The Lions of al-Rassan

Guy Gavriel Kay is one of the greats of fantasy literature, and The Lions of Al-Rassan is no exception. It’s a story about love, and loss, and especially about loyalty and honor. This all plays across the backdrop of a fantasy version of the Iberian Peninsula prior to the Reconquista. There are moments that are truly heart wrenching and other moments where you celebrate with the characters over an imagined—or remembered—joy.

One of the things Kay does better than most is characterization. He crafts characters that are so fully imagined they almost remind you of people you once knew, or possibly of historical figures that could have been your friends or enemies. In The Lions of Al-Rassan the characters shine brightly, capturing and holding your attention. The interplay between Rodrigo Belmonte, Jehane bet Ishak, and Ammar ibn Khairan is masterful. Each of those three is not only a character unto themselves, but a (secularized) representation of the three religions that play a part throughout the story. Using historical analogs, Kay has crafted a convincing tale of a land divided, of people journeying through life, and of the cost of hatred, greed, and power. Of course, Kay has a more literary feel than most genre fiction, and so there is a sense in which the ideas themselves tend to rise to the forefront. Kay is careful here not to allow characters or setting to become caricatures merely in service to the idea. Everything is expertly woven together.

The execution of that weaving does have some weaknesses, unfortunately. While the characters are beautifully drawn, Kay tends to use large sections of exposition thinly veiled as an internal monologue. This is particularly true when we haven’t seen a character’s perspective for some time. That character will (conveniently) remember and run through events over the past N weeks. This is forgivable only because Kay’s prose is often so beautiful and he excels at drawing out the readers own emotions. On occasion the plot can also get a bit tangled in multiple perspective jumps that go back to catch up on various characters’ storylines.

These weaknesses were frustrating from time to time, but the rest of the book is so good they can also certainly be ignored. The Lions of Al-Rassan is a gripping tale that leaves you with plenty to think about. That’s one of the things Kay always does in his books, leaves me pondering with a bittersweet sense of loss and longing. 4.4/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing

The Lions of Al-Rassan is another of the alternate history books he keeps writing. They're usually based on a specific time period and are written with fantasy names. In this case, we have a story about the Reconquista, the time of Christians reconquering the parts of Spain that were ruled by Muslims. Only that Spain is called Esperana, the country of the Muslims is called Al-Rassan, the Muslims are Asharites, the Jews are Kindath and the Christians are Jaddites.

That put aside, it's a very entertaining story set in Al-Rassan, full of intrigues and turns. I enjoyed the characters, and didn't even mind the strange love triangle. Kay writes very well, and I will continue to read his backcatalog. I am particularly looking forward to Tigana and A Song for Arbonne.