| Author: Guy Gavriel Kay | |
| Rating: 9 | Reviewer: Valashain |
| Genre: Fantasy | Publisher:Simon & Schuster |
| Pages: 692 | Orig Pub Date: 1990 |
| Binding: Paperback MassMarket | Cover Illus.: Henry Van Der Linde |
The fantasy classic the cover of my copy proclaims and I suppose that is what it is. You would be hard pressed to find another single volume fantasy novel of such depth. It is the first book I read by Kay, and although in hindsight I must admit I like The Lions of Al-Rassan better, I am as impressed with this novel after a reread as the first time I read it.
Tigana is set on the peninsula of the Palm, a land loosely based on the city states of Renaissance Italy. Two decades ago two sorcerers from nations overseas invaded the hopelessly divided Palm and swept away all resistance. Now the Palm is neatly divided between Alberico of Barbadior and Brandon of Ygrath. The two Tyrants are warily watching each other afraid to make the first move against the other for different reasons. Alberico is cautious by nature and his true ambition lies in his homeland. He also knows himself to be the weaker of the two sorcerers. Brandon's attention is occupied by revenge.
While Brandon swept though the western Palm on his way to meet with Alberico and decided the faith of the Palm his son Stevan was sent to take the province of Tigana. Resistance in Tigana is unexpectedly strong however and Stevan perishes in the fighting. Maddened by grief Brandon leaves Alberico be and turns back to raze Tigana. He murders a generation, pillages the cities and topples Tigana's famous towers. But his revenge does not stop there. He is determined to erase the name Tigana from history. He uses his sorcery to make the name Tigana impossible for anyone to understand except those born there. When that last generation dies so will the name of their home.
Unfortunately for Brandon, one of the princes of Tigana, Allesan, has survived. Judged too young to fight at the time, he now works tirelessly to remove not only Brandon but also Alberico from power. For years he has rallied people to his cause and waited for the right moment to strike. Finally events in the Palm offer hope for his plans to succeed. After two decades the Palm is headed for an inevitable confrontation between Brandon and Alberico.
I found the idea of wiping the name Tigana from memory an interesting concept for this novel. When you think about it, the idea is not new. In fact it has been used many times in history. The English tried it in Ireland, the soviets changed the name of the Tsarist capital, in China, for a while, history began with the Long March, in Australia end the US native children where taken away from their families to be raised in the way their captors thought proper. There are many more such attempts in our history to erase the cultural identity of a people. One of the things that make Tigana such a good novel is the way Kay drives the impact of that home.
This great act of evil could easily turn this novel into a standard good versus evil plot of course. The way Kay avoids that particular trap, is another reason why I like Tigana. In less than 700 pages Kay presents a number of well developed, very human characters. Each with their own motivations to act as they do, each of them aware of the price of their actions. Brandon for instance is not only bent on revenge. He is also a competent ruler, intelligent, passionate in a way, very much aware of the consequences of his actions and willing to pay the price for choices made. Allesan on the other hand constantly struggles with the price to be paid for saving Tigana. How much can he ask of his followers, how much innocent blood will be spilt in his name? Does his cause justify the means he employs? To find out where your limits are sometimes you have to cross them.
Kay's writing has always been a bit of a challenge for me. His command of the English language is impressive, at least to someone who speaks it as a second language. The way Kay uses language makes it a slow read for me. I have to pay close attention to what he is saying and sometimes pick his sentences apart completely to fully understand them. One might mistake this for verbosity but I think of it as a very efficient way of using language. In this one volume Kay manages a level of sophistication many writers would need a trilogy for. At least. He presents a world with plenty of cultural detail and political complexity, seen through the eyes of a number of well developed characters. This makes it an intense novel, especially since Kay seems have a flair for the dramatic. Tigana is a novel meant to be read with nothing less than full attention. The story demands it. If you can handle Kay's style, and let's face it, not everybody appreciates it like I do, this book will rank among your favourites. For me it is a demanding read, but definitely rewarding.
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