More of Guy Gavriel Kay's backlist now available

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

In all my vast travels from the bedroom to the bathroom and back again, I have yet to read a book by Guy Gavriel Kay.

Which one should I read first?

I'll second the recommendation for The Lions of Al-Rassan (based on El Cid), which IMHO is the best of his works.

A Song for Arbonne (based on the medieval Provençal/French courts of love), The Last Light of the Sun (based on Viking-invaded Anglo-Saxon England), and Tigana (a sort of proto-Renaissance-y Italy and more of an "original" fantasy than his loosely-based-on-a-true-history later works) are also standalone and I personally prefer them in this order (I have this inordinate fondness for cultures which produce dragon boats), though in terms of actual quality I'd put Tigana in the middle (it's a bit rambly and meandering, so I think ASfA is slightly better-written, though the story isn't quite as compellingly dramatic) and freely admit that TLLotS is one of his lower-tier works.

Sailing to Sarantium/Lord of Emperors comprises the Sarantine Mosaic duology loosely based on Byzantium under the Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora. I'd rank this as the 2nd best of his work overall. I haven't yet read Under Heaven & sequels based on Tang dynasty China which are similarly multi-book epic in scope since I've been waiting for them to get off the Fast Reads/1-Week Loan with $1 Per Day Overdue Fine shelf at the library where they've been circulating for the past year or so.

I personally didn't particularly care for The Fionavar Tapestry, but it's decent reading if you like real world/fantasy world crossovers where people from our modern planet are kidnapped to save the alternate world (I actually really do like this kind of plot, but TFT left me meh for some reason I can't put my finger on; maybe too much Arthuriana derivative?).

And I really, really disliked Ysabel.

NB: For Canadian shoppers (or people willing to pretend to be Canadian shoppers), there's a 3-book omnibus edition available from Penguin Canada here: Guy Gavriel Kay: Three Novels (A Song for Arbonne, The Lions of Al-Rassan, and The Last Light of the Sun), currently priced at $30, but it dropped to $4.99 during a recent Kobo sale which was when I picked it up.

The Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors) is $17.99 (individually priced at $11.99 each at the moment, so you do save a bit), and I'm hoping for another future sale since I already own them in hardcover, as I do for many of Kay's books.

The Fionavar Tapestry is $19.99, and it's another one that I'd pick up at a $4.99 sale, but I personally wouldn't pay more than that to own it.

ETA: For anyone who wants to try their French-language skills, the francophone translations for Kay's works from publisher Alire are actually very reasonably priced at Kobo.

[Dr. Drib]

Thank you, ATDrake, for the detailed information on Guy Gavriel Kay.

You and Harry have convinced me to pick up the "The Lions of Al-Rassan" for my first read.

[ATDrake]

You're welcome.

Despite his occasional missteps in Not Catering To My Tastes And Dipping In Quality Precipitously In Stories I Wanted To Like But Didn't, GGK is one of my very favourite writers, with IMHO in his best works a rather lyrical style that nicely blends historical detailing with a literary flavour as he unfolds the story and I think you'll enjoy him.

[Ashartus]

There is an omnibus with A Song for Arbonne, the Lions of Al-Rassan and Last Light of the Sun available through Kobo (at least in Canada) - a few weeks ago it was on sale for $4.99 but unfortunately right now is back up to $29.99.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Ashartus

There is an omnibus with A Song for Arbonne, the Lions of Al-Rassan and Last Light of the Sun available through Kobo (at least in Canada) - a few weeks ago it was on sale for $4.99 but unfortunately right now is back up to $29.99.

Darn! I'm sorry I missed that - even though I was not aware of it!

[DrNefario]

I read Lions of al-Rassan some years ago, but found that Kay had some quirks that annoyed me, and as a result I've never felt much inclined to read my paperback copy of Sailing to Sarantium. Although I must have felt inclined to buy it, I guess.

[Keslynn]

I love the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy! It's part of what tipped me over to converting to Paganism (though I know it's fantasy and based on disproven scholarship about early matriarchies). Very emotionally moving and lyrically written. But $12.99 each (and no book 1 up yet)?!? You've got to be kidding me. I'll stick to my well-worn paperbacks.

I never could finish Tigana. If the price ever becomes reasonable, maybe I'll give it another go.

[DiapDealer]

I think the wild variations I see in GGK fans' ranking of their favorites proves the man's versatility as a writer.

For my money (though I admit to not having read them all yet--and purposely so), Tigana edges Lions for my favorite. Something about it kept tugging on strings I didn't know I had. I wanted to scream the title at several points while reading. Lions tugged too ... but on strings I was already fully aware of.

I didn't dislike Ysabel by any means, but it and Song for Arbonne would rank after Under Heaven on my list.

And even though I probably liked The Fionavar Tapestry the least, I did still like it. Quite a bit at times.

[MickiTee]

Originally Posted by simond

I'll have to check the uk availability

Tigana is available from Amazon UK for £2.99 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tigana-Guy-G...2108893&sr=1-1

As far as I can tell only the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy aren't available from the UK Kindle store.

[ottdmk]

I picked up that GGK 3-book bundle during Kobo's sale. Looking forward to reading it at some point. (I've started reading my Complete Wheel of Time ebook, so I don't think I'll be getting to it anytime soon. :-P)

I'll mention that Amazon.ca seems to have all of GGK's stuff.

[badgoodDeb]

I adored the The Fionavar Trilogy, 10-15 years ago. In fact, just last month I trolled through eBay to find paperback copies of all three, so as to OWN them (they were borrowed when I read them). So I highly recomment those!

[simond]

Originally Posted by MickiTee

Tigana is available from Amazon UK for £2.99 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tigana-Guy-G...2108893&sr=1-1

As far as I can tell only the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy aren't available from the UK Kindle store.

Thanks for the pointer, I did pick up the Fionavar Trilogy from Kobo Canada this morning with a bit of mucking around so I'm happy there

[Nothingness]

I also like this author, I've not read his recents books Ysabel and Under Heaven though. On the lot, The Last Light of the Sun is the only one I really don't like. And I found the Sarantine Mosaic duology rather meh, but I really love the others. It's hard to pinpoint a favorite.