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I’ve been reading a lot of Guy Gavriel Kay lately. He’s a wonderful writer who has grown over the years with each book. The Fionavar Tapestry, his first outing unless you count his work on The Silmarillion, is impressive and worth a look.

The Fionavar Tapestry is aptly named. This three-book epic fantasy is a work of art, which is mostly, but not completely, a positive. The tale feels carefully crafted; expertly woven, the threads lyrical and bright, with some very dark exceptions. There is one scene at the end of the first book that is so dark as to be almost alarming when it shows up and that slight incongruity is not all that uncommon within the tapestry. A bit of randomness that doesn’t always work all that well.

Within you’ll find threads drawn from myth, legend and history from all over the world, with most pulled from European tales. Arthur, Odin, Dana, The Wild Hunt and many more familiar myths make an appearance, and they’re woven together well and in ways that work most of the time.

If you’re a fan of epic fantasy, you may also see some of your favorites sketched out here as well; some from the past, the Tolkien Influence is clear, for example. But even more from those who came after. You might catch a glimpse of a Stark, or the red priestess or the Aes Sedi. It seems clear to me that the threads of The Fionavar Tapestry extend from the past and well beyond its initial publishing.

But this weave was its problems as well. The tone and pace are often rough, and some of the events just don’t work well together. The plot has a fair amount of deus ex machina and the many characters feel a bit one-dimensional. But when taken as a whole tapestry, it’s grand. It’s one of the better examples of 80’s era high fantasy, and a precursor to the terrific works that could come from Kay later in his career.

If you’re interested, but a series feels like a bit much, I’d recommend Tigana, which I think is my favourite of Kay’s works. So far.