River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay
reviewed by Steven H Silver
The author weaves together a large number of stories and characters, although for several chapters it isn't entirely clear which
ones will be ongoing characters and which ones will simply move in and out of the storyline or die off entirely. Few of
them wind up living the lives they expect, even before the massive tidal wave of history rolls over them.
Characters find that their choices aren't always the obvious ones, although they do make sense for the characters in
the long run.
Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
reviewed by Dominic Cilli
Shen Tai is the second son of the celebrated war leader General Shen Gao who won a key battle against their ancient foes
near a remote mountain lake named Kaula Nor. Twenty years after the battle, Shen Tai's legendary
father dies. Tai journeys to Kaula Nor to mourn the passing of his father, as tradition demands, but also takes
on the impossible task of burying the bones of 40,000 dead soldiers that have remained there all those
years. One spring morning, he receives news that a Tagurian princess has heard of his efforts
and has gifted him 250 Sardian horses as a reward for his service and his honoring of the dead. The
gift would be enough to overwhelm an emperor and instantly makes Tai a player at court, setting off a chain of events that will see the
face of China's Tang dynasty changed forever.
Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay
reviewed by Alma A. Hromic
Reviewers are saying wonderful things about this book -- and they are right. His writing, as always, is
luminous -- in fact, the prologue is a poem told in prose, a love letter to Provence and its light and the depth
of its past, only lightly covered by its present and by what we like to think of as "civilization"; this is a part of the world
that he clearly knows, and loves, and this comes through clearly in the book. His handling of young adult characters is deft,
often funny, often poignant.
The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay
reviewed by Cindy Lynn Speer
Many people come together in this story, set in the Norse-Celtic-Saxon inspired Northlands, where Erlings raid and fight, and
peace is a tenuous dream. There is Bern Thorkellson, who lost everything and was made a slave when his father killed a man over a
game. He decides to steal the fine horse that is about to be burned in the morning with its dead master. It is a foolish thing to do on
such a small island, but a young woman's advice saves him from the trickery of the local wise-woman and sends him on his path. He'll
become a mercenary and eventually to be reunited with his father.
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The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay
reviewed by Alma A. Hromic
Holding a bewildering array of worlds in one's head is one of the things that writers do, that's part of the job
description, and with fantasy it's more pertinent than most because the worlds in question can be so very different from the one
we are used to seeing around us every day. But holding multiplicities of worlds in one's mind is something that the author
has already transcended -- he's been there, done that, issued readers' visas for a number of different and equally fascinating
spheres of otherworldliness.
Beyond This Dark House: Poems by Guy Gavriel Kay
reviewed by Alma A. Hromic
If there is a single impossible thing in writing book reviews, it's writing a review of a book of poetry -- simply because poetry is so absolutely
subjective, so utterly dependent on individual tastes. And those tastes literally range from dumbstruck awe to a reaction along the lines
of, 'If the Secret Police picked me up, all they'd have to do is make me sit there and read poetry and I'd tell them everything they
wanted to know...' In between those two extremes, there are the fine gradations...
Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay
reviewed by Wayne MacLaurin
This novel teems with colourful plots and subplots. Kay serves up
assassinations, mobs, romance, a climactic chariot race, fabulous dinners
and a dizzying cast of characters. All of this is tied up with Crispin's
mosaic work on Emperor Valerius' sanctuary, as the Emperor continues his
efforts to leave his mark on history. The story advances at a dizzying
pace, with twists and turns are cunningly laid out, as Kay lays the pieces
that make up his own literary mosaic.
Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay
reviewed by James Seidman
This stunning book is set in a fantasy world based on the historical Byzantine
Empire -- the Sarantine Empire. Obvious similarities include a fallen
empire to the west and competing factions supporting charioteers. But in
the Sarantine Empire, alchemy, pagan gods, and the like are, at least sometimes, actually real.
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