Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Five Canadian students are thrown into the magical land Fionavar threatened by a god. Each one shows heroism in different ways.
It feels like a template mashup of Silmarillion, Zelazny's Amber series and Wheel of Time (I know, the last one was written later) and there are people discarding it as a copy-over. But wait!
Silmarillion: mythopoeic style with all the short introductions of names, hints and titbits of ancient history and landscape descriptions. Kay helped Christopher Tolkien with editing the Silmarillion before, and this influence certainly shines through. There is the one god-like antagonist coming up. The landscape is Beleriand with Angband in the North, the Blue Mountains in the East and the Elves' target in the West. Mix it with "Native American's" Dalrei instead of Rohirrim and Brennin instead of Gondor and Pendaran instead of Mirkwood.
Amber series: contemporary characters brought to a mediaeval world like Amber, a world which is at the center of things.
Wheel of Time: weaving a destiny pattern.
I love all three themes and series, especially the mythopoeic aspect. I can see where others would have problems with that one, though. Probably it is a matter of taste and background.
If you haven't thrown it away because of this style and references, you will discover richness: oh those background stories and those epic deeds!
Kay is no GRRM but some of his protagonists will suffer horribly and in epic ways and it is not certain that good will succeed. The novel is a strong contrast to Kay's newer work which are not so fast-paced.
The characters develop, overcome their problems and we get a very deep impression how they feel and why they react in certain ways.
His world-building is good, though not original: There are real mages, interferring gods, flying unicorns. He references our world's mythology in numerous places, like the world-tree Yggdrasil for the Summer Tree, the ravens Huginn and Muninn or the Wild Hunt from German mythology.
One complaint I have is that we don't get a good motivation why the students choose to go Fionavar.
His writing is sophisticated and beautiful but not flowerish. You can feel how it developed in later works, e.g. in [b:Tigana|104089|Tigana|Guy Gavriel Kay|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348738842s/104089.jpg|1907200] but this already is great stuff, an easy read with a good tension arc.
For more information and background, go to the author's authorized website Bright Weaving!
It feels like a template mashup of Silmarillion, Zelazny's Amber series and Wheel of Time (I know, the last one was written later) and there are people discarding it as a copy-over. But wait!
Silmarillion: mythopoeic style with all the short introductions of names, hints and titbits of ancient history and landscape descriptions. Kay helped Christopher Tolkien with editing the Silmarillion before, and this influence certainly shines through. There is the one god-like antagonist coming up. The landscape is Beleriand with Angband in the North, the Blue Mountains in the East and the Elves' target in the West. Mix it with "Native American's" Dalrei instead of Rohirrim and Brennin instead of Gondor and Pendaran instead of Mirkwood.
Amber series: contemporary characters brought to a mediaeval world like Amber, a world which is at the center of things.
Wheel of Time: weaving a destiny pattern.
I love all three themes and series, especially the mythopoeic aspect. I can see where others would have problems with that one, though. Probably it is a matter of taste and background.
If you haven't thrown it away because of this style and references, you will discover richness: oh those background stories and those epic deeds!
Kay is no GRRM but some of his protagonists will suffer horribly and in epic ways and it is not certain that good will succeed. The novel is a strong contrast to Kay's newer work which are not so fast-paced.
The characters develop, overcome their problems and we get a very deep impression how they feel and why they react in certain ways.
His world-building is good, though not original: There are real mages, interferring gods, flying unicorns. He references our world's mythology in numerous places, like the world-tree Yggdrasil for the Summer Tree, the ravens Huginn and Muninn or the Wild Hunt from German mythology.
One complaint I have is that we don't get a good motivation why the students choose to go Fionavar.
His writing is sophisticated and beautiful but not flowerish. You can feel how it developed in later works, e.g. in [b:Tigana|104089|Tigana|Guy Gavriel Kay|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348738842s/104089.jpg|1907200] but this already is great stuff, an easy read with a good tension arc.
For more information and background, go to the author's authorized website Bright Weaving!
I loved my first book by Guy Gavriel Kay, [b:Tigana|104089|Tigana|Guy Gavriel Kay|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348738842s/104089.jpg|1907200], but this first book of his famous The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy was a disappointment.
Like many fantasy novels written in the 80s, the author mixes characters from the modern world with the fantasy one, using the device of magical portal or “crossing” to move characters between them. I don’t like that, I prefer my fantasy pure fantasy, an imagined story, fleshed out characters that live in their own world with their own laws, even magic should have some laws to govern it. Probably it is because of my rational mind, for the same reason I do not like time travel, portals don’t work for me.
Another complaint I have with the book was that a lot is introduced without explanation. Legendary figures, places and events occurred centuries in the past are casually mentioned, while the reader is not privy to the background, the modern characters either have an innate understanding of what is going on or they seem to be content with accepting these bits of information as if it all make sense. I mean, if you were to be transported in a world that is alien to you wouldn’t you ask a few more questions?
If it sounds too negative, I readily admit that there are positives too. GGK’s style is engaging, the writing, like in Tigana, is richly descriptive and lyrical; the world building is well done, overall not a bad book. Like many series, the first book may prove to be the weakest because of plot building and preparation required to sustain the series itself.
The violence at the endwas off putting for me and so I will not continue this series, but I might reach for another one of GGK standalone novels. 2.5 stars
Like many fantasy novels written in the 80s, the author mixes characters from the modern world with the fantasy one, using the device of magical portal or “crossing” to move characters between them. I don’t like that, I prefer my fantasy pure fantasy, an imagined story, fleshed out characters that live in their own world with their own laws, even magic should have some laws to govern it. Probably it is because of my rational mind, for the same reason I do not like time travel, portals don’t work for me.
Another complaint I have with the book was that a lot is introduced without explanation. Legendary figures, places and events occurred centuries in the past are casually mentioned, while the reader is not privy to the background, the modern characters either have an innate understanding of what is going on or they seem to be content with accepting these bits of information as if it all make sense. I mean, if you were to be transported in a world that is alien to you wouldn’t you ask a few more questions?
If it sounds too negative, I readily admit that there are positives too. GGK’s style is engaging, the writing, like in Tigana, is richly descriptive and lyrical; the world building is well done, overall not a bad book. Like many series, the first book may prove to be the weakest because of plot building and preparation required to sustain the series itself.
The violence at the end
Spoiler
(torture and rape)
Really loved the second half but there is a lot of world building to slog through.
Basically Canadian Lord of the Rings...and I'm also getting Narnia vibes?? My aunt recommended this to me and I'm so glad she did.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read as part of The Literary Life podcasts 2021 reading challenge: Read a book in a genre you don’t normally read. Aside from The Lord of the Rings, I have never read an adult fantasy. I have nothing to compare this, too. So for now, I liked it. I enjoyed the story. I will continue to read the trilogy. That is all I can say for now. I’m too much of a novice.
Haven't read this is a dog's age, but just to drop my two cents... Kay is MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH better elsewhere. This is him at his most derivative and bland. This is an apprentice work - read:
Sailing to Sarantium
Lord of Emperors
The Lions of Al-Rassan
which I've also read and thought were way, way better.
Or read
Tigana
A Song for Arbonne
Under Heaven
which I've heard from sources are good and I plan to read.
The Fionavar Tapestry is Kay doing traditional fantasy. If that is your bag, you might like them, but it isn't Kay doing what he does best.
Sailing to Sarantium
Lord of Emperors
The Lions of Al-Rassan
which I've also read and thought were way, way better.
Or read
Tigana
A Song for Arbonne
Under Heaven
which I've heard from sources are good and I plan to read.
The Fionavar Tapestry is Kay doing traditional fantasy. If that is your bag, you might like them, but it isn't Kay doing what he does best.
Not as amazing as I recalled, unfortunately. The roundabout explanations and the handling of the huge cast of characters read very clumsily and I'm not a fan of the language.
I am, however, enjoying the world-building. Hopefully now that all the "discovery" is out of the way, the rest of the series will get into the meat of things.
I am, however, enjoying the world-building. Hopefully now that all the "discovery" is out of the way, the rest of the series will get into the meat of things.
First part of an old favorite trilogy. Still love it!
This book wasn't long but took me a few weeks to get through because it was hard to make myself sit down and read it. Didn't really like the plot or characters.