The Lions of Al-Rassan in /r/Fantasy Discussion Group

Apr 12, 2010 Sam rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, read-2017, favorites

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

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Apr 05, 2017 Olivia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

This book made me weep. That's all you need to know, isn't it? Guy Gavriel Kay came highly recommended by many fantasy fans, even though he doesn't write your usual fantasy. There are no elves and dwarves. There are no strange creatures and no dragons. And there is almost no magic.

Guy Gavriel Kay writes historical fantasy. The Lions of Al-Rassan is his version of medieval Spain and the conflicts between the different faiths. This book is about war and the intolerance different cultures and relig ...more

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May 21, 2010 Sandra rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, favorites

I can't even think how to review this book. First of all, I guess, it's a good lesson on why not to give up on a book before you finish it. I was more than halfway through, and getting a little frustrated and somewhat bored with Kay's POV changes and introduction of new and mostly peripheral characters so far into the book. This is the fourth Kay book I've read, and I find myself a little put off by his distant approach to events that are positively horrifying. He introduces one of the main char ...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Maggie K rated it liked it

An enjoyable take on medeival Spain. Not too fantastical, but an interesting read. I didn't understand the motivations of all the characters, but it contained some nice bromance scenes. Very beautiful writing, shallow character reveals.

I am a little puzzled as to why this is considered fantasy. The only fantastical thing I noticed was an extra moon. To me this is simply historical fiction. ...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Lesley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013-reads

Freaking excellent book. His story telling and characters are an asset to the fantasy community.

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Aug 19, 2019 Ellen Lancelot rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

Others more eloquent than I, have reviewed this already. And yet I feel the need to say at least a few words.

The Lions of Al-Rassan is a reimagining of the reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula. Three people, the Jaddites (Christians), the Asharites (Muslims) and the Kindath (Jews). The Asharite call the peninsula Al-Rassan, the Jaddite call it Esperaña. The caliphate has fallen and petty kings squabble. In the north the Jaddites are gaining power. Uneasy, the shared peace of the people of Al-Ra Others more eloquent than I, have reviewed this already. And yet I feel the need to say at least a few words.

The Lions of Al-Rassan is a reimagining of the reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula. Three people, the Jaddites (Christians), the Asharites (Muslims) and the Kindath (Jews). The Asharite call the peninsula Al-Rassan, the Jaddite call it Esperaña. The caliphate has fallen and petty kings squabble. In the north the Jaddites are gaining power. Uneasy, the shared peace of the people of Al-Rassan.

The language is beautiful. Evocative, brilliant, poetic. Kay paints a rich picture of the streets and the life of the cities of Al-Rassan. Al-Rassan seems like a dream, or the ending of a golden age. This is in some way, an elegy of a beauty lost, a lingering on the last rays of a sinking sun.

We get to follow Jehane, an accomplished Kindath physician, trying to navigate in a world where her kind are discriminated, and sometimes hunted. On a fateful day, when she chooses to leave her home behind she meets Ammar ibn Kharain, poet and kingslayer. And later that night, she meets Rodrigo Belmonte (modelled of El Cid), Jaddite Captain who dreams of an United Esperaña. These are the lions of Al-Rassan.

What happens in this book is a slow spiral, following the friendship between these three people, and the beginning of the Reconquest of Esperaña, the ending of Al-Rassan.

It is partially about witty banter, warm friendship, unrealised and realised love and the bonds you form in strange circumstances.

It is also about intolerance, fanaticism and religious persecution. The peace between the different religions of the peninsula is uneasy and does not always endure.

It is about the gruesome reality of war. About how was makes corpses of us all. Of war crimes and trauma and loss. The things that is done to the conquered is grim and terrible.

And how, in this war, not all things of beauty can endure. And how fragile friendship or a heart is, when you find yourself on different sides of not only conflict but of dreams.

And, because it is made by Guy Gavriel Kay, it is about loss, unending sadness and longing.

I feel wrecked. I went to sleep at 01.30 and woke up 05.30 just to continue reading. And I cried, for the sadness and beauty of it all.

That being said, fuck aristocrats and their destructive morals and ambitions. It’s all fascism. ...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Darwin Newton rated it it was amazing

I honestly believe Guy could write about anything and make it entertaining, this is my favorite book by him. I've read and reread it atleast a half a dozen times. Politics, intrigue, savagery all written in a painfully too real sense that grips the reader and evokes powerful emotion as his richly developed characters go through the story. ...more

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