A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay

'The greatest living author of epic fantasy' - Brandon Sanderson 'The finest in his field' - Tor.com 'Guy Gavriel Kay's A Brightness Long Ago is a masterpiece; perhaps the finest work of one of the world's greatest living storytellers' - Fantasy Book Review ***One of Goodreads' Most Anticipated SFF Books of 2019*** 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. Further praise for Guy Gavriel Kay 'Contemporary fiction's finest fantasist' Tor.com 'History and fantasy rarely come together as gracefully or readably as they do in the novels of Guy Gavriel Kay' Washington Post 'One of the (if not the) premiere fantasists of our time' The Financial Times 'Compulsively readable . . . Kay is a global phenomenon . . . a storyteller on the grandest scale' Time Magazine (Canada)

An exceptionally well written book. A story of love, life, intrigue and war, and how seemingly random choices impact life. Probably the best book I've read this year.

3.75 out of 5 stars

I spent the first few months of 2019 reading Guy Gavriel Kay's early works (for the first time) as a primer to this book's release. I polished off his first six novels and thought I was ready to dive in here until I saw the world map that features “Sarantium” quite prominently – I closed the booked and jumped back and read Kay's Sarantine Mosaic as final preparation. I'm glad I did, because that duology enhanced my understanding of this world and there are several callbacks within Brightness to the events in those books. Here, Kay is exploring the ripples of time, how small actions have an impact on the world at large and how our memory of the past shapes our understanding of our future.

Much like Kay's previous work, A Brightness Long Ago is beautifully composed, emotionally engaging, and it features compelling characters with depth. I really loved being introduced to minor, seemingly inconsequential characters who, once they had played their part in this specific narrative, have the remainder of their lives described to us and how consequential they end up being in their own right.

As much as I enjoy Kay's writing, I hit a wall about midway through here and really limped my way to the end over several weeks. Whether a result of my own disjointed pacing or the book's, I was never quite hooked. That kept it from full 4-star territory, but I will gladly continue on with GGK's oeuvre.

convoluted, overwritten, too wordy, too slow, not imaginative enough, trying too hard to be more mainstream.
Not the Kay I knew, not nearly the Kay I expected.