Guy Gavriel Kay

[Astromech]

Excellent! Thanks for the link! I can't wait until May.

[Werthead]

Review coming later on. It's as excellent as always. It's also, as some have inferred from the blurb, set after the 1453 fall of Byzantium/Sarantium. It has guns and cannons in it, which makes it I believe Kay's most "recent" novel. It's not really a sequel to Lord of Emperors and The Lions of Al-Rassan, but it does contain new information on what happened after the events of those novels.

Also:

There's an interesting flash-forwards to what appears to be Kay's version of the Napoleonic Wars, with France/Ferrieres now the most powerful nation on the continent.

[Werthead]

Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay

 

Sarantium, the greatest city in the world, has fallen to the invading Asharites. A Grand Khalif rules from the city he calls Asharias, and his armies are continuing to advance into the heart of the holy Jaddite empire. For the cities of the Seressini Sea - mighty Seressa, growing Dubrava and the pirate haven of Senjan - these matters are distant and of limited importance. But this changes when several the fates of several individuals collide and change the fate of the world.

Guy Gavriel Kay is one of fantasy's foremost and most skilled authors, one who is capable of spinning an engrossing story from real history lightly salted with a dosing of the fantastic. This approach has served him well through several of the greatest fantasy novels of the past generation - The Lions of Al-Rassan foremost among them - and in Children of Earth and Sky he has done it again.

The historical inspiration this time is the fall of Sarantium (Constantinople) in 1453 to the invading Osmanlis (Ottomans). The novel takes place twenty-five years after this event with the Jaddite (Christian) kingdoms trying to overcome their internal divisions to fight back against the invaders but are undermined by some of their own cities, such as the mercantile powers of Seressa (Venice) and Dubrova (Dubrovnik), which are happy to trade with the rich invaders. This invokes the ire of the raiders and pirates of Senjan (Senj) who start preying on Seressan ships to fund their war against the Osmanlis. Political-religious conflict follows.

The book concerns, as is usual with Kay, the crossing of paths of several very different individuals. This time these characters include Pero Villani, an artist sent on a spying mission; Danica Gradek, a young woman who yearns to be a fighter and raider; Marin Djivo, a budding merchant; Damaz, a former slave turned into an elite djanni infantryman; and Leonora Valeri, a young woman sent into disgrace but who is turned into an agent for Seressa's government. Scores of other characters cross their paths, Kay spinning them into a tapestry of lives, tragedy, love and war which is utterly engrossing.

The book is vintage Kay in how it operates with history and character, but it is a little different in that it does have a strong side-focus on political intrigue, military campaigns and merchant rivalries. These are elements that Kay has written about before, but here they are more prominent and give the book additional texture. They also make the book more appealing to those fantasy fans who are interested more in action, warfare and backstabbing than in characterisation and mood, although this remains the primary focus of the book. Kay also explores the relationship between myth and history and stories, how a split-second decision on a battlefield can inspire legends and armies and heroes decades or centries later.

Kay's greatest skill has always been his ability to move between the large and small, showing how every person matters and how a quiet conversation between two people can shift the destinies of millions and change the fate of continents and empires, and he does that better than almost ever before in this novel.

The novel is a stand-alone but there are references to the events of The Sarantine Mosaic and The Lions of Al-Rassan, that long-term Kay fans will enjoy.

Children of Earth and Sky (*****) is Guy Gavriel Kay doing what he does best, and better than anyone else working in fantasy today: telling the story of empires and wars through the lens of characters so vivid and convincing that they feel real, and absorbing you into their lives. The novel will be available on 10 May 2016 in the UK and USA.

[williamjm]

It has guns and cannons in it, which makes it I believe Kay's most "recent" novel.

I think Ysabel would take that title fairly comfortably (it did seem odd to see Kay mentioning iPods and Coldplay in his work).

[Werthead]

Oh, I meant of his purely-secondary world works, otherwise Fionavar might count as well

[Calibandar]

Seems like the story is all about evolving young characters from the looks of it.

Any characters of Rodrigo or Ammar's stature in the book, like we saw in Lions?

Also, is a significant amount of time spent in the palaces of The Grand Khalif or other ruling entities? I enjoyed that stuff in Sarantium duology.

[Werthead]

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Any characters of Rodrigo or Ammar's stature in the book, like we saw in Lions?

The Grand Khalif, I suppose, and maybe the Duke of Seressa and a Sarantine rebel who has been fighting the Osmanlis for decades and is now a grizzled old badass.

Quote

Also, is a significant amount of time spent in the palaces of The Grand Khalif or other ruling entities? I enjoyed that stuff in Sarantium duology.

There is a semi-self-contained story set in Sarantium itself which takes up the final 100-150 pages of the book and involves the Khalif, but it's not the main focus of the story.

[Calibandar]

Second excerpt:

 

http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2016/03/excerpt-children-of-earth-and-sky-by-guy-gavriel-kay/

 

[AncalagonTheBlack]

Children of Earth and Sky: An Origin Story

Quote

Guy Gavriel Kay tells us about the origins of his new novel Children of Earth and Sky, a sweeping fantasy epic inspired by Adriatic pirates, the city of Dubrovnik and the conflicts and dramas of Renaissance Europe.

 

[Chaircat Meow]

I'm reading my first Kay book, A Song for Arbonne, now. It is ok, but I haven't got very far, so we'll see how it goes.

I'm interested in Children of Earth and Sky for the historical backdrop (I'm crazy about all things Byzantine).

[williamjm]

3 hours ago, Chaircat Meow said:

I'm interested in Children of Earth and Sky for the historical backdrop (I'm crazy about all things Byzantine).

You should probably also try the Sailing to Sarantium/Lord of Emperors duology that's set at the court of that world's equivalent of Justinian I.

Edited April 16, 2016 by williamjm

[Astromech]

6 hours ago, Chaircat Meow said:

I'm reading my first Kay book, A Song for Arbonne, now. It is ok, but I haven't got very far, so we'll see how it goes.

I'm interested in Children of Earth and Sky for the historical backdrop (I'm crazy about all things Byzantine).

A Song for Arbonne was my first GGK as well. I loved it, but his Sarantine Mosaic is my favorite of his so far. I'll second williamjm's recommendation.

[Lord Patrek]

Hey guys,

I received an extra advance reading copy of GGK's Children of Earth and Sky, so I'm giving it away to one lucky winner here.

Good luck!

Patrick

[Lautrec]

Woohoo Children of Earth and Sky is almost here  
It will be especially interesting to me since a part of it is based on Croatian history. I'm really interested in seeing how he'll capture Senj and Dubrovnik and Dalmatia in general.

Anyways, he has written 12 novels so far (with Children of Earth and Sky being the 13th). I haven't read Ysabel and the Fionavar Tapestry, but his other 9 novels are all at the high echelon of fantasy writing for me. The worst of the 9 is still fantastic.

I thought I might write a  guide for those who are trying to get into his books but aren't quite sure as where to begin. Hope this helps.



We could divide his 13 novels in 2 sets. The first is standard fantasy, while the second is what Kay is known for, so, essentially taking history and making it fantasy.

In this first category you have 4 novels. The Summer Tree; The Wandering Fire; The Darkest Road; Ysabel. The first three of those form a Tolkienesque trilogy called The Fionavar Tapestry, and should obviously be read in that order. Ysabel is a stand-alone urban fantasy novel but it is explicitly tied to the aforementioned and you can, but preferably shouldn't read it before the trilogy.

The other 9 are more-or-less standalone novels. They are, in order of publishing: Tigana; A Song for Arbonne; The Lions of Al-Rassan; Sailing to Sarantium; Lord of Emperors; The Last Light of the Sun; Under Heaven; River of Stars; Children of Earth and Sky.

A disclaimer first. Kay really likes subtly referencing his previous work but that doesn't mean those stories take place in the same world, so you can find a reference to Fionavar in Tigana and a reference to Tigana in Lord of Emperors, but, again, not the same setting.

With that out of the way:

Tigana; A Song for Arbonne; The Lions of Al-Rassan; The Last Light of the Sun, Under Heaven; River of Stars; Children of Earth and Sky. These novels are stand-alone, and can be read in any order you will fully understand the story, the characters, and the setting. On the other hand, Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors form a duology called The Sarantine Mosaic, with Lord of Emperors being a direct sequel. Obviously, don't read that one first.

But now it gets complicated.

Tigana (Renaissance Italy) and A Song for Arbonne (the Albigensian Crusade) are the only two truly stand-alone novels, with no explicit ties to any other story. Both take place in their own imaginary world.

Under Heaven and River of Stars take place in the same country called Kitai (think China in the 8th and 12th centuries), but River of Stars takes place 300ish years after the events of Under Heaven. While you don't have to read Under Heaven at all to understand River of Stars, I think it is more enjoyable to read that one first, since there are some clever and plot-relevant details that you'll appreciate that much more if you read Under Heaven first.

The Lions of Al-Rassan; The Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors); The Last Light of the Sun; and Children of Earth and Sky all take place in the same setting at different points of time, but this difference is more broad than the one with the Kitai novels. Whereas those two take place in the same country, these five novels take place on the same continent, and the time differences are in centuries. The main tie between them is religion with the god Jad being an important aspect of all of them. The in-universe chronology is slightly different then the publishing one, it being: The Sarantine Mosaic (equivalent to the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century) - The Last Light of the Sun (England in the late 9th century) - The Lions of Al-Rassan (Spain in the early 10th Century) - The Children of Earth and Sky (Venice and the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century). But despite that, I would still recommend reading these in the publishing order, because the main tie between them (Jad) is mostly fleshed out and explored in The Lions of Al-Rassan. The only really important thing is to read The Last Light of the Sun after the Sarantine Mosaic, because there is a bit of a spoiler and a nice callback in The Last Light of the Sun considering The Sarantine Mosaic.

To recap, there are really five reading orders you should follow for maximum enjoyment. You can start with any of the below five and intercut with any novel from any of the other lines, but don't switch places of novels in the same line.

1. The Summer Tree ---> The Wandering Fire ---> The Darkest Road ---> Ysabel

2. Tigana

3. A Song for Arbonne

4. The Lions of Al-Rassan ---> Sailing to Sarantium ---> Lord of Emperors ---> The Last Light of the Sun ---> Children of Earth and Sky 

An alternative that would work just as fine (but I prefer the above) would be: 

Sailing to Sarantium ---> Lord of Emperors ---> The Last Light of the Sun ---> The Lions of Al-Rassan ---> Children of Earth and Sky 

5. Under Heaven ---> River of Stars



Here is also my ranking of the above 7 (counting The Sarantine Mosaic as one, and Children of Earth and Sky isn't out yet), from worst to best, if you want to decide where to being using that. But, again, the worst is still amazing.

7. Under Heaven
6. A Song for Arbonne
5. The Last Light of the Sun
4. River of Stars
3. Tigana
2. The Sarantine Mosaic
1. The Lions of Al-Rassan


Hope this helped

[Lautrec]

Just a reminder that Children of Earth and Sky is out. I'm almost halfway through am really enjoying it.

[3CityApache]

Funny, I always assumed both Song for Arbonne and Tigana take place in the same world as most of the others, apart from Fionavar and Ysabel of course. The world with two moons, you know.

[williamjm]

15 minutes ago, 3CityApache said:

Funny, I always assumed both Song for Arbonne and Tigana take place in the same world as most of the others, apart from Fionavar and Ysabel of course. The world with two moons, you know.

There seems to be a significantly higher level of magic in those (particularly Tigana) than in the Sarantine world. They're also less based on European history, while a lot of events and characters from history appear in the Sarantine books (in slightly disguised form), there's no direct historical equivalent of a sorcerer/Emperor casting a spell to wipe a country's name from memory.

[felice]

1 hour ago, williamjm said:

there's no direct historical equivalent of a sorcerer/Emperor casting a spell to wipe a country's name from memory.

As far as we can remember, anyway.

[Werthead]

All of the books take place in the same universe, but not the same world/timeline. Fionavar is set in the First of All Worlds, and there are some hints that both Tigana and A Song for Arbonne take place in remote regions of the same planet. However, they could also take place on a different planet, or each in their own individual worlds.

The Sarantine Mosaic, Under Heaven, River of Stars, The Lions of Al-Rassan, The Last Light of the Sun and Children of Earth and Sky all "appear" to take place on the same alternate Earth. I'm pretty certain this world is 100% an alternate version of our world, and the maps appear slightly different because Kay is going for the same simplified style of the particular periods.

One issue with this is that the planet is noted as having only one moon in Under Heaven (I can't remember if this is still the case in River of Stars), compared to the two of all the other books. This is anomalous as the setting for UH and RoS, Khitai, is mentioned in many of the other books in this world and some of the western nations are mentioned in UH and RoS, so they seem to be the same planet. The one moon may either be a mistake or confirming that UH and RoS take place in a parallel universe version of the same planet.

[Calibandar]

On 14-5-2016 at 7:08 PM, Lautrec said:

Just a reminder that Children of Earth and Sky is out. I'm almost halfway through am really enjoying it.

I am liking this one more than the previous one with the Asian setting, River of Stars, which ranks as the worst Kay novel for me.