The Lions of Al-Rassan

by Guy Gavriel Kay

Book Overview

Award-wining author Guy Gavriel's sixth novel, hauntingly evocative of medieval Spain, is both a brilliant adventure and a moving story of love, divided loyalties, and what happens to men and women when hardening beliefs begin to remake -- or destroy -- a world.

The ruling Asharites have come from the desert sands, worshipping the stars, their warrior blood fierce and pure. But over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060733497
• ISBN13: 9780060733490
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Another Exquisite Book from Guy Gavriel Kay

Beautiful prose with a surprising edge of brutality. GGK does not disappoint. There are parts of this book that could trigger SA survivors, and the content seems geared toward a mature audience.

Absolutely Indispensible!

This world -- and especially Internet denizens -- could stand to learn more than a thing or two about punctuation (and grammar, also, although the two are inextricably entwined). Nevermind colons; nevermind semi-colons (although it is important to understand their proper use, as well). The section on commas alone make this volume absolutely indispensible! Commas are so horribly misused and abused in our "Information Age" that incoherence and incomprehensibility are far too often the result. One thing I've encountered recently, for example, is the ignorance of some of how vocatives ought to be treated. A vocative, to quote Mr. Shaw, is "a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase used in direct address. That is, a vocative indicates to whom something is said." I have encountered sentences similar to the following: * "What would you do Mr. Kress if I were to put a pistol to your temple?" While understandable, the punctuation is completely lacking, and fails to note the pause that would occur in such a statement when Mr. Kress is addressed. Vocatives are to be set off by commas. Thus, the correct punctuation would be: * "What would you do, Mr. Kress, if I were to put a pistol to your temple?" Commas can also change the entire meaning of a sentence. The following, taken from the Bible, is an excellent example: * "I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in Paradise." * "I tell you the truth today, you will be with Me in Paradise." In the first example, which is found in any Protestant or Catholic Bible, Christ is telling the thief on the cross next to him that that very day he shall join Christ in Paradise. In the second, while Christ promises the thief that he will be in Paradise, he makes no mention of when that will happen, leaving the thief to anguish in ignorance of when this promise will be fulfilled. The word "today" instead refers to Christ telling him the truth that day, which carries the implication that he might lie to him on the next day. This example shows just how important commas are and how important it is to know how to use them, whether you believe in the Bible or not. The book is organized in two divisions: 1) What Punctuation Is and Does, and 2) The Individual Marks. The first division begins with a chapter discussing that "punctuation is for clarity." There then follows a survey of punctuation, trends in punctuation, and the purposes of punctuation. The second division covers all the marks: abbreviations, accent (or diacritical) marks, apostrophes, asterisks, bars (virgules), braces, brackets, capital letters, the caret (^), colons, commas, compound words, dashes, ditto marks, division of words, ellipses, exclamation points, hyphens, italics, numerals, parentheses, periods, question marks, quotation marks, and, yes, even the dreaded and often misunderstood semi-colons. I absolutely love that an entire volume is devoted exclusively to punctuation. It's a volume which has served me well whenever I've had questions of my own a

Lions at my table.

The Lions of Al-Rassan is what is usually defined, as a Fantasy book. But in my opinion is more than that. Kay has researched the historical period he reflects in this "alternate universe", and gives an accurate and sensible picture of it: the value of honor, the religious beliefs (even if disguised with other names and nuisances), the mixed loyalties (to country, king, family and religion), poetry and medicine among others. The story is loosely based on the medieval poem The Song of Mio Cid, around year 1000 in the Iberic peninsula, three cultures mixing and interacting; a main character from each of them: the courageous Captain Belmonte, the sage and stubborn doctoress Jehane and the cunning warrior-poet-politic Ammar, the three of them draw a complex and absorbing tapestry. Kay is masterful depicting scenes that lead the reader to jump to conclusions that are, astonishingly, proved wrong a couple of pages later, this keep you reading on tiptoes, expecting new surprises... and they show up even if you are warned. The descriptions of cities, rural places, king's courts, markets have a distinctive flavor, without being boring. The different characters are fully human and interesting, not two dimensional stereotypes as may be expected in Fantasy story. The inner thoughts of most of them are shown, giving insight as to why they do what they do. A book to enjoy by different audiences. Reviewed by Max Yofre.

ALRIGHT! FINALLY, some real down home punctuation action!

You want to know about semicolons? You like learning big time about hyphens (where did I forget to use one)? Well brother, you came to the right place! Get this book and it'll be a punctuation party until dawn! Yeah! It loses a star due to its unfair treatment of the ellipsis.

Exquisite, heartbreaking, unforgettable

This is a story that can break your heart, bring you to tears, and you may find yourself, as I did, aching for more pages to read of this exquisitly emotional saga. Kay has a very select and unique skill of making his characters so real and indelible in one's psyche that their humanity in all its gore and glory deeply resonantes within the mind and heart, so much so that one may find that they cannot soon forget them. The powerful, bittersweet feelings evoked by the poetic message in the final few lines of the book when the three full cups of wine are deliberately placed by Jehane, Ammar and Alvar on the rim of the fountain of water are wrenchingly haunting. They return one's thoughts to similar moments of their time in King Badir's court in Ragosa and flow on to other scenes within the story. Once again to experience that shadowed battle between the young lions Ammar and Rodrigo on the plains at sunset in their unwanted fight to death when time is suspended in a breathless, dreamlike sequence and to feel the pain and profound sense of loss of one of them.Kay has that rare ability of writing in a way that invites a sense of mental freedom within the reader and permits one to savor and interpret his imagry without being bludgeoned by common or heavy handed verbosity. He never overdoes and he never stoops to coarseness or explicit vulgarity. His stories are like spirals within spirals constantly in motion captivating both the heart and mind of the reader into spellbinding surrender.The Lions of Al-Rassan is a hard story of a hard time in history yet the lyricism and poetry of that time is also present through the words of the poet-warrior Ammar ibn Khairan. They soften and touch the story with sweetness, and an invitation to reflect upon the deeper, more gentle philosophy of their way of life. The beauty of the poetry is stark contrast to the hatred between the warring nations with their different gods, religious dogmas and practices all within the matrix of the power conflicts between petty kings as they face off against one another in their conquest of land and dominance. Mr. Kay posesses a wellspring of depth, refinement and keen intellectual mastery within himself and as a writer. It is also obvious that his own parents were wonderfully nurturing for he speaks with that clear, refreshing voice of one who has few, if any, emotional hangups or axes to grind in his writing. His unforgettable story The Lions of Al-Rassan is absolutely a must read for those who appreciate the very best and Mr. Kay truly is non-pariel.

Fiercely Intelligent and Passionate: Great Book!

I have been hungrily devouring Guy Gavriel Kay's book's for the last couple of months, and if you haven't read any of his stuff yet, consider yourself incredibly lucky...and get started right away! Personally, just to begin, I would start with Tigana and A song for Arbonne, two of his earlier works that are my favorites. These two books are more what one would expect of a Fantasy novel, as they have all the requisite good/evil battles with magical beings set in imaginary lands. The Lions of Al Rassan differs from some of his other work in that there is no real magic (except for a few of the characters who have "the sight"). But as much as I hate to admit it, as an avid Fantasy fan, it really did not make much difference to me. The story is really engrossing, the characters were so compelling and the bond between them so strong, that I was swept away into this mythical world, just as I have been transported in other the great fantasy novels I have read. The mythical quasi-moorish world of Al-Rassan is hauntingly beatiful, and one can really see that the author has done his homework (as he usually does, all of his books always seem to be meticulously researched without being dull, historical replicas ...you won't want to leave this enchanting place!)I think Kay is one of the best Fantasy writers out there (should I even limit it to "Fantasy"? I think at this point he has crossed over into main stream fiction and is doing so beautifully...I think many new readers will be lured into the Fantasy genre due to the impact of his books...they really appeal to anyone who enjoys a well-written adventure novel). His characters are all incredibly passionate (yes, and sexy!), fiercely intelligent and a joy to read. In particular, he really knows how to develop women characters who are not weak little needy things, but are every bit as strong as the men. I think the fact that both the men and women are intelligent and have strong, healthy libidos is great. Kay writes true to life, REAL human beings, conflicted in their desires, in their choices to do good or evil. It is refreshing to read a fantasy novel where the characters are not one-dimensional. It makes for a far more complex and interesting book than standard Epic Fantasy fare.Enjoy!