Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #444949 in Books
• Published on: 1999-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 688 pages

Customer Reviews

Breathtaking!
Tigana is a wonderful example of the fact that you don't necessarily need a series to build a credible world. I am not a huge fan of magic, I despise when it's used as an easy way out. But even though a spell is the case of Tigana's despair, magic plays a very limited part in this book. The focus is on politics, planning, scheming and fighting. Since the world is heavenly influenced by Renaissance Italy, Tigana feels almost more like history than fantasy.

Guy Gavriel Kay's strongest point is definitely the characters. I would love to see his notes on them, because there must be a lot of them. In every sentence you can hint the complex backstory. Even the most insignificant characters feels real. There are no cardboard cutout extras in this world. I am a huge fan of minor characters, and this book is such a treat. I am particularly fond of Naddo and Elena. Usually in fantasy, the evil is a dark presence looming at the horizon. In Tigana, the bad side is represented by Brandin and Alberico, both sorcerers but very, very human, and also each other's worst enemy.

The ending is pretty much your typical fantasty ending, with a few twists. But then there is an epilogue, and the last sentence of that epilogue is just the most evil thing I've ever read. Brilliant, but evil!

A master of fantasy writing
This book was recommended to me by a friend, during a time when I believed that no good authors existed any more. Mr Kay has proved me wrong! This author is truly a wordsmith, and Tigana is possibly his finest story, as he tells a tale of magic, heartbreak and loss. Side by side with magic marches political intrigue, but Kay has described his world so richly that this does not seem a bizarre pairing. His characters are wonderfully flawed - no one individual is truly good or truly bad. He has written very human characters, allowing even the antagonist to merit sympathy from the readers. All in all, a truly fantastic book, and worth reading several times over throughout your life. Thanks to Guy Gavriel Kay, my faith in authors has been restored.

A very good book!
I liked the book very much. Tigana is one of my favourite fantasy books. I believe that one volume fantasy usually are unsuccessful but Tigana proves opposite. I liked the story line, the subtle magic of the world and the history. I would recommend it to anyone who likes good fantasy. I think it is the best book by G.G. Kay.