I read a book by my favourite author this week. In fact, he is my favourite author of all time! Even more gratifying was the discovery that I had actually missed the fact that not just this book, but another had been published in recent years. So, I am lining up this other book to be read very soon. How wonderful!

Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay

The author is Guy Gavriel Kay and the book was called Children of Earth and Sky. Here is the blurb:

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 beautiful oman, 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…

Here is my review on the Goodreads site:

Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I simply cannot give less than five stars to this book, because I am completely in awe of GGK and always have been since my close friend recommended his writing. I love the way that he has created an alternate world, with two moons, which mirrors events in this one. I must admit that I don’t know anything about this particular period and the parallel events in our world, but that did not prevent me from immersing myself in the plot and characters. His plots and characters are always so interesting.

His writing always haunts me with its beauty. The way connections are made between the characters, then unmade as events take hold, then sometimes remade again. When I finish one of his books, they keep a hold on me for years. They are the only books that I have read and re-read multiple times, often for comfort. I still find new discoveries amongst the echoes of the previous reading.

As I can now no longer read print books, since I had a stroke, I am going to make sure that I have his entire work as ebooks, for those times when only the escapism of a GGK book will do!

View all my reviews

Many times I have recommended reading other reviews on Goodreads. In this case, it would be helpful to read other people’s reaction to this book, rather than my paean of praise!

Dark Age by Pierce Brown

I have now finally returned to the book I was halfway through back in September 2019: Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #05), by Pierce Brown. It is such a long book that it will probably take me more than a week to read! I cannot remember any of the book that I had already read, so it is like starting again and that is actually a bonus.

Happy Reading to you all!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

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