LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
In a truly beautiful reading experience, encounter the footnotes of a time long ago, meet people capable of committing murder, of holding a stinging need for vengeance, of feeling deep abiding love and friendship. If you see the term fantasy and usually turn away, please don’t, instead choose to step inside and feel the connection to the Italian Renaissance, allow the people to become known, experience their emotions, appreciate the eloquence of the writing. I adore the work of Guy Gavriel Kay, and have done since I was a teenager, epic in scale, intimate in focus, these are books that have allowed me to step outside of myself and experience a different world, though one that feels recognisably ours. You can read this as a standalone, however if you have read some of his other novels, then the land in which this is set will call to you, and there are moments of awareness as you look around and feel the landscape, architecture and even at one point the half-forgotten presence of an age-old entity. I can recommend ‘A Brightness Long Ago’ with my heart and soul, it really is wonderful and so sits as one of my picks of the month.
Liz Robinson
Find This Book In
| Primary Genre |
Fantasy
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| Recommendations: |
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About
A Brightness Long Ago Synopsis
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.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781473692374 |
| Publication date: |
23rd January 2020 |
| Author: |
Guy Gavriel Kay |
| Publisher: |
Hodder Paperback an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
420 pages |
| Series: |
Children of Earth and Sky |
| Primary Genre |
Fantasy
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| Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
Guy Gavriel Kay Press Reviews
Guy Gavriel Kay has 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 Rutherfurd, author of SARUM
No matter what the era, the themes, the characters, or the plot, a Guy Gavriel Kay novel is always a marvel of narrative construction - Beauty in Ruins Blog on A BRIGHTNESS LONG AGO
A Brightness Long Ago is a masterpiece; perhaps the finest work of one of the world's greatest living storytellers - Fantasy Book Review
The greatest living author of epic fantasy - Brandon Sanderson
Author
About Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay has published fourteen novels which have been translated into 30 languages and have appeared on bestseller lists around the world. He is also the author of the poetry collection, Beyond This Dark House. His most recent work is A Brightness Long Ago. Before beginning his career as a novelist, Kay was retained by the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien to assist in the editorial construction of The Silmarillion, the first and best-known of the posthumously published Tolkien works. Called to the Bar of Ontario in 1980, he has also been principal writer and associate producer for the CBC’s award-winning crime-drama series, The Scales of Justice. Kay has twice won the Aurora Award, is a multiple World Fantasy Award nominee, and won that award for Ysabel. He also won the Sunburst Award for Under Heaven, and is the recipient of the International Goliardos Prize, presented in Mexico City, for his contributions to the literature of the fantastic. Both Under Heaven and River of Stars won the Prix Elbakin in France for best foreign language speculative fiction work. In 2014 he was invested with the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honour.
Guy Gavriel Kay was our Putting Authors in the Picture feature for August 2019. Click here to read more about his author journey on our blog.
Photo Credit: Ted Davis
More About Guy Gavriel Kay
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