- Paperback: 448 pages
- Publisher: Collins; New Ed edition (9 July 1992)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0586215247
- ISBN-13: 978-0586215241
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 202,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"In some ways Kay's work is more satisfying than Tolkien's...a highly literate, lovingly detailed work of fantasy." --Fantasy Review
"Immense scale, literary richness and dazzling heroes." --Toronto Star --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"Immense scale, literary richness and dazzling heroes." --Toronto Star --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
“ A FINE, INTELLIGENT SERIES PROBABLY THE BEST OF ITS KIND” BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing,
By
This review is from: The Darkest Road (Fionavar Tapestry) (Paperback)
Read the trilogy out loud, it has all the quality of a saga. The Arthurian sub-plot was the most inovative take on the legends this century. GGK has learnt all the right lessons from his work on Tolkiens papers. I cannot recommend this book too much (It's the most 'borrowed' series in my collection). Also The Fionvar Tapestry is the best starting point for his later, more difficult, books; which are themselves equally gripping. One of the very top writers of modern Fantasy.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
While Engaging Lacks the Focus of Kay's Later Work,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Darkest Road (Fionavar Tapestry) (Paperback)
While the three books that form the "Fionavar Tapestry" are engaging, they all suffer, to varying degrees, from a loosely scripted, and at times, implausible plot, as well as the inclusion of Arthurian elements that remain contrived and unnecessary except as a "hook" pandering to the appeal the Camelot legend holds for many readers, and that has already elsewhere been overworked. Further, I question the plot device of characters that are transported by varying means from "our" world into parallel fantasy realms that appear popular with many fantasy writers: Effectively used to inform the story in Donaldson's "Covenant" series, other writers turn to its use solely as a clever artifice by which to move characters around.While better than most of the fantasy fiction about, this trilogy lacks the focus of Kay's later, more mature and individual works, such as "Tigana" or "Song for Arbonne." Read these if you are seeking serious and original fantasy tales. Save the "Fionavar Trilogy" for moments of simple, unexamined diversion.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good, complex but also slightly disappointing,
By
This review is from: The Darkest Road (Fionavar Tapestry) (Paperback)
The Fionavar Tapestry - the trilogy of which this book forms the last part - is clearly sub-Tolkien, and it's also in my opinion journeyman work. That sounds like a very bad beginning for a review - indeed it is - but this trilogy (and this book) is very far from poor work. It's close to the best fantasy available, and that, I think is why I'm inclined to judge it harshly. It just falls short of real greatness.Why does it fall short? Well, for me there are a number of reasons. Firstly, the homage to Tolkien is just too strong. It isn't surprising - Kay was the joint editor of the Silmarillion in preparing it for publication - but in my opinion it stunts these books. Secondly, I find the 'Holiday from America' framing narrative just too corny. If you want to write a work of fantasy, fine, do so. If you want to introduce a group of characters who are foreign to the environment of the narrative (which is a useful device because it solves a lot of exposition problems) do so. But why, for heaven's sake, do they have to be dragged out of contemporary North America? It's presumably intended to add credibility to the story, but for me it does exactly the opposite. Finally, what utterly sticks in my throat is that - as with Tolkien, as with so many other works of fantasy - the outcome for which our heroes strive, the ultimate triumph of 'good' over 'evil', is the restoration of an absolute, hereditary, pure-blood, patriarchal, male monarchy. Yee-uch! And yet despite all that it's good. Despite all that and less than perfectly rounded characters. The reason that it's good is Kay's extraordinary depth of knowledge of European (and North American) folklore, and his ability to borrow and integrate folklore elements from many traditions into a cohesive and compelling narrative. That, and the fact that he can write. This is nothing like as good as Kay's later work, which for me is the finest fantasy available today. But it is still very good.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fantasy
- Books > Fiction > Anthologies
- Books > Science Fiction
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
