Hello everyone and welcome to my first Reading Roundup post for ages! Regular visitors will be aware that I have been struggling with my health whilst also trying to move house. In fact, my list of horrible illnesses was added to by a very frightening fall. I cracked a rib and ended up covered in bruises. After all of that, I was unable to concentrate enough to read books or post on here.

Thankfully, I am beginning to emerge from that nightmare. We now own our new home and are planning the move, which is waiting on some alterations. The bruising has now faded and I am feeling quite a bit better, although I am still much weaker than I was before all of this happened. I also feel extremely tired and cannot do very much. The great thing is that I have been able to concentrate enough to read for a few weeks and also do most of the organising of the move.

So, what have I been reading? I turned to comfort reading in my pain. You may remember that my most favourite author is Guy Gabriel Kay. His latest three books are all set in the same world and are part of a sequence which is, apparently, continued in his new book, due to be published later this month. For that reason, and because my stroke back in 2019 affects my memory, I decided to re read all three to prepare for the new work. In fact it was such a pleasure to revisit these books. Reading them again was wonderful and opened up his clever use of characters which span the whole arc of the series. Anyway, here they are with the blurbs and my original comments from Goodreads…

So let’s begin with Children of Earth and Sky. This is the blurb…

“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 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 . . .”

And this was my response on Goodreads…

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

---

I expect that my “reviews” of these three books will be rather similar. Probably because I am in awe of GGK’s writing skills!

OK, let’s move on to the next book in the sequence, A Brightness Long Ago. The events in this actually take place before those in the first book, if you see what I mean! Here is the blurb…

“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 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.”

This is my review on Goodreads…

A Brightness Long Ago: A profound and unforgettable historical fantasy novel by Guy Gavriel Kay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yet again, as I finish a book by GGK, I am left with my head both spinning and dreaming. The author does indeed weave bright stories, based around true events in history. In this case, I didn’t know anything about the real events, so just immersed myself in the interwoven tales of the main characters.

It was a little confusing for me, at first, that this is a prequel to his previous book, Children of Earth and Sky, and that there were also allusions to his two books set in a fantasy version of Byzantium. I have only recently finished reading the former, but it is such a long time since I read the latter two and I, therefore, feel inspired to buy ebook versions and re-read them. My memory is very poor now and I struggle to remember events in books that I have only just finished, never mind read decades ago!

I suppose this could be seen as a gift and another reason to read GGK’s books repeatedly!

Having read quite a few of the other reviews of this particular book here on Goodreads, I must recommend them to other readers. Many are truly excellent and will give you far more insight than I can.

View all my reviews

---

We have now reached the final book: All the Seas of the World. First the blurb…

“Returning 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.”

And my response…

All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yet another fabulous book by my most favourite author of all time! I feel like I need to lie down in a cool, dark room so that I can review my feelings and sort out a response. The carefully realised world, the diverse and finely drawn characters (even the lesser ones), the poignant side plots, the overarching main plot – everything is beautifully done.

The author’s voice is there from time to time as we follow a tiny sub plot to a sad or joyful end. The main story arcs coalesce into an exciting and satisfying finale. Such a great author! His work is usually labelled as fantasy, but it is much more than that.

Just a couple of tiny points: there was a slightly odd change to first person at one point in the book. This echoes the previous book, I think, but it marred a little. The other point is to do with me and not the author. My memory issues meant that I struggled to place this book in the context of the others written in this world. Perhaps I should go back and read them all again! That wouldn’t be a hardship.

View all my reviews

---

Phew! Well, that’s been a race through these three books. While I have been waiting for the new one, I decided to take a break from GGK and try the latest book by another favourite author. Which book and author? Well, you will find out next week, all being well.

Happy Reading everyone!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

📚📕📚📕📚