home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
MAG.E 4
/
MAG.E 4 (Disk 1 of 2).adf
/
58
/
58
Wrap
Text File
|
1977-12-31
|
3KB
|
56 lines
@4REVIEW OF "TIGANA"
==================
@3
"Tigana" - Guy Gavriel Kay
(Penguin Books 1990)
"The grief and rage of Brandin the Tyrant when his son fell in battle by
the River Deisa were terrible in their consequences. His revenge was
relentless and annihilating. Prince Valentin's bright province was
completely destroyed: its songs unheard, its books and art burnt, its
cities razed and, worst of all, its very name obliterated from the minds
of men.
But in this time of oppression and darkness, something miraculously stirs.
A handful of men and women, following a leader whose identity is a closely
guarded secret, set in motion the dangerous quest for freedom: to
overthrow their conquerors and bring back to the world the lost brightness
of an obliterated name: Tigana."
I was recently reminded of "Tigana" and had to reread it. The whole book
sent delicious shivers up and down my spine, despite the fact that I'd
already read it twice before!
I think the main attraction of fantasy novels, for me, is the original
@3ideas some of them have - for example, an anti-hero who happens to be a
leper (Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant); a one-way time machine to
"The Many-Coloured Land" etc.); dragons in telepathic communication with
their riders and used to defend the planet from spores which fall from the
sky (Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonriders of Pern" books). I love to read one of
these books and discover a new idea that had never even occurred to me
before.
"Tigana" has lots of these, but the central idea is my favourite. I just
love the idea of a place that has such a strong curse on it that only
those who were born there can even remember the name of it. If one of them
speaks the name, other people develop a look of blank incomprehension -
they can't hear the name, and they can't even explain what it was they did
hear. We also have Brandin, the baddie. From the beginning of the book,
when you hear what he did to Tigana and its people, he seems thoroughly
evil. But then you get to know him, and end up liking him - to such an
extent that when the final confrontation comes you're not sure whether or
not you want him to die!
I won't spoil the book for you by describing the many other ideas it
introduces - you must read it! In case you're wondering, Guy Gavriel Kay
is Canadian. In the seventies he helped Christopher Tolkien to reconstruct
"The Silmarillion", and then he started writing himself. His first effort,
the "Fionavar Trilogy" (comprising "The Summer Tree", "The Wandering Fire"
and "The Darkest Road") won numerous awards. "Tigana" was his next novel,
and was followed by his most recent work, "A Song for Arbonne". This is
also excellent, although not quite as good as "Tigana" in my opinion.
Although I must admit that my friend Mathew, to whom I lend a lot of
books, wasn't particularly impressed with either "Tigana" or "A Song for
Arbonne" but raves about the "Fionavar Trilogy". Maybe it's just me! Do
let me know what you think if you do read "Tigana".