“Children of Earth and Sky” by Guy Gavriel Kay
I’ve read all of Guy Gavriel Kay’s previous novels and enjoyed them all (even if some are better than others) so bought this soon after it was released.
Like a lot of his previous books Kay has decided to set the story in what is ostensibly a fantasy world but one that maps very closely to real history (to the extent that individual characters and places are often identifiable even if under slightly different names) with some minor supernatural elements added. This book is in many ways a follow-up to his Sarantine Mosaic duology (which I think is one of Kay’s best works) which was set at the height of Kay’s world’s equivalent of the Byzantine Empire. Children of Earth and Sky is set many centuries after the Sarantine books, shortly after the great city of Sarantium has fallen to his world’s equivalent of the Ottoman Empire who now threaten neighbouring nations with much of the story taking place in the mercantile republics of Seressa (Venice) and Dubrava (Dubrovnik) as they try to trade with both sides in the conflict. I don’t really know much about the period of European history Kay’s book is based on, so this is an unusual fantasy book where I’ve feel like I’ve learned more about actual history from reading something not technically set in our world. While it’s not really necessary to have read the Sarantine books to follow the plot in this there are some nice references to the previous series scattered throughout the book and it does revisit some familiar locations.
I’ve always liked Kay’s characterisation and this time around he does seem to have avoided some of his past excesses about having characters who are supremely talented at everything they turn their hand to. I thought there was some really good character development here. The idea of heroism seems to be one of the main themes here and Kay does a good job of showing characters who may in some respects be genuinely heroic and morally ambiguous at the same time. There is a good variety of characters here as well, while the two main female protagonists may be very different they both find their own ways of making an impact on the world.
I did think this book took a while to really get going, the first hundred or so pages seem largely devoted to introducing a large cast of characters in a variety of settings and they can initially feel a bit disconnected. One thing Kay does well is showing how suddenly violence could break out in such a world, and it’s after one of those abrupt outbreaks of violence that I thought the book started to become compelling. Overall the book is more focused on character interactions and political intrigue than action but when required it does deliver some compelling action scenes with a forest ambush and a desperate rearguard action against an invading army being particularly memorable. Although this isn’t a book with a single straightforward plotline I think Kay did a good job of weaving the different plotlines together so it feels like a coherent novel and although the ending, like real history, doesn’t tie everything up too neatly it does offer enough of a conclusion to be satisfying.
Overall, I’d probably rank this not far behind Kay’s best books, other than taking a while to get going I don’t have any major criticisms of it.
Rating : 8.5 / 10
“The Tiger and the Wolf” by Adrian Tchaikovsy
Adrian Tchaikovsky seems to be one of the more prolific authors writing at the moment, it's only been a couple of years since he finished his ten-volume Shadows of the Apt series and this book is the third novel he's published since then (and they haven't been short books). After last year's two standalones this is a return to the series format, although this isn't intended to be as lengthy a series as the Apt books.
The setting this time is a bit different to his previous fantasy books, whereas they had relatively advanced societies this book feels like it is set in its world's equivalent of the Bronze Age with most people living in small warring tribes. Because of this the world-building feels a bit simplistic compared to the Apt books, but it does a reasonable job of making it feel convincing and mostly avoids the potential trap of having the characters have too modern a mindset for their surroundings. Tchaikovsky does usually like to have a high-concept premise; in this case it's that all humans have the ability to shapeshift into the form of their tribe's animal. There are a variety of different tribes shown from the relatively mundane wolves, tigers and bears through to the more exotic Komodo dragons and one character who is able to change into the form of an unnamed animal reminiscent of a Jurassic Park-style velociraptor. If nothing else, this does make for some distinctive and entertaining action scenes, I feel like I’ve read a lot of fantasy books where all the fights could have come straight from medieval Europe so it’s nice to have a bit of variety.
Although Tchaikovsky can always be relied upon to have some inventive ideas I find it’s often his characterisation that I like best about the books. I did like the characters in this, the protagonist Maniye is very likeable and gets some good character development, to a large extent the book is structured as her coming-of-age story so it can occasionally feel a little bit clichéd. I thought there were also some good characters among the supporting cast, and there is some subtle character development where the reader’s initial impression may be biased by Maniye’s opinion of them but it gradually becomes apparent that she’s not always the best judge of character.
I think maybe my biggest criticism of the book might be that while this is clearly meant to only show the beginning of a conflict against a potentially world-threatening threat, that more epic part of the storyline is perhaps a bit too much in the background for it to really be interesting. The book can also sometimes be a bit predictable in its plot developments; it’s not too hard to anticipate some of the plot twists although there were also quite a few things which did take me by surprise.
Overall, I wouldn’t say this is Tchaikovsky’s best book (I think last year’s “Guns of the Dawn” is still my favourite) but it was a consistently enjoyable read with some unique and memorable scenes.
Rating : 7.5 / 10