Tigana

Tigana (1990) – Guy Gavriel Kay
Penguin | ISBN: 9780140131116
Condition: Good | Sold by Crappy Old Books

Fantasy kingdoms. Magnificent places filled with ancient rivalries, ambitious rulers, mysterious sorcerers and an apparently inexhaustible supply of noble families who believe that political disagreements are best resolved by marching several thousand heavily armed men across somebody else’s farmland. But what happens when a conqueror decides that defeating a country is insufficient, and that its very name must be erased from history?

Welcome to Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay’s extraordinary fantasy novel about memory, identity, revenge and the terrifying consequences of allowing powerful men to take personal grievances rather too seriously.

In the Peninsula of the Palm, two rival sorcerer-kings have divided a once-independent collection of provinces between them. One of these rulers, Brandin of Ygrath, has inflicted a particularly cruel punishment upon the province of Tigana, whose people killed his beloved son during his conquest.

Not content with military victory, Brandin uses his magical powers to erase Tigana’s name from the memories of outsiders, leaving its inhabitants struggling to preserve an identity that the rest of the world can no longer recognise.

It is an astonishing act of revenge, even by the standards of fantasy literature, where rulers are hardly renowned for their calm responses to personal disappointment.

Against this backdrop, a small group of conspirators begins working towards the liberation of their homeland. Among them is Devin, a young singer drawn into a dangerous struggle involving hidden identities, political intrigue, divided loyalties and the formidable difficulties of opposing rulers who possess both armies and considerable magical abilities.

Yet Tigana is far more than a conventional adventure about overthrowing an evil tyrant.

Kay explores the moral complications of resistance, asking whether noble causes justify questionable methods and whether vengeance can become as destructive as the original injustice. His characters are driven by love, grief, ambition and conflicting obligations, frequently discovering that making the right decision is considerably harder than identifying the wrong one.

Even the antagonists possess emotional depth, making the conflict more troubling than the familiar arrangement of virtuous heroes confronting villains who spend their evenings practising sinister laughter.

The novel’s richly imagined Mediterranean-inspired setting adds atmosphere to a story filled with music, romance, political manoeuvring and the enduring importance of cultural memory.

Originally published in 1990, Tigana established itself as one of Kay’s most admired works, combining the sweeping ambition of epic fantasy with the psychological complexity of historical fiction.

This 1990 Penguin edition, offered in Good condition by Crappy Old Books, is an excellent acquisition for admirers of literary fantasy, intricate political storytelling and novels concerned with the relationship between personal memory and national identity.

A powerful, moving and beautifully constructed tale of resistance, sacrifice and the extraordinary lengths people will go to in defence of the things they love.

Because conquering a country is one thing.

Erasing its history, identity and very name is quite another.

And as Brandin discovers, making people forget their homeland is considerably easier than persuading them to forgive you.

Particularly when the people in question have spent years plotting your downfall.

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