I absolutely loved this book. I think it should be higher in the rankings. Its a stand alone book in a group of series books, which means the author had to be more concise and creative to tie the whole story into one medium sized book. I loved the sexual energy scattered throughout the storyline. You were able to emotionally connect with his characters.
I'll admit it was hard to get into, but after the first 20 pages or so, it's EXTREMELY hard to put down.
I wish he had physically described the men as much as the women, I was often left wanting for a more elaborate mental picture of them.
The story is wonderful, so different that alot of the fantasy series out there.

To be honest I was disappointed. To rank this book above any of Tolkien's work is some sort of sin, but perhaps my expectations were to high...
I appreciated that the author was able to finish the story all in one book, but I'm not all that shocked as looking back I have to echo Alex's sentiments about the lack of major events. I found myself plodding through most of the novel knowing I had invested too much time to turn back now, but desparately praying for the end to come swiftly...

I agree with Frank that Tigana is not Kay's VERY best work (my vote for that one goes to A Song for Arbonne) but it's definitely a close second. Kay is one of the most talented and underrated writers out there. His gift for beautiful and moving language is hard to match.

good choice, but not his best book imho. He doesn't have any bad books, but The Lions of Al-Rassan is my fav of his.

I actually despised this book. I didn't finish it because the prose was so horribly overwrought and pretentious. Do yourself a favor and read the negative reviews of the book on Amazon before you buy it.

I read this based on the recommendation on this site and I loved it. I've recommended it to others now as well. This site is great. It's so hard to know what to pick up in the hundreds of authors at the book store. I haven't been disappointed yet.

Kay is my favourite living fantasy author and Tigana is my favourite fantasy novel after Lord of the Rings.

To like fantasy and not read Tigana is madness!

To be honest, i regard tigana as one of Kay's mediocre works. The sarantine mosaic by far outshines tigana, as does a song for arbonne.

I thought this whole series was well written and rich in imagery and emotion.

Thank you for including this in your list. I never would have looked for it otherwise. Was looking for a fantasy book that actually had an ending (haha I'm always afraid of the authors dying before properly ending their sagas). I loved this book. Dianora and Brandin has now topped my Romantic Couples in Fantasy list.

In general, I agree with the majority of books on the list except this one. I read this book a while back, but at the time, I found it to be cloying and too sappy for my tastes. Maybe I just wasn't in the right emotional place to read it, but it struck me as forced and generally unremarkable.

I am glad that this site posted Tigana else i would never have heard of it. Tigana is the kind of book i was looking for at the time, a good fantasy story in 1 book. Now, my thoughts...
It was a good book. it kept you entertained and really did hit you on that "emotional" level i keep reading about. For fans of action and such, there is not to much of it here. This story is more about the lives of the characters in it. The only thing is that he did not seem to deal with them to much. there did not seem to be any MAJOR events, and after a while i actually started to not want the "protagonist" to succeed. though i believe that may have been the way it was written. its a good story that gets you to feel for the characters, but it is not an AMAZING WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE story

Tigana is beautiful and poignant! It has one of the most unforgettable characters - notably Branding of Ygrath - and one of the most original love stories. Historical fantasy at its best.

I just finished this book. One of the best I've ever read. Incredibly emotional and beautiful.

good