From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
I'll be honest I didn't think I was going to like this book much when I first started reading it. The descriptions of Devin and his singing group left me uninspired. I felt like I was looking at yet another fantasy world of magic and towers and bards and despots without much new.
Then the hunting lodge. And it all turned.
The themes of identity and country and suppression played on many things I've studied or thought about and I loved the depth in which Kay treated them within his otherwise famil ...more
Then the hunting lodge. And it all turned.
The themes of identity and country and suppression played on many things I've studied or thought about and I loved the depth in which Kay treated them within his otherwise famil ...more
There has long been a backlash on the internet for people's tendency to overuse the term "epic." Well, despite that, the only adjective appropriate to describe Tigana is epic. It is epic fantasy of the highest order. The writing is poetic, the characters are deep, the plot is complex, and the stakes are high -- without being mired in most of the "evil plan" tropes that most heroic fantasy suffers from.
It is one of the greatest fantasy stories ever told, and I couldn't recommend it more highly. ...more
It is one of the greatest fantasy stories ever told, and I couldn't recommend it more highly. ...more
A complex stand-alone fantasy novel set in a fictional country based on Renaissance Italy. Not just swords and sorcery, but an exploration on the concept of historical memory. Only downside was the number of characters to keep track of. Nonetheless, there are chapters in here that have more life and originality in them than some fantasy and SF trilogies.
This book is the rarest of gems - it's lauded as a classic, and for once the reviews are spot on.
A sorcerer-king declared war upon Tigana, and his son was slain in battle. Enraged and grieving for his son, the king erased Tigana from the world. No one who wasn't born in Tigana knew that the land ever existed; they couldn't even understand the name if spoken aloud. Those native to Tigana - renamed Lower Corte - became homeless in the truest sense of the word.
Nineteen years later an odd assorment ...more
A sorcerer-king declared war upon Tigana, and his son was slain in battle. Enraged and grieving for his son, the king erased Tigana from the world. No one who wasn't born in Tigana knew that the land ever existed; they couldn't even understand the name if spoken aloud. Those native to Tigana - renamed Lower Corte - became homeless in the truest sense of the word.
Nineteen years later an odd assorment ...more
This is a lovely historical fantasy book, a standalone based, ever so loosely, on the history of Italy. Tigana is about memory, both as a gift and a curse. It's about forgiveness, and secrets, and the search for your own identity in the churn and roil of the world.
It has Kay's trademark lyricism, and wit, and depth of writing, and humor. And the heartbreak and the mystery. And, of course, the music and the two moons.
I love Guy Kay because he can write standalones and doesn't feel entitled to te ...more
It has Kay's trademark lyricism, and wit, and depth of writing, and humor. And the heartbreak and the mystery. And, of course, the music and the two moons.
I love Guy Kay because he can write standalones and doesn't feel entitled to te ...more
Dec 14, 2007
Brien
added it
Sep 09, 2010
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
May 25, 2012
Bonnie
marked it as to-read
Enjoyable, thought-provoking read with incredible characters that are perfectly nuanced, complicated, and human. Well, some of them are. I can't say that Baerd or Alberico did much for me in terms of character development, but the choices and journeys that Dianora, Alessan, and Sandre (among others) undergo really kept me riveted to this story, not to mention Kay's extremely well-written and literary prose.
Nonetheless, Tigana left me feeling like something was missing in the end. I think the epi ...more
Nonetheless, Tigana left me feeling like something was missing in the end. I think the epi ...more
Jun 25, 2012
Ryan
marked it as to-read
Mar 06, 2013
Matt
marked it as to-read
Jul 27, 2013
Gloriana
marked it as to-read
Apr 05, 2014
Peter
marked it as to-read
Feb 13, 2015
Ian
marked it as to-read
Mar 15, 2015
Nat
marked it as to-read
May 16, 2018
John Wiswell
marked it as to-read
