[Erfael]

I'm really going to post in this thread....have just been pretty busy so far this month.

[Evil Agent]

I haven't read the book yet, but I just recently bought it (along with about 4 other Kay books). It's next on my list.

So it sounds like everyone thinks the second book (Lord of Emperors) is much better. That's good, I won't mind the first one being slow if I know the follow up is good. Don't they kind of go hand in hand, isn't the second one so good because it builds off of the first book?

[FicusFan]

Thats one of my questions, but there really isn't anything in the first book that can't be started and explained in the second book. It is one of the problems IMO of the first book, it doesn't really do anything in terms of story, setting or character. But you may have a different take. In any case enjoy.

[FicusFan]

Just thought I'd pop in and say that I have recently been reading a non-fiction book called The Greek Way of Death (2nd Edition) about the ancient Greeks and their beliefs and rituals surrounding death. It actually very interesting and not morbid at all.

But the reason I am posting here is that it says they actually used curse tablets. For a very long time. They had magicians make them and they used the graves of the dead who were recently killed to put them into. The very young and murder vicitms were prefered because their deaths were the most potent. I knew GGK used a lot of history and research, but I thought his curse tablets were part of the fantasy, not the history. Just goes to show history is as wacky as fantasy. :)

[Grey Sea]

It's been at least five years since I read Sailing , so I'm not going to critique. I just noticed a lot of negative reaction to the book, so to rebut I have to mention how I enjoyed my read. I started with the Fionovar Tapestry and couldn't get enough GGK so maybe this opinion is colored.

[starry-eyed]

I never did study much history, so maybe I'm easy to impress, but the amount of research Kay does... Who else even tries to do that in this genre? (I'm really asking- I'd love to know.) I kept looking up stuff he included trying to figure out what was fiction and what was historical. Anyway, Sailing to Sarantium feels like one novel then changes into another novel, then changes again. I liked the way I couldn't assume from the way the story seemed to be unraveling how it would continue. He has a respect for other cultures and beliefs (although this is probably more evident in The Lions of Al-Rassan) that is honestly lacking in most of the fantasy I've read. This author is a new favorite.

Anyway, I'm clearly a bit late for this discussion so I'll leave it at that.

[Eventine]

Anyway, I'm clearly a bit late for this discussion so I'll leave it at that.

There's no such thing in the book club - feel free to go back over everyone's comments and make your own additions.

[FicusFan]

So Starry-Eyed, did you read the second book: Lord of Emperors ? Because I liked it much better than Sailing... which I actually found a trial to get through. Like it lacked focus as to what the exact story and main character was, since so much was going on. It was a great set-up for book 2, but kind of a let down on its own.

Maybe I just didn't like or really care about Crispen that much, not sure what it was.

But feel free to go over the comments and add to them or post what you want about the book. The neat thing about the format is that the discussion never ends. :D

[starry-eyed]

I just finished Lord of Emporers last night. Although I liked both books very much, I found Sailing to Sarantium more whimsical and optimistic in tone. The second book isn't pessimistic, but it's all about endings. The final pages of Emporers (much like Al-Rassan) feels implosive. Everything that had been carefully set up has met its natural end. Unwrapped presents getting stored away in plain packages. The characters and the world they live in has irrevocably changed. Few authors are so adept at exploring that sense of "The End" as Kay is. For me, the two books fit like a lock and key. You can't have one without the other.

[FicusFan]

Interesting. I wondered, after reading the 2nd, if the first was really needed. I agree that the 2nd book is about endings, but for me that means that there is an actual story that has a point. Even if it is about change and is sad. I felt the first book was all set-up, and that GGK wasn't really sure what story he wanted to tell, so he jumped around. I just never felt settled with one charcter and one story.

But even though I was not crazy about book #1, it was still well written and better than many other 'good' books.