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The Fionavar Tapestry #3
The Darkest Road
In the conclusion of Guy Gavriel Kay's critically acclaimed fantasy trilogy, The Fionavar Tapestry, five university students from our world prepare to sacrifice themselves—as they enter into final battle against a power of unimaginable proportions...
431 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1986
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6017 people want to read
About the author
Guy Gavriel Kay
46 books9,340 followersGuy Gavriel Kay is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction. Many of his novels are set in fictional realms that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Justinian I or Spain during the time of El Cid. Those works are published and marketed as historical fantasy, though the author himself has expressed a preference to shy away from genre categorization when possible.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 730 reviews
July 18, 2011
SPOILERS AHEAD, SO MANY SPOILERS
The concluding volume of Fionavar Tapestry is a perfect fantasy novel. Happily stripped of the awkward, stilted ‘real world’ situations and dialogue that occasionally marred the preceding novels, The Darkest Road takes place entirely in Fionavar and is all the stronger because of it. The narrative is simple: the characters all engage in a series of final meetings, battles, and individual confrontations that were carefully set up in books 1 and 2. The world is saved, of course. And at such a high cost, of course. The writing is also straightforward. This is not a novel full of lush description; nevertheless, the carefully chosen words, the elegantly stripped-down prose, the overall precision and artistry of the writing should serve as a lesson to all would-be writers: sometimes lavish world-building is not necessary to create a world, or to create a work of art. Kay conveys everything he needs to convey in language that is as simple yet as poetic as a fable. The entire trilogy, rooted as it is in timeless myths, has all the resonance of genuine mythology, one that describes both the beginning and end of all such legends. Much like similar works of art (john crowley’s The Deep, for example), Kay boils down the tropes of fantasy literature until they are at their most iconic, and then breathes wonderful new life into them.
Who takes the Darkest Road? So many of Fionavar Tapestry’s characters must walk paths that end in death and darkness.
Finn takes a solitary path, riding with The Wild Hunt, slaughtering evil and good alike, becoming a thread of chaos in the tapestry. But in the end, he makes his choice, and chooses well, as all heroes must. All of the heroes in the series are faced with hard life choices, and all of them choose well in the end. It is a glorious thing, and it is a big part of what brings the trilogy to the level of myth. But the fate of brave, sweet Finn, turning from The Wild Hunt and then literally falling from the sky to his death – that is something even more. It felt like I was reading a fable’s first iteration, the story of a kind of Icarus, one who willingly chooses his tragic fate, in service of others.
Diarmud takes a deadly path at the end, to his own end. There is not much I can say about this sequence, other than that I shed some tears at the end of it. A character so full of life, yet so blithely willing to sacrifice that life for others, in an instant. An amazing thing.
Galadan’s whole existence is The Darkest Road. His transformation at the end, his ability to become something greater, something good, was carefully set up from the start of the tale. He is a man in love after all, and moved to his deeds because of that love’s rejection and the loneliness that followed. But despite the hints of what was to pass, when it did come to pass after all, it was still incredibly moving. Not all things from the dark are….all dark. Is there a more humanistic sentiment?
And Darien takes the Darkest Road, of course. His path is the path of the title: a road without friends, without a moral compass, one that leads to the heart of evil and one that ends in a sad and tragically lonely death. But such a death! He saves the world with his courage and his grace. Kay does not allow Darien’s final end to be easy for the reader…there is no one there at the boy's side, to protect him, to embrace him as he dies, to thank him for his sacrifice, to hold him as any child should be held when they are afraid and all alone. It is one of the saddest, bravest, most beautiful deaths I’ve ever read in fantasy literature.
Kay’s imagination is impressive, but even more impressive is his willingness to let tragedies be truly tragic, in the most real of ways. He does not try to balance the deaths out so that the reader is given a kind of easy comfort, a kind of well-they-may-have-lost-so & so but at least they have so & so. He does not make things easy. Some characters are not harmed and achieve a happy ending. Other characters are gone, forever. One set of parents sees both of their brave sons returned to them, and it is a joyous thing. Another set of parents have young sons who both die in the struggle, and in the end they are left alone with each other, and it is a terrible thing. A prince who is full of war, grim and unyielding, lives to rule; a prince that is full of light and a future full of love, is slain. A good seer’s soul remains forever exiled, outside of time. A student from our world remains dead, never to return to his own father. A child dies alone, with no one to tell him that he is loved. So many sad things. Such a beautiful tale, such a battle, and so hard-won, so resonant.
The concluding volume of Fionavar Tapestry is a perfect fantasy novel. Happily stripped of the awkward, stilted ‘real world’ situations and dialogue that occasionally marred the preceding novels, The Darkest Road takes place entirely in Fionavar and is all the stronger because of it. The narrative is simple: the characters all engage in a series of final meetings, battles, and individual confrontations that were carefully set up in books 1 and 2. The world is saved, of course. And at such a high cost, of course. The writing is also straightforward. This is not a novel full of lush description; nevertheless, the carefully chosen words, the elegantly stripped-down prose, the overall precision and artistry of the writing should serve as a lesson to all would-be writers: sometimes lavish world-building is not necessary to create a world, or to create a work of art. Kay conveys everything he needs to convey in language that is as simple yet as poetic as a fable. The entire trilogy, rooted as it is in timeless myths, has all the resonance of genuine mythology, one that describes both the beginning and end of all such legends. Much like similar works of art (john crowley’s The Deep, for example), Kay boils down the tropes of fantasy literature until they are at their most iconic, and then breathes wonderful new life into them.
Who takes the Darkest Road? So many of Fionavar Tapestry’s characters must walk paths that end in death and darkness.
Finn takes a solitary path, riding with The Wild Hunt, slaughtering evil and good alike, becoming a thread of chaos in the tapestry. But in the end, he makes his choice, and chooses well, as all heroes must. All of the heroes in the series are faced with hard life choices, and all of them choose well in the end. It is a glorious thing, and it is a big part of what brings the trilogy to the level of myth. But the fate of brave, sweet Finn, turning from The Wild Hunt and then literally falling from the sky to his death – that is something even more. It felt like I was reading a fable’s first iteration, the story of a kind of Icarus, one who willingly chooses his tragic fate, in service of others.
Diarmud takes a deadly path at the end, to his own end. There is not much I can say about this sequence, other than that I shed some tears at the end of it. A character so full of life, yet so blithely willing to sacrifice that life for others, in an instant. An amazing thing.
Galadan’s whole existence is The Darkest Road. His transformation at the end, his ability to become something greater, something good, was carefully set up from the start of the tale. He is a man in love after all, and moved to his deeds because of that love’s rejection and the loneliness that followed. But despite the hints of what was to pass, when it did come to pass after all, it was still incredibly moving. Not all things from the dark are….all dark. Is there a more humanistic sentiment?
And Darien takes the Darkest Road, of course. His path is the path of the title: a road without friends, without a moral compass, one that leads to the heart of evil and one that ends in a sad and tragically lonely death. But such a death! He saves the world with his courage and his grace. Kay does not allow Darien’s final end to be easy for the reader…there is no one there at the boy's side, to protect him, to embrace him as he dies, to thank him for his sacrifice, to hold him as any child should be held when they are afraid and all alone. It is one of the saddest, bravest, most beautiful deaths I’ve ever read in fantasy literature.
Kay’s imagination is impressive, but even more impressive is his willingness to let tragedies be truly tragic, in the most real of ways. He does not try to balance the deaths out so that the reader is given a kind of easy comfort, a kind of well-they-may-have-lost-so & so but at least they have so & so. He does not make things easy. Some characters are not harmed and achieve a happy ending. Other characters are gone, forever. One set of parents sees both of their brave sons returned to them, and it is a joyous thing. Another set of parents have young sons who both die in the struggle, and in the end they are left alone with each other, and it is a terrible thing. A prince who is full of war, grim and unyielding, lives to rule; a prince that is full of light and a future full of love, is slain. A good seer’s soul remains forever exiled, outside of time. A student from our world remains dead, never to return to his own father. A child dies alone, with no one to tell him that he is loved. So many sad things. Such a beautiful tale, such a battle, and so hard-won, so resonant.
January 22, 2018
“From the darkness of what I have done to you there shall be light, or I shall die trying to make it so.”
Truth to be told, I expected a road to perdition. While I didn’t perish, The Darkest Road does not offer deliverance. It is a suboptimal finale to a trilogy that started great but deteriorated with each consecutive instalment.
The plot is so dense and complex that at this point I am not even trying to summarise it (the brief summary at the beginning of the book is really helpful). In most general terms, the war with Rakoth the Unraveller has started and hinges upon many factors of which one, the most important, is also the most volatile; unpredictable and impossible to manage. In a sense, everything is secondary and dependent on this wild card tossed freely onto the winds of events.
Mr Kay packed a lot into the Fionavar Tapestry; it is a true gobelin woven with rich pictorial design of stupefying detail. This overabundance of detail might pose a problem I indicated already in my review of The Wandering Fire: the lush Tolkienesque universe is supplemented with another fantastic realm, i.e. the Arthurian Legend which results in overabundance of archetypes, tropes, and themes. It wouldn’t be bad if Kay had supported his creative temerity with solid background work. As it is, the book is so dense in the names and places department with so many things the reader is expected to remember and connect that it reaches the Malazan level (albeit without the Malazan finesse). Many of the names are just names without any substantial character development, we move from place to place, and over time from mythical lands to milieus already known in a whirlwind of events and references.
Kay's gift with the language makes it all bearable (but only just) and readers are offered with the whole candy shop of fantasy treats: you will have magic and battles, sailing with the dead, walking on water, demons from the deepest marrow of the earth, giants, dragons, a Dwarfmoot that counsel with silence and many, many other things.
Unfortunately, the bad outdarkens the good. Firstly, because the many protagonists central to the plot are often separated they then spend a lot of time catching up and telling each other what has already happened so if you add recounting the past events from the previous books that means a lot of repetition. At this point the book is saturated with the repetitiveness of motifs. We had the longest road in the previous book, now we have the darkest road embellished with similar undertones: the loss, the choice, the sacrifice, the love embraced even, or specifically, in and through death. Kay doesn’t spin anything new here or add anything meaningful that would be truly surprising.
My main problem lies with the central premise of this book that looks at love as a binding shackle. I cannot agree that pushing somebody away is a way of showing trust.
The coming climax, an end to war or an ending to all things is a prolonged, three-pronged sequence of events that seem surprisingly shallow, somehow even over-talked. Even the final wrap up wasn’t neat and we are left with loose threads in the tapestry.
Mr Kay tried to shape a light from the devastating darkness but for me – he failed. I judge The Darkest Road as the weakest of all his books and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. If it is true that the Author has entered into a development agreement for the Fionavar Trilogy to be produced as a TV series, I think there is a huge chance that it is going to be far more enjoyable than the original.
---
Also in the series:
1. The Summer Tree
2. The Wandering Fire
Truth to be told, I expected a road to perdition. While I didn’t perish, The Darkest Road does not offer deliverance. It is a suboptimal finale to a trilogy that started great but deteriorated with each consecutive instalment.
The plot is so dense and complex that at this point I am not even trying to summarise it (the brief summary at the beginning of the book is really helpful). In most general terms, the war with Rakoth the Unraveller has started and hinges upon many factors of which one, the most important, is also the most volatile; unpredictable and impossible to manage. In a sense, everything is secondary and dependent on this wild card tossed freely onto the winds of events.
Mr Kay packed a lot into the Fionavar Tapestry; it is a true gobelin woven with rich pictorial design of stupefying detail. This overabundance of detail might pose a problem I indicated already in my review of The Wandering Fire: the lush Tolkienesque universe is supplemented with another fantastic realm, i.e. the Arthurian Legend which results in overabundance of archetypes, tropes, and themes. It wouldn’t be bad if Kay had supported his creative temerity with solid background work. As it is, the book is so dense in the names and places department with so many things the reader is expected to remember and connect that it reaches the Malazan level (albeit without the Malazan finesse). Many of the names are just names without any substantial character development, we move from place to place, and over time from mythical lands to milieus already known in a whirlwind of events and references.
Kay's gift with the language makes it all bearable (but only just) and readers are offered with the whole candy shop of fantasy treats: you will have magic and battles, sailing with the dead, walking on water, demons from the deepest marrow of the earth, giants, dragons, a Dwarfmoot that counsel with silence and many, many other things.
Unfortunately, the bad outdarkens the good. Firstly, because the many protagonists central to the plot are often separated they then spend a lot of time catching up and telling each other what has already happened so if you add recounting the past events from the previous books that means a lot of repetition. At this point the book is saturated with the repetitiveness of motifs. We had the longest road in the previous book, now we have the darkest road embellished with similar undertones: the loss, the choice, the sacrifice, the love embraced even, or specifically, in and through death. Kay doesn’t spin anything new here or add anything meaningful that would be truly surprising.
My main problem lies with the central premise of this book that looks at love as a binding shackle. I cannot agree that pushing somebody away is a way of showing trust.
The coming climax, an end to war or an ending to all things is a prolonged, three-pronged sequence of events that seem surprisingly shallow, somehow even over-talked. Even the final wrap up wasn’t neat and we are left with loose threads in the tapestry.
Mr Kay tried to shape a light from the devastating darkness but for me – he failed. I judge The Darkest Road as the weakest of all his books and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. If it is true that the Author has entered into a development agreement for the Fionavar Trilogy to be produced as a TV series, I think there is a huge chance that it is going to be far more enjoyable than the original.
---
Also in the series:
1. The Summer Tree
2. The Wandering Fire
March 8, 2016
For most of this book, indeed for most of this series, I felt a big 2 star rating was at hand. A well thought out world and often beautiful writing caught my interest, but the meandering and frankly boring plot of it all took me out of the story and left me flat.
Then. And then...I got to about the 75% point of this third and final volume. It got...interesting. I mean, I found myself slowing down to absorb the words instead of skimming through rapidly towards the end. The end I wanted just to say I'd completed this work of a favorite author.
And these words were pretty good. But then...oh and then, about 85% into the book, Kay leveled his story at me and struck, right in the heart. Whoah, didn't see that coming...
I raced through the last few chapters, marveling at how all of the threads of this tapestry came around and wove together. Yes, this was the Kay I was looking for, the brilliance I had previously discovered in his other work and was missing to this point. Damn, he brought it all home.
A week ago I considered abandoning this book once and for all. You might say, I'm glad I stuck with it. I came around so much that I'm actually thinking a reread could very well be much more rewarding for that first 11/12 of the trilogy, knowing what I do about the final 12th.
But I'll wait a few years, I think...
Then. And then...I got to about the 75% point of this third and final volume. It got...interesting. I mean, I found myself slowing down to absorb the words instead of skimming through rapidly towards the end. The end I wanted just to say I'd completed this work of a favorite author.
And these words were pretty good. But then...oh and then, about 85% into the book, Kay leveled his story at me and struck, right in the heart. Whoah, didn't see that coming...
I raced through the last few chapters, marveling at how all of the threads of this tapestry came around and wove together. Yes, this was the Kay I was looking for, the brilliance I had previously discovered in his other work and was missing to this point. Damn, he brought it all home.
A week ago I considered abandoning this book once and for all. You might say, I'm glad I stuck with it. I came around so much that I'm actually thinking a reread could very well be much more rewarding for that first 11/12 of the trilogy, knowing what I do about the final 12th.
But I'll wait a few years, I think...
August 10, 2010
6.0 stars. On my list of "All Time Favorite" novels. This is the newest edition to my list of all time favorite novels and the entire trilogy has earned a place on my list as one of the best fantasy trilogies of ALL TIME (see my review of the entire series under The Fionavar Tapestry for a more detailed review). What I am about to say may be deemed sacrilege amount fantasy readers but the truth is, from the stanpoint of "emotion evoking" and "lyrical, poetic" prose combined with "epic, larger than life, no grey area good guys" this is the BEST FANTASY TRILOGY I have ever read and knocks LOTR (who is famous for both of the aforementioned attributes) out of the top spot. In fact, given how momentous that last statement was, I intend to re-read LOTR in the not too distant future just to confirm for myself the accuracy of the above.
Either way, this should definitely be on your must read list. Two pieces of advice goiong in: First, read slowly and carefully as, like LOTR, the prose is thick and lyrical and you will miss the depth of the writing if you read too quickly. Second, if you listen to audiobooks, listen to the audio version of the trilogy by Simon Vance who did an amazing job with the books (but keep the print versions around for some of the more difficult prose).
HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
Either way, this should definitely be on your must read list. Two pieces of advice goiong in: First, read slowly and carefully as, like LOTR, the prose is thick and lyrical and you will miss the depth of the writing if you read too quickly. Second, if you listen to audiobooks, listen to the audio version of the trilogy by Simon Vance who did an amazing job with the books (but keep the print versions around for some of the more difficult prose).
HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
February 7, 2017
"All the roads are dark. Only at the end is there a hope of light.
The Darkest Road is the third and last book of the Fionavar Tapestry, in which the approaching battle again Rakoth Maugrim and his monstrous lieutenants looms like a shadow over the kingdoms of Fionavar.
I hate the fact that I just couldn't enjoy this book, and unfortunately it's my own fault. The series lost me in the second volume, with some developments I didn't like and and overall decrease in quality from the first book, and that led to me almost skimming through the third. I wanted to see the ending, as Guy Gavriel Kay is one of my favourite authors, but that was my only motivation for reading on.
I would still recommend this series, but I'd suggest taking your time with it.
The Darkest Road is the third and last book of the Fionavar Tapestry, in which the approaching battle again Rakoth Maugrim and his monstrous lieutenants looms like a shadow over the kingdoms of Fionavar.
I hate the fact that I just couldn't enjoy this book, and unfortunately it's my own fault. The series lost me in the second volume, with some developments I didn't like and and overall decrease in quality from the first book, and that led to me almost skimming through the third. I wanted to see the ending, as Guy Gavriel Kay is one of my favourite authors, but that was my only motivation for reading on.
I would still recommend this series, but I'd suggest taking your time with it.
January 20, 2018
*** 4 ***
A buddy read with the Kay Squad at FBR! Because he is a master at what he does!!!
"...“All the roads are dark. Only at the end is there a hope of light.” ..."
And at the end it is all about the choices we make as a free thinking individuals... Yes there are circumstances, there are good and bad influences, there are G-ds and Demons, curves and constructions on our paths, loss, love, more loss, joy, loss, rebirth and so on the world keeps going, as one of my favorite singers Reba says, " I guess the world doesn't stop for my broken heart..."
In our lives we take so many journeys of self discovery and quests for making our lives better, but many are abandoned even before we make the first step... It is mostly fear of not getting where we want to go, or feeling of futility, that no matter where we get, we might not find ourselves fitting there... Only rarely is it the situations we find ourselves into, but we love to make the outside influences the guilty parties for our failures...
All meaningful paths are lonesome, but The Darkest road is the loneliest of them all... In this case, Kay makes the one taken by Finn The Longest, but the darkest is shared by many of our modern day heroes who found themselves in a parallel universe fighting for the Light against the Darkness ... Some of them reach their destination and find maybe not what they wanted at the end, but at least something that fulfills their true needs. Others only deepen their sense of separation and inadequacy, needing to go on if ever they want to find a place of forgiveness and self-esteem. But above all, we all need to undertake those roads of self-discovery and find the core of light which hopefully we nurture in our souls, so we may always do the right things, despite the cost...
"...“And he realized, a white fire igniting in his heart, that he did not want her to die. He did not want any of them to die: (…). He was sharing their grief, he realized; it was his own pain, it was fire running through him. ” ..."
The Darkest Road is a Fantasy full of action and mythology, magic and even parts of the Arthurian Legend, but it is very character driven and Kay, as always, finds the way to tell it in a beautiful manner. There were some parts in the beginning of the book which read a bit weird to me, but once we got more into the story, all was well once again. It could have also been me, since I have been having a hard time sleeping these days and have been having issues concentrating at times. I also have a personal dislike for the character Jennifer and she had a more prominent role in this volume, so I think this might have influenced my rating and initial enjoyment... However, I loved her son Darien, whose personal journey was heartbreaking and very emotional... But what can you expect, when he has the body of a 15 year old, but has lived barely a year, so has the emotional experiences and strength of a toddler... He did amazingly well with this starting handicap, while most of the adults were screwed up for more mundane reasons... We do get wonderful victories together with the crushing defeats, so I would recommend this book to those who are fans of the genre and the author!!!
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a good book!!!
A buddy read with the Kay Squad at FBR! Because he is a master at what he does!!!
"...“All the roads are dark. Only at the end is there a hope of light.” ..."
And at the end it is all about the choices we make as a free thinking individuals... Yes there are circumstances, there are good and bad influences, there are G-ds and Demons, curves and constructions on our paths, loss, love, more loss, joy, loss, rebirth and so on the world keeps going, as one of my favorite singers Reba says, " I guess the world doesn't stop for my broken heart..."
In our lives we take so many journeys of self discovery and quests for making our lives better, but many are abandoned even before we make the first step... It is mostly fear of not getting where we want to go, or feeling of futility, that no matter where we get, we might not find ourselves fitting there... Only rarely is it the situations we find ourselves into, but we love to make the outside influences the guilty parties for our failures...
All meaningful paths are lonesome, but The Darkest road is the loneliest of them all... In this case, Kay makes the one taken by Finn The Longest, but the darkest is shared by many of our modern day heroes who found themselves in a parallel universe fighting for the Light against the Darkness ... Some of them reach their destination and find maybe not what they wanted at the end, but at least something that fulfills their true needs. Others only deepen their sense of separation and inadequacy, needing to go on if ever they want to find a place of forgiveness and self-esteem. But above all, we all need to undertake those roads of self-discovery and find the core of light which hopefully we nurture in our souls, so we may always do the right things, despite the cost...
"...“And he realized, a white fire igniting in his heart, that he did not want her to die. He did not want any of them to die: (…). He was sharing their grief, he realized; it was his own pain, it was fire running through him. ” ..."
The Darkest Road is a Fantasy full of action and mythology, magic and even parts of the Arthurian Legend, but it is very character driven and Kay, as always, finds the way to tell it in a beautiful manner. There were some parts in the beginning of the book which read a bit weird to me, but once we got more into the story, all was well once again. It could have also been me, since I have been having a hard time sleeping these days and have been having issues concentrating at times. I also have a personal dislike for the character Jennifer and she had a more prominent role in this volume, so I think this might have influenced my rating and initial enjoyment... However, I loved her son Darien, whose personal journey was heartbreaking and very emotional... But what can you expect, when he has the body of a 15 year old, but has lived barely a year, so has the emotional experiences and strength of a toddler... He did amazingly well with this starting handicap, while most of the adults were screwed up for more mundane reasons... We do get wonderful victories together with the crushing defeats, so I would recommend this book to those who are fans of the genre and the author!!!
Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may you always find what you need in the pages of a good book!!!
June 12, 2017
A fitting end to a great trilogy. We can often solve big problems by stepping out of the accepted patterns in our lives. Jennifer resists the Unraveller by bearing his child and by setting that child free to choose his own destiny. This resistance begins in the first volume and culminates in the third.
In my opinion, Fionavar is the Platonic ideal of our world—it contains all the ideas that are available for religion, myth, and literature. Paul on the Summer Tree “becomes” Odin; Kevin, when he sacrifices himself, mirrors the Adonis legend; Jennifer has a parallel existence as Guinevere. Dave, in battle, becomes a berserker and Kim is pressed into service as the mysterious Seer. What started as a chance association at a lecture becomes entirely meaningful as each of these people accepts their role in the grand design, The Tapestry that represents the integrity of the world of Fionavar and thereby all of it’s alternate worlds. And this book is the only one of the three that takes place completely in Fionavar, making it the strongest of the three, in my opinion. Everyone is fully committed to this particular plot.
Kay gives us tragedy (Diarmud and Sharra, anyone?) but he also gives us victory. Galadan, that demi-god who supported the Darkness is allowed a chance to return to the Tapestry. The eternal triangle of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot is maybe resolved as they move once again out of human history. Perhaps Arthur is no longer the King Who Will Return? I will admit to a few tears, as I finished this wonderful trilogy.
Book 201 of my science fiction and fantasy reading project.
In my opinion, Fionavar is the Platonic ideal of our world—it contains all the ideas that are available for religion, myth, and literature. Paul on the Summer Tree “becomes” Odin; Kevin, when he sacrifices himself, mirrors the Adonis legend; Jennifer has a parallel existence as Guinevere. Dave, in battle, becomes a berserker and Kim is pressed into service as the mysterious Seer. What started as a chance association at a lecture becomes entirely meaningful as each of these people accepts their role in the grand design, The Tapestry that represents the integrity of the world of Fionavar and thereby all of it’s alternate worlds. And this book is the only one of the three that takes place completely in Fionavar, making it the strongest of the three, in my opinion. Everyone is fully committed to this particular plot.
Kay gives us tragedy (Diarmud and Sharra, anyone?) but he also gives us victory. Galadan, that demi-god who supported the Darkness is allowed a chance to return to the Tapestry. The eternal triangle of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot is maybe resolved as they move once again out of human history. Perhaps Arthur is no longer the King Who Will Return? I will admit to a few tears, as I finished this wonderful trilogy.
Book 201 of my science fiction and fantasy reading project.
August 25, 2021
P.S. no.1: Kay's prose turns language into harpstrings and sparkling dewdrops of wonder.
P.S. no.2: OTP happened and I'm here (cheering) for it.
February 5, 2017
Το φινάλε της τριλογίας είναι απίστευτο! Αυτά τα βιβλία τα αγαπώ! Όπως και τον Πολ! Δες εδώ περισσότερα: http://bit.ly/2keHsyb
May 24, 2011
This suddenly got way too Power Rangers for me. No one was a bigger fan of the Darien story at the beginning of the last book (or Jennifer’s story? Both) than this girl, but, man, when it turned out that he had ? That was a bummer. I mean, you might say, “no, no ,” or whatever, but I think you’re wrong. I mean, this book even made me like the other books a little less. It was the Phantom Menace to Wandering Fire’s Empire Strikes Back. All the eye rolling I did while reading this book got them really loose and limber and ready for swimsuit weather. Eye yoga. If I had that would be really dangerous.
And the battles were all really Power Rangers to me, too. But, what if David Rees re-wrote the story? Darien’s would basically look like this:
Yeah. If David Rees had written this book, I would have liked it. As it is, I really can’t think of anything I like about it. I totally can’t handle the kid who is in love with the pegacorn (pegasus + unicorn – bred for its skills in disgusting, gory mass-murder, while it whispers sweet nothings to little boys).
I started off iffy on the Camelot story, anyway, and at the start of this book I was officially persuaded of the benefits of ménage a trois in some relationships. Like, they’re all in love with each other. What is the problem? I’m not being snide. Really, what is the problem? I think I’m supposed to feel some kind of tension that I don’t feel. I mean, I get the problem in the original Camelot story, but not in this one.
I’m a bad fantasy reader. That’s what this really comes down to. I need stories like this to either be really short and action packed, or to have a little sense of humor. I find the earnestness of fantasy to be dreary and shallow. I don’t know, was Power Rangers supposed to be a little funny, or at least facetious? I was a little too old for it, so it just seemed loud and obnoxious to me. Maybe I didn’t get it like I don’t get this. But, I don’t get this.
And THEN at the end
And, I’m sorry, but forget the ménage a trois idea because, actually, every single person in this book just wants to give every other person in this book a BJ. They’re just all completely interchangeable. They got flatter and flatter and flatter until at the end it’s a bunch of literary crepes walking around complimenting the other crepes on their fighting style. Like this, but not funny:
I’m sure I was supposed to be so in love with the characters that their every move stirred passion within me, but that was not the case. They were all so flowey and gushy and metaphorical. And, okay, you know I’m pissed because It's not really fair.
So, now I shall continue through the books I own. I have quite a variety, so we are sure not to be disappointed. Maybe I’m going to take a break from things I don’t get, like fantasy books, for a while, though.
And the battles were all really Power Rangers to me, too. But, what if David Rees re-wrote the story? Darien’s would basically look like this:
Yeah. If David Rees had written this book, I would have liked it. As it is, I really can’t think of anything I like about it. I totally can’t handle the kid who is in love with the pegacorn (pegasus + unicorn – bred for its skills in disgusting, gory mass-murder, while it whispers sweet nothings to little boys).
I started off iffy on the Camelot story, anyway, and at the start of this book I was officially persuaded of the benefits of ménage a trois in some relationships. Like, they’re all in love with each other. What is the problem? I’m not being snide. Really, what is the problem? I think I’m supposed to feel some kind of tension that I don’t feel. I mean, I get the problem in the original Camelot story, but not in this one.
I’m a bad fantasy reader. That’s what this really comes down to. I need stories like this to either be really short and action packed, or to have a little sense of humor. I find the earnestness of fantasy to be dreary and shallow. I don’t know, was Power Rangers supposed to be a little funny, or at least facetious? I was a little too old for it, so it just seemed loud and obnoxious to me. Maybe I didn’t get it like I don’t get this. But, I don’t get this.
And THEN at the end
And, I’m sorry, but forget the ménage a trois idea because, actually, every single person in this book just wants to give every other person in this book a BJ. They’re just all completely interchangeable. They got flatter and flatter and flatter until at the end it’s a bunch of literary crepes walking around complimenting the other crepes on their fighting style. Like this, but not funny:
I’m sure I was supposed to be so in love with the characters that their every move stirred passion within me, but that was not the case. They were all so flowey and gushy and metaphorical. And, okay, you know I’m pissed because It's not really fair.
So, now I shall continue through the books I own. I have quite a variety, so we are sure not to be disappointed. Maybe I’m going to take a break from things I don’t get, like fantasy books, for a while, though.
May 15, 2021
Arrivare all'alba
"E poi la storia narrava di come tutti e due fossero passati insieme sulle mura della Notte, che circondavano tutti i mondi viventi, verso la luminosità della dimora del Tessitore."
"Dovresti sapere che sono giaciuto morto a Caer Sidi, che è Cader Sedat, Corona Borealis dei re fra le stelle. Saprai che quel castello si trova sull'asse di incrocio di tutti i mondi, con il mare che batte contro le sue mura e tutte le stelle del cielo che vi girano attorno."
"Anche così, nonostante il luogo in cui hai giaciuto, rimani comunque mortale, spadaccino.
Vorresti morire per il figlio di Rakoth Maugrim?"
"Ebbe la visione del lupo e del ragazzo che si passavano vicini nell'oscurità del bosco prima che sorgesse la luna, che si passavano così vicini e non lo sapevano, non lo avrebbero mai saputo. Oppure sì? C’era una parte dell’anima che si tendeva, in qualche modo, verso possibilità mancate per un soffio, futuri che non sarebbero mai stati, a causa di una distanza così piccola in una foresta, di notte?"
Esistono libri, dentro casa mia, che hanno preso polvere per oltre vent'anni.
Fa bene al cuore ridare vigore a letture per lungo tempo dimenticate, soprattutto quando tali letture si rivelano essere dei gioielli come, appunto, la trilogia di Fionavar scritta da Kay.
Tanti sono i percorsi che i protagonisti decidono di intraprendere; tanti sono i destini in gioco; tante sono le emozioni che il lettore prova per epiche conclusioni o piccoli dettagli che, all'interno di questo mosaico, trovano il loro posto.
La trilogia non è rivoluzionaria all'interno del genere - tutt'altro, visto il capillare retaggio tolkeniano che lo stesso Kay ha sfruttato nella stesura de Il Silmarillion - né gode di un wolrdbuilding profondo e complesso come quello de Le Cronache del Ghiaccio e del Fuoco, Il Libro Malazan dei Caduti o La Ruota del Tempo; trattasi semplicemente di una storia classica raccontata con garbo e guizzo poetico.
"E poi la storia narrava di come tutti e due fossero passati insieme sulle mura della Notte, che circondavano tutti i mondi viventi, verso la luminosità della dimora del Tessitore."
"Dovresti sapere che sono giaciuto morto a Caer Sidi, che è Cader Sedat, Corona Borealis dei re fra le stelle. Saprai che quel castello si trova sull'asse di incrocio di tutti i mondi, con il mare che batte contro le sue mura e tutte le stelle del cielo che vi girano attorno."
"Anche così, nonostante il luogo in cui hai giaciuto, rimani comunque mortale, spadaccino.
Vorresti morire per il figlio di Rakoth Maugrim?"
"Ebbe la visione del lupo e del ragazzo che si passavano vicini nell'oscurità del bosco prima che sorgesse la luna, che si passavano così vicini e non lo sapevano, non lo avrebbero mai saputo. Oppure sì? C’era una parte dell’anima che si tendeva, in qualche modo, verso possibilità mancate per un soffio, futuri che non sarebbero mai stati, a causa di una distanza così piccola in una foresta, di notte?"
Esistono libri, dentro casa mia, che hanno preso polvere per oltre vent'anni.
Fa bene al cuore ridare vigore a letture per lungo tempo dimenticate, soprattutto quando tali letture si rivelano essere dei gioielli come, appunto, la trilogia di Fionavar scritta da Kay.
Tanti sono i percorsi che i protagonisti decidono di intraprendere; tanti sono i destini in gioco; tante sono le emozioni che il lettore prova per epiche conclusioni o piccoli dettagli che, all'interno di questo mosaico, trovano il loro posto.
La trilogia non è rivoluzionaria all'interno del genere - tutt'altro, visto il capillare retaggio tolkeniano che lo stesso Kay ha sfruttato nella stesura de Il Silmarillion - né gode di un wolrdbuilding profondo e complesso come quello de Le Cronache del Ghiaccio e del Fuoco, Il Libro Malazan dei Caduti o La Ruota del Tempo; trattasi semplicemente di una storia classica raccontata con garbo e guizzo poetico.
October 12, 2023
Πενταρι γεμάτο και μεγάλο όσο και το Δάσος του Πενταραν.
With this book the Fionavar Tapestry ends. I have read many series and most of them do not have a worthy end. Fionavar definately has one. The Darkest Road, in similar way with the previous 2 books, is full of strong scenes, beautifuly written. Ι dont want to spoil things but there are some passages that are now curved in me. The incredible duel and its aftermath that takes place before the final battle. Probably the best and most epic duel I have read in fiction. Galadan and the horn. The departure of a certain Lios Alfar. The lonely and insane journey of Darien. Finn. Paul and Jaelle. The divine presences. So many things. This world is full of beauty, strong fates, responsibilities, duties, pain, sorrow, sacrifices and absolutions.
It was the closest I have read to Middle Earth and Silmarillion and that says a lot for me. Its not for people who are bored of this kind of romantic idealistic epic fantasy. But If you feel a longing and a nostalgia for that kind of books then Fionavar is the perfect place for you!
With this book the Fionavar Tapestry ends. I have read many series and most of them do not have a worthy end. Fionavar definately has one. The Darkest Road, in similar way with the previous 2 books, is full of strong scenes, beautifuly written. Ι dont want to spoil things but there are some passages that are now curved in me. The incredible duel and its aftermath that takes place before the final battle. Probably the best and most epic duel I have read in fiction. Galadan and the horn. The departure of a certain Lios Alfar. The lonely and insane journey of Darien. Finn. Paul and Jaelle. The divine presences. So many things. This world is full of beauty, strong fates, responsibilities, duties, pain, sorrow, sacrifices and absolutions.
It was the closest I have read to Middle Earth and Silmarillion and that says a lot for me. Its not for people who are bored of this kind of romantic idealistic epic fantasy. But If you feel a longing and a nostalgia for that kind of books then Fionavar is the perfect place for you!
December 13, 2021
I have finished Fionavar, and unfortunately GGK's chance at having a perfect all 5 star run comes to and end.
I do think GGK has noticeably improved as a writer since the Summer Tree, and the dialogue and prose is better, and close to how amazing it is in Tigana. Seriously his ability to make uncomplicated language beautiful in this book is amazing.
There are a couple reasons I enjoyed this less.
1. It leans in to Arthurian legends to an extent that I do not prefer. It felt like my lacking knowledge of those legends hindered my enjoyment of this book.
2. It expands the cast of characters a lot from The Summer Tree, and I feel like for a not super long trilogy it just didn't have the pages to do that justice.
3. It had some romances that just kinda.....remind me of Wheel of Time romances. Those things do be coming out of nowhere.
I still continue to mostly love it, very few people can hit tragic and inspiring to the same degree as GGK.
Also I love how this world is mostly soft magic, and the tiny bits of hard magic tend to have incredibly clever payoffs.
He is fantastic and balancing that with the pure wonder of soft magic.
I would recommend this series to any fans of Arthurian Legends, classic fantasy, or massive GGK fans.
If you aren't any of those things, I would stay away.
8.2/10
I do think GGK has noticeably improved as a writer since the Summer Tree, and the dialogue and prose is better, and close to how amazing it is in Tigana. Seriously his ability to make uncomplicated language beautiful in this book is amazing.
There are a couple reasons I enjoyed this less.
1. It leans in to Arthurian legends to an extent that I do not prefer. It felt like my lacking knowledge of those legends hindered my enjoyment of this book.
2. It expands the cast of characters a lot from The Summer Tree, and I feel like for a not super long trilogy it just didn't have the pages to do that justice.
3. It had some romances that just kinda.....remind me of Wheel of Time romances. Those things do be coming out of nowhere.
I still continue to mostly love it, very few people can hit tragic and inspiring to the same degree as GGK.
Also I love how this world is mostly soft magic, and the tiny bits of hard magic tend to have incredibly clever payoffs.
He is fantastic and balancing that with the pure wonder of soft magic.
I would recommend this series to any fans of Arthurian Legends, classic fantasy, or massive GGK fans.
If you aren't any of those things, I would stay away.
8.2/10
April 18, 2017
Τρίτο και τελευταίο βιβλίο της σειράς! Πόσο πιο φανταστικό, επικό φινάλε θα μπορούσε να έχει αυτή η ιστορία? Τα δύο πρώτα βιβλία μας προετοίμαζαν ακριβώς για τις σκηνές αυτού του βιβλίου!
Ας τα πάρουμε με μια σειρά όμως.
Η αρχή του βιβλίου ομολογώ πως σε κάποια σημεία με κούρασε λιγάκι. Θεωρώ πως κάποια κομμάτια θα μπορούσαν είτε να λείπουν είτε να ειπωθούν πιο περιληπτικά. Βέβαια αυτό δεν μειώνει καθόλου την αξία του βιβλίου. Όλοι οι χαρακτήρες οδηγούνται σε μία συγκεκριμένη περιοχή, το Αντάριεν όπου θα διεξαχθεί η τελική μάχη.
Από ένα σημείο και μετά, η ιστορία τρέχει με καταιγιστικό ρυθμό που πραγματικά δεν γίνεται να αφήσεις το βιβλίο από τα χέρια σου μέχρι να φτάσεις και στην τελευταία λέξη.
Όλοι οι χαρακτήρες έχουν ωριμάσει και έρχονται αντιμέτωποι με τις επιλογές τους. Μπορεί ο τίτλος του βιβλίου να αφορά κάποιον συγκεκριμένα αλλά προσωπικά θεωρώ πως όλοι οι χαρακτήρες κάποια στιγμή στην πορεία τους βρέθηκαν αντιμέτωποι με μία δύσκολη επιλογή. (Όχι απαραίτητα το να ακολουθήσουν τον Πιο Σκοτεινό Δρόμο αλλά θα μπορούσαν να κάνουν μία επιλογή που να είχε πολύ πιο άσχημη κατάληξη είτε για τους ίδιους είτε γενικά για τον κόσμο της Φιόναβαρ).
Οι ιστορίες των πρωταγωνιστών δεν είναι όλες ευχάριστες και δεν έχουν όλες happy end. Η πιο τραγική βέβαια θεωρώ πως είναι
Γενικά η τριλογία του υφαντού της Φιόναβαρ πρέπει να διαβαστεί από όλους τους λάτρεις του φανταστικού (και φυσικά όχι μόνο από αυτούς). Ο κόσμος του Guy Gavriel Kay δεν υστερεί σε τίποτα με άλλες, πιο γνωστές ιστορίες και σε παρασέρνει να χαθείς κι εσύ στη Φιόναβαρ και να γίνεις άλλο ένα νήμα του Αργαλειού του Υφαντή...
Ας τα πάρουμε με μια σειρά όμως.
Η αρχή του βιβλίου ομολογώ πως σε κάποια σημεία με κούρασε λιγάκι. Θεωρώ πως κάποια κομμάτια θα μπορούσαν είτε να λείπουν είτε να ειπωθούν πιο περιληπτικά. Βέβαια αυτό δεν μειώνει καθόλου την αξία του βιβλίου. Όλοι οι χαρακτήρες οδηγούνται σε μία συγκεκριμένη περιοχή, το Αντάριεν όπου θα διεξαχθεί η τελική μάχη.
Από ένα σημείο και μετά, η ιστορία τρέχει με καταιγιστικό ρυθμό που πραγματικά δεν γίνεται να αφήσεις το βιβλίο από τα χέρια σου μέχρι να φτάσεις και στην τελευταία λέξη.
Όλοι οι χαρακτήρες έχουν ωριμάσει και έρχονται αντιμέτωποι με τις επιλογές τους. Μπορεί ο τίτλος του βιβλίου να αφορά κάποιον συγκεκριμένα αλλά προσωπικά θεωρώ πως όλοι οι χαρακτήρες κάποια στιγμή στην πορεία τους βρέθηκαν αντιμέτωποι με μία δύσκολη επιλογή. (Όχι απαραίτητα το να ακολουθήσουν τον Πιο Σκοτεινό Δρόμο αλλά θα μπορούσαν να κάνουν μία επιλογή που να είχε πολύ πιο άσχημη κατάληξη είτε για τους ίδιους είτε γενικά για τον κόσμο της Φιόναβαρ).
Οι ιστορίες των πρωταγωνιστών δεν είναι όλες ευχάριστες και δεν έχουν όλες happy end. Η πιο τραγική βέβαια θεωρώ πως είναι
Γενικά η τριλογία του υφαντού της Φιόναβαρ πρέπει να διαβαστεί από όλους τους λάτρεις του φανταστικού (και φυσικά όχι μόνο από αυτούς). Ο κόσμος του Guy Gavriel Kay δεν υστερεί σε τίποτα με άλλες, πιο γνωστές ιστορίες και σε παρασέρνει να χαθείς κι εσύ στη Φιόναβαρ και να γίνεις άλλο ένα νήμα του Αργαλειού του Υφαντή...
January 14, 2021
Before this trilogy I read and loved Kay's later works (except Ysabel which is mediocre) and his debut trilogy was surprisingly different experience. This feels like a prequel. Not to another story but to Guy Gavriel Kay's writing as like with prequel series it starts with nearly unrecognizable from things set in main timeline you can events tanking shape and by the end you can clearly see how will it shape into familiar state same is with Kay's writing. While this well written piece of heroic fantasy with heroes larger than life, loves stronger than time and great evils and heroics is different than history inspired works you can how it will come to that and you can see threads that persisted in Kay's writing.
April 12, 2018
I shouldn't read books like this at work. I knew I would cry reading it. I always do. My coworkers think I'm demented. Oops.
I hadn't read this in over twenty years. While I've always loved the other two books this one is my favourite. The dialogue is better, the plotting is better. The characters are richer and deeper.
The darkest road is the lonely journey taken by Darien to meet his father. It is heartbreaking to read. His utter loneliness and uncertainty, after all he is only a child really even though he appears much older, 14 or 15. His emotional maturity is that of an adolescent. As he journeys he grows emotionally, he realizes that his mother trusts him even though she is closed off to him, she sends Lancelot after him to protect him and he realizes this too. In the end he chooses the light and love, sacrificing himself to save his mother and all of the people and creatures fighting on the side of the light. His sacrifice leads to his father's destruction in a heartbreaking but ultimately emotionally satisfying conclusion. There were tears, not gonna lie.
P.S. I have a big grey and brown dog. I love him dearly and I'm not ashamed to say how glad I was when Arthur and his dog were reunited. Very happy that Cavall was able to go with Arthur when he and Guinevere and Lancelot sailed away.
I hadn't read this in over twenty years. While I've always loved the other two books this one is my favourite. The dialogue is better, the plotting is better. The characters are richer and deeper.
The darkest road is the lonely journey taken by Darien to meet his father. It is heartbreaking to read. His utter loneliness and uncertainty, after all he is only a child really even though he appears much older, 14 or 15. His emotional maturity is that of an adolescent. As he journeys he grows emotionally, he realizes that his mother trusts him even though she is closed off to him, she sends Lancelot after him to protect him and he realizes this too. In the end he chooses the light and love, sacrificing himself to save his mother and all of the people and creatures fighting on the side of the light. His sacrifice leads to his father's destruction in a heartbreaking but ultimately emotionally satisfying conclusion. There were tears, not gonna lie.
P.S. I have a big grey and brown dog. I love him dearly and I'm not ashamed to say how glad I was when Arthur and his dog were reunited. Very happy that Cavall was able to go with Arthur when he and Guinevere and Lancelot sailed away.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2017
I will now attempt to review the trilogy.
It's a fantasy tour de force, pulling together so many strands from differing mythologies and interweaving them with a fresh imagining of a world in which magic coexists with entirely human struggles and frailties.
I have read all three books many times, but I still find something new each time. And I still cry like a baby....
It's a fantasy tour de force, pulling together so many strands from differing mythologies and interweaving them with a fresh imagining of a world in which magic coexists with entirely human struggles and frailties.
I have read all three books many times, but I still find something new each time. And I still cry like a baby....
February 18, 2016
A fitting end to this high fantasy. So glad I read the series.
August 2, 2025
The third book in the Fionovar Tapestry includes some glorious passages of decadent prose. GGK makes excellent use of the themes as always, this time weaving a tapestry and the villainous Unraveller. Overall, it was a satisfying conclusion to this series. I decided to pick this back up while it's still available on Audible. I liked book 1 The Summer Tree. - 4 stars
Book 2 The Wandering Fire included incest in the story line with Arthur and I lost interest. - rated 3 stars and set the series aside.
I thought I may not continue with the series, but I am glad I did. The themes with travelling in and out of the tapestry felt very magical. This third book was much more enjoyable to me than the 2nd/middle.
3.5 * Rounding Up
Book 2 The Wandering Fire included incest in the story line with Arthur and I lost interest. - rated 3 stars and set the series aside.
I thought I may not continue with the series, but I am glad I did. The themes with travelling in and out of the tapestry felt very magical. This third book was much more enjoyable to me than the 2nd/middle.
3.5 * Rounding Up
May 27, 2010
I read this series once a year for a few years in a row when I was much younger (high school and into early college). I'd spend a whole weekend just reading about Fionavar. I would become so immersed in the books that I wouldn't dream when I slept (a rarity) and that I would resent any human interference in my reading and immersion. The books moved me and made me weep every time I read them.
Between then and now at least 10 years have passed in which I have read little fantasy, my tastes have shifted in many ways, and I have grown up a lot. I had fond (really, far more than fond) memories of reading the books and wanted to experience that immersion and emotional release with them again. I was terribly afraid to return to them after so many years. I was afraid they would be weak, derivative, incapable of moving me in the same way. And so I avoided them for a long time after the desire to revisit them arose, only now giving in to it.
These books are amazing. They definitely hold up over time and continue to move me. There are minor things in the language that sometimes pull me out of the story that didn't when I was a younger reader, but I love the characters, I love the world-building (the way Kay combines multiple mythologies to tell a story that is both familiar and new is wonderful), I love the emphasis on choice, and I am still devastated by the ending. I am so glad that I re-read these books and I will read them again and again in the future.
Between then and now at least 10 years have passed in which I have read little fantasy, my tastes have shifted in many ways, and I have grown up a lot. I had fond (really, far more than fond) memories of reading the books and wanted to experience that immersion and emotional release with them again. I was terribly afraid to return to them after so many years. I was afraid they would be weak, derivative, incapable of moving me in the same way. And so I avoided them for a long time after the desire to revisit them arose, only now giving in to it.
These books are amazing. They definitely hold up over time and continue to move me. There are minor things in the language that sometimes pull me out of the story that didn't when I was a younger reader, but I love the characters, I love the world-building (the way Kay combines multiple mythologies to tell a story that is both familiar and new is wonderful), I love the emphasis on choice, and I am still devastated by the ending. I am so glad that I re-read these books and I will read them again and again in the future.
January 4, 2017
Στο σχόλιο μου για το δεύτερο μέρος έγραψα για υποσχέσεις ενός συγκλονιστικού φινάλε στο τρίτο μέρος, τελικά αυτό ακριβώς συναντάμε σε αυτό εδώ το βιβλίο. Όπως συνηθίζεται στο είδος ασχολούμαστε κυρίως με την τελευταία μάχη ανάμεσα στο καλό και στο κακό, η περιγραφή της όμως από τον συγγραφέα κάθε άλλο παρά συνηθισμένη είναι. Είναι πραγματικά συγκλονιστικός ο τρόπος που περιγράφει και τα ίδια τα γεγονότα αλλά και την ψυχολογική επίδραση που έχουν στους ήρωες μας. Στο τέλος μάλιστα όλοι οι λογαριασμοί κλείνουν με ιδιαίτερα συγκινητικό τρόπο, κάνοντας μας κλείνοντας το βιβλίο να έχουμε ένα χαμόγελο στα χείλη μας και - γιατί όχι; - κάποια δάκρυα στα μάτια μας.
Νομίζω ότι μετά από αυτό θα πρέπει να κατατάξω τον Guy Gavriel Kayστη λίστα με τους αγαπημένους μου συγγραφείς. Ο τρόπος που γράφει είναι πραγματικά υπέροχος, με έναν λυρισμό που μοιάζει να βγαίνει αβίαστα και να προσφέρει συγκίνηση χωρίς να εκβιάζει το συναίσθημα. Πέρα από αυτό οι επιρροές του και η φαντασία του καταφέρουν να πλάσουν σε αυτή τη τριλογία ένα υπέροχο μέρος, με μια κοσμολογία από ότι κατάλαβα έχει επηρεάσει πολλά μεταγενέστερα έργα, με πιο τρανταχτό παράδειγμα τη σειρά The Wheel of Time του Robert Jordan. Οπότε το μόνο που μένει είναι να αναζητήσω και άλλα βιβλία του.
Νομίζω ότι μετά από αυτό θα πρέπει να κατατάξω τον Guy Gavriel Kayστη λίστα με τους αγαπημένους μου συγγραφείς. Ο τρόπος που γράφει είναι πραγματικά υπέροχος, με έναν λυρισμό που μοιάζει να βγαίνει αβίαστα και να προσφέρει συγκίνηση χωρίς να εκβιάζει το συναίσθημα. Πέρα από αυτό οι επιρροές του και η φαντασία του καταφέρουν να πλάσουν σε αυτή τη τριλογία ένα υπέροχο μέρος, με μια κοσμολογία από ότι κατάλαβα έχει επηρεάσει πολλά μεταγενέστερα έργα, με πιο τρανταχτό παράδειγμα τη σειρά The Wheel of Time του Robert Jordan. Οπότε το μόνο που μένει είναι να αναζητήσω και άλλα βιβλία του.
May 1, 2018
The Darkest Road is the final book in The Fionavar Tapestry. This series started off really strong. The first book had a few rough patches, but I had no problem overlooking them due to my interest in the characters and the story and the newly-introduced setting. The second and third books became more problematic for me. I did still enjoy them, but I enjoyed each book less than the one before.
The second and third books rely to an increasingly heavy extent on real-world myths and legends, and that’s a large part of what became tiresome to me. Some of it was really angsty and melodramatic, made worse in my eyes by the fact that I wasn’t at all interested in that aspect of the story. Resolutions to problems were often unrealistic, relying a great deal on coincidences and intuition, or special abilities discovered at precisely the moment they were needed.
It wasn’t all as bad as I might be making it sound, though. I still liked most of the main characters, and I was often absorbed by the story aside from the unrealistic and/or melodramatic moments. Based on what I’ve read from him so far, which includes this series plus two other books, Kay has a way with words that draws me into a story, and he’s especially good at writing characters and friendships that I care about. I intend to read more of his work in the future.
The second and third books rely to an increasingly heavy extent on real-world myths and legends, and that’s a large part of what became tiresome to me. Some of it was really angsty and melodramatic, made worse in my eyes by the fact that I wasn’t at all interested in that aspect of the story. Resolutions to problems were often unrealistic, relying a great deal on coincidences and intuition, or special abilities discovered at precisely the moment they were needed.
It wasn’t all as bad as I might be making it sound, though. I still liked most of the main characters, and I was often absorbed by the story aside from the unrealistic and/or melodramatic moments. Based on what I’ve read from him so far, which includes this series plus two other books, Kay has a way with words that draws me into a story, and he’s especially good at writing characters and friendships that I care about. I intend to read more of his work in the future.
May 11, 2025
It's truly notable how strong the ending of this trilogy was given its very rocky start. Although Kay's writing would go in a different direction after this book - that of an exploration of quasi-history with a fantastical lens - I really enjoyed this different kind of fantasy, based more on folklore and myth than following the Tolkien path like so many other authors did. This exploration of myth gave Fionavar a very realistic and otherworldly feel that grew deeper the further we got into the series. You also see a few "Kay-isms" start to creep in here, like his exploration of a single theme in two different situations and characters within the same book, to contrast and look at it differently.
There's a big battle present in this book - one of the largest I've read by Kay - which is written in a very understated way, with a lot of subtlety and nuance. (And one scene that undoubtedly inspired a scene Brandon Sanderson would write decades later in A Memory of Light). The close of this trilogy had a lot of heart, and I had not realized my connection to many of these characters was so deep. While The Summer Tree remains my lowest rated book I've read by this author, you can almost see Kay gaining skill throughout this trilogy, and I felt this conclusion was very strong. While The Fionavar Tapestry is not at the very top of Guy Gavriel Kay's works in my opinion, I think it's far underrated and still better than most fantasy series you'll likely read.
There's a big battle present in this book - one of the largest I've read by Kay - which is written in a very understated way, with a lot of subtlety and nuance. (And one scene that undoubtedly inspired a scene Brandon Sanderson would write decades later in A Memory of Light). The close of this trilogy had a lot of heart, and I had not realized my connection to many of these characters was so deep. While The Summer Tree remains my lowest rated book I've read by this author, you can almost see Kay gaining skill throughout this trilogy, and I felt this conclusion was very strong. While The Fionavar Tapestry is not at the very top of Guy Gavriel Kay's works in my opinion, I think it's far underrated and still better than most fantasy series you'll likely read.
February 14, 2010
The final book of the Fionavar Tapestry is, unsurprisingly, the longest. After the long build up of the first two books, the war finally really gets underway. It's still very Lord of the Rings, with all the races joining up and wars and a lone person making his way into the heart of darkness, etc. In another way, it's completely not like Lord of the Rings at all. For one thing, not everyone lives. Boromir aside, most of the main characters in Lord of the Rings survive. Not so with Fionavar. Guy Gavriel Kay, as I have observed before, does not go gently. I kind of want to shake him and curse him, at the same time as admiring what he does with it, and how much he's made me care about the characters.
There are also some beautiful, fitting conclusions that make me very happy.
There are also some rather strange conclusions that baffle me. I think I've observed before that GGK is not so great with intentional romance. I don't feel Paul and Jaelle at all, for example -- I can see what he tries to do with them, and I understand why he thinks they'd be suited to each other in one way, but when it comes down to it, I really don't feel anything about them getting together. Same thing with the hint of romance between Kim and Dave (that follows through into Ysabel). Just... why? Where's it coming from? And yet something that could have been good, like Kim and Aileron -- don't tell me I was the only one? -- doesn't happen at all. These, however, are minor flaws.
Throughout the trilogy, GGK's writing is beautiful. Some of the scenes in this book are so very vivid that they stick in even my very-much-not-visual kind of brain. The image of Leyse floating down to the sea, for example. The death scenes are all lovely in a painful way, especially (for me) the one after the large urgach has been killed. They're like punches in the gut.
I still don't feel like my reviews have managed to capture how much I love this trilogy. Forget the flaws: I love it. I love the characters and the world, and the writing. If you can't get past the flaws, fair enough, but there is a real gem here, I think.
Reread in February 2010. Loved, more than ever, wept over, also probably more than ever. I was reluctant to read the last ten pages because that means my glorious weekend of visiting Fionavar is over. I'm sure I'll be back before too long, though. Fionavar is very rereadable, as I've proved this weekend. It's this, the fact that it breaks me anew every time and makes me love it more than ever, that gets these three books five stars. There are definitely flaws, things that jar, things that don't quite work -- I'm still utterly baffled at the romantic conclusions, and why the hell does Sharra disappear from the narrative the minute her romantic plot ends? -- but it draws me back in every single time.
There are also some beautiful, fitting conclusions that make me very happy.
There are also some rather strange conclusions that baffle me. I think I've observed before that GGK is not so great with intentional romance. I don't feel Paul and Jaelle at all, for example -- I can see what he tries to do with them, and I understand why he thinks they'd be suited to each other in one way, but when it comes down to it, I really don't feel anything about them getting together. Same thing with the hint of romance between Kim and Dave (that follows through into Ysabel). Just... why? Where's it coming from? And yet something that could have been good, like Kim and Aileron -- don't tell me I was the only one? -- doesn't happen at all. These, however, are minor flaws.
Throughout the trilogy, GGK's writing is beautiful. Some of the scenes in this book are so very vivid that they stick in even my very-much-not-visual kind of brain. The image of Leyse floating down to the sea, for example. The death scenes are all lovely in a painful way, especially (for me) the one after the large urgach has been killed. They're like punches in the gut.
I still don't feel like my reviews have managed to capture how much I love this trilogy. Forget the flaws: I love it. I love the characters and the world, and the writing. If you can't get past the flaws, fair enough, but there is a real gem here, I think.
Reread in February 2010. Loved, more than ever, wept over, also probably more than ever. I was reluctant to read the last ten pages because that means my glorious weekend of visiting Fionavar is over. I'm sure I'll be back before too long, though. Fionavar is very rereadable, as I've proved this weekend. It's this, the fact that it breaks me anew every time and makes me love it more than ever, that gets these three books five stars. There are definitely flaws, things that jar, things that don't quite work -- I'm still utterly baffled at the romantic conclusions, and why the hell does Sharra disappear from the narrative the minute her romantic plot ends? -- but it draws me back in every single time.
December 10, 2008
The first book in this series was simply brilliant. The series went downhill from there. In the first book, the sorrow of tragic events was creatively expressed almost poetically, and through the characters actions. In this book the author took the tack that if you repeat the fact that a character is feeling sad frequently enough, it will have emotional impact. That doesn't really work. Basically, what had been deep, tragically flawed, and emotion inducing characters were turned into whiny, shallow, archetypes.
The other problem here is that the author refers to a lot of things from obscure Arthurian, Greek, and Norse legend that even a big mythology/sci-fi fan such as myself couldn't figure out the allusion. It doesn't help that he changes all the names (with the exception of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere). Because the author assumes that the reader knows all the myths, he doesn't bother to explain things. So there's a lot of names of places that mean nothing to me, the significance of which might explain the character's actions, but because I've never heard of the place I can't figure out why people are doing what they're doing. The book does give a satisfying (if eminently predictable) ending to the series, which is why two stars instead of one.
So, all in all, read the first in the series, its great. Then stop. Don't get drawn in by the promise of the series, the other books don't live up to that promise.
The other problem here is that the author refers to a lot of things from obscure Arthurian, Greek, and Norse legend that even a big mythology/sci-fi fan such as myself couldn't figure out the allusion. It doesn't help that he changes all the names (with the exception of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere). Because the author assumes that the reader knows all the myths, he doesn't bother to explain things. So there's a lot of names of places that mean nothing to me, the significance of which might explain the character's actions, but because I've never heard of the place I can't figure out why people are doing what they're doing. The book does give a satisfying (if eminently predictable) ending to the series, which is why two stars instead of one.
So, all in all, read the first in the series, its great. Then stop. Don't get drawn in by the promise of the series, the other books don't live up to that promise.
August 18, 2016
This review is from my reread of this series in 2015/16.
As I said in reviews for the earlier books of this series, it's very hard for me to be objective about these books. They were formative works for me and as a result I reread them regularly every decade or so. Fortunately, I don't feel I have to with this one. By this point in the trilogy all the clumsiness associated with the portal fantasy aspect and the extended exposition elements is long gone. Most of the effort here is to resolve the setup from the first two books satisfactorily.
There are fantastic set pieces throughout, from the rescue of the Paraiko, to the drama at the Anor Lisen, to Lancelot's battle, to Calor Diman, but the ultimate battle between the forces of the Light and the Dark contrasting with Darien's road is just transcendent.
Finally, if this is your first exposure to these, I'll give you a hint that I wish someone had given me years ago: go read Ysabel.
As I said in reviews for the earlier books of this series, it's very hard for me to be objective about these books. They were formative works for me and as a result I reread them regularly every decade or so. Fortunately, I don't feel I have to with this one. By this point in the trilogy all the clumsiness associated with the portal fantasy aspect and the extended exposition elements is long gone. Most of the effort here is to resolve the setup from the first two books satisfactorily.
There are fantastic set pieces throughout, from the rescue of the Paraiko, to the drama at the Anor Lisen, to Lancelot's battle, to Calor Diman, but the ultimate battle between the forces of the Light and the Dark contrasting with Darien's road is just transcendent.
Finally, if this is your first exposure to these, I'll give you a hint that I wish someone had given me years ago: go read Ysabel.
February 5, 2018
I'm sad, I didn't like this more. I thought the first book was such a magical experience that I probably expected way too much from the sequels, but I didn't enjoy the Arthurian legends Kay introduced in book two and ended up mostly skimming book three.
I'm still going to read Guy Gavriel Kay's other books because I love his prose, love his writing and think he's a fantastic author.
I'm still going to read Guy Gavriel Kay's other books because I love his prose, love his writing and think he's a fantastic author.
December 28, 2021
The Darkest Road provides an excellent conclusion to the story of The Fionavar Tapestry. It’s the one I think is far and away the best book in the trilogy, with a consistently engaging story that wraps up all the central plot arcs satisfactorily. The writing settles into being comfortably poetic and is evocative of the classical and epic nature of the tale.
It had a relatively weak start with Part 1, exemplifying some of the issues I had with the previous books: things happening too quickly causing them to feel fleeting and not have much impact, in addition to actions and events occurring seemingly at random due to the lack of in-world explanations of their mythological sources of inspiration. One example of that would be the origins and motivations of Flidais as Taliesin, where I felt slightly confused and would’ve been more invested had I had prior knowledge of his inspirations from Arthurian legend.
From Part 2 onwards, however, the book was quite amazing. Each of the plotlines progressed steadily, with enough time devoted to feeling the full impact of events and emotions. The story threads were coherent and had clear end goals. Two books of knowing these characters also made some charged interactions, conversations, and relationships between them quite engaging, especially after how they’ve changed over the story and grown into certain roles.
The subplot with the Dwarves and their kingship conflict, the Amairgen and Lisen tale, and the various other smaller plot elements were great, but the highlight of the book was Darien’s tale. His journey and internal conflict I found really compelling, and I liked how other related characters like Lancelot played a more prominent role. The fight at the start of Part 2 was fantastic, and it remained engrossing right till the end. It also tied into the central theme of the series: of free will and choice versus a more deterministic reality, given the world’s metaphysics.
The ending was great as well. There were poetically written scenes of action and emotion, and there were actual stakes felt with some character deaths unlike in previous books. Stuff that was introduced at the start of the trilogy was built up and had appropriate payoff, and the final resolution was very satisfying in ways of plot, character, and theme. The falling action and character endings also were well-handled and felt like an extension of their overall journeys. This was on the whole, a very positive conclusion to the trilogy, which I previously was more conflicted on.
It had a relatively weak start with Part 1, exemplifying some of the issues I had with the previous books: things happening too quickly causing them to feel fleeting and not have much impact, in addition to actions and events occurring seemingly at random due to the lack of in-world explanations of their mythological sources of inspiration. One example of that would be the origins and motivations of Flidais as Taliesin, where I felt slightly confused and would’ve been more invested had I had prior knowledge of his inspirations from Arthurian legend.
From Part 2 onwards, however, the book was quite amazing. Each of the plotlines progressed steadily, with enough time devoted to feeling the full impact of events and emotions. The story threads were coherent and had clear end goals. Two books of knowing these characters also made some charged interactions, conversations, and relationships between them quite engaging, especially after how they’ve changed over the story and grown into certain roles.
The subplot with the Dwarves and their kingship conflict, the Amairgen and Lisen tale, and the various other smaller plot elements were great, but the highlight of the book was Darien’s tale. His journey and internal conflict I found really compelling, and I liked how other related characters like Lancelot played a more prominent role. The fight at the start of Part 2 was fantastic, and it remained engrossing right till the end. It also tied into the central theme of the series: of free will and choice versus a more deterministic reality, given the world’s metaphysics.
The ending was great as well. There were poetically written scenes of action and emotion, and there were actual stakes felt with some character deaths unlike in previous books. Stuff that was introduced at the start of the trilogy was built up and had appropriate payoff, and the final resolution was very satisfying in ways of plot, character, and theme. The falling action and character endings also were well-handled and felt like an extension of their overall journeys. This was on the whole, a very positive conclusion to the trilogy, which I previously was more conflicted on.
July 20, 2017
Come siete arrivati a scoprire l'esistenza di questa trilogia? Ve l'ha consigliata qualcuno, oppure ne avete letto da qualche parte o semplicemente siete stati attirati dal fatto che si tratta di letteratura fantasy e di prima qualità, visto e considerato l'autore? Qualunque sia il caso mi permetto di fornire un' avvertenza per la lettura: leggete Fionavar, leggete questi tre libri tutti d'un fiato, non datevi il tempo di cercare trama, chiarimenti o spoiler su internet o da chi l'ha già letto. Immergetevi in questo mondo fino alla fine, appuntatevi tutti i passaggi che catturano la vostra attenzione e anche quelli che sussurrano qualcosa al vostro inconscio. Concedetevi una ricerca veloce su nomi come Flidais, Owein o la Caccia Selvaggia, giusto il tanto che basta a farvi le vostre congetture e ad assistere alla maestria di Kay nello stravolgervi ogni assunto. Solo al termine raccogliete le idee, gli appunti e il fiato, asciugate le lacrime e prendetevi tutto il tempo di assorbire quello che avete letto.
Questo è un viaggio in un mondo che si ha la sensazione di aver già visitato, in sogno o in un'altra vita.
Ecco, siamo su Fionavar, il luogo in cui miti e leggende sono fili nelle mani di Kay il Tessitore; riscritti, reimmaginati e interpolati secondo il suo sentire per dargli un compimento, pur mantenendo per essi un commosso rispetto. Perchè Fionavar è il primo di tutti i mondi, e tutte (o quasi) le trame portano a Fionavar.
Com'è nello stile di Kay i personaggi concorrono ad una narrazione corale, ognuno portatore di una storia, un passato che l'ha forgiato e aggiogato alla ruota del destino. Kevin Laine, Paul Schafer, Kimberly Ford, Jennifer Lowell, Dave Martyniuk. Nomi comuni per questi "prescelti", nessuno dei quali è eroe per caso: ognuno ha una storia che si inscrive perfettamente nello scorrere degli eventi, alcuni manifestano la consapevolezza di essere sempre stati destinati a qualcosa, chiamati ad assolvere un compito. Cinque personaggi comuni che rappresentano l'uomo comune, il lettore comune. Tutti vincolati dalla nascita (e anche prima) ad un destino che incatena proprio perchè non ci si trova nel luogo giusto per portarlo a compimento o per fare quella scelta che ne rompa il vincolo. Eppure...eppure su Fionavar, sul primo di tutti i mondi, questi comuni uomini e donne scopriranno che il Tessitore ha previsto la scelta, il filo imprevedibile nell'Arazzo che consente di rompere le catene della predestinazione, di scardinare la ruota della coazione a ripetere, di essere liberi, liberi di veleggiare verso quel "luogo dove tutto cambia, compreso il mondo".
Come in tutte le storie ci sono personaggi che spiccano perchè portano quel qualcosa in più agli eventi, o semplicemente perchè in essi è infusa un'aura di "epicità" che non sapremmo spiegare. Uno di questi è il principe Diarmuid dan Aillell, ribelle e scanzonato, la cui leggerezza d'animo, da molti scambiata per superficialità, si rivela essere la levità di chi ha compreso gli eventi prima e meglio degli altri e ha operato una scelta, ribelle e rivoluzionaria, che cambia il destino di molti.
Su tutti, però, spicca il personaggio di Kevin Laine, per complessità e per la struggente, tragica poesia del suo percorso. Sir Kay ha intessuto per lui la trama più splendente di tutto l'Arazzo.
I punti deboli della narrazione ci sono, ma non mi sento di imputarli del tutto all'autore quanto alla difficoltà intrinseca del trattare certe tematiche. Se si tocca il ciclo bretone si rischia grosso: è un immaginario talmente potente che pur nella scarsità delle fonti, nell'incertezza della sua veridicità storica o almeno di parti di esso, arriva ai giorni nostri tanto frammentario nella sua struttura quanto integro nel suo fascino. Nessuno sa chi fosse re Artù o se sia mai esistito realmente, eppure ancora oggi si narra che un giorno egli risorgerà dal suo sonno in Avalon quando il mondo avrà bisogno di lui, e a meno di non essere completamente privi di un cuore questa semplice, profetica leggenda è sufficiente a velare gli occhi di lacrime. Per questi (e tanti altri) motivi tirare in ballo re Artù è imboccare il sentiero più oscuro e pericoloso per uno scrittore: come toccare questo personaggio senza tema di banalizzarlo o snaturarlo? Semplice: non facendone il protagonista. Qui Artù è solo un mezzo, chiamato alla guerra e a ripetere la sua storia (e l'autore ci fornisce una spiegazione di questo, poco conosciuta ai più, tragica e vagamente biblica) in accordo col mitema dell'eterno ritorno dell'eroe, con la tenue speranza che su Fionavar si trovi la chiave per la sua assoluzione, la parola "fine" per la sua leggenda. Che poi l'autore sia riuscito solo in parte nell'intento, questa è stata solo la mia impressione. Forse perchè qualcosa in me si ribella al sapere il Re in Eterno veleggiare "oltre" la sua leggenda. O forse perchè la sua storia d'amore e tradimento con Guinevere e Lancelot, "la storia più triste mai raccontata", mi è parsa risolversi troppo banalmente (e non sarebbe comunque un caso, visto e considerato che tra tutti i dettagli del ciclo bretone quello del triangolo amoroso fra i tre è il punto più dibattuto e discusso, forse frutto di interpolazioni cortesi e male interpretato dai posteri).
Le uniche note "non intonate" sono state per me un certo eccesso di sentimentalismo, in alcuni punti un po' forzato, per il semplice fatto che nella narrazione è già intessuta una profonda nota emotiva che smuove e commuove, e il rimarcarlo risulta inutilmente ridondante. Altra cosa è proprio il concetto di Amore, inteso come sentimento nella sua totalità: Kay è un maestro nel raccontarne le sue accezioni amicali e tragiche, un po' meno in quelle più prosaicamente "di coppia". A volte sembra suggerire che tra due personaggi stia nascendo un sentimento e poi più nulla, in altri casi l'amore piomba random addosso ai personaggi e viene risolto in poche battute, rendendolo artificioso, freddo e un po' "buttato lì" per caso. Ciononostante queste piccole sbavature non intaccano minimamente il valore di quest'opera, che solo per la mole di riferimenti a miti e leggende, per il linguaggio soave col quale vengono narrati abilmente eventi gioiosi e immani tragedie, per i picchi vertiginosi di pathos ai quali si arriva in alcuni passaggi e che si dimostrano degni della più grande epica classica, merita un posto d'onore sugli scaffali di tutti i cultori della fantasy in particolare e della Letteratura in generale. Più prosaicamente: leggete Fionavar, perdetevi in Fionavar, commuovetevi per il linguaggio lirico di questa storia, storcete il naso per tutte quelle piccole cose che non vi suonano ma state pur certi che l'esperienza di Fionavar non vi lascerà intoccati. Perchè a voler fare una sintesi del vasto immaginario nel quale l'uomo trova rifugio dai mali del mondo sembra davvero che tutte le storie finiscano col fondersi una nell'altra.
Questo è un viaggio in un mondo che si ha la sensazione di aver già visitato, in sogno o in un'altra vita.
«Ci sono molti mondi», disse, «e tutti sono trascinati via dalle correnti e dai vortici del tempo. È raro che i loro cammini si incrocino, e perciò, di solito, ciascuno di essi è ignaro dell'esistenza degli altri. Solo su Fionavar, il primo mondo che fu creato, e di cui tutti gli altri sono un'immagine imperfetta, si tramandano le arti che permettono di superare l'abisso tra i mondi...»
Ecco, siamo su Fionavar, il luogo in cui miti e leggende sono fili nelle mani di Kay il Tessitore; riscritti, reimmaginati e interpolati secondo il suo sentire per dargli un compimento, pur mantenendo per essi un commosso rispetto. Perchè Fionavar è il primo di tutti i mondi, e tutte (o quasi) le trame portano a Fionavar.
Com'è nello stile di Kay i personaggi concorrono ad una narrazione corale, ognuno portatore di una storia, un passato che l'ha forgiato e aggiogato alla ruota del destino. Kevin Laine, Paul Schafer, Kimberly Ford, Jennifer Lowell, Dave Martyniuk. Nomi comuni per questi "prescelti", nessuno dei quali è eroe per caso: ognuno ha una storia che si inscrive perfettamente nello scorrere degli eventi, alcuni manifestano la consapevolezza di essere sempre stati destinati a qualcosa, chiamati ad assolvere un compito. Cinque personaggi comuni che rappresentano l'uomo comune, il lettore comune. Tutti vincolati dalla nascita (e anche prima) ad un destino che incatena proprio perchè non ci si trova nel luogo giusto per portarlo a compimento o per fare quella scelta che ne rompa il vincolo. Eppure...eppure su Fionavar, sul primo di tutti i mondi, questi comuni uomini e donne scopriranno che il Tessitore ha previsto la scelta, il filo imprevedibile nell'Arazzo che consente di rompere le catene della predestinazione, di scardinare la ruota della coazione a ripetere, di essere liberi, liberi di veleggiare verso quel "luogo dove tutto cambia, compreso il mondo".
Come in tutte le storie ci sono personaggi che spiccano perchè portano quel qualcosa in più agli eventi, o semplicemente perchè in essi è infusa un'aura di "epicità" che non sapremmo spiegare. Uno di questi è il principe Diarmuid dan Aillell, ribelle e scanzonato, la cui leggerezza d'animo, da molti scambiata per superficialità, si rivela essere la levità di chi ha compreso gli eventi prima e meglio degli altri e ha operato una scelta, ribelle e rivoluzionaria, che cambia il destino di molti.
Su tutti, però, spicca il personaggio di Kevin Laine, per complessità e per la struggente, tragica poesia del suo percorso. Sir Kay ha intessuto per lui la trama più splendente di tutto l'Arazzo.
I punti deboli della narrazione ci sono, ma non mi sento di imputarli del tutto all'autore quanto alla difficoltà intrinseca del trattare certe tematiche. Se si tocca il ciclo bretone si rischia grosso: è un immaginario talmente potente che pur nella scarsità delle fonti, nell'incertezza della sua veridicità storica o almeno di parti di esso, arriva ai giorni nostri tanto frammentario nella sua struttura quanto integro nel suo fascino. Nessuno sa chi fosse re Artù o se sia mai esistito realmente, eppure ancora oggi si narra che un giorno egli risorgerà dal suo sonno in Avalon quando il mondo avrà bisogno di lui, e a meno di non essere completamente privi di un cuore questa semplice, profetica leggenda è sufficiente a velare gli occhi di lacrime. Per questi (e tanti altri) motivi tirare in ballo re Artù è imboccare il sentiero più oscuro e pericoloso per uno scrittore: come toccare questo personaggio senza tema di banalizzarlo o snaturarlo? Semplice: non facendone il protagonista. Qui Artù è solo un mezzo, chiamato alla guerra e a ripetere la sua storia (e l'autore ci fornisce una spiegazione di questo, poco conosciuta ai più, tragica e vagamente biblica) in accordo col mitema dell'eterno ritorno dell'eroe, con la tenue speranza che su Fionavar si trovi la chiave per la sua assoluzione, la parola "fine" per la sua leggenda. Che poi l'autore sia riuscito solo in parte nell'intento, questa è stata solo la mia impressione. Forse perchè qualcosa in me si ribella al sapere il Re in Eterno veleggiare "oltre" la sua leggenda. O forse perchè la sua storia d'amore e tradimento con Guinevere e Lancelot, "la storia più triste mai raccontata", mi è parsa risolversi troppo banalmente (e non sarebbe comunque un caso, visto e considerato che tra tutti i dettagli del ciclo bretone quello del triangolo amoroso fra i tre è il punto più dibattuto e discusso, forse frutto di interpolazioni cortesi e male interpretato dai posteri).
Le uniche note "non intonate" sono state per me un certo eccesso di sentimentalismo, in alcuni punti un po' forzato, per il semplice fatto che nella narrazione è già intessuta una profonda nota emotiva che smuove e commuove, e il rimarcarlo risulta inutilmente ridondante. Altra cosa è proprio il concetto di Amore, inteso come sentimento nella sua totalità: Kay è un maestro nel raccontarne le sue accezioni amicali e tragiche, un po' meno in quelle più prosaicamente "di coppia". A volte sembra suggerire che tra due personaggi stia nascendo un sentimento e poi più nulla, in altri casi l'amore piomba random addosso ai personaggi e viene risolto in poche battute, rendendolo artificioso, freddo e un po' "buttato lì" per caso. Ciononostante queste piccole sbavature non intaccano minimamente il valore di quest'opera, che solo per la mole di riferimenti a miti e leggende, per il linguaggio soave col quale vengono narrati abilmente eventi gioiosi e immani tragedie, per i picchi vertiginosi di pathos ai quali si arriva in alcuni passaggi e che si dimostrano degni della più grande epica classica, merita un posto d'onore sugli scaffali di tutti i cultori della fantasy in particolare e della Letteratura in generale. Più prosaicamente: leggete Fionavar, perdetevi in Fionavar, commuovetevi per il linguaggio lirico di questa storia, storcete il naso per tutte quelle piccole cose che non vi suonano ma state pur certi che l'esperienza di Fionavar non vi lascerà intoccati. Perchè a voler fare una sintesi del vasto immaginario nel quale l'uomo trova rifugio dai mali del mondo sembra davvero che tutte le storie finiscano col fondersi una nell'altra.
July 26, 2012
Alrighty then... That was sort of tragic. Thank God there were enough joyful moments included to help balance out the sorrowful ones, otherwise I might have jumped off a bridge after finishing this. But wait, no, I'm not complaining.. That's a good thing! Not jumping off of a bridge, that would pretty much suck.. The amazing scope of emotions that this book pushed me through; that's the good thing. That Kay could write something so poignant and yet still hopeful and beautiful... That's talent right there.
I don't even know what to say really. When it comes to romance, when it comes to tragedy, nothing comes close to Kay.
[Name removed, you're welcome] has named me as his Intercedent and bids me tell you, in the presence of all those here, that the sun rises in your daughter’s eyes.
Why the hell does that make me swoon? I don't know. But it's just such a romantic tradition.. Fricken Kay.. So mean and thoughtless, making me all swoony. Doesn't he know I have a reputation to protect?
Let's wrap this up though. Overall, this is a great series. Very romantic and tragic, definitely more emotional / character driven content than action, but not disappointing in the action department when it's called for. I'm giving this one 4.5 stars... Series overall is at about 4. Not my favorite Kay ever written, but definitely more than worthwhile.
I don't even know what to say really. When it comes to romance, when it comes to tragedy, nothing comes close to Kay.
[Name removed, you're welcome] has named me as his Intercedent and bids me tell you, in the presence of all those here, that the sun rises in your daughter’s eyes.
Why the hell does that make me swoon? I don't know. But it's just such a romantic tradition.. Fricken Kay.. So mean and thoughtless, making me all swoony. Doesn't he know I have a reputation to protect?
Let's wrap this up though. Overall, this is a great series. Very romantic and tragic, definitely more emotional / character driven content than action, but not disappointing in the action department when it's called for. I'm giving this one 4.5 stars... Series overall is at about 4. Not my favorite Kay ever written, but definitely more than worthwhile.
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