Lord of Emperors - Guy Gavriel Kay

The first half of the second book left me no more impressed than the first book did (that sentence made me dizzy). It isn't until the middle of the book that you start seeing some of the typical Guy Gavriel Kay qualities; the example that illustrates a detailed analysis of a situation that you can apply to your own life which he just slips in as if it's nothing. Brilliant!

Toward the end of the book it is also finally explained why there was so much detail in the prologue-like bit: it finally becomes relevant, if you can remember it 1,000 pages later.

I have to say that part of the enjoyment of The Sarantine Mosaic comes from the knowledge of the world in 'Lions' and the little comments that link the two together. I am torn between recommending that readers pick up 'Lions' first so that they can enjoy these and recommending that they build up to 'Lions' so that the other books don't disappoint.

I admit that I got part of what I came for with this book: I enjoyed the strong female characters and the heart-rending illustration of a true love-match. The plot was complex enough to not be too predictable. However, I felt some of the failings of the Fionavar Tapestry and Ysabel too, the distance from many of the characters, the unconvincing love match at the end. There are a few gems to be pulled out, moments crafted to perfection, but they were too few for my taste. Give me Lions, any day.

I plan on re-reading these within the next year. I'm convinced that several of my opinions will change on a second reading, now that I have a better grip on the characters.

Sailing to Sarantium - Guy Gavriel Kay

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Guy Gavriel Kay (particularly 'The Lions of Al-Rassan' and 'Tigana') but for some reason I have put off reading the Sarantine Mosaic. On the glowing recommendation of another fan, I finally picked them up.

Initially I was put off by the lengthy prologue (which is not acually called a prologue, but it should have been). I spent the first book and most of the second wondering why it was included.

I realize that the character names are meant to be historically accurate but I found most of the characters difficult to distinguish since their names all sounded so similar. I suspect re-reading would solve this problem as I've now figured out who most of them are. I felt like I needed a chart.

By the end of the book I was not particularly involved but I gave him the benefit of the doubt and went on to the next. (I did enjoy the relationship between the Emperor and Empress though.)