Somewhere on the other side of the Palm, on a similar path, Dianora, the daughter of Valentin’s close friend and adviser who was also killed by Brandin, has plans for a quiet upheaval of her own that starts at the heart of Brandin’s court, but she goes at it alone. It has to be both at once because, if one tyrant falls, the other would easily take his place and continue his reign of terror. Alessan, the only surviving son of Valentin, leads a small band of rebels across the Palm to do the impossible, overthrow both Brandin and Alberico at once to take back the land. The rest of the story is set twenty years after Tigana’s fall with the rise of a quiet rebellion. Brandin renamed the land Lower Corte, as an insult to the people of Tigana because Corte was a former formidable enemy, and he enslaved the whole population. Only the people born in Tigana before the fall remember its name and history. This led Brandin to unleash all of his wrath on Tigana, ultimately wiping it off the map and from the memory of everyone who wasn’t born in the land. Prince Valentin, who had already foreseen his fate and knew he couldn’t win, killed Brandin’s son on the battlefield–he had no other choice. On the eve of the battle that would later wipe Tigana from existence, we learn that Brandin came with force and magic to take over the Palm. Valentin, a prince of Tigana, a small corner of the Palm. There’s a somber tone and a Mediterranean feel to the atmosphere that’s hard to describe, but you feel it when you read.īrandin of Ygrath, a sorcerer, king, and tyrant from the WestĪlberico of Barbedior, a sorcerer, barbarian, tyrant from the East Music plays a big part in the narration, and at times, you can almost hear music in the prose. The Palm, where the story takes place, is a peninsula that Kay modeled after Renaissance Italy. There isn’t much that can be said about this book without giving the story away, but I’ll try to sum up the foundation on which the story is built. Also, I’m coming off of a dramatic final battle confrontation scene that had me on the edge of my seat for the last three days… so this is a hugely biased review. A personal favorite combination, I must admit. It reads like the sort of well-written historical fiction that weaves in myths to tell the tales of a lost time. It doesn’t even matter if fantasy isn’t your thing because this book does not read like fantasy. Get a feel for the beauty of language and images in motion. What more can be said other than everyone should read this book.
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