I'm still reading it now. It's okay but I'm not loving it, so it's taking me longer to get through than I expected. I'm looking forward to reading your review once I'm finished though.
I enjoyed the book, but I do wish I didn't have to spend $35 on it. If I had had the option, the library or borrowing it would have been the best bet
( ... )
I ended up pre-ordering my copy and got it at a pretty nice price, so my rating ended up being more about the physical "hardship" of reading the book, as well as keeping in mind what the book costs minus any discount. Yeah, it's a beast.
Thanks for your very honest and thorough commentary. I tend to hate what you describe too, but it didn't bug me (as much) here until the end because I was getting wrapped up in the language. Usually, writers are so in-your-face about what they're withholding that I want to punch something. :)
Have you ever read Kay's work before? If so, what was your experience then?
No, I've never read anything from his before. I'm not entirely sure if I'm interested in reading more of his work either. It was ok, but by the end I just was reading it to find out what happened - I wasn't enjoying the journey any more, it was all about the destination, and getting there quickly. Ilona Andrews does that witholding thing, and over a series too, but I didn't find it so annoying with her work (specifically, the Kate series) as in 'Under Heaven'. Go figure.
Well, of the three Kay books I've read, the one I loved most was the first read, Ysabel. It's more of a modern, contemporary fantasy, and it may be more up your alley. It's also shorter. But if the premise doesn't interest you, then why force it?
After reading the comments and stuff, I realize I also had a problem with the holding back of info for further chapters. I often thought I'd missed something. Which made me want to concentrate harder, to make sure I didn't miss a thing. Sometimes Kay was so subtle that I often didn't get it. Like I had to read a couple times the passage where we find out who Wei Song's father is. Maybe I was just tired...
No, you're right, there's subtle, and then there's TOO subtle. I kept expecting Song's father to be more important, and when I realized he wasn't, I was rather perplexed...
I just finished reading "Under Heaven" and after having looked at other reviews online, yours is the only one that closely matches how I feel about this book, especially about the book was all about the rebellion rather than the characters and how Li-Mei's storyline had practically NOTHING to do with Tai's. People often say that Guy Gavriel Kay writes excellent characters, and he does. But what's the point of writing them if you're not going to make the story about them? "Under Heaven" could have been an actual history book for all I cared.
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Thanks for your very honest and thorough commentary. I tend to hate what you describe too, but it didn't bug me (as much) here until the end because I was getting wrapped up in the language. Usually, writers are so in-your-face about what they're withholding that I want to punch something. :)
Have you ever read Kay's work before? If so, what was your experience then?
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Ilona Andrews does that witholding thing, and over a series too, but I didn't find it so annoying with her work (specifically, the Kate series) as in 'Under Heaven'. Go figure.
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I've just got back from xmas-related family visiting, so hopefully I'll have time to come back to the discussion later when I'm less tired :)
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http://starmetal-oak.livejournal.com/15149.html
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