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I was somewhat more aware of the historical origins of this book than I generally am reading Kay's stuff, although I kept drawing comparisons with my knowledge of Ancient Rome. In terms of the parallels, I actually find it interesting to figure out what represents what -- e.g. the Kindath and the Jews, the Jaddites and the Christians, etc. I also like that it's not a direct parallel, and Heladikos -- who I assume refers to Jesus -- has a different form of sacrifice altogether to the real world's Jesus.
In terms of plot, this one is interesting. You wouldn't think the life of a mosaicist would prove so interesting, but when you have a fiery guy like Crispin, along with a miraculous talking bird, ancient gods, and a whole tangle of politics he gets involved with, there is actually quite a lot of story there to chew on. I enjoyed the characters a lot in this book, although I'm wondering who will die -- because this is Guy Gavriel Kay: some will die, and it'll break my heart. This guy doesn't handle his readers with kid gloves.
I raced through this and right on to the second book. I'm glad this story is stretched out over two books: it gives Kay time to build something magical. I loved the second book, too. Guy Gavriel Kay doesn't handle his readers gently, still, but I wasn't expecting that. My heart was really in my mouth during some parts of the book, and I was genuinely sad at some of the deaths. None of which is a surprise when it comes to Guy Gavriel Kay. I also had no real issue with the romance in this book, which often trips me up in GGK's writing -- until the very end, I didn't know who Crispin would end up with, but I wasn't at all troubled by that.
The political parts of this are good, too. And it's amazing how you're made to feel sad, amongst all the death, about the destruction of a half-finished mosaic.
Now I'm just sad that I've finished reading all of Guy Gavriel Kay's work.
In terms of plot, this one is interesting. You wouldn't think the life of a mosaicist would prove so interesting, but when you have a fiery guy like Crispin, along with a miraculous talking bird, ancient gods, and a whole tangle of politics he gets involved with, there is actually quite a lot of story there to chew on. I enjoyed the characters a lot in this book, although I'm wondering who will die -- because this is Guy Gavriel Kay: some will die, and it'll break my heart. This guy doesn't handle his readers with kid gloves.
I raced through this and right on to the second book. I'm glad this story is stretched out over two books: it gives Kay time to build something magical. I loved the second book, too. Guy Gavriel Kay doesn't handle his readers gently, still, but I wasn't expecting that. My heart was really in my mouth during some parts of the book, and I was genuinely sad at some of the deaths. None of which is a surprise when it comes to Guy Gavriel Kay. I also had no real issue with the romance in this book, which often trips me up in GGK's writing -- until the very end, I didn't know who Crispin would end up with, but I wasn't at all troubled by that.
The political parts of this are good, too. And it's amazing how you're made to feel sad, amongst all the death, about the destruction of a half-finished mosaic.
Now I'm just sad that I've finished reading all of Guy Gavriel Kay's work.
