In the end, this was really quite disappointing, and perhaps made worse by comparison with Kay’s other books. If you’ve never read his books before, please, please, PLEASE do not start here!

The problem is pretty simple: Kay has always had a “philosophy of life” bent to his books. Often times a little moralistic, overbearing, third-wall breaking, and heavy handed. But always a little. Usually his books are character driven, and his forays into the human condition are nicely contained as relevant ways to show the gravity of an occasion, or a broader perspective to an otherwise interpersonal conflict.

This book simply goes too far, and its characters are far less compelling. His story arcs for the main characters are (frankly) terrible in comparison with almost all his other works, and he spends more time laboring on about “we are what we are” and hitting you over the head with character tropes like “the battle hardened commander,” “the heartthrob who wants nothing more than to open a bookshop and live a quiet life,” and “the pre-industrial revolution woman who wants desperately to live a life of intrigue.” I have nothing against these characters, but they’re basically the entire depth that he provides. Beyond that he simply tells about what they do, and then rambles about how it fits with his increasingly dark takes on life and death.

Overall, maybe I liked this book less because I have read his other books, and know that they are almost all strictly better. They have the same style of insights amidst story, but are much less heavy handed, feature better and more developed characters, and make the reader feel the intended emotions without the help of a narrator’s hammer.

Do yourself a favor, and just read the Lions of Al Rassan instead! ( )

Can a book be gripping and meditative at once? ( )

Some Kay musings, after finishing his most recent book. Recommendation notes at the end.

It's been interesting watching the trajectory of Kay's work, and how I feel like we're seeing him find a tighter and tighter focus into the kinds of stories he wants to tell.

The Fionavar Tapestry was probably fresh from having helped Christopher Tolkien edit the Silmarillion. Epic Fantasy, big magic. But at the same time with a deeply-felt connection to personal, individual choices.

Tigana, The Lions of Al-Rassan, A Song for Arbonne, he really comes into his own with the 'quarter-turn to the fantastic,' deeply inspired by history.

From the Sarantine Mosaic onwards, he has continued to travel down that path with greater and greater detail and focus on characters and their choices, spending what so much more time on this than most other writers in fantasy.

Fantasy often feels like a plot-heavy genre. It's about the things that are happening, and often the order that they're happening in, often leading to Big Events with Important People.

Kay still definitely does that; but at the same time these Important People encounter and are deeply affected by people who aren't destined to be recorded by history.

By the time we reach this, his most recent book, the 'plot' of the book consists of maybe five or six major events. In the hands of a different writer, this would only be half the novel. But Kay spends so much time exploring the moments and details that these events are heightened, not due to their 'Importance,' but in their emotional and character-specific detail.

He's referencing a world that he's built up over many books, but none of those references are required to enjoy it. They become little gifts and reminders... and they enhance a sense of reality to the setting, not because of the encyclopedic expository explanations, but because these references are obliquely made, and sometimes about events that are either very distant or seen differently.

At first I felt like I was seeing too many of Kay's 'tricks' in terms of characterizations and narrative styles, but by the time I finished the book, I've come around to feeling that like these aren't tricks, they are the ways in which Kay himself profoundly feels about stories and character.

If this is your first Kay novel, I hope you enjoy! There is absolutely nothing from a plot or background level that you're missing. (A great feature of his books is that you can start with just about any of them!)

At a writing level, it is superb. Kay's writing is often described as lyrical, but it is never overwrought of needlessly complex. The lyricism is in arrangement of the details and not in obscure language.

I will say that if you're expecting something like adventure fiction (though there is some wonderful action) or heroic fantasy (though characters make very brave choices) you will find this to be very different. It isn't constructed that way, but it is constructed very intentionally. Settle in to some intricate, finely wrought storytelling. ( )

My first Kay novel, but certainly not my last. Lyrical and pensive ( )

You can't really go wrong with a book by Guy Gavriel Kay and narration by Simon Vance. They are both masters at their craft so this was an enjoyable listen.

Guidanio Cerra (called Danio) was the son of a tailor but his intelligence earned him a place in a prestigious school. When he graduated from the school he was made a member of the staff of Count Uberto aka The Beast. Uberto was infamous for having young women, and sometimes young men, brought to his bedroom where he abused and, on occasion, killed them for his twisted enjoyment. A rival conceived a plot to assassinate Uberto based on this proclivity. His niece, Adria Ripoli, posed as a simple peasant girl with a farm couple near Uberto's castle. When she came to the Count's notice and was summoned to his presence she coated her lips with a poison that caused death within moments. Danio and the chief steward were in attendance outside of the bedroom. It was prearranged that the chief steward would knock on the door after a certain length of time. If the Count responded telling them to go away they did but on this occasion he didn't respond so they entered the room. They found the Count dead on the floor and the girl nowhere in sight. Adria had been told of a secret passageway from the Count's rooms and went down the stairwell. However, before she had kissed the Count he had stabbed her in the thigh and she had lost a lot of blood. Danio found the blood trace, which he wiped up so no one else would, and followed her down the stairs. He helped her the remaining distance to where her escort was waiting for her, thus saving her life. Because she was so badly injured she had to be taken to a healer as soon as possible. Jelena is a young woman living on her own outside a small village close to the Count's palace. She takes Adria in and tends to her wounds in return for a large sum of money. Over the ensuing years these three main characters pop up in various places. Adria and Danio fall in love but never consummate their relationship. Jelena also has an affair but she leaves him behind to pursue her learning. War is constantly ongoing with mercenary armies taking the side of whomever can pay the most money. A ceasefire is called when the news of the fall of Sarantium (which is obviously Constantinople) so that for a year there is peace. Danio is remembering all this later in his life when he is a councillor for the city that is not called Venice but is obviously based on Venice.

As always, Guy's fantasy is based on historical events and places. I don't know much about Renaissance history but I'm sure Guy Gavriel Kay does so there is probably some truth to this fiction ( )