Reddit reviews Tigana: Anniversary Edition

For novel readers and fantasy lovers out there, Guy Gavriel Kay has a new book, Children of Earth and Sky coming out next week.

If you're unfamiliar with GGK, he is one of my favourite living authors today (easily my favourite Canadian author), and I cannot recommend his works highly enough. Don't let the term 'fantasy' turn you away, Kay's works read very differently from most other works in the genre (excepting his three rather mediocre works from the 1980's). There are no dwarves or elves or white walkers, and very little magic or fantastical events (some books more than others). In fact, most of his works are as much historical fiction as they are fantasy, as Kay's settings often parallel historical settings and time-periods, from medieval Spain, Constantinople and dynastic China, and many of his characters and important plot points draw from major historical figures and events. To the extent that his works are fantasy, Kay allows himself greater freedom than other works of historical fiction, making the characters his own, adapting the setting and events to suit his own purposes, and dabbling just occasionally with magic when it suits the story. This gives the best of both worlds, combining the realism of history with the freedom of speculative fiction.

More importantly, Kay's works are not particularly plot-driven (unlike most fantasy works), but have a tremendous emotional impact through development of his characters and settings. His characters are all nuanced and eminently relatable, and Kay knows how to make his reader sympathize with everyone, including antagonists and minor side characters. His settings are simply a labour of love, and his wonderful writing enables readers to visualize them perfectly in their mind. The emotional impact comes from him putting these characters and settings through one or two major events, and because of the connection that he forms with the reader they bring an inexplicably moving response from the reader. If any of this interests you, I recommend checking out either Tigana (if you don't mind a bit more fantasy elements), or A Song for Arbonne (very little fantasy) to start.

P.S. No I'm not his publicist, just a fan of the author :)

"He carried, like baggage, like a cart yoked to his shoulders, like a round stone in his heart, images of his people, their world destroyed, their name obliterated. Truly obliterated: a sound that was drifting, year by year, further away from the shores of the world of men, like some tide withdrawing in the grey hour of a winter dawn. Very like such a tide, but different as well, because tides came back."

After the sorcerer Brandin's son is killed in a battle, he uses his power not only to crush and conquer the people of Tigana but to erase all memory of even the country's name from history. Allesan, last prince of Tigana, plots to destroy Brandin's empire with unlikely allies.

The story of Tigana breaks my heart and I read it yearly. By Guy Gavriel Kay.

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay. Available on [Amazon](Tigana: Anniversary Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/0451457765/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_PcCqxb9Z7FGJR)

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay is an awesome book.

For inspiration, you could read Guy Gavriel Kay's Tigana. It's a story that includes intrigue, war, assassination, and tragedy -- but, also, the main characters are part of a travelling music group.

Ever read Tigana? The setting is a peninsula in the vague shape of a hand with two fingers missing. (And the local sorcerers have to remove those two fingers from one hand to fully unlock their powers.)

I'm sure you've heard of Robert Jordan then, and after reading the latest in the series, I'm confident the new writer will give it a proper finish. It's at around 10,000 pages now, which is a bit of a commitment.
edit: Almost forgot - Guy Gavriel Kay's writing and themes are a cut above. Tigana is a single volume epic and a great place to start.

How about the Fionavar Tapestry books by Guy Gavriel Kay? They fit the themes you're looking for, and they're pretty well regarded (although personally, I have to say I preferred Tigana, which is a book he wrote about revenge and magic in a renaissance-influenced world).

Tigana!