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Tigana  By  cover art

Tigana

By: Guy Gavriel Kay
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Publisher's summary

Acclaimed author Guy Gavriel Kay has been honored with the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (Ysabel) and the International Goliardos Award for his work in fantasy.

Eight of the nine Palm provinces of the Peninsula have been overcome by warrior sorcerers Brandin and Alberico. But the sorcerers don't know that a small band of survivors is plotting their removal. With tensions mounting, the sorcerers become increasingly at odds as each decides where his own path - and that of the land - should truly lie.

"Brilliant. Rich in intrigue and subtlety. A gracefully plotted story. Highly recommended." (Library Journal)

©1990, 1999 Guy Gavriel Kay (P)2009 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Tigana

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A little self-indulgent

GGK is a master storyteller, no doubt about that. I’ve loved his previous books, but this one put me off a little. Perhaps as the author gets older he allows himself an increasing sentimentality, emotional descriptive passages that run too long. That makes the pacing of the book seem glacially slow at times, and has caused more than one eye roll.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpectedly engaging

If someone were to ask me what this book was about, I'd have a hard time doing it justice. A slow story of revenge, of memory, of belonging and family. The main cast (no matter if they fell into slight tropes) felt real and I cared for them deeply.

The fantasy elements mostly fell to the background as we followed the stories of our characters plotting their small grass-roots rebellion to reclaim a birthright. There is a LOT of story in such a 'short' (for fantasy) book and the world felt tangible; Kay's epilogue regarding the Italian city-states of history as inspiration makes a lot of sense and lends itself well to buying into the reality of the story.

It starts off fairly meandering and doesn't necessarily hook the reader in a large action/magic sequence that typically composes the majority of kick-offs into a fantasy realm. The author expects you to just roll with the information and skips in time, seamlessly weaving the Palm's mythology into both small moments and large info dumps, and I appreciate that trust given to the reader - though I suspect some might find it frustrating. Sometimes it felt a bit more like reading a historical recounting, rather than a fantasy novel. Additionally, I found the climax/end to be satisfyingly bittersweet, with more threads tied up than I expected.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Could not get into it

I wanted to like this book. I don’t. I had problems really getting into it. It felt more like a fairytale where someone is relating a tale - first this happened then that happened etc. as opposed to a tale where I feel like I’m taking part. When I had about two hours left I realized that I could not care less how the story ended, so I stopped listening. I give it three stars because it is not bad, it really isn’t. It is just not for me.

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5 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Dnf

Yikes, was expecting to like this one but had to put it down 3/4 of the way through the book—which I almost never do—because it was just that boring. Too much sex, not enough substance and who gives a fuck about Tigana. Seriously though, this has to be one of the least convincing revenge stories I’ve ever read. Despite well written prose and dialogue this book was one of the least emotionally compelling things I’ve read in a long time.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

At long last...

I am so glad I finally read this book that came highly recommended. Superbly written!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

insufferable

the characters are way too ridiculously emotional and the writer tries way too hard to make everything sound like poetry with adult fan fiction. Premise is boring. "they took our old country's name. it was a really good country. don't ask why. I'm not going to explain it. it just was, you had to have been there"

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

word vomit, telling instead of showing

great narration, awful storytelling. Lore lore lore then small amount of actual story too early.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Heart wrenching and magnificent

A beautiful and emotional tale, told by a master storyteller. Simon Vance does the telling beautifully.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A True perfomance of a compelling book

This book needs a specific type of narrator and Simon Vance was perfect! He brought out all the imagery and flow of the writing. If you enjoy fantasy with real depth of world and characters that also has conflict where you can understand, appreciate, and even feel compassion for BOTH sides, this book is for you. Just wonderful.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The relationships between the characters.

The mix of action and internal musings by and description of the characters. Also the plot.

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