Guy Gavriel Kay is a Fantasy author that writes High Fantasy (think Tolkien) set in fictional universes usually based on a real-world historical setting. One of the most striking things about his work is his strong characterizations and the large number of character points of view that are presented in each novel. His stories are gripping and will have you turning the pages as fast as you can to find out what happens.
He helped Christopher Tolkien edit and publish J.R.R Tolkien's unfinished works. According to Wikipedia he helped him with the Silmarillion, but I remember reading elsewhere that he helped with the History of Middle Earth. Either way, his connection to Middle Earth is clear, and you can see the Tolkien influence in his work, especially The Fionavar Tapestry. If anyone has an excuse for copying from Tolkien, it's got to be him, but nevertheless I found the influence a little too much in Fionavar Tapestry (a three-book series). That series also contained references to Arthurian legend, which, on top of the Tolkien stuff, really annoyed me. The only visible Tolkien influence in his subsequent works is epicness(I realize this is not a real word), so if you're new to Kay's work I would skip over Fionavar and move on to other novels/series.
Before I give novel recommendations I will recommend that when you read them the first time you read them as slowly as you can possibly manage, because if you're like me you may not be able to get through them a second time. I loved the worlds, the characterizations, and the writing style in these novels, but I found myself unable to go in for a second reading because of the graphic violence and sexual situations. It's almost as if he was too good at describing battle scenes. I remember, on my attempt at a second read of one of the novels, feeling sick to the stomach/dizzy as I was reading on the bus. I never get bus-sick although I have always read novels on the bus. So yes, they're a little graphic. I was able to overlook this the first time through because I really wanted to know what happened to the characters, but I wouldn't recommend his books if you're under 18 or if you just don't like reading graphic stuff.
It's a shame, because otherwise the books are amazing. Here are briefs of some of the ones I read:
Tigana is set in a world that is suffering under the occupation of two different sorcerers, each with their own brand of oppression. The characterizations of both the good and bad characters, the desperate attempts at freedom, and the harrowing details of the sorcerers' tactics made for an amazing and epic story. What I liked most about this story is that the real-world historical basis is up for debate. I mean, I'm sure the author had something specific in mind when he wrote it, but I have read several reviews/comments by readers of the novel who each identified it with a different historical conflict. I think that's a testament to how masterfully crafted it is. I've read this one one and a half times, and might try again in five or ten years once I've forgotten the story line, maybe that will help me stomach the gore like I did on my first reading.
The Lions of Al-Rassan is based in a fictional version of Andalusia. The basis for this one was very obvious to me from the start, perhaps because I know a little bit about that aspect of history. This made it a little bit difficult to overlook the comparisons or prevent myself from thinking "what does he mean by representing x as y in the novel?" and these representations annoyed me at times, but compared to usual fictional representations they're a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed it. As with Tigana, I made it through the graphic scenes because of my investment in the characters and the plot. The novel will leave you with a note of sadness that the world you visited in the novel is gone.
The Sarantine Mosaic was also one of my favorites. It has the same epic style as the other novels, and the same wonderful characterizations, and unfortunately the same kind of graphic scenes. One thing that stuck out for me in this two-part series was one scene which is told from the point of view of one of the most unpleasant and pathetic characters. His part in the story is very small, all he does of importance is to deliver a message and be rude to people while he's at it, and the fact that Kay gave him his own scene, and allowed him to tell it from his own point of view was an amazing addition to the story, it shows how skilled he is at characterization if nothing else.
Ysabel is a little different from the other novels. Instead of being told from the perspective of the people living in the historical/fictional universe it is an urban fantasy which follows the footsteps of a boy in modern times as he uncovers the history of the title character, Ysabel, in France. I enjoyed this one, and I was pleased because there was less stomach-churning graphic detail than the other novels. That's not to say it was less vivid or well-written.
And I've just discovered that I've missed a couple of his novels, one which came out very recently in 2010, so I shall go find those at the Library and I'll review them once I'm done!
Hope you liked this author review. Either way, let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.
The World-Building Meter:
I'm developing a world-building meter that I will use to rate books or movies in future reviews. It will soon appear somewhere near the welcome message at the right side of the blog so you can easily interpret my ratings and comments. However, for now, I will say that Guy Gavriel Kay's worlds all score the highest rating of awesomeness for vivid,rich settings, and excellent attention to detail. His great characterizations play into and complement the world-building. Even Fionavar Tapestry, which I had many issues with, scores quite high on the world-building meter, with perhaps a couple of points taken off for the Tolkien-esque and Arthurian elements.
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