Scan barcode
A review by mrbear
A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay
2.0
In the end, this was really quite disappointing, and perhaps made worse by comparison with Kay’s other books. If you’ve never read his books before, please, please, PLEASE do not start here!
The problem is pretty simple: Kay has always had a “philosophy of life” bent to his books. Often times a little moralistic, overbearing, third-wall breaking, and heavy handed. But always a little. Usually his books are character driven, and his forays into the human condition are nicely contained as relevant ways to show the gravity of an occasion, or a broader perspective to an otherwise interpersonal conflict.
This book simply goes too far, and its characters are far less compelling. His story arcs for the main characters are (frankly) terrible in comparison with almost all his other works, and he spends more time laboring on about “we are what we are” and hitting you over the head with character tropes like “the battle hardened commander,” “the heartthrob who wants nothing more than to open a bookshop and live a quiet life,” and “the pre-industrial revolution woman who wants desperately to live a life of intrigue.” I have nothing against these characters, but they’re basically the entire depth that he provides. Beyond that he simply tells about what they do, and then rambles about how it fits with his increasingly dark takes on life and death.
Overall, maybe I liked this book less because I have read his other books, and know that they are almost all strictly better. They have the same style of insights amidst story, but are much less heavy handed, feature better and more developed characters, and make the reader feel the intended emotions without the help of a narrator’s hammer.
Do yourself a favor, and just read the Lions of Al Rassan instead!
The problem is pretty simple: Kay has always had a “philosophy of life” bent to his books. Often times a little moralistic, overbearing, third-wall breaking, and heavy handed. But always a little. Usually his books are character driven, and his forays into the human condition are nicely contained as relevant ways to show the gravity of an occasion, or a broader perspective to an otherwise interpersonal conflict.
This book simply goes too far, and its characters are far less compelling. His story arcs for the main characters are (frankly) terrible in comparison with almost all his other works, and he spends more time laboring on about “we are what we are” and hitting you over the head with character tropes like “the battle hardened commander,” “the heartthrob who wants nothing more than to open a bookshop and live a quiet life,” and “the pre-industrial revolution woman who wants desperately to live a life of intrigue.” I have nothing against these characters, but they’re basically the entire depth that he provides. Beyond that he simply tells about what they do, and then rambles about how it fits with his increasingly dark takes on life and death.
Overall, maybe I liked this book less because I have read his other books, and know that they are almost all strictly better. They have the same style of insights amidst story, but are much less heavy handed, feature better and more developed characters, and make the reader feel the intended emotions without the help of a narrator’s hammer.
Do yourself a favor, and just read the Lions of Al Rassan instead!