It is a truth universally acknowledged that while not all who wander are lost, those who mashup the Lord of the Rings with the Arthurian Legend, wander into their impending doom.As you know for me The Summer Tree went promptly beyond fantastic and straight into the epic category. My initial awe was even strengthened by the opening pages of The Wandering Fire. The previous instalment finished with the most brutal sequence sealing Jennifer’s fate in Fionavar, cut (and cauterised) by the crossing [...]

the second book in the Fionavar Tapestry is not quite as impressive as the first, but hey it's still pretty damn good. two things in particular stick out for me:Sex. i love how this novel places sexuality at the center of much of its magic, both implicitly and explicitly. it is really refreshing. and not corny! i suppose that is the danger of including sex in fantasy - if its not done right, it is a trashy sex scene or, even worse, an eye-rolling tantric experience featuring new age nonsense tha [...]

I've been falling into and out of this book in almost precisely the same way I had in the first. I love the short lyrical descriptions, I enjoy the mythic references, and I especially love how each character eventually gets woven into each of the underlying story structures. There is a great deal to love in these books, and I've enjoyed tracing much of the straight-line continuation of style from this fantasy novel into the types that have enjoyed much fame and popularity in the eighties and nin [...]

A good sequel, although not as good as the first book in the trilogy. It suffers from a slight case of second-book syndrome, there is not the same sense of wonder as in The Summer Tree, and I did not enjoy the introduction of the legendary characters at all.However, it's Guy Gavriel Kay. It's still beautiful and highly enjoyable. It's just not on the level it could be.

What can I say about book two that won’t be too spoiler-y for book one? I guess I can say that there is more of the same. The world of Fionavar is locked in an unnatural winter, caused of course by a Mage-gone-wrong. What can the forces of good do against the very winds of winter?King Arthur is the Eternal Warrior, needed for any possibly-world-ending war. The five wayward Canadians who have found their way to Fionavar have also proven why they were selected by fate to make the transfer to tha [...]

Okay, this story finally got me. Fiction takes life and crystallizes it. It boils down and simplifies, so that when real life is too overwhelming, I can remember what to filter out and what to hear. I can remember that the pining lovers reunite, the little girl grows into wisdom, the white horses win. The double-edged part of that sword is that it’s probably not true, it probably shouldn’t be true. But, sometimes stories don’t need to be true in order to be somehow necessary, I guess. I wa [...]

In bilico fra i mondi "Seppellirai il tuo dolore nel profondo dell'oceano. Ma le onde non si lasciano domare così facilmente. Verrà un domani in cui piangerai per me.""Ha camminato verso la Dea per tutta la vita."Prosegue la lotta contro l'invincibile signore delle tenebre, latore di terrificanti promesse e con un figlio pronto a vegliare la sua futura eredità.Fionavar rende onore all'imponderabilità della vita, senza giudicare le scelte e i percorsi da noi intrapresi per raggiungere una pro [...]

5.0 stars. This is an incredible book and part two of an incredible series. Guy Gavriel Kay is one of the best writers working in any genre and his writing is both technically superb and deeply emotional. This series should definitely be on the "must read" list of any fan of epic fantasy. Highly recommended!!

I can't really put my finger on what it is that I'm loving about this series. I can name the faults at length (but I won't) and I don't feel that I *should* like this as (gasp) I dislike both The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, both of which seem to be major influences,, and yet! Totally enamoured.

Φανταστικό όπως και το πρώτο! Γρήγορη πλοκή και χωρίς να κουράζει. Σ' αυτό το βιβλίο όμως μπαίνουμε πιο βαθιά στην ψυχολογία των ηρώων και καταλαβαίνουμε καλύτερα τις κινήσεις και τη συμπεριφορά τους! Περισσότερα εδώ: bit/2j6eblE

DNF at 47%. I just can't do it. I'm bored and I don't like the humans in Fionavar scenario. I'm dreading picking it up, so I'm calling it quits. :(

Η Περιπλανώμενη Φλόγα συνεχίζει και συμπληρώνει επάξια την ιστορία που έχει γράψει ο Guy Gavriel Kay. Το δεύτερο αυτό βιβλίο της σειράς, αν και μικρότερο σε μέγεθος, έχει περισσότερη δράση σε σχέση με το πρώτο ειδικά από τη μέση και μετά. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι το πρώτο μισό του βιβλίο [...]

By this point in reading the trilogy, you've probably decided whether you can bear with Guy Gavriel Kay's style or not -- whether you can be invested in his characters or not. If the answer is yes, then carry on: he won't disappoint you. If not, then I don't think he will get your attention at all.Less seems to happen in this book until the end: it's a time of waiting, of things coming together. If you're invested in the characters, though, there's plenty to worry about: Kim's dilemmas, whether [...]

Review to follow when third book read

This review is from my reread of this series in 2015/16.The middle volume is often a let down in trilogies. I would argue that this one is anything but a let down. In this one the Arthurian myths get weaved into the story, although they had been foreshadowed in the first book. We also get the results of Jennifer's violation and rescue from the first book with the birth of the new andain Darien. Of the five visitors to Fionavar from the first book it's only Kevin and Jennifer's roles that hadn't [...]

This is the second in a trilogy (The Fionavar Tapestry as you've already noticed). I noted in the review of the first volume that I tried to read these some years ago and really couldn't get into them.Without giving any spoilers (something it can be difficult to accomplish and also say "why" you think or feel what you do about a book) this one stays (for me) in the "middle ground" area. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really get into it either. I found my interest waxing and waning throughout. [...]

This, the second novel of the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, was truly amazing. The blending of Celtic mythology and Arthurian legend was artistry. Vivid imagery and spectacular storytelling, this is Epic Fantasy at it's very best. Best image: Diarmuid singing in battle. So very Celtic.Best fight scene of all time: In Chapter 15, on the Plains near Adein. It surpasses any and all fight scenes of the myriad books I've read. It'll stay with me for a long time.Everything about this book is fantastic an [...]

Sad, heartbreaking and full of surprises, this book was a wonderful journey.

Στο δεύτερο μέρος αυτής της τριλογίας ο Guy Gavriel Kay μας δείχνει το μεγαλύτερο εύρος του συγγραφικού του ταλέντου καθώς η εξέλιξη της υπόθεσης του δίνει την ευκαιρία για να δείξει αρκετά περισσότερο λυρισμό, είτε μιλάμε για την περιγραφή των επικών πολεμικών κατορθωμάτων, είτ [...]

Il mio vocabolario non comprende parole in grado di esprimere come mi fa sentire Kay.

2.5 stars. I rounded the first book to 3, so I'll round down with this and maintain the average.Next up, The Darkest Road. If I can bear it.

Just as much nonsense as the first book in the series with gratuitous Arthur-Lancelot-Guinevere thrown in. It's so crap it's laughable, GGK has tried to get every conceivable fantasy trope into this series, and all it does is make a complete mess. There really isn't any coherent story, the protagonists lurch from scene to scene with no character development apart from they all suddenly develop mysterious!powers or are *beloved of the gods* or given *items of power*. Why five Canadians transporte [...]

Please read the full review on Weighing A PigThe Summer Tree, the first book of The Fionavar Tapestry, was gripping & amazing. It gutted me. As the series is regarded as one of the classics of fantasy, it is no surprise that The Wandering Fire was a feast as well. My review of The Summer Tree applies to this book too: The Wandering Fire continues the story, and has the same strengths as Kay’s debut. I’ll elaborate a bit on some of those – language & emotion -, and discuss a few the [...]

Most of this book was spent amassing forces. There were a few big surprises in abilities and one of the five was lost. Some of our Earth lore seems to have been woven into Fionavar lore which got a little confusing. The gods are beginning to play a more active role. Still a great fantasy series.

Holy heteronormativity!

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.It’s been 1½ years since I read The Summer Tree, Guy Gavriel Kay’s first novel and the first in his Fionavar Tapestry. I mentioned in the review for that book that I’m an adoring fan of Kay’s later stand-alone novels but that I found The Summer Tree derivative and heavy. I would have happily skipped its sequel, The Wandering Fire, but I had already purchased it at Audible, so I thought I’d give it a chance to win me over. Simon Vance, the narrat [...]

The second book of the Fionavar Tapestry feels by far the shortest, to me. That isn't to say not much happens -- a lot does happen, so much that it makes my head spin a little, but it feels quite short. Possibly because my copy is both slim and has bigger writing than the other books, which are both thicker and have tiny writing. Anyway!The Wandering Fire really introduces the Arthurian thread, which is the newest thing. It's been hinted at and set up already in The Summer Tree, but it's in The [...]

For my thoughts on the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy as a whole, see my review for The Summer Tree.The Wandering Fire is a little bit of a middle-book-in-the-trilogy, but manages a decent plot nevertheless. I have to complain a little bit, though, about a part that didn't sit right with me the first time I read the book and still leaves me underwhelmed: Kevin's death.Kevin, who seemed pretty well-adjusted in the first book aside from worrying about Paul, suddenly starts getting all angsty about whet [...]

This is a book to make you remember why we read. It not only takes you to a new world, it makes you want to go there, to know these people, to become part of their lives, to join in their quest. The second book in Fionavar is simply amazing. He can write so well, what takes Tolkien a chapter to paint, Kay does in a page or two. And he just plays with your emotions so effortlessly:So it was amid laughter and joy that the company set forth to ride to Taerlindel. Where a ship lay waiting to bear fi [...]

This was probably the worst written book I've read by Kay--the story was good, the writing wasn't--which still leaves it above three quarters of the fantasy books written. Two primary criticisms. First, his regressing, telescoping narrative got very confusing. Hard to be sure when or where you were.Second, the five human protagonists are way too quick picking up on arcania of a world totally different from their own. It's all just too easy.