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Guy Gavriel Kay's masterful Tigana uses a fictionalized Renaissance Italy for his marvellous world-making. Tigana is a lost world, a victim of magic, intrigue, and malice. Once a vibrant province with a rich culture and glorious history, it has been cursed by the vicious tyrant/sorcerer King Brandin so that all memory of it has been erased from human recollection, with the exception of those born in Tigana, who are left to suffer its loss. Tigana follows the struggle of a tiny group who carry an echo of Tigana in their hearts and are willing to die to see it reborn. The book is in part a glorious and rich historical epic, but it is also an evocative love story and a riveting, action-packed tale of daring adventure. Kay excels in creating a stunning tapestry in which to recount a story that draws on everything from the shimmering chivalry of the Arthurian romances to the fascinating intrigues of Renaissance Italy. --Jeffrey Canton [via]