![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Review - Tigana
Aug. 18th, 2009 03:43 amThis is still such a beautiful, beautiful book. This is my first reread, but I can tell you already that it won't be my last. The writing is gorgeous, and the imagery and the politics and the characters are all amazing. The careful laying of the plot, with the different subplots that weave in, like the Carlozzini and Dianora's own plans, is amazing. There are so many points in the book where I found tears coming to my eyes that I don't even know how many times it happened. It's an amazing, amazing book.
One of the things I noticed most this time round is the backstory, the creation of a mythology that hangs around the edges of the story -- provides sanctuary, or is important to one subplot or another, without taking centre stage. Backstory that both enriches the world, the worldbuilding, and serves a purpose, without being pointless or entirely utilitarian.
I also noticed the moral ambiguity that he builds up. Especially in the figure of Brandin, of course, who has done such cruel, terrible things, but has reasons and a kind of nobility of his own and can actually be liked, in some ways. But not just him. Alessan himself isn't amazing either -- although one difference between him and the tyrants is, of course, that though he does use his special power to bind someone to his cause, he does release them to their own free will and does feel a lot of remorse.
The last line of all means that Guy Gavriel Kay probably deserves to go and live in his own special circle of hell. It's an amazing, beautiful ending, and it's so, so cruel.
One of the things I noticed most this time round is the backstory, the creation of a mythology that hangs around the edges of the story -- provides sanctuary, or is important to one subplot or another, without taking centre stage. Backstory that both enriches the world, the worldbuilding, and serves a purpose, without being pointless or entirely utilitarian.
I also noticed the moral ambiguity that he builds up. Especially in the figure of Brandin, of course, who has done such cruel, terrible things, but has reasons and a kind of nobility of his own and can actually be liked, in some ways. But not just him. Alessan himself isn't amazing either -- although one difference between him and the tyrants is, of course, that though he does use his special power to bind someone to his cause, he does release them to their own free will and does feel a lot of remorse.
The last line of all means that Guy Gavriel Kay probably deserves to go and live in his own special circle of hell. It's an amazing, beautiful ending, and it's so, so cruel.
