Tue Aug 29, 2006 @ 6:16 pm
Currently Reading: "The Lions of Al-Rassan"
Kay's thoroughly excellent new novel resembles his Song for Arbonne (1992) in that there is no magic in it. Instead, Kay deftly and intelligently bends history at a slightly different angle. The setting is a variant early medieval Spain whose Muslims, Christians, and Jews are also suitably modified. The story turns on the rivalries between the Kingdom of Al-Rassan, once mighty but now split into quarreling principalities, and the kings of the Jaddites. Far to the north, the Jaddites hope to reclaim Al-Rassan, which was once theirs. Into this skillfully imagined, eloquently described stew of war, intrigue, and magnificence happen a warrior from each side and a female physician. The threesome's adventures constitute the bulk of a long but never padded, demanding but enormously rewarding novel. Roland Green
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Joshua Aug 29, 2006
(I got the idea for a "reading" section from someone else's blog, so here goes...)
I actually started reading Al-Rassan back in February or something, but I've been distracted lately. (I'm still only a little over half-way through...)
Chris Dolan Aug 30, 2006
"Lions of Al-Rassan" is my all-time favorite standalone novel and Kay is in my top 5 for best authors. I've enjoyed everything he has written, except for the Fionavar Tapestry (which I could not finish).
My preferences in order:
Lions of Al-Rassan
Sarantine Mosaic
Tigana
The Last Light of the Sun
A Song for Arbonne
Fionavar Tapestry
Joshua Aug 30, 2006
I nearly stayed up all night last night, trying to finish Al-Rassan in one read (couldn't make it - I had to stop when I re-read one paragraph eight times. I did finish it this morning, though.)
Al-Rassan is the only Kay book I've read, but I enjoyed it immensely. (Eyes watered up at the end. Multiple times.)
What was it about Fionavar that kept you from finishing it?
Matt Haffner Aug 30, 2006
I also loved Lions as well as Tigana. Thanks to Chris for putting them in my hands when I was out of things to read one week!
I just finished reading the first three books of Song of Fire & Ice (Martin's series) for the second time in preparation for Feast of Crows. It's been one of the more enjoyable second passes through a series that I've had. There is a ton of very subtle foreshadowing, prophecy, and irony that made even book 2 (the slightly slower one) an easy page turner. There was quite a bit at that level that I didn't remember the first time through.