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The Lions of Al-Rassan
by
The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khaira
...more
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Paperback, 528 pages
Published
June 28th 2005
by Harper Voyager
(first published 1995)
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I can’t believe this is happening but here I am, my first ever DNF.
I DNF’ed this book somewhere around 60% and because of that I will still give this book a rating, my second 1 star rating; the first one was for Uprooted by Naomi Novik.
This is an extremely unpopular opinion and I know a LOT of people loved this book, so please keep in mind that this is just my honest opinion. At the time of posting this review, there are less than 200 readers—including me—who gave it a 1 star rating, out of 15. ...more
I DNF’ed this book somewhere around 60% and because of that I will still give this book a rating, my second 1 star rating; the first one was for Uprooted by Naomi Novik.
This is an extremely unpopular opinion and I know a LOT of people loved this book, so please keep in mind that this is just my honest opinion. At the time of posting this review, there are less than 200 readers—including me—who gave it a 1 star rating, out of 15. ...more

The Lions of al-Rassan is a sweeping historical epic that examines the price of war, the deadly toll on lives that can occur when religion and politics meet and clash, the seemingly endless give and take between Christians & Muslims & Jews, the power that certain charismatic individuals can exert during times of tumult and change, and - just as important as everything i've mentioned - the nature of love and of friendship. its cast features El Cid and Ibn Ammar; it is set during Moorish Spain.
act ...more
act ...more

If I scored my nerd tendencies I’d fall much closer on the scale to comic books and Star Trek than to Lord of the Rings and other swords-n-sorcery kind of fantasy which is weird because I do enjoy the kind of world building and political intrigue that is often a big part of the genre.
My hesitation about reading more of this kind of stuff is due in no small part to how it seems like common practice for fantasy authors of turning those stories into multi-book epics, but then stalling out in the m ...more
My hesitation about reading more of this kind of stuff is due in no small part to how it seems like common practice for fantasy authors of turning those stories into multi-book epics, but then stalling out in the m ...more

The things some people can do with words are breathtaking. I absolutely loved this book. I have ranted about it to everyone possible, including strangers in cars next to me on the street. I tell them to roll down their windows and then I tell them to read this book. My mom stopped taking my calls because instead of happy mother's day, I quoted lines from this book when I talked to her. There are a lot of reviews for this so I'm not breaking any new ground here, but sincerely, if you have not rea
...more

Mar 07, 2011
Terence
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Terence by:
GR Friends too numerous to name
Shelves:
speculative-fiction
Perhaps it’s incipient dementia?
I’ve lost too many brain cells to time and American TV but I just don’t get the GGK “love” evinced by many of my GR friends. I struggled through the first 100 pages of this book and seriously considered giving up entirely but I persevered to the end (albeit skimming through many pages) and left profoundly unimpressed.
Upon reflection, my difficulty with the novel is that at no point did the writing engage me. I didn’t find the alternate Medieval Spain all that inve ...more
I’ve lost too many brain cells to time and American TV but I just don’t get the GGK “love” evinced by many of my GR friends. I struggled through the first 100 pages of this book and seriously considered giving up entirely but I persevered to the end (albeit skimming through many pages) and left profoundly unimpressed.
Upon reflection, my difficulty with the novel is that at no point did the writing engage me. I didn’t find the alternate Medieval Spain all that inve ...more

May 31, 2014
Veronica Belmont
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
vaginal-fantasy
First of all, allow me to give Kiala her due for picking this book for Vaginal Fantasy. After last month's pick, we were sorely due for something of substance. I will also remind everyone that last month's pick was MY doing, so I'm duly chastened.
Anyhow. The Lions of Al-Rassan is an absolutely mesmerizing book. As I understand it (and please correct me in the comments if I am incorrect) it's a fantastical alt-history of the Iberian Peninsula. With one small exception, I would pause to call it f ...more
Anyhow. The Lions of Al-Rassan is an absolutely mesmerizing book. As I understand it (and please correct me in the comments if I am incorrect) it's a fantastical alt-history of the Iberian Peninsula. With one small exception, I would pause to call it f ...more

May 27, 2017
Scott Hitchcock
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
epic-fantasy,
historical-fiction
I feel like I should have loved this book. Parts of it were so good and it had that tortured world gritty feel to it that's right up my alley. Friends on GR who share common interests one and all loved it. But my god the middle 60% was a slog for me. I had to put it down and restart it so many times. The ending tragic and redeeming but I still can't give it more than 2.5*'s.
...more

I love this book. 5 Stars. All the Stars.
It’s a slow burn. I can easily acknowledge that, but the characters are intriguing from the start and Kay’s writing is just beautiful. The world can be a bit confusing as well if you don’t understand the background of medieval Spain as a lot of names and history are thrown at you from the start. There’s also three different religions and the strife between them is the center stage of the book; the Kindath are Jews, the Jaddites are Christians, and the Ash ...more
It’s a slow burn. I can easily acknowledge that, but the characters are intriguing from the start and Kay’s writing is just beautiful. The world can be a bit confusing as well if you don’t understand the background of medieval Spain as a lot of names and history are thrown at you from the start. There’s also three different religions and the strife between them is the center stage of the book; the Kindath are Jews, the Jaddites are Christians, and the Ash ...more

Oct 29, 2014
Alissa
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-ebooks,
favorites
I loved this book. The story is seductive and engaging, the characters are adult, well-rounded and sophisticated, the writing style is very versatile: it offers both lavish descriptions, witty dialogues, elegant poetry, emotion and brutal detachment to a great, immersive effect. Subtle, delicate, harrowing, the plot entertains and develops with depth of themes, drama, humour and evenly paced action. It is historical fantasy, with little or none fantastic elements.
The characters and the current g ...more
The characters and the current g ...more

You will fall in love with one of the characters in this book. I absolutely guarantee it. The only question is, with whom?
Will it be with the flamboyant Ammar ibn Khailan, poet, spymaster, kingslayer, warrior? With Jehane, strong and stubborn doctor? Perhaps with Miranda, so beautiful and queenly even when managing a horse ranch? Or with proud Rodrigo, the Scourge of Al-Rassan, brave, virtuous, faithful?
Or will it be with one of the minor characters? Starstruck Alvar, alluring Zabira, the wise ...more
Will it be with the flamboyant Ammar ibn Khailan, poet, spymaster, kingslayer, warrior? With Jehane, strong and stubborn doctor? Perhaps with Miranda, so beautiful and queenly even when managing a horse ranch? Or with proud Rodrigo, the Scourge of Al-Rassan, brave, virtuous, faithful?
Or will it be with one of the minor characters? Starstruck Alvar, alluring Zabira, the wise ...more

I needed a couple of days to let this sink in before writing a review. That's how powerful the book was, and its incredible ending.
This is one of those books that it's very difficult to write a spoiler-free review for. I could mark it as such and go for it, but then people that haven't read the book will skip the review.
The Lions of Al-Rassan is a book I will push on friends. When asked for recommendations, it will float to the top of my list every time. I won't say it's my all-time favorite, bu ...more
This is one of those books that it's very difficult to write a spoiler-free review for. I could mark it as such and go for it, but then people that haven't read the book will skip the review.
The Lions of Al-Rassan is a book I will push on friends. When asked for recommendations, it will float to the top of my list every time. I won't say it's my all-time favorite, bu ...more

4.5
Story revolve around people of three religion and their struggle to prevail over each other. These three religions are Ashar (worshipers of Stars), Jad(worshipers of Sun) and Kindath (worshipers of Moons). On a day that was known as “day of moat”, physician Jehane bet Ishak, a Kindath, met Ammar ibn Khairan, most famous Ashar warrior, and Ser Rodrigo Belmonte, a fierce Jad captain. This is the story of how these three become friends and what they choose when it come to make a decision between ...more
Story revolve around people of three religion and their struggle to prevail over each other. These three religions are Ashar (worshipers of Stars), Jad(worshipers of Sun) and Kindath (worshipers of Moons). On a day that was known as “day of moat”, physician Jehane bet Ishak, a Kindath, met Ammar ibn Khairan, most famous Ashar warrior, and Ser Rodrigo Belmonte, a fierce Jad captain. This is the story of how these three become friends and what they choose when it come to make a decision between ...more

Reads like a movie novelization. A movie intended as pseudo-historical reenactment Oscar-bait with beautiful sweeping landscapes and beautiful actors and actresses who take it all so damn seriously. The women are spunky (I hate that word, so it's appropriate for Jehane) and inappropriately modern while remaining in the margins - props to the masculine deeds of the leading men. Every fight is a show of athleticism, perfectly choreographed. A light-hearted moment that isn't actually funny. Charact
...more

Jun 20, 2020
Markus
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
historical-fiction
Ah, Guy Gavriel Kay. Did you make me fall victim to my own unreasonable expectations yet again.

I adored this book and would put it in the league of Under Heaven and River of Stars, all three fantastic (and slightly fantastical) quasi-historical fictions that took really world events and tweaked them just a bit. They were all gorgeously written and populated with subtle and nuanced characters, caught in the great events of their times and doing what little they could to protect themselves and their loved ones form those events.
In the case of The Lions of Al-Rassan Kay brings us to an alter ...more
In the case of The Lions of Al-Rassan Kay brings us to an alter ...more

Aug 31, 2021
Jake Bishop
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
9-5-or-higher
Absolutely brilliant.
It started fast, was an amazing story of companionship, religion, and duty.
Amazing politics, interactively plotted, heartbreaking,
Im not writing more cause im on my phone, and a full review will take too long.
9.5/10
It started fast, was an amazing story of companionship, religion, and duty.
Amazing politics, interactively plotted, heartbreaking,
Im not writing more cause im on my phone, and a full review will take too long.
9.5/10

This novel gained power and complexity as I made my way deeper into its pages, and in the end I came to greatly appreciate its rich subtleties, its many-layered characters, and its fascinating world. I was more emotionally captivated by, and more propelled to burn through, Kay’s incredible Tigana, but I’m very glad to have read more of Kay’s work, and I will certainly continue to do so.

I'm don't tend to be a crier when I read. If a book can make me cry it deserves 5 stars. The story was woven together so well that the last chapter and epilogue sucker punched you. Yes there were tears. Yes the book by the end moved me that much. Readers of historical fantasy you might just find this book, inspired by medieval Spain, a story you will love.
...more

Sep 28, 2019
Matt Quann
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Matt by:
Helen Robson
It's been a long time since I've read something by Guy Gavriel Kay. His
Fionavar Tapestry
fantasy trilogy was one of the formative fantasy series of my youth, and aside from an attempt at Tigana and a vaguely remembered reading of A Song for Arbonne, I've not really gone back to his work.
Fortunately, my wife's aunt inspired my return to Kay's work by sending The Lions of Al-Rassan our way. I was expecting something that would scratch an itch for epic fantasy, and though the book has very li ...more
Fortunately, my wife's aunt inspired my return to Kay's work by sending The Lions of Al-Rassan our way. I was expecting something that would scratch an itch for epic fantasy, and though the book has very li ...more

Full review: http://tenaciousreader.wordpress.com/...
Guy Gavriel Kay has been on my “must try” list for years. I have heard him recommended so many times and I have come across devoted fans that will praise his prose endlessly. And on top of that, he writes stand-alone novels, so there is no fear of commitment here. With all of that, I have no idea why I have not read one of his novels previously. But, I nominated The Lions of Al-Rassan for one of my book club reads and happily it won. No more e ...more
Guy Gavriel Kay has been on my “must try” list for years. I have heard him recommended so many times and I have come across devoted fans that will praise his prose endlessly. And on top of that, he writes stand-alone novels, so there is no fear of commitment here. With all of that, I have no idea why I have not read one of his novels previously. But, I nominated The Lions of Al-Rassan for one of my book club reads and happily it won. No more e ...more

Hmm, a tough book to rate. On one hand, the writing is exceptional. This is definitely a literary novel. On the other hand it vacillates between interesting and been there done that to the nth degree. An epic tale of two roguish men w/ integrity and honor who respect each other, are the bestest fighters and generals for their "at war" tribes. Brutality, war, injustice, trauma, politics, blah blah blah, the love of a good woman. Intermixed w/ a variety of characters that have one special gift. Th
...more

Yep, 2 stars. I can hear Jake screaming already, but: 2 stars.
GGK's writing is beautiful, but almost everything else in this book didn't work for me. And that's not just because it's a GGK book and therefore overly horny. No, what didn't work for me at all were the dialogue that often enough felt way too modern for this setting and the characters who were all too good to be true.
This is a book about the reconquista of Spain, about the three religions living there side by side, about what they h ...more
GGK's writing is beautiful, but almost everything else in this book didn't work for me. And that's not just because it's a GGK book and therefore overly horny. No, what didn't work for me at all were the dialogue that often enough felt way too modern for this setting and the characters who were all too good to be true.
This is a book about the reconquista of Spain, about the three religions living there side by side, about what they h ...more

Sadly, this book did not capture me at all. I appreciated the craft of it, but was not pulled in. I discovered at about the 400-page point that I was reading this just to say that I read it. That is not a good sign.
I'm quite upset, considering I adored A Brightness Long Ago and really thought I would love this as well. I did not.
This could be because I just wasn't in the right frame of mind. who knows. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for a certain kind of book. But I genuinely just think this ...more
I'm quite upset, considering I adored A Brightness Long Ago and really thought I would love this as well. I did not.
This could be because I just wasn't in the right frame of mind. who knows. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for a certain kind of book. But I genuinely just think this ...more

This book has come highly recommended by almost all of my friends, and so naturally, I was very excited to read it. This was my first experience with Kay, and the consensus seems to be that this is his best work. Certainly the Goodreads average rating bears that up. Lions of Al-Rassan currently has a an average rating of 4.27 of 5. Pretty impressive, and the highest of all of his books.
It just didn't quite get there for me. Maybe it was the expectation of greatness that let me down, but I don't ...more
It just didn't quite get there for me. Maybe it was the expectation of greatness that let me down, but I don't ...more

I usually have a rule that if a book doesn't grab my attention within 50 pages, I just drop it and move on. Too many great books, not enough time. I gave The Lions of Al-Rassan a good chance with 150 pages, and it still utterly failed to grab me. Maybe it was a bad idea to read a high-minded historical fantasy epic right after The Black Company. Or maybe I'm too old and grumpy for bombastic opera-like fantasies. Maybe A Game of Thrones has made fantasy unpalatable unless it features a threshold
...more

May 23, 2007
Kelly
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Kay fans, historical fantasy fans, epic lovers
I'm reminded of something, thinking of this book. I was reading the Unbearable Lightness of Being recently, and there was a motif introduced from a piece of Beethoven's. "En muss sein!" or, translated, "It must be!". In other words, a 'heavy' (as Kundera would have put it) sense of your own life and destiny. All the characters have that here, but in such a way that you love them for it, you don't want to hurt them for being pompous as is occasionally a problem in epic adventures. It's all about
...more

Jan 24, 2011
Jayme
rated it
did not like it
Shelves:
cultural,
middle-east,
historical-fiction,
fantasy,
history,
fiction,
retelling,
disappointing
I was very excited to read this because of the premise: Alternate medieval Al-Andalus, clash of cultures and religions, the fall of an Empire, the end of an era, and romance!
By the time I got 100 pages into it, I was skimming. Pretty soon I was skipping whole chapters, looking for the names of people that vaguely interested me. This is not to say that the prose isn't good, and I know that the premise is...so what went wrong? The following.
1. The set up surrounds a woman Kindath (Jewish) doctor, ...more
By the time I got 100 pages into it, I was skimming. Pretty soon I was skipping whole chapters, looking for the names of people that vaguely interested me. This is not to say that the prose isn't good, and I know that the premise is...so what went wrong? The following.
1. The set up surrounds a woman Kindath (Jewish) doctor, ...more

Wow. I don't even know what to say. I'm speechless! This was only my second Kay novel, the first being A Song for Arbonne, and I didn't really know what to expect. I have to admit, the blurb didn't really catch me... But I had found it in a used book store for cheap, so I decided to try it out. I am so glad I did!
I have to be very careful not to spoil it... It's hard not to gush though. The ending was so heart breaking, yet at the same time so beautiful and hopeful. The entire book was wonderful ...more
I have to be very careful not to spoil it... It's hard not to gush though. The ending was so heart breaking, yet at the same time so beautiful and hopeful. The entire book was wonderful ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fantasy Book Club: September 2018: Lions of Al-Rassan FIRST IMPRESSIONS | 10 | 22 | Sep 06, 2018 02:52PM | |
Fantasy Buddy Reads: The Lions of Al-Rassan | 87 | 86 | Mar 10, 2017 07:24AM | |
Play Book Tag: Lions of al-Rassan | 10 | 31 | Jan 27, 2016 04:50AM | |
Read Runners: Buddy read: The Lions of Al-Rassan | 56 | 61 | Apr 28, 2015 07:14AM |
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Guy Gavriel Kay is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction. Many of his novels are set in fictional realms that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Justinian I or Spain during the time of El Cid. Those works are published and marketed as historical fantasy, though the author himself has expressed a preference to shy away from genre categoriz
...more
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“The deeds of men, as footprints in the desert.
Nothing under the circling moons is fated to last.
Even the sun goes down.”
—
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Nothing under the circling moons is fated to last.
Even the sun goes down.”
“Eyyia?" said her husband, and Eliane bet Danel heard the mangling of her name as music.
"You sound like a marsh frog," she said, moving to stand before his chair.
By the flickering light she saw him smile.
"Where have you been," she asked. "My dear. I've needed you so much."
"Eyyia," he tried again, and stood up. His eyes were black hollows. They would always be hollows.
He opened his arms and she moved into the space they made in the world, and laying her head against his chest she permitted herself the almost unimaginable luxury of grief.”
—
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More quotes…
"You sound like a marsh frog," she said, moving to stand before his chair.
By the flickering light she saw him smile.
"Where have you been," she asked. "My dear. I've needed you so much."
"Eyyia," he tried again, and stood up. His eyes were black hollows. They would always be hollows.
He opened his arms and she moved into the space they made in the world, and laying her head against his chest she permitted herself the almost unimaginable luxury of grief.”