Ratings102
Average rating3.9
A masterful epic of magic, politics, war, and the power of love and hate—from the renowned author of The Fionavar Tapestry and Children of Earth and Sky. Tigana is the magical story of a beleaguered land struggling to be free. It is the tale of a people so cursed by the black sorcery of a cruel despotic king that even the name of their once-beautiful homeland cannot be spoken or remembered... But years after the devastation, a handful of courageous men and women embark upon a dangerous crusade to overthrow their conquerors and bring back to the dark world the brilliance of a long-lost name...Tigana. Against the magnificently rendered background of a world both sensuous and barbaric, this sweeping epic of a passionate people pursuing their dream is breathtaking in its vision, changing forever the boundaries of fantasy fiction.
Series
2 primary booksTigana is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 1990 with contributions by Guy Gavriel Kay and Ana Cristina Rodrigues.
Reviews with the most likes.
Full Review: http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2007/08/tigana.html
Tigana is the story of a group of people from the nation of Tigana seeking to rectify the wrongs of the past. During a war between Tigana and Ygrath, the Prince of Tigana, Valentin, killed the son of Brandin of Ygrath, a powerful sorcerer attempting to conquer the entire land of the Five Palms, of which Tigana was a part. In retaliation, Brandin not only slaughtered the people of Tigana fighting against him in the war but cast a powerful spell removing the name of the land so that it could only be remembered and heard by the people who were born there. Once the people born in Tigana were dead, the name of Tigana would be lost forever.
While Valentin's son is uniting the people of Tigana as well as other people who despise Brandin and the sorceror Alberico (who is also trying to conquer as much of the land of the Five Palms as possible), Dianora di Tigana masquerades as Dianora di Certando and allows herself to be captured as one of Brandin's courtesans with the intent of killing him and restoring the name of her homeland. However, she finds her job growing more difficult as she finds herself falling in love with Brandin in spite of what he has done to her people.
Tigana is a tale about the danger of two extremes - the danger of remembering the past so clearly that one remains entrenched in it, unable to forget and move on, and the danger of forgetting about the reality of the past. It's a story of love and being torn when you discover the world is not as black and white as once thought. It is one of those rare stories that shows both sides of the coin and reveals that there are consequences to actions and that one person's triumph is another's tragedy.
The characterization was masterful. At the beginning of the story, Brandin was portrayed as an evil bad guy, but once you saw him through Dianora's eyes, you realize he's only human and one who cares about the people around him so much that it overrules his better judgment at times. It takes some talent to make the reader go from despising a character to loving them, and these gray characters are my favorite kinds.
Some people may find Tigana to be a little too angst-filled and repetitive for their tastes. I freely admit it - I like some angst in my stories, but even I found the repetitiveness of the character's thoughts a little much at times and wanted them to get on with the story. This was the only problem I had with Tigana, however.
Overall, Tigana was a spell-binding story that I still keep going back to even though it's been over a week since I finished it now.
One hour in and I can't tell, but most importantly, really don't care what's happening. Didn't care for the writing or the (lack of) story.
Too bad as I love Simon Vance as a narrator.
Read 01:36/24:49 6%
Wow! A heartbreaking work that could have been twice as long, if I had a say in it. Sure, the style may not be for everyone but if you enjoy Robin Hobb, you'll probably like this as well. The idea is unique, the characters engaging and the ending gets to a whole new level. I am stunned and in love and can't wait to get my hands on more Guy Gavriel Kay!
Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/guy-gavriel-kay-tigana/
Review incoming because this is such a dense book I need extra time to crystallize my thoughts.