Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Guy Gavriel Kay - 'The Wandering Fire' and 'The Darkest Road'
Books II and III of the Summer Tree trilogy and both vast improvements on number one. The threads that were somewhat haphazardly spun out are woven together into a storyline of breathtaking complexity, originality, and beauty. Everything seems interdependent on everything else. Kay’s writing style is very different to that of other fantasy authors. Heavy on symbolism and near poetic description, it leads the mind to form its own image from the feelings conveyed, rather than from the images spelled out.
I don’t think that I will ever be a blurb writer, and attempting a plot summary months after I have read the books is probably ill advised. But these books often left me in awe of Kay’s storytelling prowess. An absolute pleasure to read.
GGK is very much like the Weaver he styles as the creator and fate maker; holding disparate threads and then weaving them, subtly, warp and weft. First a vague impression of the image forms, a tickling at the front of your mind and then slowly, faster in patches, the true grandeur is revealed. Such is the way GGK spins his plots. Layer upon layer, complementing, enhancing, deepening. An impressively spun tale!
If I had to pick a defect it would be the common fantasy tropes that are used. The lios alfar still parallel the Tolkien elves very closely. The Dwarves are also Tolkienesque. This is probably not surprising considering he helped Christopher Tolkien finish The Silmarillion. The clichés detract slightly from the story, but this is a minor nitpick.
As a footnote the cover illustration of Book II (I have the Harper Collins 3rd Ed 1992) by John Howe is remarkably similar to his illustrations for Robin Hobb’s Liveship Trader’s trilogy. It depicts a serpent rising out of storm tossed waves
I don’t think that I will ever be a blurb writer, and attempting a plot summary months after I have read the books is probably ill advised. But these books often left me in awe of Kay’s storytelling prowess. An absolute pleasure to read.
GGK is very much like the Weaver he styles as the creator and fate maker; holding disparate threads and then weaving them, subtly, warp and weft. First a vague impression of the image forms, a tickling at the front of your mind and then slowly, faster in patches, the true grandeur is revealed. Such is the way GGK spins his plots. Layer upon layer, complementing, enhancing, deepening. An impressively spun tale!
If I had to pick a defect it would be the common fantasy tropes that are used. The lios alfar still parallel the Tolkien elves very closely. The Dwarves are also Tolkienesque. This is probably not surprising considering he helped Christopher Tolkien finish The Silmarillion. The clichés detract slightly from the story, but this is a minor nitpick.
As a footnote the cover illustration of Book II (I have the Harper Collins 3rd Ed 1992) by John Howe is remarkably similar to his illustrations for Robin Hobb’s Liveship Trader’s trilogy. It depicts a serpent rising out of storm tossed waves
