies under our belt, things will start getting mighty interesting indeed.
Here's how the top 3 shook out:
Lois McMaster Bujold's Warrior's Apprentice with 5 votes
Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana with 5 votes
For third place, there was a tie:
Geoff Ryman's AIR with 4 votes, and
Michelle Sagara's Cast in Shadow with 4 votes
Now that we've got the nominations tallied, how does it work?
Simple. I pick. :)
Originally, Bujold had a strong lead, and then the others snuck up and nibbled it away. At first, I thought that I wouldn't have any trouble making the Bujold your January dare to me, but once Tigana tied for the number of first place votes, I decided to re-consider: Tigana is a book I've been putting off due to its intimidating length, and what better way to start out the New Year than to knock a behemoth off my TBR pile?
So with that in mind, your January Dare to Me is….
Tigana (1990)
Written by: Guy Gavriel Kay
ISBN: 9780451457769
Synopsis
Kay (The Fionavar Tapestry) brings to life a layered, pragmatic world of magic and difficult choices, where brutality and beauty coexist. Eight of the nine provinces of the Peninsula of the Palm, on a world with two moons, have fallen to the warrior sorcerers Brandin of Ygrath and Alberico of Barbadior. Brandin's younger son is slain in a battle with the principality of Tigana, which the grief-stricken sorcerer then destroys. Years later, a small band of survivors, led by Alessan, last prince of Tigana's royal house, wages psychological warfare, planting seeds for the overthrow of the two tyrants. At the center of these activities are Devin, a gifted young singer; Catriana, a young woman pursued by suspicions of her family's guilt; and Duke Sandre d'Astibar, a wily resistance leader thought dead. Meanwhile, at Brandin's court, Dianora, his favorite concubine and--unknown to anyone, another survivor of Tigana--struggles between her growing love for the often gentle tyrant and her desire for vengeance. Gradually the scene is set for both conquerors to destroy each other and free a land. Tolkien protege Kay's brilliant and complex portrayal of good and evil, high and low, will draw readers to this consuming epic.
So how will it work? In January (or maybe a tick before), I will read this book. You, dear readers, are welcome to read along, but you don't have to. After all, this is YOUR dare to me. I'll announce MY dare to YOU in January, so don't worry. :) But for those of you who want to follow along, please note, I may post my review of this any time during the month of the Dare, so if you do want to read, read it on your own time and your own pace. You know I always welcome discussion at any time, so even if you're "late," it's all good!
Now that January's decided, what about next month? Well, January's nominations will carry over to February's tallies, but for February, you get a fresh start to nominate any book you want. I won't be surprised if some of the books that weren't picked end up getting selected over the next few months, but who knows? It's all up to you!
Happy Reading!
Here's how the top 3 shook out:
Lois McMaster Bujold's Warrior's Apprentice with 5 votes
Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana with 5 votes
For third place, there was a tie:
Geoff Ryman's AIR with 4 votes, and
Michelle Sagara's Cast in Shadow with 4 votes
Now that we've got the nominations tallied, how does it work?
Simple. I pick. :)
Originally, Bujold had a strong lead, and then the others snuck up and nibbled it away. At first, I thought that I wouldn't have any trouble making the Bujold your January dare to me, but once Tigana tied for the number of first place votes, I decided to re-consider: Tigana is a book I've been putting off due to its intimidating length, and what better way to start out the New Year than to knock a behemoth off my TBR pile?
So with that in mind, your January Dare to Me is….
Tigana (1990)
Written by: Guy Gavriel Kay
ISBN: 9780451457769
Synopsis
Kay (The Fionavar Tapestry) brings to life a layered, pragmatic world of magic and difficult choices, where brutality and beauty coexist. Eight of the nine provinces of the Peninsula of the Palm, on a world with two moons, have fallen to the warrior sorcerers Brandin of Ygrath and Alberico of Barbadior. Brandin's younger son is slain in a battle with the principality of Tigana, which the grief-stricken sorcerer then destroys. Years later, a small band of survivors, led by Alessan, last prince of Tigana's royal house, wages psychological warfare, planting seeds for the overthrow of the two tyrants. At the center of these activities are Devin, a gifted young singer; Catriana, a young woman pursued by suspicions of her family's guilt; and Duke Sandre d'Astibar, a wily resistance leader thought dead. Meanwhile, at Brandin's court, Dianora, his favorite concubine and--unknown to anyone, another survivor of Tigana--struggles between her growing love for the often gentle tyrant and her desire for vengeance. Gradually the scene is set for both conquerors to destroy each other and free a land. Tolkien protege Kay's brilliant and complex portrayal of good and evil, high and low, will draw readers to this consuming epic.
So how will it work? In January (or maybe a tick before), I will read this book. You, dear readers, are welcome to read along, but you don't have to. After all, this is YOUR dare to me. I'll announce MY dare to YOU in January, so don't worry. :) But for those of you who want to follow along, please note, I may post my review of this any time during the month of the Dare, so if you do want to read, read it on your own time and your own pace. You know I always welcome discussion at any time, so even if you're "late," it's all good!
Now that January's decided, what about next month? Well, January's nominations will carry over to February's tallies, but for February, you get a fresh start to nominate any book you want. I won't be surprised if some of the books that weren't picked end up getting selected over the next few months, but who knows? It's all up to you!
Happy Reading!