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A review by branch_c
Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay
3.0
Of the two books I'd read previously by Kay, one of them, Ysabel, is much more the kind of thing I enjoy, while the other, Sailing to Sarantium, is much more Kay's usual style. This one falls into the latter category, and in fact takes place in the same historical pseudo-European world.
The story of the artist who travels toIstanbul sorry, Asharias, to paint the khalif I found to be fairly creative and intriguing. The skirmishes between the Ottomans Osmanlis and the Europeans of the borderlands are less interesting to me. The grim details of conquest, battle, slavery, death, and loss are just not enjoyable to read about, even when done in such a polished and even poetic way by a skilled writer such as this. And yes, I realize there's a valiant attempt to convey the dignity and small victories that men and women can achieve in spite of larger conflicts and chaos that overwhelm their world - it's not enough, in my opinion, to make this a satisfying novel. The nastiness of the leadership pursuing their violent ends and the utter insanity of war between adherents of made up religions (by which I mean Christianity and Islam as well as the versions depicted here) just leaves a bad taste for me.
In fact, it strikes me as a bit disingenuous to not simply say Venice and Rome, Croatia and Greece, Christians and Muslims - although this is a fictionalized version of that real history, the parallels are a bit too transparent here.
The supernatural aspect is subtle and nicely done, as far as it goes, but other than a single incident or maybe two, it comes across as an afterthought in favor of the more prominent focus on the struggles to survive in a region disturbed by conflict.
So, the book certainly succeeds in what it attempts to do, but the setting and much of the action are not things I enjoy reading about. Those who appreciate this genre more than I do will likely find this to be a solid example of it.
The story of the artist who travels to
In fact, it strikes me as a bit disingenuous to not simply say Venice and Rome, Croatia and Greece, Christians and Muslims - although this is a fictionalized version of that real history, the parallels are a bit too transparent here.
The supernatural aspect is subtle and nicely done, as far as it goes, but other than a single incident or maybe two, it comes across as an afterthought in favor of the more prominent focus on the struggles to survive in a region disturbed by conflict.
So, the book certainly succeeds in what it attempts to do, but the setting and much of the action are not things I enjoy reading about. Those who appreciate this genre more than I do will likely find this to be a solid example of it.