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A review by readingthroughthelists
All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
A few weeks ago, I went to see the new DnD movie. It was an enjoyable romp, punctuated with moments of real feeling, particularly the feeling between Edgin and Holga. Their platonic, sibling-like bond was, for me, the real heart of the movie and there were plenty of scenes showing us how and why they came to have this bond.
I suspect that Kay was trying to achieve something similar with the relationship between Rafel and Lenia, but unfortunately he forgot to give them even one scene of actual bonding. Instead we are only told how much they care for each other, how much they support each other. Told, but never shown.
Instead, Rafel and Lenia spend most of the book separated on various side quests, achieving nothing, learning little. In fact the entire book begins to feel like an extended series of side quests. I had my fair share of complaints about <i>Children of Earth and Sky</i> but at least that book had a through-line--the characters were <i>going</i> somewhere; there was a goal. All of the Seas of the World has no through-line--it’s not going anywhere, not leading up to anything. It all ends up feeling meandering and rather aimless.
All of the best characters in <i>Seas</i> are the ones who already appeared in <i>A Brightness Long Ago</i>. Given that these are Kay’s original characters and this is his trilogy, it feels strange to complain about “fan service,” but it’s hard to shake the feeling that Rafel and Lenia only exist to give Kay’s other, better characters someone to react to/act off of. Rafel and Lenia are there, certainly, but they really have nothing to say, nothing to do. Like rudderless boats, they drift on the currents of time and fate until then the book ends.
And I’m still bored.
<Spoiler>Now for specifics/rants:
1. I truly loved the bond between Lenia and little Leonora. Does it make any sense? No. Does it contribute to the plot in any meaningful way? No. But for one moment, my boredom gave way to pure delight as Lenia conversed with this adorable baby mystic. 10/10 no notes.
2. What does Lenia do, actually?? It seems as though every man in the story is falling over himself to help her/guard her/protect her but…why? She doesn’t really do anything that amazing; she’s not particularly kind or even memorable. She’s just a lady that happens to use knives. That’s not…that big of a deal?
3. Rafel is a member of a severely oppressed religious minority, yet I feel that we never get a sense of the severity of that oppression. All the Jaddites Rafel meets are amazingly open-minded and friendly in a way that does not accord with the real status of Jews in the Middle Ages.
4. No significant Asharite (Muslim) characters? Not even one?
5. Why is this book set in Battiera (Italy)? We already did this, twice, in the other two books. If there was ever a time to explore other parts of this world, this was it.
6. The sex scenes are dumb and also strangely perfunctory/passionless. Why are Lenia and Reña Vidal hooking up when they literally met one second ago? Is Rafel going to keep sleeping with his sister-in-law after he’s in a relationship with Lenia?
7. That stag thing was cool I guess but whyyyyy was it there? What does it mean?
8. God, this book was so boring.
I suspect that Kay was trying to achieve something similar with the relationship between Rafel and Lenia, but unfortunately he forgot to give them even one scene of actual bonding. Instead we are only told how much they care for each other, how much they support each other. Told, but never shown.
Instead, Rafel and Lenia spend most of the book separated on various side quests, achieving nothing, learning little. In fact the entire book begins to feel like an extended series of side quests. I had my fair share of complaints about <i>Children of Earth and Sky</i> but at least that book had a through-line--the characters were <i>going</i> somewhere; there was a goal. All of the Seas of the World has no through-line--it’s not going anywhere, not leading up to anything. It all ends up feeling meandering and rather aimless.
All of the best characters in <i>Seas</i> are the ones who already appeared in <i>A Brightness Long Ago</i>. Given that these are Kay’s original characters and this is his trilogy, it feels strange to complain about “fan service,” but it’s hard to shake the feeling that Rafel and Lenia only exist to give Kay’s other, better characters someone to react to/act off of. Rafel and Lenia are there, certainly, but they really have nothing to say, nothing to do. Like rudderless boats, they drift on the currents of time and fate until then the book ends.
And I’m still bored.
<Spoiler>Now for specifics/rants:
1. I truly loved the bond between Lenia and little Leonora. Does it make any sense? No. Does it contribute to the plot in any meaningful way? No. But for one moment, my boredom gave way to pure delight as Lenia conversed with this adorable baby mystic. 10/10 no notes.
2. What does Lenia do, actually?? It seems as though every man in the story is falling over himself to help her/guard her/protect her but…why? She doesn’t really do anything that amazing; she’s not particularly kind or even memorable. She’s just a lady that happens to use knives. That’s not…that big of a deal?
3. Rafel is a member of a severely oppressed religious minority, yet I feel that we never get a sense of the severity of that oppression. All the Jaddites Rafel meets are amazingly open-minded and friendly in a way that does not accord with the real status of Jews in the Middle Ages.
4. No significant Asharite (Muslim) characters? Not even one?
5. Why is this book set in Battiera (Italy)? We already did this, twice, in the other two books. If there was ever a time to explore other parts of this world, this was it.
6. The sex scenes are dumb and also strangely perfunctory/passionless. Why are Lenia and Reña Vidal hooking up when they literally met one second ago? Is Rafel going to keep sleeping with his sister-in-law after he’s in a relationship with Lenia?
7. That stag thing was cool I guess but whyyyyy was it there? What does it mean?
8. God, this book was so boring.