Guy Gavriel Kay Lord of Emperors The Sarantine mosaic - Reading

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Overview

The Sarantine Mosaic is a historical fantasy duology by Guy Gavriel Kay, comprising Sailing to Sarantium (1998) and Lord of Emperors (2000). The titles of the novels are an allusion to poet W.B. Yeats.

The story's setting is based on the 6th century Mediterranean world, and the looming conflict between the Byzantine Empire and the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy. The novels The Lions of Al-Rassan and The Last Light of the Sun also take place in that unnamed world, although in different settings. In the series we are also briefly acquainted with the character Ashar ibn Ashar, who is the creator of the Asharite religion seen in The Lions of Al-Rassan.

Lord of Emperors continues from Sailing to Sarantium and tells of what happens to Crispin after his arrival in the city of Sarantium. We are also introduced to Rustem of Kerakek, a physician from Bassania, who has also journeyed to the city, finding himself entangled in political intrigue. Concluding the sequence that began with "Sailing to Sarantium", this novel features a huge cast of characters from all walks of life, caught up in rumours of war and perilous intrigue, as all the threads of the tale come together in violent upheaval.

About the Author

Guy Gavriel Kay's unique take on historical fiction has won him legions of admirers and made him an international bestseller. He is the author of eight highly acclaimed novels, including THE SARANTINE MOSAIC books and the acclaimed TIGANA. At the age of 20, he was asked by the Tolkien estate to help Christopher Tolkien with the editing of the Silmarrillion - the first and only time the estate has ever made such a request. His recently published book of poetry BEYOND THIS DARK HOUSE reached No 2 in the Canadian bestseller charts.

Amazon.co.uk Review

Guy Gavriel Kay's tales of kingdoms and empires that never quite were blend real history with an economic use of magic; blink and you would almost miss the interventions of the supernatural. Lord of Emperorsis the second half of his The Sarantium Mosaic, a full-blooded and passionate epic of Byzantine intrigue and artistic commitment. All of his characters are in the great city of Sarantium now--Crispin, the great mosaicist, Gisel, the exiled queen of the barbarian kingdom of the West and Rustem, the brilliant young doctor and unwilling spy. Emperor Valerius and his wife Alixena have plans for their world--they are summoning troops from all directions--and plans for their city. Crispin is working on the dome of the great temple; and yet time and chance, those rulers that lie beyond all emperors, will ultimately dispose of all plans and all planners. Kay is as good on the manners of charioteers--there is a particularly fine chariot race here--as he is on the double-crossings of generals and imperial secretaries. This is a rich complex fantasy with a real sense of how its world works. --Roz Kaveney

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Amazon reader reviews:

Being an ardent "Kay" fan I waited with abated breathe this sequel which although being a superb book in its own right it leaves the reader with a slight regret as to what might have been. The first book held so many promises as to possible character plots that the second doesn't quite complete, which unfortunately leaves you with the feeling that it could have been more conclusive. However considering that most of us would be incapable of writing such a marvelous sequence ( let alone this, but all the other books by the same author.) You have to say "chapeau" and When's the next book out?

Once again Kay has shown that he has that rare gift, the ability to create a story that mixes magic and reality in a mixture that is totally believable. When you have read the book, the feeling is that if the Byzantine Empire wasn't like this it should have been! Kay is particularly strong on characterisation and here he puts the main protagonists into situations that show the impermanence of life and ambition. In one sense there is no happy ending although several of the characters, noticeably Crispin the mosaicist, achieve a kind of peace. If you are a fan of historical fantasy then this book is in the must read category.

This book starts slowly and you wonder how it is all going to tie up with the first book of the series. Then it speeds up and Kay handles all the different threads - and there are so many of them - with a skill few can match. This is a book about real people in whom you can really believe doing real things and hanging on in there when life gets too much. There is less of the self sacrifice which his characters in earlier books go in for and a lot of living with what life throws at you (although the things it throws at these characters is not what it usually throws at me !). This series needed to be at least a trilogy, as usual with Kay it leaves you wanting to know far more than he tells you. It doesn't get five stars because it isn't Tigana, still by far and away his best, but it is a lot better than most stuff offered by other authors !