Though there are a handful of Kay’s books I abhor (The Fionavar Tapestry, Ysabel), I enjoy the vast majority a lot. Then there are the ones I simply adore, and The Lions of Al-Rassan is possibly the one I love the most. It was my first Kay novel, and I’ve read it multiple times since.
The setting, a fantasy version of Moorish Spain, the believable characters, and the lyrical prose all come together into a sublimely bittersweet book. I’m a huge sucker for the delicious anguish Kay writes so well, and I’ll no doubt re-read “Lions” again in a couple of years.
Can you grieve for something that never existed? Is it possible to lament the loss of an entire culture if it wasn't ever real?
The answer, is yes, as I learned by reading this book.
Someone on reddit said that this book solid protagonists and no antagonists. I assumed that would take the form of grim fantasy, akin to [b:A song of Ice and Fire|13496|A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562726234l/13496.SY75.jpg|1466917].
I was both right and wrong. This is not just a book about morally gray characters making the best of a situation.
This is far more than that. This is a book about cultural clashes, and the futility of war. It is no more a fantasy book than [b:The Three Musketeers|7190|The Three Musketeers (The D'Artagnan Romances, #1)|Alexandre Dumas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320436982l/7190.SY75.jpg|1263212], which is what it reminded me most of.
There are things …
Can you grieve for something that never existed? Is it possible to lament the loss of an entire culture if it wasn't ever real?
The answer, is yes, as I learned by reading this book.
Someone on reddit said that this book solid protagonists and no antagonists. I assumed that would take the form of grim fantasy, akin to [b:A song of Ice and Fire|13496|A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562726234l/13496.SY75.jpg|1466917].
I was both right and wrong. This is not just a book about morally gray characters making the best of a situation.
This is far more than that. This is a book about cultural clashes, and the futility of war. It is no more a fantasy book than [b:The Three Musketeers|7190|The Three Musketeers (The D'Artagnan Romances, #1)|Alexandre Dumas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320436982l/7190.SY75.jpg|1263212], which is what it reminded me most of.
There are things in this book, as in life, that might upset you. There is death and pain in here, tears and discomfort, violence of all kinds, cruelty, even abuse. There is kindness, too.
- Quote by Neil Gaiman on his own book, which I find fitting here.
