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Children of Earth and Sky
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Much prefer any of Gabriel Kay's other books.
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A Song for Arbonne is Guy Gavriel Kay's critically acclaimed fantasy of love, both courtly and forbidden, and of kingdoms endlessly opposed - one dominated by male rulers and their male god, the other guided by women and their goddess.
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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.
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Much prefer any of Gabriel Kay's other books.
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Crispin is a mosaicist, a layer of bright tiles. Still grieving for the family he lost to the plaque, he lives only for his arcane craft. But an imperial summons from Valerius the Trakesian to Sarantium, the most magnificent place in the world, is difficult to resist. In a world half-wild and tangled with magic, a journey to Sarantium means a walk into destiny. Bearing with him a deadly secret and a Queen's seductive promise, guarded only by his own wits and a talisman from an alchemist's treasury, Crispin sets out for the fabled city. Along the way he will encounter a great beast.
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A Song for Arbonne
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A Song for Arbonne is Guy Gavriel Kay's critically acclaimed fantasy of love, both courtly and forbidden, and of kingdoms endlessly opposed - one dominated by male rulers and their male god, the other guided by women and their goddess.
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A True Treasure
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From the multiple award-winning author of Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, and the three-book Fionavar Tapestry that "can only be compared to Tolkien's masterpiece" (Star-Phoenix), this powerful, moving saga evokes the Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse cultures of a thousand years ago.
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Tigana is the magical story of a beleaguered land struggling to be free. It is the tale of a people so cursed by the black sorcery of a cruel, despotic king that even the name of their once-beautiful homeland cannot be spoken or remembered.
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A classic fantasy masterpiece
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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.
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A moving lyrical story
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The Red Queen is old but the kings of the Broken Empire dread her like no other. For all her reign, she has fought the long war, contested in secret, against the powers that stand behind nations, for higher stakes than land or gold. Her greatest weapon is The Silent Sister - unseen by most and unspoken of by all. The Red Queen's grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth - drinker, gambler, seducer of women - is one who can see The Silent Sister.
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banger
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Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg’s strange talent for seeing the paths of people’s pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him - secrets about Rigg’s own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.
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Pay attention this is not a lazy read
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Ysabel
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Saint-Sauveur Cathedral of Aix-en-Provence is an ancient structure of many secrets -a perfect monument to fill the lens of a celebrated photographer, and a perfect place for the photographer's son, Ned Marriner, to lose himself while his father works. But the cathedral isn't the empty edifice it appears to be. Its history is very much alive in the present day - and it's calling out to Ned...
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Elantris
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In 2005, Brandon Sanderson debuted with Elantris, an epic fantasy unlike any other then on the market. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Tor is reissuing Elantris in a special edition, a fresh chance to introduce it to the myriad listeners who have since become Sanderson fans.
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A great start to an epic universe
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From R. A. Salvatore, the legendary creator of Drizzt Do'Urden, comes the start of a brand new epic journey. When Aoleyn loses her parents, she is left to fend for herself among a tribe of vicious barbarians. Bound by rigid traditions, she dreams of escaping to the world beyond her mountain home. The only hope for achieving the kind of freedom she searches for is to learn how to wield the mysterious power used by the tribe's coven known as the Song of Usgar. Thankfully, Aoleyn may be the strongest witch to have ever lived, but magic comes at price.
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Great story, poor ending choice
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The Summer Tree
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The Summer Tree is the first novel of Guy Gavriel Kay's critically acclaimed fantasy trilogy, The Fionavar Tapestry. Five university students embark on a journey of self-discovery when they enter a realm of wizards and warriors, gods and mythical creatures - and good and evil...
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Fantastic listen as I revisit Fionavar
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As one of the most consistently exciting writers to emerge in the last 25 years, Orson Scott Card has been honored with numerous awards, while immersing readers in dazzling worlds only he could create. Now, in Enchantment, Card works his magic as never before, transforming the timeless story of Sleeping Beauty into an original fantasy brimming with romance and adventure.
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Orson Card takes folk stories to a new level
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A posthumous recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, Marion Zimmer Bradley reinvented - and rejuvenated - the King Arthur mythos with her extraordinary Mists of Avalon series. In this epic work, Bradley follows the arc of the timeless tale from the perspective of its previously marginalized female characters: Celtic priestess Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar, and High Priestess Viviane.
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This book is my all time favorite
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A Dangerous Fortune
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In 1866 tragedy strikes at the exclusive Windfield School when a mysterious accident takes the life of a student. Among the student's circle of friends are Hugh Pilaster; Hugh's older cousin Edward, dissolute heir to the Pilaster banking fortune; and Micky Miranda, the handsome son of a brutal South American oligarchy. The death and its aftermath begin the spiraling circle of treachery that will span three decades and entwine many lives.
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Outstanding
- By Chickalicious on 2019-06-29
Publisher's Summary
The best-selling author of the groundbreaking novels Under Heaven and River of Stars, Guy Gavriel Kay, is back with a new novel, Children of Earth and Sky, set in 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....
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Anonymous User
- 2017-10-12
yes.
I'm on a GGK binge.
I wasn't too sure how much I'd enjoy this in the beginning. but I've been through tigana and the lions of al rassan, so I put my trust in this awesome author.
well, I'm crying. maybe it's because I'm an artist and can relate to one of the main characters. aside from that, this is truly a beautiful story. I see all of Kay's books as works of art.
if you want loads of action and easy reading, like many fantasy readers, this is probably not for you.
if you love intricate, wonderfully written plot lines, realistic character development, and heartfelt tenderness in the outlook of life...I recommend this over and over
12 of 13 people found this review helpful
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- Blythe
- Alberta (formerly California)
- 2016-07-20
Rich, detailed, atmospheric, epic
Any additional comments?
Guy Gavriel Kay's books tend to be sweeping epics full of wonderful atmosphere, detailed and realistic cultures, and believable characters. This one isn't any different! It's been a while since I read any of his books and I recall that my favorite was The Lions of Al Rassan, so I was pleased to find this is set in the same world, although many years later. The story follows several characters of different backgrounds including Danica Gradek, who lost her family to Ozmanli raiders and has dedicated her life to revenge; Pero Villani, a poor artist who is asked to risk his life to paint a portrait of an enemy ruler and use the opportunity to spy for his country; Leonora Valeri, also being sent to spy but whose path in that direction is suddenly derailed; and the Djivo merchant family, who meet, assist, and help transport all of the others and have an interesting story of their own. Many other characters besides these of course, but the story mainly revolves around these ones as they meet and separate and meet again in various circumstances and we learn about the current world and politics through their eyes.
While I enjoyed the book very much, I somehow didn't find it quite as gripping as The Lions of Al Rassan or Tijana, though I can't quite put my finger on why. Perhaps I just didn't quite identify with the characters as much. At any rate it's still a great book and a very enjoyable read, even richer if you've read the other books set in the same world, but this is also a fine place to jump in new
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
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- Sarah
- 2016-05-13
Deep Echoes of the Sarantine Mosaic
In many ways this is a continuation of the two books, "Sailing to Sarantium" and "Lord of Emperors " although it can be listened to as a stand-alone novel. The time is a thousand years later, and the world, an analogue of the Balkans, Venice, Dubrovnik, and Istanbul is much different, of course, but there are many allusions to the earlier books. The historical "real world" aspects are rather more obvious than in the last few books Kay has written.
Perhaps, because I am a Dorothy Dunnett fan, in the beginning I feared it would tell a similar sort of story to her Niccolo series, but I quickly realized it was not so. The number of characters is bewilderingly large, but the main characters soon sort themselves out. As always, Simon Vance does a good job, but he really does not have the vocal range needed to make each voice distinctive. The pace of the writing takes a while to adjust to, as Kay has a distinctive style, just as I find one has to adjust to John le Carre's slow pacing.
In short, Guy Gavriel Kay has created a satisfying new installment in his "history" of a world with two moons.
23 of 25 people found this review helpful
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- Lynn Mills
- Cobble Hill, British Columbia Canada
- 2016-05-29
Immersive and Captivating
Guy Gavriel Kay writes beautiful lyrical prose with incredible character development and captivating plots. Immersive is an excellent adjective to use for Kay's writing. Especially if you listen to the audible books. Kay's writing is rich in nuance and cadence. It is lyrical and melodic and deserves to be read by a great narrator like Simon Vance. Listening to this, and all his books is beyond a pleasurable immersive experience! Most of his books are essentially historical fiction with a quarter turn to fantasy. He takes a time and place in our world history and retells it in a fictional world. While writing an often deep and complex story, he engages the reader in the bigger questions of life.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2017-12-13
Simon Vance makes this tale amazing.
I found this to be an amazing story, though i could do with a bit less moralizing. Simon Vance could read my death sentence and I would be pleased to hear it.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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- Anna
- 2016-10-17
Amazing.
He has done it again. Lyrical, touching, exciting by turns. Great to hear the tie ins with the Sarantium Mosaic.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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- Paul Vasquez
- Fresno
- 2016-11-13
Another great read from Kay!
Where does Children of Earth and Sky rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
The story is in the same vein as most of Kays stories. Sweeping epics that are well thought out and complex. The stories tend to come together in the end with twists that make you think.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Danica was my favorite because she was seeking revenge for past wrongs done to her and her family.
What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?
As always, Simon did a great job with the voices. One of my favorite narrators in the business.
If you could take any character from Children of Earth and Sky out to dinner, who would it be and why?
Danica again because she has that fire in her blood that makes her a very interesting character. Somebody who seems to need some love and light in her life.
Any additional comments?
I enjoyed listening to this story! All of Kays stories are worth reading or listening to. Even though this is not my favorite Kay story, it was well worth listening to.
Thank you!
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
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- Bernadette
- 2017-08-14
Good, but not his best work
I have mixed feeling about this book. I love Guy Gavriel Kay's writing and I mostly enjoyed this book. However I do not believe it is his best work and could use some careful editing. I feel like to much of this book was spent unnecessarily repeating events that happen through multiple viewpoints and he made to many pointed references to the other books Kay has written set in the same universe. I felt like the beginning fourth of the book and the last fourth are the strongest and the middle suffers a bit.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
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- David Scott
- 2016-12-16
Guy Gabriel Kay entrances again!
With another book in his elegant pseudo-historical of Sarantia and the Osmanli empires, which echo the drama and linguistic influence of the fall of Byzantium to the Ottomans, Kay weaves a beautiful study of humanity. I'm always amazed at Kay's economy in investing his characters with such great depth in so few words and the resulting ability to make us care for and feel the poignant tragedies and restoring victories of his band of protagonists. Kay's prose seems to just become more eloquent with each novel, regardless of the setting, and I often find myself just enjoying the insightful reflections on the scale of every human life, even against history or eternity - a deeply satisfying read that I highly recommend.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
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- Gordon Semple
- Newmarket, ON, Canada
- 2016-07-29
lyrical fantasy at its best
When language is as rich as ice wine and the story still flows with absolute purpose.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
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- Margery R
- Gulf coast of FL
- 2019-11-29
soaring
this beautiful book took me on a fantasy journey unequaled in my 70 years. it is magnificent with the poetic voice of the narrator still ringing in my ears. a triumph