Both gorgeous and gripping

This author produces some of the most beautiful prose I have ever encountered, and the delivery by Simon Vance very much does the book justice.

What I found here was an expertly woven tapestry of interconnecting threads, a uniquely rendered fantasy story whose characters held me in thrall throughout, and which surprised just often enough to keep me gripped but not so often as to lose consistency and my chance to develop understanding.

Absolutely sublime, from start to finish

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6 people found this helpful

Great depth of plot and characters

I read this book years ago and had forgotten how brilliant it is. It's a slow burning story with a wealth of complex characters and many many twists to the tale. Loved the reading which allowed me to completely immerse myself in the tale.

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Wonderfully musical

A masterfully crafted musical lament of loss, revenge and political intrigue filled with intricate imagery and sounds.

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Phenomenal

Not only is the narration (barring a very few minor mispronunciations) superb, but the story itself is just magic...
If you haven't read Guy Gavriel Kay before now, what are you waiting for?!

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1 person found this helpful

Solid stand-alone fantasy epic with deep undertones

I don't imagine there's very much I can add to the reams of review on this book, which was one of GGK's first novels, and probably the first 'free-standing' one.
GGK has a comfortably literary style that I mostly enjoyed, but occasionally detracts from the pace. His articulation of character and emotion is excellent, and perfectly detailed making immersion effortless. A slight niggle, and this might be just a reflection on his earlier phase as a writer, is clumsy foreshadowing. For example he'd write that 'many years later, character X would look back on this moment and realise his very future pivoted on X response' Which kind of means, resurrection aside that character makes it through the oncoming conflict then!
Minor niggle aside, this is a great story in a great setting. His style seems to be a fantastic twist on a historically inspired setting: in this case pre -renaissance Italy with it's warring city states. The fantastic element is sorcery, and less so a portentous entity reminiscent of Slavic or even Celtic folklore. The sorcery is used as a clever tool for the core premise: the erasure of a nation in both physical and spiritual sense, as an act of vengeance. It opens up so many ethics and philosophical points, and elevates this book from run of the mill fantasy to a much more interesting proposition.
It's to GGK's credit that he populates this epic with some great characters, albeit touching on stereotypes at times. I found the plot engaging and interesting, holding my attention, and curious how it would resolve. There were some nice twists and some genuine tragedy. A last niggle would be some rather unnecessary sex scenes that didn't really add much to the plot, and felt frankly bizarre (silent loss of virginity in a cupboard whilst spying; odd mature-lady BDSM sequence for the 20y old hero).
Niggles aside, I'm glad I read this and will certainly jump into more GGK, perhaps with his famous Fionvar trilogy next.

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Beautiful words

I don’t often listen to or read this type of fiction but this was free and I was bored. It took me to a wonderful world where names flowed like poetry and a terrible battle lay ahead.

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Different but terrific

The prose of this book is beautiful. The story compelling. This is not a swashbuckler by any stretch of the imagination but nonetheless it is exciting and nail biting with some great twists and turns.

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Tigana

A fabulous story that kept me gripped from the start; I couldn’t put it down! If I have one tiny gripe, apart from no sleep, it was Simon Vance, who is also my favourite narrator, giving the Nightwalkers a Scottish accent. Thankfully, that part of the tale only takes up a relatively short time, although it spoiled, for me, what was otherwise the usual perfect narration I have come to expect from him.

I can recommend this book wholeheartedly; there’s intrigue; mystery; murder; love, war and magic, with a cast of characters that draw you in and take you with them on their journey. Loved it!

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Dulk performance

The narrador is extremely dull. Because of it, I can't decide if the story is any good. A narrator can kill or make the book. 10 chapters is all I could go on for.

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A beautifully told story

Great narrative and wonderful story to get lost in. Reminder of powerful lessons from everyday life

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