Guy Gavriel Kay

Both sweeping and intimate, a majestic novel of love and war that brilliantly evokes the drama and turbulence of medieval France Thierry Villar is a well-known--even notorious-- tavern poet, familiar with the rogues and shadows of that world, but not at all with courts and power. He is an unlikely person, despite his quickness, to be caught up in the deadly contests of ambitious royals, assassins, and invading armies. But he is indeed drawn into all these things on a savagely cold night in his beloved city of Orane. And so Thierry must use all the intelligence and charm he can muster as political struggles merge with a decades-long war to bring his country to the brink of destruction. As he does, he meets his poetic equal in an aristocratic woman and is drawn to more than one unsettling person with a connection to the world beyond this one. He also crosses paths with an extraordinary young woman driven by voices within to try to heal the ailing king--and help his forces in war. A wide and varied set of people from all walks of life take their places in the rich tapestry of this story. A new masterwork from the internationally bestselling author of All the Seas of the World, A Brightness Long Ago, and Tigana, Written on the Dark is an elegant tour de force about power and ambition playing out amid the intense human need for art and beauty, and memories to be left behind.

'Kay is a genius. I've read him all my life and am always inspired by his work' BRANDON SANDERSONA sweeping new novel of love and war that brilliantly evokes the drama and turbulence of medieval France from the internationally bestselling author of Tigana, All the Seas of the World, and A Brightness Long Ago. Thierry Villar is a well-known - even notorious - tavern poet, intimately familiar with the rogues and shadows of that world, but not at all with courts and power. He is an unlikely person, despite his quickness, to be swept into the deadly contests of ambitious royals, assassins, and invading armies.But he is indeed drawn into all these things on a savagely cold night in his beloved city of Orane. And so Thierry must use all the intelligence and charm he can muster as power struggles merge with a decades-long war to bring his country to the brink of destruction.As he does, he meets his poetic equal in an aristocratic woman and is drawn to more than one unsettling person with a connection to the world beyond this one. He also crosses paths with an extraordinary young woman driven by voices within to try to heal the ailing king - and help his forces in war. A wide and varied set of people from all walks of life take their places in the rich tapestry of this story.Both sweeping and intimate, Written on the Dark is an elegant tour de force about power and ambition playing out amid the equally intense human need for art and beauty, and memories to be left behind.?PRAISE FOR GUY GAVRIEL KAY'S NOVELS?'Tragic, stirring, romantic, meticulous, comic, rueful, worldly-wise, and written in the intimate, deceptively nonchalant voice of a storyteller offering up his great gift' MICHAEL CHABON'Kay is a genius. I've read him all my life and am always inspired by his work' BRANDON SANDERSON'A wonderful talent. He tells stories in an invented world that is so rich in historical echoes that I found myself smiling with pleasure as I heard the echoes, while engrossed in the story. Warmly recommended' EDWARD RUTHERFORD'History and fantasy rarely come together as gracefully or readably as they do in the novels of Guy Gavriel Kay' THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD'By making the familiar ever so slightly strange, Guy Gavriel Kay breathes new life into historical fantasy. Beautifully faceted, jewel-like scenes carry us beyond the doublets and daggers to create an emotionally charged, high-stakes world of love and hate, threat and reward' DAILY MAIL'An immersive reading experience; readers will taste the dust in their mouths, see the high seas from the deck of a merchant ship, feel the bustle of the city market. What results is necessary sustenance for the starving reader. A masterpiece from a master of the craft' BOOKLIST'Gorgeous, generous, humane and deeply aware of the intricacies of human desire and attachment, All the Seas of the World is another masterpiece from Kay' JAMES BRADLEY'I came away from it with spirits lifted and a smile on my face, whilst feeling a wistful sense of regret that the reading experience was over. You can't ask more from a book than that' PARSEC

'Kay is a genius' Brandon SandersonReturning to the near-Renaissance world of A Brightness Long Ago and Children of Earth and Sky, international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay tells a story of vengeance, power, and love.On a dark night along a lonely stretch of coast, a small ship, the Silver Wake, sends two people ashore to a stony strand. Their purpose is assassination. They have been hired to do this by two of the most dangerous men alive. The consequences will affect so many lives both great and small, and possibly alter the balance of power in the world.One of those arriving on that night strand is a woman abducted by corsairs from her home as a child, escaping that fate, that destiny, years after, now trying to chart her own course - and bent upon revenge. Another figure, on the boat, bringing it to meet the secretive landing party at the city where they are going, is a merchant who still remembers being exiled as a child with his family from their home, for their faith.Returning triumphantly to the brilliantly evoked near-Renaissance world of his most recent novels, international bestseller Guy Gavriel Kay deploys his signature 'quarter turn to the fantastic' to offer readers a wide-ranging, vividly memorable set of characters in a story of vengeance, power, and love, built around profoundly contemporary themes of exile, loss, and memory.In a narrative of page-turning drama, All the Seas of the World also offers moving reflections on choices, fate, and the random events that can shape our lives.

'Kay is a genius' Brandon Sanderson/font>Returning to the near-Renaissance world of A Brightness Long Ago and Children of Earth and Sky, international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay deploys his signature 'quarter turn to the fantastic' to tell a story of vengeance, power, and love.On a dark night along a lonely stretch of coast, a small ship, the Silver Wake, sends two people ashore to a stony strand. Their purpose is assassination. They have been hired to do this by two of the most dangerous men alive. The consequences will affect so many lives both great and small, and possibly alter the balance of power in the world.One of those arriving on that night strand is a woman abducted by corsairs from her home as a child, escaping that fate, that destiny, years after, now trying to chart her own course - and bent upon revenge. Another figure, on the boat, bringing it to meet the secretive landing party at the city where they are going, is a merchant who still remembers being exiled as a child with his family from their home, for their faith.Returning triumphantly to the brilliantly evoked near-Renaissance world of his most recent novels, international bestseller Guy Gavriel Kay deploys his signature 'quarter turn to the fantastic' to offer readers a wide-ranging, vividly memorable set of characters in a story of vengeance, power, and love, built around profoundly contemporary themes of exile, loss, and memory.In a narrative of page-turning drama, All the Seas of the World also offers moving reflections on choices, fate, and the random events that can shape our lives.

International bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay's latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy and offers an extraordinary cast of characters whose lives come together through destiny, love, and ambition. In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count--and soon learned why that man was known as the Beast. Danio's fate changed the moment he saw and recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count's chambers one autumn night--intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen, instead of a life of comfort, one of danger--and freedom. Which is how she encounters Danio in a perilous time and place. Vivid figures share the unfolding story. Among them: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a powerful religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting all these lives and many more, two larger-than-life mercenary commanders, lifelong adversaries, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance. A Brightness Long Ago offers both compelling drama and deeply moving reflections on the nature of memory, the choices we make in life, and the role played by the turning of Fortune's wheel.

'The greatest living author of epic fantasy' - Brandon Sanderson 'The finest in his field' - Tor.com 'Guy Gavriel Kay's A Brightness Long Ago is a masterpiece; perhaps the finest work of one of the world's greatest living storytellers' - Fantasy Book Review ***One of Goodreads' Most Anticipated SFF Books of 2019*** Internationally bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay's latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy, with an extraordinary cast of characters. In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school, though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count - and soon learned why that man was known as The Beast. Danio's fate changed the moment he recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count's chambers one night - intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen a life of danger - and freedom - instead. Other vivid figures share the story: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting these lives and many more, two mercenary commanders, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance. Further praise for Guy Gavriel Kay 'Contemporary fiction's finest fantasist' Tor.com 'History and fantasy rarely come together as gracefully or readably as they do in the novels of Guy Gavriel Kay' Washington Post 'One of the (if not the) premiere fantasists of our time' The Financial Times 'Compulsively readable . . . Kay is a global phenomenon . . . a storyteller on the grandest scale' Time Magazine (Canada)

Guy Gavriel Kay, bestselling author of the groundbreaking novels Under Heaven and River of Stars, once again visits a world that evokes one that existed in our own past, this time the tumultuous period of Renaissance Europe - a world on the verge of war, where ordinary lives play out in the grand scheme of kingdoms colliding.From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates , a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the Grand Khalif at his request - and possibly to do more - and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman, posing as a doctor's wife in her role of a spy.The trading ship that carries them is commanded by the clever younger son of a merchant family - with ambivalence about the life he's been born to live. And farther east a boy trains to become a soldier in the elite infantry of the khalif - to win glory in the war everyone knows is coming.As these lives entwine, their fates-and those of many others - will hang in the balance, when the khalif sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world . . .

The bestselling author of the groundbreaking novels Under Heaven and River of Stars, Guy Gavriel Kay weaves a world inspired by the conflicts and dramas of Renaissance Europe. Against this tumultuous backdrop the lives of men and women unfold on the borderlands--where empires and faiths collide. From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request--and possibly to do more--and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor's wife but sent by Seressa as a spy. The trading ship that carries them is commanded by the accomplished younger son of a merchant family, ambivalent about the life he's been born to live. And farther east a boy trains to become a soldier in the elite infantry of the khalif--to win glory in the war everyone knows is coming. As these lives entwine, their fates--and those of many others--will hang in the balance when the khalif sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world....

In his critically acclaimed novel Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay told a vivid and powerful story inspired by Chinaâ??s Tang Dynasty. Now, the international bestselling and multiple award-winning author revisits that invented setting four centuries later â?? a world inspired this time by the glittering, decadent Song Dynasty.

Ren Daiyan was still just a boy when he took the lives of seven men while guarding an imperial magistrate. That moment on a lonely road changed his life in entirely unexpected ways, sending him into the forests of Kitai among the outlaws. From there he emerges years later--and his life changes again, dramatically, as he circles toward the court and emperor, while war approaches Kitai from the north. Lin Shan is the daughter of a scholar, his beloved only child. Educated by him in ways young women never are, gifted as a songwriter and calligrapher, she finds herself living a life suspended between two worlds. Her intelligence captivates an emperor--and alienates women at the court. But when her father's life is endangered by the savage politics of the day, Shan must act in ways no woman ever has. In an empire divided by bitter factions circling an exquisitely cultured emperor who loves his gardens and his art far more than the burdens of governing, dramatic events on the northern steppe alter the balance of power in the world, leading to events no one could have foretold, under the river of stars.

Hauntingly evocative of medieval Spain, a deeply compelling story of love, adventure, divided loyalties, and what happens when beliefs begin to remake â?? or destroy â?? a world.

In his latest innovative novel, the award-winning author evokes the dazzling Tang Dynasty of 8th-century China in a story of honor and power. Inspired by the glory and power of Tang dynasty China, Guy Gavriel Kay has created a masterpiece. It begins simply. Shen Tai, son of an illustrious general serving the Emperor of Kitai, has spent two years honoring the memory of his late father by burying the bones of the dead from both armies at the site of one of his father's last great battles. In recognition of his labors and his filial piety, an unlikely source has sent him a dangerous gift: 250 Sardian horses. You give a man one of the famed Sardian horses to reward him greatly. You give him four or five to exalt him above his fellows, propel him towards rank, and earn him jealousy, possibly mortal jealousy. Two hundred and fifty is an unthinkable gift, a gift to overwhelm an emperor. Wisely, the gift comes with the stipulation that Tai must claim the horses in person. Otherwise he would probably be dead already...

The thrilling sequel to Sailing To Sarantium and the concluding novel of The Sarantine Mosaic, Kayâ??s sweeping tale of politics, intrigue and adventure inspired by ancient Byzantium.

The first part of The Sarantine Mosaic, Kayâ??s sweeping tale of politics, intrigue and adventure inspired by ancient Byzantium.

From the multiple award-winning author of Ysabel, Tigana and A Song for Arbonne, this powerful, moving saga evokes the Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse cultures of a thousand years ago.

An epic historical adventure set in an alternate 8th century China, from the author of the 2008 World Fantasy winner, Ysabel. Under Heaven is a novel of heroes, assassins, concubines and emperors set against a majestic and unforgiving landscape.