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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Very enjoyable. All of [a:GGK|60177|Guy Gavriel Kay|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1218804723p2/60177.jpg]'s trademark touches are there - historically-inspired fiction lightly tinged with the supernatural, short side stories from minor characters' points of view, and elegantly written prose. And once again, he pulls it off and sucked me in.
The court intrigue and the way in which the spirit world was involved most reminded me of [b:Sailing to Sarantium|690212|Sailing to Sarantium (The Sarantine Mosaic Ser., Bk. 1)|Guy Gavriel Kay|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177267466s/690212.jpg|1336666] - a good thing.
I found most of the characters to be quite likable, and the story moved at a good pace, keeping me entertained throughout, with only a minor slowdown (and a touching, yet slightly more drawn-out encounter between two of the principals near the end).
Definitely one to read, and maybe even to buy.
The court intrigue and the way in which the spirit world was involved most reminded me of [b:Sailing to Sarantium|690212|Sailing to Sarantium (The Sarantine Mosaic Ser., Bk. 1)|Guy Gavriel Kay|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177267466s/690212.jpg|1336666] - a good thing.
I found most of the characters to be quite likable, and the story moved at a good pace, keeping me entertained throughout, with only a minor slowdown (and a touching, yet slightly more drawn-out encounter between two of the principals near the end).
Definitely one to read, and maybe even to buy.
I went to see Kay give a reading and he said that after his first few books (the fionavar trilogy) were published, the best thing for him to do commercially would have been to keep writing books like them, but he didn't want to just settle into a comfortable niche. This is kind of weird since all of his later books are basically the same. But it is a very good the same. This was definitely a lesser effort though. In his better books, there is a thematic coherence that holds the whole thing together, that invests the narrative with actual import. The end of the Sarantium books was genuinely a tragedy. Here, I totally wasn't interested in what was going on. Despite my lack of familiarity with the Tang Dynasty history that Kay was sourcing here, the plot was utterly predictable. The characters, with one or two exceptions, lacked the charm and wit that I find so enjoyable in some of his other books. They were always being sullen or tedious. There were exactly two characters in this entire book who weren't tedious and one gets killed.
This was a perfectly pleasant book, but it completely missed the exquisite construction of his best books.
This was a perfectly pleasant book, but it completely missed the exquisite construction of his best books.
I've really enjoyed this book. Very captivating, characters strongly developed, an interesting blending of history with some fantasy (ghosts and shamanism is real). I've probably enjoyed this book the best out of any of Kay's books I've ridden over the years. There is some adult content but it is handled well.
Another excellent GGK novel--this one was... long. I very much enjoyed his treatment of Tang Dynasty China. It may have been me rushing to finish it, but there was something odd about the pacing; perhaps in trying to cover so much, he may have been forced to gloss over some things that I would have liked to see given more time. But Kay's storytelling is beautiful as usual, and I liked the addition of the poetry as one of the novel's motifs. I may have missed it, but I had trouble finding Kay's usual clever mention of connection to his other novels, other than one brief mention of a poet's wishes for another world. The ending has a lovely reference for anyone who has read the famous poem by Li Bai (or the corresponding translation by Ezra Pound).
An interesting look at ancient China with 2 small (though important) scenes of the Fantastic. Interesting and a good read, but I guess it just wasn't what I was expecting from a book nominated for the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel.
This might be a 4 star book, I'll have to ruminate on it some more and see.
It took me a long time to read this one. Some of that is just that I haven't been in the mood to read much, but I think it also took me a little while to get into it. It's slow moving at first, focusing on a lot of details and going back and forth between the present and the past. Then as you get farther in, things start picking up a bit. By the end, it felt mostly like hurried summaries. Not my favorite set up, but it does echo the feeling of the change in action and life that the main character undergoes.
There are many narrators in the book too, though most of them seem to be there simply to keep from writing 3rd person omniscient. Most of them show up only once and for short spaces, and it's obvious they're only there to keep you from asking questions about random threads in the story later. The only time I minded the narrator changes were when they were female, as the writing changed to first person present for some of them. That drove me nuts. Also, the thought processes written for the women tended to be overly simplistic. Lots of short choppy sentences and very little exploration of ideas even though they were supposedly "very clever".
Maybe it was just a 3 star book. I'm certainly not sad I read it, but if it were a series I would have to strongly consider whether I'd keep reading. I liked a lot of the characters in here, even though I wished several of the women had been narrated better.
It took me a long time to read this one. Some of that is just that I haven't been in the mood to read much, but I think it also took me a little while to get into it. It's slow moving at first, focusing on a lot of details and going back and forth between the present and the past. Then as you get farther in, things start picking up a bit. By the end, it felt mostly like hurried summaries. Not my favorite set up, but it does echo the feeling of the change in action and life that the main character undergoes.
There are many narrators in the book too, though most of them seem to be there simply to keep from writing 3rd person omniscient. Most of them show up only once and for short spaces, and it's obvious they're only there to keep you from asking questions about random threads in the story later. The only time I minded the narrator changes were when they were female, as the writing changed to first person present for some of them. That drove me nuts. Also, the thought processes written for the women tended to be overly simplistic. Lots of short choppy sentences and very little exploration of ideas even though they were supposedly "very clever".
Maybe it was just a 3 star book. I'm certainly not sad I read it, but if it were a series I would have to strongly consider whether I'd keep reading. I liked a lot of the characters in here, even though I wished several of the women had been narrated better.
beautifully written, politically dense. reminding more more and more of Jacqueline Carey
Under Heaven is a fantasy novel but the fantastical is under-stated. There are ghost and shape-shifters but they take a back-seat to the period drama that unfolds in ancient china. Most of the sword and sorcery takes place off-stage. On stage is palace intrigue. If you like a novel to plod along then the story is likable. I expected more action.
Kay is an entertaining writer. He has found a way to make ancient history even more appealing to me than usual in his fantasy/historical novels. Well, the two that I have read so far, Tigana and Under Heaven, have both been good enough to encourage a high level of interest that allowed me to stay invested in long books with dozens of characters. I wouldn't have imagined that I would be so fascinated by a story from (ostensibly) Tang Dynasty China, but this one did the trick. I don't know if it is complementary to say that I am even more impressed by the author's apparent scholarship than his skill as a novelist, but I find myself frequently marveling at the depth of his knowledge. Perhaps there are writers with greater literary gifts, but there are few who tell such fascinating stories.
This book is in my library's Fantasy section, but it's really more of a historical-ish novel with a couple of mild fantasy-ish elements. As ever, Guy Gavriel Kay is adept at world and character-building. I especially appreciated that the female characters were strong and varied despite the setting in Tang dynasty China. It's too easy to look back in history, see only the male figures, and think that women were powerless.