Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay

 

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay has been in my books to read for so long, I cannot remember why it is there.

Started: August 8, 2021
Completed: September 3, 2026
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Media: ebook/audio

Review:

This book took me forever.  It is a good book.  The beginning is slow and I often grab ebooks when I am sitting in line or just have a minute or two.  This book had a huge cast of characters and an epic story line.  It was just too much to do in dribs and drabs.  When I switched to the audio book, things progressed nicely.  It still wasn't fast because there was so much to remember that I found myself going back and relistening.  In the end, however, having this book on audio meant that I could actually spend time on the story instead of rereading.

Ysabel, Guy Gavriel Kay

Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and something I picked up to hear during my commute. 

Started:  6/9/2013

Completed: 6/18/2013

Recommendation: Mild recommendation

Recommended By:  Nobody

Review:

A coming of age story.  I listened to the story and the manner in which the reader read it effected my enjoyment negatively.  I don't know why, but it just seemed like she was doing the whole book "tongue-in-cheek."  Having said that, the writing was pretty good, the characters were fairly well developed and the whole concept of coming of age in a hurry was well handled.  The drama and indecision seemed mildly forced a couple of times, but that did not really detract from the story.  The book was engaging and suspension of disbelief was easy.  A mild critique would be that the whole concept driving the main plot (how two of the characters are each madly in love with a third) unraveled at the end where the argument that she was the air they breathed fell apart.  It seemed to me like the author had backed himself into a horrible hole and used the old "something you could have never figured out" angle to try and step out.  It was a fun book, but not really an adult's book in my opinion.