Nick John John itibaren Uue-Antsla, Võru maakond, เอสโตเนีย
I've liked a lot of Guy Gavriel Kay's books, but this is not one I'd recommend. I still love the Sarantine Mosaic, and would recommend those. The first half of this book I liked well enough. The setting was interesting. I know nothing about the Muslim rule of Spain, and had never heard the name of Al-Andalus. So for me, the historical context is interesting, even though I know I have to take it with a grain of salt since Kay takes what he wants and throws the rest away (which is why this is fantasy, not historical fiction). However, about a third into the book the two main characters meet and the meeting is completely overly dramatic, and intentionally so. The characters themselves and all those around them marvel at the meeting and how wondrous they are and the whole thing becomes just too heavy handed. Also, at least once a chapter (if not once a section within a chapter) there will be a line along the lines of "she would reflect later that this occurred and be forever grateful". This gets used over and over such that everything gets loaded with too much meaning and import. In the end, I became less and less interested with what would happen to the characters and the world because everything was too important or grand.