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Title: The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay ISBN: 0-06-105621-9 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 March, 1996 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (94 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Unutterably beautiful.
Comment: I think that previous reviewers have summed the plot and the elements thereof quite nicely. I'd like to add the following:
Yes, Kay's characters are "perfect"--in some ways. One could make arguments about Rodrigo's pursuing the war, about Ammar's assassinations, and so on. But then, that's always been part of Kay's charm to me--he writes about *extraordinary* people. Like Diarmuid in the Fionavar Tapestry, these characters are gifted, are intelligent, are very good at many things.
They aren't so out of some pseudo-narcissism on Kay's part. They are symbols; they are larger than life, and it is that very extraordinariness that binds them to the story and enables it to be told. Like Kay's fantastical elements (say, the name-removing spell in Tigana), they aren't there for their own sake.
As for "excessive description," Kay writes beautifully, and when he fleshes out his world with description, it only brings me closer.
In regards to the portrayal of religion, I'd like to remind people that this is a portrayal of *eleventh century* religion--and the religion of the time WAS quite bloodthirsty, and if a man tried to follow both his religion and the more modern-day morality some of the main characters display, then he would find himself torn.
Then again, we like what we like--I enjoy extraordinary people in stories, for the keenness of emotion they can produce (if Diarmuid in Fionavar were other than he was, would his final scene be nearly as effetive, for example?) and I enjoy description of Kay's sort. Not everybody does, and not everybody, of course, "should".
To me, however, Kay's works are some of the most beautiful around. He's the only author I've encountered that can make me shed tears. Take it as a recommendation that whenever I remember that I have Kay's soon-to-be-released "Last Light of the Sun" on preorder, it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. Like kittens.
Rating: 3
Summary: Grand, epic historical fantasy
Comment: The land of Al-Rassan is ruled by King Almarik, whose advisor Ammar ibn Khairan is legendary as an assassin. When the King assigns Ammar a gruesome duty, he sets in motion a chain of events that culminate in his own death, thus leaving Al-Rassan weakened in the eyes of its enemies. In the north, in Valledo, the celebrated military leader Rodrigo Belmonte is exiled by his own king, and journeys to Ragosa, where he and Ammar end up in the service of the same king. Jehane left Al-Rassan due in part to the atrocities attributed to Ammar ibn Khairan, and brings her skills as a physician to Ragosa. The three form a strange alliance, coming from three different religions, and a strong bond of love develops, although only two of the three are available to this passion. Their relationship with each other is the backdrop to the grand political intrigues and rumblings of holy war that soon engulf Al-Rassan and the lands surrounding it. Inspired by medieval Spain, "The Lions of Al-Rassan" is a historical fantasy with an epic scope. The focus shifts towards the end from the triad to the land of Al-Rassan itself, which I found unsettling and distracting. The story might've been better expanded into two books or so, and thus would have better encompassed the themes Guy Gavriel Kay addresses here. Overall, the book is quite enjoyable.
Rating: 3
Summary: One Lion for the Sun, one for the Stars and one for the Moon
Comment: In the 8th century the Arabs swept through North Africa, crossed the straits of Gibraltar and entered Western Europe. At Tours in what is now France in 732, in one of the most important battles of history, they were finally stopped by Charles Martel, but not before they had conquered most of Spain. The Arab culture of Spain was one of the peaks of Medieval civilization.
Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions Of Al-Rassan is set in a world remarkably similar to 11th century Spain. It is the struggle between the Jaddites (Christians) and Asharites (Muslims) with the Kindath (Jews) caught in the middle. The Asharite kingdoms are greater in wealth and culture than the Jaddites to the north, but they are becoming militarily weaker. Only the disunity of the Jaddite kingdoms prevents them from overwhelming the Asharite kingdoms.
The story revolves around three individuals, one Asharite, one Jaddite and one Kindath as they find common cause, for a while, as war and intrigue rage around them.
The strength of The Lions of Al-Rassan is its evocation of Medieval Spain, especially the grandeur of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba. Its weakness is its characters. Everyone is just so wonderful; not just the three lead characters but almost all the secondary characters. They're all brave, charismatic, romantic, and so on ad nauseum. There isn't a real person in the bunch.
However the novel is worth reading for its depiction of a lost civilization, squeezed between the Christians of the north and the Moors across the straits.
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Title: A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay ISBN: 0451458974 Publisher: Roc Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay ISBN: 0451457765 Publisher: Roc Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Lord of Emperors (Sarantine Mosaic, Book 2) by Guy Gavriel Kay ISBN: 0061020028 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Sailing to Sarantium (Sarantine Mosaic, Book 1) by Guy Gavriel Kay ISBN: 0061059900 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Summer Tree (The Fionavar Tapestry, Book 1) by Guy Gavriel Kay ISBN: 0451458222 Publisher: Onyx Books Pub. Date: 10 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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