"Under Heaven" Part One *as many spoilers as you want*

[Brad]

Just make sure the spoilers are limited to part one.

[agata]

This is my first GGK book and I wonder if the other books are as low on fantasy elements (not that I mind) as this one. So far we've got ghosts howling at night, some supernatural force pinning the assassin to the cabin, a Bogü heir acting like a zombie after some dark ritual, and the mentioning of a fox-woman. And even with these I found only the first two evidently supernatural. The later ones could also be explained as superstition.
Apart from that the book seems more like historical fiction than fantasy.

So how does this compare to other GGK books?

[Brad]

Kays books are almost all very low on fantasy. Even the Sarantium books, which have a little more fantasy than his other historically based books, are low on fantasy. It is only his Fionavar Tapestry that lives and breathes in a high fantasy world.

What we're seeing here is pretty typical of his writing. How do you feel about it, agata? I have always dug it myself, but thinking of him as fantasy, as he thinks of himself, is a tad misleading.

[agata]

I do enjoy this low key fantasy. Instead of spending all his creativity and energy on hyperbolic world building, GGK takes his time to develop characters, plots and atmosphere, which I like a lot.
And I like the way he slowly introduces us to this world of Kitai. On many levels it has a nice familarity - stuff I can relate to: medieval China, reminding me a little bit of a Wuxia setting. But there are also new elements, unobtrusive at first, building suspension, making me curious.
It's a book worth savoring.

[Brad]

My personal favourite of his is Lions of Al Rassan, which I know many like the least, but from what you seem to be enjoying here, agata, I think you would like it immensely, although A Song for Arbonne seems more generally likable. I need to reread Al Rassan soon.

And I like all those things too.

[Sandra]

Brad wrote: "My personal favourite of his is Lions of Al Rassan, which I know many like the least, but from what you seem to be enjoying here, agata, I think you would like it immensely, although A Song for Arb..."

My favorite is also The Lions of al-Rassan - I am currently listening to the new audio version (it has a narrator other than Simon Vance who I don't like) and loving it all over again. I loved Under Heaven as well and have been enjoying your discussion.

[Brad]

You don't like Simon Vance? Or the person replacing Simon Vance?

[Sandra]

I don't like the way Simon Vance narrates Kay's books. He sounds as if he's condescending to read to us. I DO like the new narrator very much, although I can't remember his name at the moment.

[J]

Genre lines are definitely blurring in Under Heaven. I agree with those who think that Under Heaven is being shelved as "fantasy" only because GGK has a following in the SFF world due to his early involvement with Tolkien and because his earliest work (Fionavar Tapestry) is truly fantasy.

[Brad]

The reason I ask, Sandra, is that Simon Vance is one of the few audio readers whose name I know; he is one of the two main readers of the Aubrey Maturin books, and the only one that I've ever listened too, but most people who started with the other reader prefer him, much, much more. Yet I find his voice quite nice, and quite suited to historical fiction. I never thought about his voice as condescending, but as I read that I thought, "Hmm ... I can see that."

[Sandra]

Brad wrote: "The reason I ask, Sandra, is that Simon Vance is one of the few audio readers whose name I know; he is one of the two main readers of the Aubrey Maturin books, and the only one that I've ever liste..."

I've listened to him read other books and he was ok, but not the Kay. He just drips snobbishness.

[Brad]

I'll definitely give that a pass then. Thanks for the tip, Sandra.

[Michelle]

Brad wrote: "My personal favourite of his is Lions of Al Rassan, which I know many like the least..."

whaaaa? people have a hate for that one? but that book was amazing.

agata, that immediate focus on situation and character, without the need for worldbuilding, is also something I like about this a lot (and I love me some juicy worldbuilding). he gets to use the trappings and feel of some society of antiquity, and then drop novel people into it.

in this first section, I'm constantly impressed at how tightly the plot interlocks, with lots of big pieces fitting right into each other without any 'deus ex machina' feel.