Tigana
core novel 1990 Tigana
Record
| First published | 1990 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.08 (53,516 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 676 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780451450289 |
Synopsis
Tigana is a 1990 fantasy novel by Guy Gavriel Kay set in the Peninsula of the Palm, a land resembling Renaissance Italy and divided into nine once-independent provinces that share a common culture but have long been locked in rivalry. It follows a group of conspirators fighting to free their homeland from the tyrant sorcerer-king Brandin of Ygrath, one of two foreign rulers, alongside the warlord Alberico of Barbadior, who have conquered and divided the peninsula between them. Brandin has cursed the province of Tigana, whose people killed his son during the invasion, so that its very name cannot be spoken or remembered by anyone born after its fall, meaning the rebels fight not only for political freedom but to keep their homeland's identity and history from vanishing from the world's memory entirely.
Where it sits
- Universe: Tigana
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Guy Gavriel Kay
Awards (verified)
- Aurora Award (Long-Form Work in English), 1991: won
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1991: finalist; 3rd place, no-cutoff convention.
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 1991: nominated
- Mythopoeic Award (Fantasy), 1991: nominated
Notes
- single-work by the LOTR-analogy precedent: a standalone novel (Roc, 1990) set in a Renaissance-Italy-inspired world, no sequel or companion narrative. Confirmed separate from Kay's other universes already in this canon (The Fionavar Tapestry, A Song for Arbonne).
Sources
← Tigana dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.