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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
This book has been on my to-read list for a long time. I've read other Kay (and loved it all), but for some reason I just kept putting this one off. Every time I decided it was time to jump in, I'd read the blurb and decide to go with something else. "Five men and women find themselves flung into the magical land of Fionavar, First of all Worlds." Yeah.. About that.. The whole magically transported into a fantasy world thing? Thanks but no thanks. It just doesn't do it for me.
So needless to say, I went into this sort of dreading it and not really expecting to like it. And for about the first 25 - 30% of the story, it lived up to that expectation. One of my biggest gripes with the transported into a fantasy world thing is how unbelievable trusting people are. "Hey! I can do magic! We're going to take you to a magical world to meet our King! Are you in?" And of course... They're in. And when it actually happens, when they actually pop into existence in another world, complete acceptance. I don't know about you, but if it were me... First, I'd think whoever was asking me to go was on drugs, and I would call the police so they could come pick up the crazy man wearing a robe... Then, if I still managed to somehow make it to the other world, I'd kick the crazy man's ass thinking that they somehow managed to drug me.
So like I said.. Auto-strike against it. Another problem I had with the first 30%, there are a lot of main characters. The POV bounces around a lot, and with so many characters, you don't have much time to connect to any of them. I spent a lot of time forgetting who was who, and then figuring it out and not really caring.. It was not a good time.
But then somewhere around chapter seven (about 40%), it all clicked. And after that... Wow. It was beautiful. I was moved over and over again by the story, the writing, the characters... Everything. It was so strange... I was pretty much committed to not really liking this one, and then all of a sudden I feel myself tearing up, my heart pounding, completely wrapped up in the words I was reading. I went from forcing myself to pick it up and read a little, to hating the fact that my lunch break was over and I had to put it down. Suddenly the characters who I had spend the first 30% feeling disconnected from came alive to me. And when the characters came alive.. So did the world.
So against all odds, I ended up really loving this book. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy, this is how good traditional fantasy is done. I'm only giving it 4 stars instead of 5, because of the rocky start, but depending on how the rest of the story plays out.. I have a feeling this will be jumping onto my favorites shelf very soon.
So needless to say, I went into this sort of dreading it and not really expecting to like it. And for about the first 25 - 30% of the story, it lived up to that expectation. One of my biggest gripes with the transported into a fantasy world thing is how unbelievable trusting people are. "Hey! I can do magic! We're going to take you to a magical world to meet our King! Are you in?" And of course... They're in. And when it actually happens, when they actually pop into existence in another world, complete acceptance. I don't know about you, but if it were me... First, I'd think whoever was asking me to go was on drugs, and I would call the police so they could come pick up the crazy man wearing a robe... Then, if I still managed to somehow make it to the other world, I'd kick the crazy man's ass thinking that they somehow managed to drug me.
So like I said.. Auto-strike against it. Another problem I had with the first 30%, there are a lot of main characters. The POV bounces around a lot, and with so many characters, you don't have much time to connect to any of them. I spent a lot of time forgetting who was who, and then figuring it out and not really caring.. It was not a good time.
But then somewhere around chapter seven (about 40%), it all clicked. And after that... Wow. It was beautiful. I was moved over and over again by the story, the writing, the characters... Everything. It was so strange... I was pretty much committed to not really liking this one, and then all of a sudden I feel myself tearing up, my heart pounding, completely wrapped up in the words I was reading. I went from forcing myself to pick it up and read a little, to hating the fact that my lunch break was over and I had to put it down. Suddenly the characters who I had spend the first 30% feeling disconnected from came alive to me. And when the characters came alive.. So did the world.
So against all odds, I ended up really loving this book. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy, this is how good traditional fantasy is done. I'm only giving it 4 stars instead of 5, because of the rocky start, but depending on how the rest of the story plays out.. I have a feeling this will be jumping onto my favorites shelf very soon.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a really great series that plays off of the wealth of British mythology, and specifically the myths of the sacrificial king. Mythology and folklore are a pet hobby of mine (and I am an avid reader of Joseph Campbell), so this series was right up my alley. I really really enjoyed it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Why do so many authors feel the need to spoil a perfectly good story with a rape scene? And the one in this book is especially bad, just warning anyone who might want to read it. Well... This story wouldn't have been perfectly good if there had been no rape scene, but still. While the plot was interesting, the way the author wrote it was incredibly hard to follow. Add to that the unbelievable characterization of the 5 main characters. There is no way they would adapt that quickly to a magical parallel universe, nor would they pick up the speech patterns of that world in less than a week. This story could have been so good, but it just wasn't.
This is first in the Fionavar trilogy. Five University of Toronto students are wisked away to the land of Fionavar. This is excellent high fantasy, and the story marches along at a good pace.
I'll be reading other books between the other two just so I can make it last! Highly recommended.
I'll be reading other books between the other two just so I can make it last! Highly recommended.
Having read a couple of Kays' middle to late tenure books, this was a really rough start. It totally felt sophomoric, fumbly, and overwrought as Kay struggles to find his voice amid an ambitious weaving of Celtic, Norse, and even Abrahamic mythologies into Tolkienesque plot points. Peak 80's high fantasy. Not a favorite after reading the gorgeous prose of Tigana or Song of Arbonne. I'm going to see what the trilogy holds, even after a very triggering, glorified female character's torture in the last chapters.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a good fantasy novel. Story of the world, Fionavar, is intricate, rich and very well thought out. Narration is flowing, it's hard to put the book down, because the plot is so gripping and most of the characters are really complex. Furthermore the reader isn't overburdened with the world's story, it's rather slowly unravelling and each step forward happens at a very good moment. It's also easier to get acquainted with Fionavar, because we do so through the eyes of five people who are, just like the reader, outsiders.
There are some elements of this novel that were somewhat irritating, and influenced my reading, but maybe they won't be for others:
1) the beginning styled as if from children's novel, that can be summed up as: "here are four random people and one that was predestined for great things in a world full of monster and magic. Let's go on an adventure!"
2) poorly created female characters - one can be described in three words: beautiful, proud, kind, the other has to be made into a seer in a matter of a few hours after her arrival (forget your home and family, right? She doesn't even bother to think about that for a second). Of course the beautiful one, because there's nothing more that a female character can offer - she can either be put as a beginning of the quest (Kim) or it's destination (Jennifer).
3) Kay used to work with Christopher Tolkien, that doesn't give him right though to use J.R.R. idea in his own novel, which is also totally redundant. There is nothing wrong with having this graceful, long linved creatures of light (elves) in fantasy novel. Having them yearning for the sea and travelling to a land that is not on any map... And let's just say that it's mentioned without any real reason by one of the characters, totally unnecessarily made scratch on the whole story.
Overall the story is very enjoyable and well written.
There are some elements of this novel that were somewhat irritating, and influenced my reading, but maybe they won't be for others:
1) the beginning styled as if from children's novel, that can be summed up as: "here are four random people and one that was predestined for great things in a world full of monster and magic. Let's go on an adventure!"
2) poorly created female characters - one can be described in three words: beautiful, proud, kind, the other has to be made into a seer in a matter of a few hours after her arrival (forget your home and family, right? She doesn't even bother to think about that for a second). Of course the beautiful one
Spoiler
gets kidnapped3) Kay used to work with Christopher Tolkien, that doesn't give him right though to use J.R.R. idea in his own novel, which is also totally redundant. There is nothing wrong with having this graceful, long linved creatures of light (elves) in fantasy novel. Having them yearning for the sea and travelling to a land that is not on any map... And let's just say that it's mentioned without any real reason by one of the characters, totally unnecessarily made scratch on the whole story.
Overall the story is very enjoyable and well written.
Can't say I was disappointed, because I only recognized the name. I hadn't really heard anything about him.
Characters weren't really interesting. Not enough magic. World wasn't very original.
Characters weren't really interesting. Not enough magic. World wasn't very original.