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tracey_stewart's review against another edition
5.0
Life turns on a dime, shatters in an instant. A word spoken, or not spoken; a decision made or deferred. A decision made by someone else, someone in power, in another part of the city or in a city in another country. Rain, or sunlight, on a given day. Everything is precarious … but joy can still be found …
There is an immediacy to Kay's writing I haven't encountered … anywhere. There's no other author who can make my stomach knot up at a word, or an isolated sentence. A single inopportune word, or a word forgotten. A character's decision to take this turn instead of that. A moment's inattention. If a stair creaks in one chapter, it will be important before long. And then comes something like "Then the big, red-bearded one said, changing her life, changing many lives …" and something's about to hit a really big fan. Foreshadowing in Kay's world is a heart-sinking thing, leaving me on edge with a knot in my stomach, because it's not going to be pretty when it comes to pass. Not. At all.
And the humor in the writing – so much of it, so unexpected still, wry and dry and bawdy and crude. It would be so predictable for a book featuring such drama to be weighty, but GGK makes me laugh as often as he makes me anxious. He's one of the best.
Children of Earth and Sky features, like Tigana, another brother and sister, long separated. There are in fact echoes of several of Kay's other books, and oblique references – showing that his work all inhabits the same universe. And what a universe.
... ...
Words of wisdom from GGK:
Doing the right thing doesn't always save you.
and
Legends, if you crossed their path, could get you killed.
There is an immediacy to Kay's writing I haven't encountered … anywhere. There's no other author who can make my stomach knot up at a word, or an isolated sentence. A single inopportune word, or a word forgotten. A character's decision to take this turn instead of that. A moment's inattention. If a stair creaks in one chapter, it will be important before long. And then comes something like "Then the big, red-bearded one said, changing her life, changing many lives …" and something's about to hit a really big fan. Foreshadowing in Kay's world is a heart-sinking thing, leaving me on edge with a knot in my stomach, because it's not going to be pretty when it comes to pass. Not. At all.
And the humor in the writing – so much of it, so unexpected still, wry and dry and bawdy and crude. It would be so predictable for a book featuring such drama to be weighty, but GGK makes me laugh as often as he makes me anxious. He's one of the best.
Children of Earth and Sky features, like Tigana, another brother and sister, long separated. There are in fact echoes of several of Kay's other books, and oblique references – showing that his work all inhabits the same universe. And what a universe.
... ...
Words of wisdom from GGK:
Doing the right thing doesn't always save you.
and
Legends, if you crossed their path, could get you killed.
veronica87's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
A standalone Kay book set within the world of his other work, the [b:Sailing to Sarantium|104097|Sailing to Sarantium (The Sarantine Mosaic, #1)|Guy Gavriel Kay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328000207l/104097._SX50_.jpg|1336666] duology (though centuries and centuries later), Children of Earth and Sky focuses on the affairs of Seressa (Venice) and the Osmanli Empire (Ottoman Empire) as they play out in the lives of ordinary people who find themselves facing extraordinary choices.
A certain life was yours, it was unfolding, and then it wasn't and would never be again. How did men and women deal with that much fragility?
A prevalent theme in all of Kay's work deals with how the ripples from a single stone tossed into still water can have unforseen and long-reaching consequences. Individuals go about their daily lives but all strands are connected at some deeper level. That theme continues here as readers follow the paths of a young artist, a savvy merchant, an orphaned young woman bent on revenge, and a single noblewoman fallen from grace as they navigate a climate on the seeming brink of war.
The triple border, they called it: Osmanli Empire, Holy Jaddite Empire, Republic of Seressa. Ambitions collided here. These lands were where good people suffered and died for their families and faith.
While I still love Kay's eloquent writing, this is probably my least favorite of his books that I've read so far. It started out really well but the ending didn't land well. I liked how all the characters ended up but it felt rushed and crammed in there. It almost felt like an extended epilogue. If the ending had been given the time and attention that the beginning and middle did, I'd have loved it a lot more.
A standalone Kay book set within the world of his other work, the [b:Sailing to Sarantium|104097|Sailing to Sarantium (The Sarantine Mosaic, #1)|Guy Gavriel Kay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328000207l/104097._SX50_.jpg|1336666] duology (though centuries and centuries later), Children of Earth and Sky focuses on the affairs of Seressa (Venice) and the Osmanli Empire (Ottoman Empire) as they play out in the lives of ordinary people who find themselves facing extraordinary choices.
A certain life was yours, it was unfolding, and then it wasn't and would never be again. How did men and women deal with that much fragility?
A prevalent theme in all of Kay's work deals with how the ripples from a single stone tossed into still water can have unforseen and long-reaching consequences. Individuals go about their daily lives but all strands are connected at some deeper level. That theme continues here as readers follow the paths of a young artist, a savvy merchant, an orphaned young woman bent on revenge, and a single noblewoman fallen from grace as they navigate a climate on the seeming brink of war.
The triple border, they called it: Osmanli Empire, Holy Jaddite Empire, Republic of Seressa. Ambitions collided here. These lands were where good people suffered and died for their families and faith.
While I still love Kay's eloquent writing, this is probably my least favorite of his books that I've read so far. It started out really well but the ending didn't land well. I liked how all the characters ended up but it felt rushed and crammed in there. It almost felt like an extended epilogue. If the ending had been given the time and attention that the beginning and middle did, I'd have loved it a lot more.
spacebornfew's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-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? Yes
4.5
hilaryjsc's review against another edition
5.0
If your favourite thing about Game of Thrones is the political sweep, and the way that small decisions end up having such far-reaching consequences on the world, find yourself some Guy Gavriel Kay. A Song of Ice and Fire is the War of the Roses about fifty paces towards the fantastic - Kay only dances a few steps left from actual history, and the result is magic.
lukre's review against another edition
4.5
4.5
I finished this last night and this morning when it came to rating it and writing this review I kept thinking "well, is it really better than Tigana?"
Technically, no, Tigana is much better. This one has a lot of writing issues with repetition, oh my god the repetition. But I still think I like this one better. It hit me, this one did. All the characters were awesome, even the idiotic ones. There are side characters that I want whole books about (the khalif and Drago Ostaja). And the ending, the ending made me tear up, in the best chick-lit way possible. HE LEFT TWO CUPS OUT EVERY EVENING!!!!!!!
And as a resident of Dubrovnik, the basis for the Dubrava republic in this one, I can confirm that the way he depicted this little republic is SPOT ON! The way they saw the world and themselves in it, the way they manoeuvred the political scene of that time, their use of diplomats, spies, merchants and bribery is shown beautifully. And all the other historic elements you can recognize in here are true to life as well.
To not go on waxing poetically, I loved it, despite it's glaring flaws.
I finished this last night and this morning when it came to rating it and writing this review I kept thinking "well, is it really better than Tigana?"
Technically, no, Tigana is much better. This one has a lot of writing issues with repetition, oh my god the repetition. But I still think I like this one better. It hit me, this one did. All the characters were awesome, even the idiotic ones. There are side characters that I want whole books about (the khalif and Drago Ostaja). And the ending, the ending made me tear up, in the best chick-lit way possible. HE LEFT TWO CUPS OUT EVERY EVENING!!!!!!!
And as a resident of Dubrovnik, the basis for the Dubrava republic in this one, I can confirm that the way he depicted this little republic is SPOT ON! The way they saw the world and themselves in it, the way they manoeuvred the political scene of that time, their use of diplomats, spies, merchants and bribery is shown beautifully. And all the other historic elements you can recognize in here are true to life as well.
To not go on waxing poetically, I loved it, despite it's glaring flaws.
chirson's review against another edition
4.0
Mam wrażenie, że część mojego pozytywnego odbioru to nostalgia - kocham Pożeglować do Sarancjum (sequel mniej, z uwagi na zakończenie). Te same cechy stylu Kaya, które mnie zupełnie przerosły i wkurzyły przy lekturze Under Heaven są tu obecne - nadmiar komentarza narracyjnego wyjaśniającego coś, co jest już dość jasne, powtarzalne elementy, które można by wyciąć, dość irytujące zwroty akcji... tutaj w miarę bezboleśnie skwitowałam wzruszeniem ramion, bo całość dalej dla mnie działała i wciągała. Są świetne momenty niesamowitości (zawsze je w Kayu lubiłam). Fabuła przypomina trochę granie w Skyrima po mojemu, czyli "zapomniałam o wątku głównym i zamiast tego zostaję kowalem", ale ta patchworkowatość i leniwe meandry mają swój urok, podobnie jak nawiązania do starszych powieści, które sprawiały mi sporo przyjemności. Obawiam się, że czeka mnie czytanie innych nowszych Kayów.
rjfrost's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
itkovian_books's review against another edition
4.0
This is the sort of book that, while I probably won't remember many of the characters or events, I'm glad I read it simply because Kay is an excellent storyteller in terms of prose. Even when I didn't particular care about a specific point-of-view character, the words themselves were enjoyable to read. And that isn't to say that I disliked the plot or characters; there was also a lot of great stuff in those regards as well, just not enough to make it a favorite or particularly memorable book. But not every book needs to be particularly memorable in the long run in order to entertain.
Rating: 7/10
Rating: 7/10
blok_sera_szwajcarskiego's review against another edition
3.0
byly momenty, gdzie cholernie mi sie podobała i nieziemsko wciągała, ale całościowo trichę za bardzo przypominała podręcznik do historii