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wilderthan) wrote2008-08-31 12:01 am
wilderthan) wrote2008-08-31 12:01 am
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Review - A Song For Arbonne
I'm aware that this book supposedly has connections to real history, but I read it as pure fantasy, and loved it as such. Guy Gavriel Kay is rapidly becoming one of my favourite fantasy writers. I love the way he can pack so much into just one book -- I felt as if as much was going on here as in the three books of the Fionavar tapestry, and I felt the same about Tigana. His world building is amazing, even if it does build on actual historical events. Even completely ignorant of those, I built up an incredibly rich picture of Arbonne in my mind.
There were a few plot twists that I didn't expect, which is something I love in a book. I'm not sure Kay got it quite on the nose here: I saw foreshadowing for what happened to Aelis' child from about halfway through, but I didn't see any foreshadowing for who it would be, and nor did I really care about it when it was finally revealed.
Characterwise... I didn't get as fond of Blaise as I have been of other Kay-protagonists. I'd have liked to see him as a person built up more -- perhaps through interaction with his best friend Rudel -- although I did like his slow growth into acceptance of the goddess. I also liked Ranald's little character arc -- I wouldn't say I was fond of him, but I was quite upset when he died at that moment. I was fond of Bertram, somewhat, mostly. Other times I wanted to hit him. The women characters didn't appeal to me so much, here, but overall the characters didn't disappoint me. I hold Kay to pretty high standards! It didn't match Fionavar or Tigana, but it did beat The Last Light Of The Sun and Ysabel. It's funny: I thought those were quite good when I first read them, but now I think Kay can write much better.
In terms of handling romance, in some ways I thought Kay was better in this book than in others. I was sort of rooting for Lisseut, but I was quite glad that nothing explicit happened between her and Blaise at the end: I didn't see the build up for it on Blaise's end, or the cause of it on Lisseut's. Rosala and Bertran seemed a little out of the blue. Ariane and Blaise I kind of liked, though it could have done with more development.
Overall, I liked A Song For Arbonne quite a lot. Not his worst work, but not his best, either.
There were a few plot twists that I didn't expect, which is something I love in a book. I'm not sure Kay got it quite on the nose here: I saw foreshadowing for what happened to Aelis' child from about halfway through, but I didn't see any foreshadowing for who it would be, and nor did I really care about it when it was finally revealed.
Characterwise... I didn't get as fond of Blaise as I have been of other Kay-protagonists. I'd have liked to see him as a person built up more -- perhaps through interaction with his best friend Rudel -- although I did like his slow growth into acceptance of the goddess. I also liked Ranald's little character arc -- I wouldn't say I was fond of him, but I was quite upset when he died at that moment. I was fond of Bertram, somewhat, mostly. Other times I wanted to hit him. The women characters didn't appeal to me so much, here, but overall the characters didn't disappoint me. I hold Kay to pretty high standards! It didn't match Fionavar or Tigana, but it did beat The Last Light Of The Sun and Ysabel. It's funny: I thought those were quite good when I first read them, but now I think Kay can write much better.
In terms of handling romance, in some ways I thought Kay was better in this book than in others. I was sort of rooting for Lisseut, but I was quite glad that nothing explicit happened between her and Blaise at the end: I didn't see the build up for it on Blaise's end, or the cause of it on Lisseut's. Rosala and Bertran seemed a little out of the blue. Ariane and Blaise I kind of liked, though it could have done with more development.
Overall, I liked A Song For Arbonne quite a lot. Not his worst work, but not his best, either.