Fantasy Book Club discussion

What better reason to start a topic about one of my favorite authors (I have read everything when it came out, straight from the start of his career) - than the announcement of the new title for his forthcoming book?

River of Stars

Oh! Good idea. I forgot about him and he's one of my favorites too!

I haven't read everything from this author yet. I like to think I still have more waiting for me to enjoy. LOVE LOVE LOVE his style. Which is strange for me because his books remind me of poetry in novel form and I'm not a fan of poetry. But his books are just so...rich. Beautiful.

The ones I've read are Tigana, Under Heaven, the first two tapestry books, and Ysabel.

I tried reading A Song for Arbonne when it was the book club read here, but I was finding it dull, so I couldn't finish it. Maybe one of his other books is better to start with?

The Lions of al-Rassan is my all time favorite so far. A Song for Arbonne is on my to read pile.

I've only read two Lions and Tigana and loved them both. I hadn't come across him before GR but kept hearing about him. I must read his others.

Tigana regularly flows into my mind.

I loved Lions --- it's one of my all-time favorites. Song of Arbonne was a bit slow. I have also read the Fionvar Trilogy and liked those as well.

Janny wrote: "What better reason to start a topic about one of my favorite authors (I have read everything when it came out, straight from the start of his career) - than the announcement of the new title for hi..."

where did you see that? I just checked amazon and no mention of iy

Martha wrote: "Janny wrote: "What better reason to start a topic about one of my favorite authors (I have read everything when it came out, straight from the start of his career) - than the announcement of the ne..."

Martha, it was posted on Reddit r/fantasy - and on the thread at LibraryThing, there's also a link to the video where he made the announcement/with a little more explanation and info.

Guy Kay is on Twitter, too, so likely there may be something there, also.

News is too fresh for Amazon, which can take awhile to update.

I had never heard of him before Tigana came up as the group read a few months ago. I loved it, so Thank You, Fantasy Book Club!

Thank you from me too! Although mine is for GR in general. I had never heard of him until I joined. And then I kept seeing his name EVERYWHERE. Even then I was surprised when I liked him. Never would've read him on my own.

Janny wrote: "Martha wrote: "Janny wrote: "What better reason to start a topic about one of my favorite authors (I have read everything when it came out, straight from the start of his career) - than the announc..."

What's Reddit? Never heard of it or the Library Thing

And I'm the lovely person who nominated it!!

Good job, Helen! What else have you nominated lately? :)

Elise wrote: "I tried reading A Song for Arbonne when it was the book club read here, but I was finding it dull, so I couldn't finish it. Maybe one of his other books is better to start with?"

Song for Arbonne is not his best, IMO. If I was giving a recommendation for someone new to Kay, I would proabably say start anywhere but Song for Arbonne and Last Light of The Sun.

If you're looking for something faster paced, try Ysabel. I think it's probably the quickest-feeling of his books... a good introduction to his work. My personal favourite is probably Lions of Al-Rassan though.

All this said... GGK is usually noted for his lyrical writing style, mix of tragedy and triumph in the human condition (I saw someone else use that to describe him and it's perfect), and the applicability of the phrase "hauntingly beautiful"... not his fast-paced plots.

I have got to start reading books by this author! There's recommendations
all over the place! Wow! Thanks folks, someone else to put on my "to read" lust, ooops list! Oh dear!

I love most of what I read from Guy Gavriel Kay.

I really liked Tigana and also Under Heaven. I wasn´t all that excited about the Fionavar tapestry series though. I guess I had really high expectations about them and they just didn´t appeal to me.

Michelle wrote: "Elise wrote: "I tried reading A Song for Arbonne when it was the book club read here, but I was finding it dull, so I couldn't finish it. Maybe one of his other books is better to start with?"

Son..."

Thanks. I'll add Ysabel to my TBR list.

I actually loved A Song for Arbonne! It was the first of GGK's novels that I read. Next came Tigana ... which I've since re-read and loved both times. I also loved The Lions of Al-Rassan. The Last Light of the Sun and Under Heaven, while decent stories, weren't quite as good by comparison. The Fionavar Tapestry embodied too many known entities from the past (even with GGK's twists and turns). I thought Ysabel had a better blend of past and present. However, my absolute favorite novel in the author's repertoire is Lord of Emperors, which means that Sailing to Sarantium is also a must read (imho). Given all I've said here about his work, I eagerly anticipate GGK's new novel!

Ada-Lee wrote: "I have got to start reading books by this author! There's recommendations
all over the place! Wow! Thanks folks, someone else to put on my "to read" lust, ooops list! Oh dear!"

I like that slip of the tongue!

Lady wrote: "I actually loved A Song for Arbonne! It was the first of GGK's novels that I read. Next came Tigana ... which I've since re-read and loved both times. I also loved The Lions of Al-Rassan. The L..."

So we disagree on Arbonne, but I agree with you about the must-read-ness of The Sarantium books... among his best work. And I agree that Last Light of the Sun and Under Heaven both seemed a little... lackluster, in comparison. Good, but not over-the-top good like some of the others.

I really liked Ysabel for the teen narrator... I thought that the voice sounded really authentic. Sometimes in Kay's stories you get a little bit disconnected from the characters... I'm not sure how to phrase this properly. You love the characters, and they are awesome, but they are going about saying beautiful things and having deep moments and it's just not as mundane as life. I loved that Ysabel still had all the deep and beautiful moments but also had a fresh, young voice that sounded ordinary. He had deep moments but also lots of normal-person ones.

Danni wrote: "I love most of what I read from Guy Gavriel Kay.

I really liked Tigana and also Under Heaven. I wasn´t all that excited about the Fionavar tapestry series though. I guess I had really high expect..."

I kind of sympathize about Fionavar. I did really enjoy them, but I felt like they were so highly lauded that I was expecting the best thing ever. They were good, but not the best thing.

In the Bright Weavings newsletter I recently received from GGK's website, it was indicated that his next novel will be entitled River of Stars and is expected to be released in early 2013. Like Under Heaven, it too will have an Asian setting/characters. I'm just hoping it's better!

i enjoyed Under Heaven

While I enjoyed Under Heaven, I just didn't think it was the high-test caliber of several of GGK's other novels.

I loved The Fionovar Tapestry as it had a new author ness to it. It was fresh and heart breaking and yet familiar (due to the rewriting of the Arthurian Legend) totally absorbing.

I really disliked Tigana, Song For Arbonne et al. Felt like the author was trying too hard and the writing was forced and disjointed.

Bev wrote: "I loved The Fionovar Tapestry as it had a new author ness to it. It was fresh and heart breaking and yet familiar (due to the rewriting of the Arthurian Legend) totally absorbing.

I really dislik..."

wow. your comments on Tigana and A Song for Arbonne totally floor me. Iloved both those books and have just finished re-reading them both for the 3rd time.

So far I've only read The Last Light of the Sun, which is considered one of the lesser of all his books. Since I loved every single detail of it, if that's one of his lesser works, I can't wait to dive into Tigana, which I plan on reading next.

The lyrical prose and the thoughtful ways both his world and characters work together in tandem is something to behold, that's for sure (I expect that's the same in all of his books).

Kevin, I'm confident you're going to seriously enjoy Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, The Lions of Al-Rassan, Sailing to Sarantium, and Lord of Emperors. Even though The Fionavar Tapestry and Under Heaven don't rate as highly with me as these, since you loved The Last Light of the Sun, you just might find yourself immersed in G.G.K.'s works for a while ... most pleased! (Throw Ysabel in there for good measure too!)

I'm excited to devour all of them. Would you recommend Tigana as the next one to read, or would going out of order of when they were written be a better choice?

Kevin wrote: "I'm excited to devour all of them. Would you recommend Tigana as the next one to read, or would going out of order of when they were written be a better choice?"

I don't think it matters, as they are all stand alones. Unless you want to read them in order of publication to see how Kay progresses as a writer.

I really wish Tigana would be released on Kindle. My husband's old mass market paperback has seen better days --- and the font, not to mention the dusty smell really bugs me.

Since Kay is one writer that I could see re-reading, an ebook would be grat o have. I don't re-read books because there are just too many out there. With Kay, I can remember being sad to finish the book.

JoLene wrote: "I really wish Tigana would be released on Kindle. My husband's old mass market paperback has seen better days --- and the font, not to mention the dusty smell really bugs me.

Since Kay is one w..."

Yes! It would be nice if they were available in eformat.

@ Martha, sorry if I upset you but we can't all like the same things or life would be very boring :)!!

JoLene wrote: "I really wish Tigana would be released on Kindle."

Tigana's been available on Kindle for some time now, certainly in the US and UK stores.

PaulineMRoss wrote: "JoLene wrote: "I really wish Tigana would be released on Kindle."

Tigana's been available on Kindle for some time now, certainly in the US and UK stores."

Ah, thank you for telling me that! I just went to BN and found Lions of al Rassan for my Nook! Apparently they are gradually making them available as ebooks. I might even do a reread of that one.

@PaulineMRoss --- I just checked US Amazon and Tigana is not available for Kindle. Many of his other stuff is now available, but not that particular book. Maybe it is for another eReader.

Interesting...I just checked the Amazon UK site. It does seem to be available for Kindle on that site. I'm not sure what the policies are for cross-continent Kindle buying (boy is that a mouthful!!). Does anyone know?

Bev wrote: "@ Martha, sorry if I upset you but we can't all like the same things or life would be very boring :)!!"

you didn't upset me at all I've had friends recommend a number of books they LOVED and I either couldn't get through them at all or had to force myself to finish

JoLene wrote: "@PaulineMRoss --- I just checked US Amazon and Tigana is not available for Kindle. Many of his other stuff is now available, but not that particular book. Maybe it is for another eReader."

Here's the page I found at Amazon.com for the Kindle version of Tigana:

http://www.amazon.com/Tigana-ebook/dp...

Price is $8.73. I don't know why it shows for me but not you.

I can get Tigana for Kindle (and have) but I'm not in the US region, and can only buy non-restricted books and UK ones. Maybe it's available for the UK but not yet the US?

Kerry wrote: "I can get Tigana for Kindle (and have) but I'm not in the US region, and can only buy non-restricted books and UK ones. Maybe it's available for the UK but not yet the US?"

I'm in the UK too, and I bought the Tigana Kindle version from the UK Amazon. But it looks to me as if it's also available in the US, as per the link I posted. Maybe someone in the US could check the link and see if it works for them?

I've found issues with this sort of thing before - sometimes the Kindle version doesn't show up on a search, but if you search another way, or go in through the Kindle store, there it is. I don't know why it happens, but I've learned to double check.

As for buying from outside a region, my understanding is that the publishers impose strict constraints. If you have a local Amazon, you're supposed to buy from there. For those of us outside the US, we can only buy from the US store if we have a US-based credit card with a US address.

PaulineMRoss wrote: "Kerry wrote: "I can get Tigana for Kindle (and have) but I'm not in the US region, and can only buy non-restricted books and UK ones. Maybe it's available for the UK but not yet the US?"

I'm in th..."

Nope. My page says this is not available in the US. One of the stupider practices of publishers.

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Nope. My page says this is not available in the US. One of the stupider practices of publishers. "

Yes, you're right - not available in the US. I found a long thread on this very subject in the Sword and Laser group. They found a way round it, if anyone's interested. Link here:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/9...

Fun stuff:

http://www.fantasy-matters.com/2012/0...

PaulineMRoss wrote: "As for buying from outside a region, my understanding is that the publishers impose strict constraints. If you have a local Amazon, you're supposed to buy from there. For those of us outside the US, we can only buy from the US store if we have a US-based credit card with a US address. "

Sorta kinda. I'm in Sweden and I'm allowed to buy Kindle books from the US store (including Tigana for $11.71), without a US address/CC because there is no amazon.se. I am not allowed to buy Kindle books from Amazon.co.uk or .de though, although they do allow me to buy physical books from all sites. It's a total mess and completely unintuitive. Usually it's easier to buy stuff within the EU, but not e-books. They're special snowflakes.

Slightly more on topic, I can't quite decide whether to re-read The Fionavar Tapestry (haven't read it since I was in my early teens, and I've never read it in English) or read a GKK book I haven't read yet...

Evilynn, I live in New Zealand and I'm in the same kind of situation. I'm generally allowed to buy UK ebooks, but I'm not allowed to buy them from Amazon.co.uk so I have to buy them from Amazon.com. But there are lots of US books I'm not allowed to buy and don't even see on the site when I search.

It's all very confusing.

Kerry wrote: "Evilynn, I live in New Zealand and I'm in the same kind of situation. I'm generally allowed to buy UK ebooks, but I'm not allowed to buy them from Amazon.co.uk so I have to buy them from Amazon.com..."

This is so bizarre! It makes no sense! Another reason to buy Indie books. Check for your favorite Indie authors at Fictionwise.com and Smashwoords.com. Try for the big publishers' authors at Fictionwise.com.

Cynthia wrote: "Kerry wrote: "Evilynn, I live in New Zealand and I'm in the same kind of situation. I'm generally allowed to buy UK ebooks, but I'm not allowed to buy them from Amazon.co.uk so I have to buy them f..."

Cynthia I cant use smashwords here in the UK.

Fictionwise also has geographical restrictions. It's not Amazon that's the issue, it's the publishing houses and their strange, outdated contracts.

Bev wrote: Cynthia I cant use smashwords here in the UK.

Bev, sure you can. My British publisher (Crooked Cat) has all their e-books listed for sale there as well as at amazon uk and us.

As for Kindle books only being available from your "local" amazon, that's not a publisher-imposed restriction, it's Amazon. Why would a publisher want to sell their books in fewer places?