August 15, 2010

magic JUST at the edge of believability

Under Heaven (Under Heaven, #1)Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked Under Heaven. To me, it conveyed this sense of magic JUST at the edge of believability. If you have seen the film Crouching Tiger, it is a similar feeling of magic. It really resonated with me Looking forward to the sequel River of Stars.

Some quotes:

  • "but if you couldn't do everything, did that mean you did nothing?" - p.7
  • "The world could bring you poison in a jeweled cup, or surprising gifts. Sometimes you didn't know which of them it was." - p.130
  • "Duty, assuming all tasks, can betray arrogance. The idea we can know what must be done, and do it properly. We cannot know the future, my friend. It claims so much to imagine we can. And the world is not broken any more than it always, always is." - p.298
  • "Only wind, and endless grass, and a sky so much farther away than any she's known. It is difficult to feel that your life means anything under this sky. Are the heavens more removed from humankind here? Do prayers and souls have a greater distance to travel?" - p.375
  • "We will pick our way through the shards of broken objects that folly leaves behind. And some of what breaks will be very beautiful." - p.456
  • "Sometimes the one life we are allowed is enough." - p.561

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