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A review by ginnikin
Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay
3.0
There was so much frustration about how women were treated in this book. So much sex-as-currency — by women only, of course. So much of it didn't contribute to the narrative in any way.
It was very well crafted, of course. That's what Kay does. I'm not as susceptible to his emotional roller coaster anymore. Now I spot it and see what he's doing and go along for the ride, but my gut stays in place, and my tears no longer flow.
I'm also realizing that when Kay writes great love, he writes people in love, not actually falling in love. They're in love because the narrative says they are. Someone realizes he's in love with someone else. Someone suspects that character Y has fallen in love with character X. The story tells us they're in love; it doesn't show us how they fall in love. That's a shame. I want to see that. (It's also a lot harder to write.)
It was very well crafted, of course. That's what Kay does. I'm not as susceptible to his emotional roller coaster anymore. Now I spot it and see what he's doing and go along for the ride, but my gut stays in place, and my tears no longer flow.
I'm also realizing that when Kay writes great love, he writes people in love, not actually falling in love. They're in love because the narrative says they are. Someone realizes he's in love with someone else. Someone suspects that character Y has fallen in love with character X. The story tells us they're in love; it doesn't show us how they fall in love. That's a shame. I want to see that. (It's also a lot harder to write.)