Lord of the silver bow

Blergh.

Lord of the silver bow is the first book in David Gemmell’s Troy series, which is more of an alternate history version of the Trojan war than it is a reimagining of the Iliad, which is how I frequently see the series portrayed.

Brief plot summary

Tensions are rising between the Greeks and Trojans.

Aeneas and Odysseus  are close friends, despite being allied with opposing poweres. Aeneas is in love with Hector’s fiancée, Andromache. There’s a lot of complicated interpersonal relationship drama, coupled with the fact that the heroes on both sides of the conflict are basically pirates.

The actual plot is fairly convoluted and there are enough surprises that it’s hard to reveal much else here.

Tigana

Tigana / Guy Gavriel Kay. First published 1990.

Tigana is an epic but low-magic fantasy novel by Guy Gavriel Kay. Set on a hand-shaped peninsula that is currently occupied by two competing occupying forces, each led by a powerful sorcerer. It’s a literary fantasy novel in that it’s more influenced by Italian history than Dungeons & Dragons, but it’s readily accessible by others and has a fairly wide appeal.

Brief plot summary

As I mentioned above, the Peninsula of the Palm has been partially conquered, from opposite ends, by two competing sorcerers. Tigana is the name of one of the provinces who initially resisted the invasion, but one of the sorcerers has used magic to remove even the idea of Tigana from people’s minds. Only those born in the province before the invasion remember of its existence.

The main plot follows a group of travelling musicians/revolutionaries and their attempts to overthrow both invaders and restore the memory of Tigana to its former glory.