The Lions of Al-Rassan
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The Lions of Al-Rassan
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Narrated by:
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Euan Morton
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By:
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Guy Gavriel Kay
About this listen
The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan - poet, diplomat, soldier - until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever.
Meanwhile, in the north, the conquered Jaddites' most celebrated - and feared - military leader, Rodrigo Belmonte, driven into exile, leads his mercenary company south.
In the dangerous lands of Al-Rassan, these two men from different worlds meet and serve - for a time - the same master. Sharing their interwoven fate - and increasingly torn by her feelings - is Jehane, the accomplished court physician, whose own skills play an increasing role as Al-Rassan is swept to the brink of holy war, and beyond.
Hauntingly evocative of medieval Spain, The Lions of Al-Rassan is both a brilliant adventure and a deeply compelling story of love, divided loyalties, and what happens to men and women when hardening beliefs begin to remake - or destroy - a world.
©1995 Guy Gavriel Kay (P)2012 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Lions of Al-Rassan
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mike Dunn
- 05-10-23
Recommended
While not my personal favourite Kay book, it sits comfortably above many modern fantasy novels.
A modern master of the genre with another solid standalone novel,
GGK's prose as always is lovely and the audiobook is narrated fairly well despite some inconsistencies.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 16-06-19
Historical fantasy
I love GGK and have read all his books. I am slowly working my way through a reread via audio of all his books. He is always fabulous but I like some books more than others. "Lions" is the one that seems to be listed as a favourite by many of his fans. However, it is not for me. My favourites remain Fionavar and Tigana. "Lions" is still very, very good though but I remember finding all the different kingdoms and factions confusing when I first read it and I still found it so listening to the audio. But it does have 3 very memorable central characters and if your preference is towards history rather than fantasy then you will probably enjoy it a lot. The narrator does an excellent job and even gives a slight Spanish accent to some of the characters without it being corny.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DatGuy
- 15-02-23
Poetic, heartbreaking, melancholic but hopeful.
Loved GGK's characterisation. His prose was beautiful and twinkled with poetry and subtlety. His study of humanity is both hopeful as well as despairing. Some cliche moments played for drama were selected sparingly and used to good effect. I am now wistful for the land of Al Rassan.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dreow
- 18-03-17
Heart breaking.
You fall in love with each character as there life unfolds. Each poem will touch you with their beauty and aching emotion. A transportation into a land I know, where I have lived and been touched and transformed in beauty. Thank you master Bard. You always touch my soul.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jetwolf
- 03-05-22
As good as reading it yourself.
I prefer to read books I know on audio as my attention can wander and I love this book. The narrator does a really wonderful job and I can listen to him for hours!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andi
- 03-05-18
Heart achingly beautiful
Beautiful book, very well presented.
Kay has such a wonderful way with words. A tremendous storyteller.
This is one of those books I wish would never finish. ‘What is love?’
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- James
- 04-03-19
Wikipedia is free
The further into this book I got, the more cheated I felt. If you want historical fiction but can't be bothered to do the research, this is the book for you. If you want a fantasy book, but can't be bothered with creating setting or characters, this is the book for you. The Lions of Al-Rassan teaches an important lesson to aspiring authors: take a well-known historical period, fudge the names a bit, and pass it off as your own creation - apparently it's totally legitimate
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. W. Inskip
- 06-12-12
Kay brilliant as ever
Stunning writing from Kay and good narration I have read all of his work and am always impressed by the life he breathes into his characters.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stephanie Hardie
- 22-03-22
Great book poor narrator
the narrator is very hard to listen to, every single sentence is read the exact same, no effort is made to give charecters distinct voices.
it feels like the narrator doesn't believe in the words.
it is also a bad recording that you can often notice when it was recorded separately.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 02-03-15
Good but last quarter rushes the story
I enjoyed this but it was odd towards the end. It feels like he was setting up a long story and could have been more than one volume. But then he just rushed to the end as not interested anymore and just needed to get to the end. Odd
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