This is by far my favourite book of all time. I had to read it for a fantasy fiction course in university and so was a little wary about how much I might like it but WOW. This book is compelling and well developed, the complexity is amazingly executed and it is just a thoroughly addictive and fantastic read!

I was given this trilogy for Christmas by a friend. I was not sure I would enjoy fantasy, but having nothing to do one night I started to read, and I could not put it down.

Kay has a wonderfully smooth, poetic writing style that lends itself perfectly to weaving the rich mythology of this tale. The reader becomes utterly immersed in the land of Fionavar through its peoples, its history and its magic. Unforgettable characters and unending adventure make this an epic fantasy that easily rivals The Lord of The Rings! This is a MUST READ for any fantasy lover!

I loved this book, it was so epic. The characters were so easy to love and to hate.

I don't understand how this trilogy got such mixed reviews - like Tolkien, either you love it intensely or think it's boring as hell. I am one of the people who LOVED this trilogy, and I rarely read fantasy. I liked the characters, I liked the plot, and I think Kay has a very elegant and poetic writing style, which I enjoyed. One of those books where you can't let anyone else tell you what to think- read it and form your own opinion! (That said, I would like to wholeheartedly endorse this book!)

If you have finished with Tolkein and Lewis, this triology should be your next read. While the scope of the world may not be as epic as Tolkein (and several other modern works), the characters are richer than any others I have encountered. Kay uses the world transportation device to a far greater end than does Donaldson. The characters in this triology can be connected to easily and deeply. The plot is not simply good vs. evil, nor is it as predictable as those of Goodkind and Modesitt. The first novel is not quite on the level of the other two, but nonetheless, all three are examples of a mastering of almost-epic fantasy.

One of the best books I've read all year. Fantasy at it's finest. A must-read for all fantasy lovers.

At the recommendation of a close friend who knew I enjoyed the genre, I picked up this epic. Now I can teach Tolkien's epics at the University level, so greatly did I enjoy that material, and became immersed in it. But this...this is simply a masterpiece of a Tapestry! From the superb and deep characters to the rich injection of modern historical fiction into the story, from the dangerous plot twists and the artful threads woven together to form a satisfying conclusion, complete with all loose ends tied, this book is a must-read. I have just read the Da Vinci Code, with it's masterful weaving and thoughts of Fionavar immediately popped into my head. Has this happened to anyone else who's enjoyed Kay's finest work?

In the hands of a better writer, the world of Fionavar and the story of the six Torontonians who enter it could have made for a really brilliant book. Instead, after a promising beginning, The Fionavar Tapestry kept astounding me with the new levels of badness it was capable of reaching. Despite having worked on compiling J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, Kay lacks one of Tolkien's most important virtues: how to mix modern characters with 'heroic' ones while maintaining psychological and anthropological credibility. In this book, the characters from Toronto and the characters from Fionavar both alternate between, on the one hand, speaking and acting like contemporary North American twentysomethings and, on the other hand, using a stilted speech that Kay seems to think is archaic but that comes off like cheesy Dungeons and Dragons shtick. Kay's prose lacks anything like the terseness that gives heroic seriousness to adventure in Middle Earth or in Ursula LeGuin's Ear

What an epic! If you loved 'Lord of the Rings' you'll love this one even more! Kay does an outstanding job of bringing the characters to life, Fionavar is more lush then Middle Earth. By the end you are so wound up in the story you forget it is a story. I can't think of a better way to spend a week-end then with this book. A must read, and a bonus because Kay is Canadian!