Guy Gavriel Kay has his way of composing a novel, and he does it so well. He takes a historical period, reads a lot on it and gets inspiration from particularly interesting real events and people, and translates it all to a thinly-disguised fantasy version of the world, which gives him freedom to deviate from real history when needed. Add to that his brilliant writing skills and you have a winning formula.

Nevertheless, it seemed to me that after the Sarantine Mosaic his output had been a bit less inspired (I have yet to read River of Stars and Children of Earth and Sky, though). A Brightness Long Ago in some ways is a return to his better form, I would say. Perhaps not quite as good as The Lions of Al-Rassan and Tigana, but very good.

This one, like Tigana, is inspired in Renaissance Italy, a very interesting period for the flourishing of the arts and the political chaos, with no nation-state and many more or less independent cities, to say nothing of the Vatican, warring with each other, often hiring mercenary armies.

There are four main characters, but the central part of the story is the feud and rivalry between two very competent mercenary leaders who lead two rival, albeit minor, cities. In the same way as with Rodrigo Belmonte and Ammar ibn Khairan in The Lions of Al-Rassan, you can probably end up liking, or at least respecting and enjoying, both larger-than-life characters, even if they are in opposite sides of the conflict.

There is also a lot of emphasis on the stories of little people, not just powerful figures, on women who strive for agency in a world where it's difficult for them to escape from the traditional role of passive wife and mother, and also on same-sex relationships besides the usual heterosexual ones. All this is more inclusive, but it also has the downside that the characters in historical fantasies increasingly seem to be more aligned with 21st century values and way of thinking. You may decide for yourself whether that's a good thing, or whether we risk making all past periods too uniform, or perhaps both.

The fantasy content is very light, as usual with Kay, but it exists. There are some emotional and moving moments, and other parts that seem more like a skilled craftsman going through the routine, but all in all this is a very enjoyable story. ( )

In the end, this was really quite disappointing, and perhaps made worse by comparison with Kay’s other books. If you’ve never read his books before, please, please, PLEASE do not start here!

The problem is pretty simple: Kay has always had a “philosophy of life” bent to his books. Often times a little moralistic, overbearing, third-wall breaking, and heavy handed. But always a little. Usually his books are character driven, and his forays into the human condition are nicely contained as relevant ways to show the gravity of an occasion, or a broader perspective to an otherwise interpersonal conflict.

This book simply goes too far, and its characters are far less compelling. His story arcs for the main characters are (frankly) terrible in comparison with almost all his other works, and he spends more time laboring on about “we are what we are” and hitting you over the head with character tropes like “the battle hardened commander,” “the heartthrob who wants nothing more than to open a bookshop and live a quiet life,” and “the pre-industrial revolution woman who wants desperately to live a life of intrigue.” I have nothing against these characters, but they’re basically the entire depth that he provides. Beyond that he simply tells about what they do, and then rambles about how it fits with his increasingly dark takes on life and death.

Overall, maybe I liked this book less because I have read his other books, and know that they are almost all strictly better. They have the same style of insights amidst story, but are much less heavy handed, feature better and more developed characters, and make the reader feel the intended emotions without the help of a narrator’s hammer.

Do yourself a favor, and just read the Lions of Al Rassan instead! ( )

Can a book be gripping and meditative at once? ( )

Some Kay musings, after finishing his most recent book. Recommendation notes at the end.

It's been interesting watching the trajectory of Kay's work, and how I feel like we're seeing him find a tighter and tighter focus into the kinds of stories he wants to tell.

The Fionavar Tapestry was probably fresh from having helped Christopher Tolkien edit the Silmarillion. Epic Fantasy, big magic. But at the same time with a deeply-felt connection to personal, individual choices.

Tigana, The Lions of Al-Rassan, A Song for Arbonne, he really comes into his own with the 'quarter-turn to the fantastic,' deeply inspired by history.

From the Sarantine Mosaic onwards, he has continued to travel down that path with greater and greater detail and focus on characters and their choices, spending what so much more time on this than most other writers in fantasy.

Fantasy often feels like a plot-heavy genre. It's about the things that are happening, and often the order that they're happening in, often leading to Big Events with Important People.

Kay still definitely does that; but at the same time these Important People encounter and are deeply affected by people who aren't destined to be recorded by history.

By the time we reach this, his most recent book, the 'plot' of the book consists of maybe five or six major events. In the hands of a different writer, this would only be half the novel. But Kay spends so much time exploring the moments and details that these events are heightened, not due to their 'Importance,' but in their emotional and character-specific detail.

He's referencing a world that he's built up over many books, but none of those references are required to enjoy it. They become little gifts and reminders... and they enhance a sense of reality to the setting, not because of the encyclopedic expository explanations, but because these references are obliquely made, and sometimes about events that are either very distant or seen differently.

At first I felt like I was seeing too many of Kay's 'tricks' in terms of characterizations and narrative styles, but by the time I finished the book, I've come around to feeling that like these aren't tricks, they are the ways in which Kay himself profoundly feels about stories and character.

If this is your first Kay novel, I hope you enjoy! There is absolutely nothing from a plot or background level that you're missing. (A great feature of his books is that you can start with just about any of them!)

At a writing level, it is superb. Kay's writing is often described as lyrical, but it is never overwrought of needlessly complex. The lyricism is in arrangement of the details and not in obscure language.

I will say that if you're expecting something like adventure fiction (though there is some wonderful action) or heroic fantasy (though characters make very brave choices) you will find this to be very different. It isn't constructed that way, but it is constructed very intentionally. Settle in to some intricate, finely wrought storytelling. ( )

My first Kay novel, but certainly not my last. Lyrical and pensive ( )