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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I first got acquainted with sfff through epic / heroic fantasy, and after a few years of reading all I could in the genre I slowly got bored with some of it, only reading the best of the genre and branching out in steam-punk, magical realism....
So when I first started this, my first thoughts were...oh man another one of those...magic, different peoples, gods and wars, I was in for the old tropes all over again... Now that I'm done with this first book, let me tell you I was very surprised with the richness of the book, and I'm looking forward to reading the next books !!
The book definitely has a tolkien feel to it in the beginning, but it takes on its own identity pretty soon. I was first upset by the lack of character building, and by the time you get to know them, they change in a drastic way..But after the first few pages it got SOOO interesting and even the character I thought I wouldn't enjoy reading about were great !!!
I'm french and was reading this in English, so I don't know if I'm a good judge of those things, but I also thought it was so beautifully written !!!
So when I first started this, my first thoughts were...oh man another one of those...magic, different peoples, gods and wars, I was in for the old tropes all over again... Now that I'm done with this first book, let me tell you I was very surprised with the richness of the book, and I'm looking forward to reading the next books !!
The book definitely has a tolkien feel to it in the beginning, but it takes on its own identity pretty soon. I was first upset by the lack of character building, and by the time you get to know them, they change in a drastic way..But after the first few pages it got SOOO interesting and even the character I thought I wouldn't enjoy reading about were great !!!
I'm french and was reading this in English, so I don't know if I'm a good judge of those things, but I also thought it was so beautifully written !!!
I admit, sometimes I have a problem with not being able to suspend my disbelief. Which is dumb, especially when you're reading heroic fantasy.
My biggest gripe about this book is the five Toronto college students meet a wizard who whisks them away to a new high fantasy world and they all totally accept the concept. I have a feeling that at least one of them would fight a little harder about the "follow a hippy to a second dimension."
Sure, Lucy Pevensie doesn't have a problem being transported to a magical world, but these are college students in the 1980s! Gen Xers!! Surely one of them will have a disbelieving freakout.
Once I got over my damn self, this turned out to be a very enjoyable fantasy story, with some deep worldbuilding, and (because there are like five main characters + all the locals) lots of stories to keep everyone busy.
The book ends on a cliffhanger, but I knew it was a trilogy going into it. I would have been more upset if I had to wait in real time for the books to be released.
This was my first book by this author, despite people telling me he's really good. Yes, "Every Book has its Reader" but also "Every Book in its proper Time." I'm going to queue up the next book soon.
My biggest gripe about this book is the five Toronto college students meet a wizard who whisks them away to a new high fantasy world and they all totally accept the concept. I have a feeling that at least one of them would fight a little harder about the "follow a hippy to a second dimension."
Sure, Lucy Pevensie doesn't have a problem being transported to a magical world, but these are college students in the 1980s! Gen Xers!! Surely one of them will have a disbelieving freakout.
Once I got over my damn self, this turned out to be a very enjoyable fantasy story, with some deep worldbuilding, and (because there are like five main characters + all the locals) lots of stories to keep everyone busy.
The book ends on a cliffhanger, but I knew it was a trilogy going into it. I would have been more upset if I had to wait in real time for the books to be released.
This was my first book by this author, despite people telling me he's really good. Yes, "Every Book has its Reader" but also "Every Book in its proper Time." I'm going to queue up the next book soon.
I think this book might be more enjoyable after finishing the full trilogy but at the same time... I'm so uninterested in reading the rest of this story.
This whole book feels almost like a prologue. There are so many threads that are started but barely developed. There are SO many characters that are impossible to remember. The world building is so vast but so little of it is explained. Honestly at no point I felt truly gripped by this story and my attention wandered so much I was worried I might lose important plot points.
Also these 5 Canadians are weirdly unbothered by being dropped into a magical middle ages. I think personally, I would complain at least a little bit about the living standards. And I would probably be a little less willing to embrace the reality of magic being real.
This whole book feels almost like a prologue. There are so many threads that are started but barely developed. There are SO many characters that are impossible to remember. The world building is so vast but so little of it is explained. Honestly at no point I felt truly gripped by this story and my attention wandered so much I was worried I might lose important plot points.
Also these 5 Canadians are weirdly unbothered by being dropped into a magical middle ages. I think personally, I would complain at least a little bit about the living standards. And I would probably be a little less willing to embrace the reality of magic being real.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Fionavar Trilogy are the first books Guy Kay wrote after helping young Chris Tolkien organize the Silmarillion. They are written as a response to many of the ideas Tolkien put forward (elves going west, ultimate evil, hope and despair, choice). They're lovely and poetic, but you must take them in the vein in which they were meant.
Thoughts on a Re-Read:
These books are full of what makes other Kay books so heart-breaking: The finely drawn and intense looks at the relationships between people. This time through I caught many details and subtle sub-plots I missed the first time I read them. (That's easy to do: You get so caught up in the stories and the characters that you just can't wait to see what's next.) Also, I found myself reacting to the characters differently: I had a much harder time connecting with Paul and Jennifer, wasn't as in love with Kevin, had less empathy for Diarmuid, but had a lot more fun reading about Dave, Kim, Ivor, and Aileron. Which is surprisingly, especially that last.
These books are just as much fun the third time as the first, or second. With each reread, you find more layers to peel off the onion.
Thoughts on a Re-Read:
These books are full of what makes other Kay books so heart-breaking: The finely drawn and intense looks at the relationships between people. This time through I caught many details and subtle sub-plots I missed the first time I read them. (That's easy to do: You get so caught up in the stories and the characters that you just can't wait to see what's next.) Also, I found myself reacting to the characters differently: I had a much harder time connecting with Paul and Jennifer, wasn't as in love with Kevin, had less empathy for Diarmuid, but had a lot more fun reading about Dave, Kim, Ivor, and Aileron. Which is surprisingly, especially that last.
These books are just as much fun the third time as the first, or second. With each reread, you find more layers to peel off the onion.
It took me a while to get into this book. I've always disliked books where the heros get magically transported to another world. I do understand why authors choose to go this route. It allows the heros to be in the same place as the reader, learning about the world with us as we progress through the story. But it still always annoys me. And a bit more than normal in this book. The main characters are brand new to the world but always seem to know things. Just because they are magic and special for some vague reason.
Despite this, I started to really enjoy this novel. It's just so beautifully written. There is a particularly emotional scene that really made me say, "Wow." But then the author just takes back the thing that happened! Ugh. It really ruined the power of the scene.
I found the book enjoyable overall. But it never lives up to its potential.
Despite this, I started to really enjoy this novel. It's just so beautifully written. There is a particularly emotional scene that really made me say, "Wow." But then the author just takes back the thing that happened! Ugh. It really ruined the power of the scene.
I found the book enjoyable overall. But it never lives up to its potential.
Five friends are minding their own business in Canada, when they find themselves transported to another world, Fionavar, where they all have a part to play in a looming battle. There are lots of familiar elements of epic fantasy, and once I got used to the jarring fact that the characters from our world had the names Kim, Jennifer, Dave, Paul, and Kevin, and that they instantly seemed to adapt to a new world and powers that came to them, I really enjoyed it. Imaginative world building, mythical, and magical, there has been some comparison to The Lord of the Rings. It isn't in the same league, for me, but if someone was after an epic fantasy with more modern elements (male fantasy stuff - read sex; consensual, non-consensual, and eye-roll-inducing), less descriptive, and faster paced, I think they may enjoy this.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Solid writing, but the storyline and character development was meh.
I’ve read this book 3 or 4 times but not in several years. It’s even better than I remembered. An epic fantasy, wonderful settings, and amazing characters. I still don’t understand why this trilogy hasn’t been made into a movie, it’s such an awesome, original story. This is the first book I ever remember stopping mid-passage and saying out loud: wow this is so well written. I even did a senior project based on that same passage. If you’re a fan of fantasy, adventure, magic, good vs evil, give this a go! Genuinely surprised by some of the negative reviews but I’m usually very stingy with my reviews