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timinbc's review against another edition
5.0
My, GGK seems to attract a lot of people who use his books as a chance to show how smart they are, and moan about how it isn't the book they wanted it to be.
I'm not one of them. I'd give this six stars if I could.
Take one hero, perhaps a little overdone, a little MarySue-ish, but see early on that he's a misfit who's going to try to be a world-changer. Add a female lead, also a misfit, and see that she is going to be bumping up against constraints all her life.
Draw a picture of the a culture's complex web of power, political manoeuvring, intrigue, sudden reversals of fortune, etc. Add a few intelligent people who are quite good at playing the political game.
Now put some barbarians at the gates, stir the hero and heroine into that culture, watch how they interact with it, and try to guess how it will end.
Sprinkle in just a touch of the supernatural, as you would have to in that era. No flying over building roofs, just a bit of intervention.
With the plot resolution, we see that all those clever moves everyone has been making are coming together to create an unavoidable and possibly unresolvable conflict. The ending is the perfect cap on that.
Some don't like Kay's occasional asides to the reader. But then some didn't like the idea of a narrator in "The Princess Bride" either. I liked it. It was like enjoying another Kay novel in the company of a trusted old storyteller who's enjoying watching me read it and occasionally comments on my reactions.
Best of all, I think, is that there were few cardboard stock characters. Everyone did things that made sense for the character as presented to us. No mustache-twirling bad guys who are bad because they LIKE being bad; just people who are doing what they think they ought to do in each situation.
People die - a lot of people die, some unexpectedly, many suddenly and brutally. That's the way it was in the China that Kay is almost describing.
In the end, the book turns about to be about duty, and devotion, and love, and how the choices we face aren't always the ones we hoped to face.
One complaint: Ren is implausibly good with his bow, or even an unfamiliar one. Well up into the level of Robin Hood splitting his opponent's arrow. Well, Kay did say that sometimes legends end up a little beyond reality ...
I'm not one of them. I'd give this six stars if I could.
Take one hero, perhaps a little overdone, a little MarySue-ish, but see early on that he's a misfit who's going to try to be a world-changer. Add a female lead, also a misfit, and see that she is going to be bumping up against constraints all her life.
Draw a picture of the a culture's complex web of power, political manoeuvring, intrigue, sudden reversals of fortune, etc. Add a few intelligent people who are quite good at playing the political game.
Now put some barbarians at the gates, stir the hero and heroine into that culture, watch how they interact with it, and try to guess how it will end.
Sprinkle in just a touch of the supernatural, as you would have to in that era. No flying over building roofs, just a bit of intervention.
With the plot resolution, we see that all those clever moves everyone has been making are coming together to create an unavoidable and possibly unresolvable conflict. The ending is the perfect cap on that.
Some don't like Kay's occasional asides to the reader. But then some didn't like the idea of a narrator in "The Princess Bride" either. I liked it. It was like enjoying another Kay novel in the company of a trusted old storyteller who's enjoying watching me read it and occasionally comments on my reactions.
Best of all, I think, is that there were few cardboard stock characters. Everyone did things that made sense for the character as presented to us. No mustache-twirling bad guys who are bad because they LIKE being bad; just people who are doing what they think they ought to do in each situation.
People die - a lot of people die, some unexpectedly, many suddenly and brutally. That's the way it was in the China that Kay is almost describing.
In the end, the book turns about to be about duty, and devotion, and love, and how the choices we face aren't always the ones we hoped to face.
One complaint: Ren is implausibly good with his bow, or even an unfamiliar one. Well up into the level of Robin Hood splitting his opponent's arrow. Well, Kay did say that sometimes legends end up a little beyond reality ...
daumari's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not familiar with Chinese history, let alone the dynamics of each dynasty, so I'm not aware of how close to the actual Song dynasty RoS goes. However, Kay's masterful prose and use of a long historical perspective (events in the novel are periodically referenced as being elaborated by historians or argued over cups of wine by students) make for a compelling narrative.
dromwald's review against another edition
5.0
The more I read Kay's books the closer he gets to being one of my all-time favourite authors - certainly in the Fantasy genre. He brings his characters vividly to life for me and I find his story-telling and world-building compelling. The threads in this book go together to form a colourful tapestry full of excitement, intrigue, difficult decisions, honor and, at times, great sadness.
Altogether another great read.
Altogether another great read.
heidi_mcj's review against another edition
3.0
I was rather disappointed with this book. I usually love this author but this time the story just didn't go anywhere. Lots of dithering until the last 100 pages or so and then it was pretty good.
loont's review against another edition
3.0
Good characters and an interesting, quasi historical setting can't overcome the authors need to repeat the same information you've just read time and time and time again. To say it gets bogged down at times would almost be a compliment, it would be more fair to say that at times the story just doesn't go anywhere at all, with page after page of feeling like you're stuck in the same timeloop where nothing new happens.
emilyrandolph_epstein's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the most truly beautiful fantasy books I have ever read.
duaneb's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
kaminator's review against another edition
4.0
Well researched and anchored in real history
Meticulously researched. This was a rewarding way to learn some history and get an appreciation for an ancient dynasty and its heroes. The characters were too perfect though so I didn't really bond with any of them. Nevertheless I enjoyed reading about what happened to them and seeing how the author interpreted what the heroes were thinking.
Meticulously researched. This was a rewarding way to learn some history and get an appreciation for an ancient dynasty and its heroes. The characters were too perfect though so I didn't really bond with any of them. Nevertheless I enjoyed reading about what happened to them and seeing how the author interpreted what the heroes were thinking.
zubatus's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0