Tigana in The Sword and Laser

Nov 30, 2011 Adrienne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, characters-that-feel-real, owned, post-book-withdrawl, sword-and-laser, music

This book was slow to get going, but after Chapter 5 I was hooked.

I liked the prologue quite a bit, so I was thrown for a bit of a loop when the first chapter is 20 years later in some random tavern with some random nameless people (at that point!) talking about history I didn't know. Then we're introduced to Devin, who is a much more grounded character -- and someone I was happy to read about. After some flip-flopping viewpoints and some confusion, everything becomes clear in Chapter 5 -- so gi This book was slow to get going, but after Chapter 5 I was hooked.

I liked the prologue quite a bit, so I was thrown for a bit of a loop when the first chapter is 20 years later in some random tavern with some random nameless people (at that point!) talking about history I didn't know. Then we're introduced to Devin, who is a much more grounded character -- and someone I was happy to read about. After some flip-flopping viewpoints and some confusion, everything becomes clear in Chapter 5 -- so give it at least 'til then. The language was more florid than I normally like, but it actually complemented the Italian Renaissance setting of this world so well that I found myself re-reading passages just because of how they were written.

My favorite thing about this book was the characters' depth. There was really only one character to truly dislike. The others, no matter which side they were on, all ended up being sympathetic at certain points. A number of characters, who were for the most part good people, would find themselves in situations with no good solution, and after choosing their action would have to deal with the effects of the decision they'd just made. My favorite!

That is not to say that the book was flawless. I found the sudden switch from Devin to Dianora quite disconcerting, even though I ended up liking her point of view quite a bit by the end of the section. I am not sure if I would have preferred the two viewpoints to be more interspersed, with less of a sudden change, or to be kept as they were, which allowed you to cozy up with the character for a while. I was also unhappy with the end, especially concerning Catriana -- (view spoiler) However, either these complaints were minor compared to my enjoyment of the rest of the book, or I ended up getting over them.

Here is one of those lines that I re-read a few times, because it fit so well in the scene:

"He thought about the years, all the lost years that had tumbled and spun and drifted like leaves or snow between these two, then and now."

I know exactly what those lost years tumbling like leaves feels like. ...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Melani rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, myths-and-gods

Tigana- I wanted to love this book a lot more then I actually did. It is beautifully written and the plot is engaging and thought provoking but I could walk away from the book for days at a time without needing to pick it up again and the female characters bothered me.

Basic plot. Two sorcerers conquer a country, dividing it between them. Except since that country was already divided into districts they find it rather easy (think Renaissance Italy). Brandin of Ygrath, one of the sorcerers, upon l Tigana- I wanted to love this book a lot more then I actually did. It is beautifully written and the plot is engaging and thought provoking but I could walk away from the book for days at a time without needing to pick it up again and the female characters bothered me.

Basic plot. Two sorcerers conquer a country, dividing it between them. Except since that country was already divided into districts they find it rather easy (think Renaissance Italy). Brandin of Ygrath, one of the sorcerers, upon loosing his second son in a battle with the men of Tigana decides to wreck a terrible vengeance and erases the name of Tigana from the memory of anyone who was not born there. It can no longer be heard and understood by anyone outside of Tigana. And since the name changes at the instance his spell is cast, from that point forward Tigana is a dying world. The novel takes place twenty years later as a few individuals from Tigana try to overthrow the sorcerers and free their country as well as break the spell over Tigana. One of the things that Kay was trying to do was explore sexuality in oppressive times. It’s an interesting idea but unfortunately I think that is what led to the issues I have with the female characters in the book.

I loved the ‘villains’ in this book. They are real people and it’s easy to see why they did what they did. You hated them for it, but they had real, honest motivations. And Dianora is an excellent study of Stockholm syndrome, or at least that’s how I read her. I read somewhere that Kay highlights the best in each of his characters, including the villains. So, even while they do terrible things, like put live men on death wheels to die, you can sympathize with them and understand their motivations. Brandin of Ygrath was an excellent example of that. He totally destroyed an entire country and the people there-in out of grief for his son. So while you see his selfishness and brutatlity you can also see the love he had for his son.

I loved the idea of exploring what it would mean to loose the place you lived in, if it just suddenly no longer existed except in your head and the heads of others who also lived there. I think Kay does an excellent job showing how that sort of devastation can wreck your self-identity.

I loved the ending. So much that I only skimmed the epilogue, not really needing any more closure then what had already been given.

As interesting as I found the idea I wasn’t drawn into this book. Part of that was the characters. Not a single one drew me in to the point where I had to know what happened to them. This led to a really long read time for me, as I would put it down for a few days before coming back to it. I would get engrossed in the language while I read, so I would read large chunks at a time, but there needs to be more then beautiful language to draw me back to the story.

And that leads me to my main problem with the novel and why I didn’t love it; the female characters. I have a hard time pinpointing exactly what it is, but they didn’t feel real to me. Dianora is probably the one who came closest, and I read her as a study in Stockholm syndrome and so not exactly someone you’re rooting for. Part of the problem is that each time a new female character was introduced I started to wait for the moment they’d have sex. In other words, the females were there to explore repressed sexuality first and were characters second. Not all of them had sex of course, but those were few and far between (maybe one or two in the whole novel- and one of those was a mother figure and the other was too much the virgin stereotype). At any rate, whatever it was made the novel weaker in my eyes. I’d definitely try another of his novels, but if his inability to actually capture a believable female character is in the next novel I probably won’t read any thing else. ...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Charlotte rated it liked it

Shelves: bookskype

Tigana has a great setting and a unique conflict. However, I found the plot disjointed in places and I did not like how quickly it switched between viewpoints. I would have been happier if it had stuck to just Devin and Dianora. I also wish Dianora had been more effectual. I understand and appreciated her indecision through the beginning but eventually I wanted her to make up her mind and do something. Despite all that, this book does an excellent job of presenting morally complex characters and ...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Tanvir Muntasim rated it liked it · review of another edition

An exceptionally deep and detailed fantasy.

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May 25, 2012 Matt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, favourites, 2013

Tigana is really one beautifully crafted story. However, in the beginning the language and the way the book is set out made it hard for me to get into. Also, Guy Gavriel Kay can be excessively descriptive. But once I managed to put everyone in their place, it became a lot less confusing and I really loved the world he built, as well as the sudden turns off the path.

And strangely despite enjoying the book, it left me feeling kind of sad.

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