Books written by: Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay: The Fionavar Tapestry
The fact that I didn't discover Fionavar until over ten years after the books were first published is somewhat dismaying. How did the world fail to let me know that they existed? Shouldn't there have been some sort of fanfare, trumpets blaring, a personal messenger sent to my door? Perhaps, in the mid-80's, I was too deeply involved with The Lord of the Rings to pay much attention to anything else... not to mention that I had already discerned that most any book whose cover promoted it as resembling Tolkien turned out to be utter crap.
The Fionavar Tapestry does resemble The Lord of the Rings (he did after all help edit The Silmarillion), but it is decidedly not crap. Guy Gavriel Kay is one of the finest fantasy authors living today. These books deal with the legends, myth and folklore that lie at the heart of all fantasy. With an amalgamation of archetypes, The Fionavar Tapestry tells a tale that on one hand is a story that we already know in our hearts, but on the other is specific and individual. Reading Guy Gavriel Kay is like reading a poem. His skill, not only with words...the way they carry you up and down on the waves of emotion...but also with his sense of realism and simplicity. It's just indescribable what he can make you feel.
All are available at Amazon.Com
Guy Gavriel Kay: Tigana
I won't say I was captivated from the very first page, but the book sweeps you up without letting you know it. There is something about the characters' struggles that draws you in and keeps you turning the pages. Somewhere in the middle I was trapped and I didn't mind a bit. The book is about a small band of people fighting to restore the name of their province against a tyrant's spell, and yet that very same tyrant is a character the reader finds himself sympathizing with. The story cannot help but evoke powerful emotions. I found myself crying several times (yea yea yea, I DO like hard military SF and Fantasy as well you know!). And Kay didn't make the same mistake many other authors have, that of a weak ending to a wonderful story. When people ask what it's about, you can't answer. Because it's about a woman who falls in love with the wrong man, it's about a man who seems to know everything and yet who falls in love with a woman out to destroy him, it's about a nation, about a group of friends, about a man's love for his son, about a young man's journey to maturity, about a man's submitting to his destiny...and oh so much more. Like the Weaver from the Fionavar Tapestry, Kay develops several strands of the stories and masterfully ties them all in the end. This story is just incredible. I can't shut up about it. Go! Go read it! If you're too cheap to buy it, e-mail me and I'll lend you my copy.
Either E-mail me, that is to say if your a cheap bast*%$. Or Check it out at Amazon.Com :)
Guy Gavriel Kay: The Lions of Al-Rassan
This novel is really not a fantasy, but it's a historical novel that any fan of fantasy would enjoy. By using a beautiful religious allegory of sun-worshippers, moon-worshippers, and star-worshippers, Kay manages to avoid theological arguments over which actual religion is right and correct, and instead concentrates on telling the story of the Reconquest of Spain by the Christians ("Jaddites," sun-worshippers), the persecution of the Jews ("Kindath," who believe that their world's twin moons are the sun-gods sisters), and the destruction of the Muslim people there ("Asharites," worshippers of the stars.)
The detail of the book is amazing, and the portrayal of characters ranging from devout and warlike desert fundamentalists to utterly non-religious types used to the luxury of palaces is completely believable. This novel has been criticized for its historical basis, but I would say the point is not to "find out what happens." The point is to, for a time, live with the young Kindath doctor Jehane, to experience the conflict and the bond between the leaders Rodrigo and Ammar, and to see the tragedy of intolerance and war - but also, along the way, to revel in their bravery, their passion and their bold, sometimes hilarious, and unforgettable exploits.
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Guy Gavriel Kay Hot Links
Bright Weavings : The worlds of Guy Gavriel Kay
Web page dedicated to Guy Gavriel Kay
Interview of Guy Gavriel Kay
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