Raule
January 16th, 2007, 10:31 AM
I’m not sure if I’m of the minority opinion, but to me Brandin derives more emotion from me, than the bitter freedom fighters, which I feel is simply a ramification of flawed writing rather than intentional. The flaw I find in all of Kay’s writing, and which glares most prominently in Tigana, is the failure to show instead of telling. Guy consistently reverts to lecturing narration, where he attempts to further instill the emotional symbolism or trauma of an even, such as…."There was a silence. They could hear shouting from the streets below now, and the sound of running footsteps. . . . Devin was suddenly claimed by an image, another of his intrusions of memory: that campfire in Ferraut, Alessan playing songs of Senzio for Erlein, an enraged shadow by the river. There were so many layers here, so many charges of meaning."
To me this simple mistake when repetitively distributed throughout, well it can become quite an annoyance, for the most part snapping you out of the story. Tigana does have some redeemable features, but even those features are marred with distinct flaws. The plot is interesting, and the climax and ending are nearly brilliant, and I say nearly only because it seems the plots progression is like dutifully plodding from place to place with the occasional intermittence of a newly introduced character. Tigana had so much potential, it just didn’t execute.
Tartaros has summed up my feelings about this book. I'll just add that I think Tomasso deserves a special mention. Perhaps because he's a rather short-lived character, he also happens to be (IMO) the most fully fleshed out and compelling character in the book. I thought the scene where Sandre gives Tomasso the poison was the most powerful and poignant scene in the whole book, and I think it really underscores everything that Kay was trying to do with his themes. I was also glad that Scelto decided to keep certain knowledge to himself at the very end. It gave the ending the right sort of impact for me. Even though I have mixed feelings about this book, I think I will be thinking about it for a long time.
To me this simple mistake when repetitively distributed throughout, well it can become quite an annoyance, for the most part snapping you out of the story. Tigana does have some redeemable features, but even those features are marred with distinct flaws. The plot is interesting, and the climax and ending are nearly brilliant, and I say nearly only because it seems the plots progression is like dutifully plodding from place to place with the occasional intermittence of a newly introduced character. Tigana had so much potential, it just didn’t execute.
Tartaros has summed up my feelings about this book. I'll just add that I think Tomasso deserves a special mention. Perhaps because he's a rather short-lived character, he also happens to be (IMO) the most fully fleshed out and compelling character in the book. I thought the scene where Sandre gives Tomasso the poison was the most powerful and poignant scene in the whole book, and I think it really underscores everything that Kay was trying to do with his themes. I was also glad that Scelto decided to keep certain knowledge to himself at the very end. It gave the ending the right sort of impact for me. Even though I have mixed feelings about this book, I think I will be thinking about it for a long time.