I am not sure how to feel about the book as a whole. I felt like it was extremely anticlimactic. The entire book is building and building to this confrontation in Senzio between Barbador and Ygraith, but then the confrontation itself gets about 20 pages of the book. I was just slightly disappointed, because I didn't feel like the book had any strong points:

The characters all had the potential to be amazing; however, I didn't feel like any of them were developed quite enough for me to be personally invested.

Baerd was a very weird mix. He was depressed and tragic, but then had wild mood swings depending on which chapter it was. Was he searching for his sister so they could have a twisted relationship again? Or was he remorseful about what they had done and wanted to find her to make amends? Where in the hell did the Nightwalker thing spring up?
Devin is a 19 year old. It seems to be the theme of modern fantasy: angst ridden, purposeless teenagers trying to find their way in the world. I think the only reason why I don't have problems rereading things like: The Belgariad, The Wheel of Time (this isn't nearly as bad), etc is because I originally read them when I was around 14 and sympathizing with the main characters. I am just really turned off by Devin's impulsiveness in fighting for a cause he just learned about 10 minutes beforehand, for a homeland he has never seen. Impulsiveness has always been a bone of contention for me.
Dianora was my favorite character in the entire development, I think. Talk about a struggle and two worlds clashing inside of one person. The Saishan house politics are interesting, and I wish they had been developed more.
Brandin is a disgusting shell of a man. He is a clear example of how emotion can destroy a person.
Rovigo is a fairly generic character, but I like him nonetheless.
Alberico is so one-faceted. It was honestly perplexing...I don't understand how he was solely an ambitious individual and how there was really nothing else to him.
Alessan was an interesting guy. Able to unite the divided palm, which no one in how many thousands of years of history was able to do? Kudos. Seriously though, the mommy issues, striving to be accepted, randomly realizing he is in love with a 19 year old girl, etc...it was just too much. His story was like a cup of tea with too much sugar-- it made my teeth ache.
Sandre, the former duke-turned wizard--turned ultra wizard: Interesting character, I really wish they had developed his persona more. As it was, I felt like there wasn't enough to flesh him out; so much like his physicality, his story was frail.

As a side note, re: when Catriana is falling and he cuts his fingers to bind his magic to the palm. Seriously? That is how fast the magic amplifies? You just cut the fingers off and *boom* you have more power? What about shock? Also, if he has only used his magic 5 times before in his entire life, how is he able to just wave a hand and try to save her? And what is up with Erlain's look when he is talking to Sandre about his attempt at saving Catriana? (He was apparently too far away for his spell to work). Erlain gives him a penetrating look...does this mean he is awe struck by how strong Sandre is? I am not sure what else it could be.

Catriana is a pretty amazing gal. She wants things done, so she does what she has to do to accomplish them. I think her character doesn't need much refinement whatsoever.

The whole Alienor thread was one I wish had encompassed more space in the book. Her cravings and decrepitude would make for interesting character development and analysis.


Overall, I felt like Guy should have either made this into 2 books, or added another 100 pages to Tigana to make it more comprehensive. I guess this makes me blatantly American, but I like comprehensive. Yes, I have an imagination, and I like employing it, however I felt while reading this book that there were just too many gigantic holes to be filled in. When I finished reading it, I didn't feel anything, either extremely positive or negative...I don't really know how to feel about this book.