Guy Gavriel Kay

[Toonces]

I've finished two of his books now: The Lions of Al-Rassan and Under Heaven.  Both were absolutely outstanding, two thumbs up, and I recommend them very highly.

Both books are basically fantasy historical fiction.  They are set in a make-believe world, but are essentially historical fiction with the names and places changed.  Al-Rassan is set in medieval Spain and Under Heaven is set in China during the Tang Dynasty (seems to be around 900 AD or so).

He writes very, very well, the plots are fairly involved without being as crazy convoluted as Martin, and both books didn't disappoint in the ending.  I just finished Under Heaven and I feel like I finished a marathon.  I have a third book of his queued (how the hell do you actually spell that word?) up- The Last Light of the Sun- set in early medieval England and Scandanavia. 

Here's a link to The Lions of al-Rassan and you can find the rest by going there:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Lions-al-Rassan-Guy-Gavriel/dp/0060733497/ref=pd_sim_b_1

[MetalDog]

You spelled queued right.  And you can never go wrong with Kay.

[Gusington]

As Kev stated in the Ferguson thread, Amazon is crack. Are these books a series or standalone? Looking up Last Light of the Sun now.

[Toonces]

The three I posted are stand-alone, although he references the make-believe lands in Al-Rassan in the first chapter of Light of the Sun. 

Of the two I read, I'd start with Al-Rassan as it was a bit easier to read.  Under Heaven was good, but it was a bit harder to relate to as I don't know crap about medieval China.  With Al-Rassan it was pretty easy to get the whole Sunni/Shiite/Christian thing.

[Toonces]

I finished Last Light of the Sun during my trip to Norfolk last week.  Very, very good book- two thumbs up, way up! 

I still recommend starting with Al-Rassan first, simply because it gives you a better perspective on the fictional religions which carry over into this book.

Finally, I read in the intro notes to Silmirillion that Kay helped Christopher Tolkien edit the early Tolkien books, and wrote missing pieces of some of the stories to fill them out.  If that's not a high endorsement of Kay, then I don't know what is.

I don't know what, if any, of his books I'm going to read next.  All of the other ones sound less medieval and more artsy fartsy.

[Martok]

Thanks for the heads-up Toonces.  Looks like I'll have to add him to my list. 

[MetalDog]

I don't know what, if any, of his books I'm going to read next.  All of the other ones sound less medieval and more artsy fartsy.

Tigana?

[FarAway Sooner]

Tigana is really good, but The Tapestry of Fionavar series (his debut works, I think) ranks as my second all-time favorite fantasy series ever, coming in just behind Lord of the Rings.  If you're looking for some epic high fantasy, just start out with The Summer Tree and you'll be hooked. 

Kay brings formidable literary talents to fantasy writing.  As was mentioned above, anybody who cuts his chops on The Silmarillion while still a graduate student has got some mad skills!

[Shelldrake]

Tigana is really good, but The Tapestry of Fionavar series (his debut works, I think) ranks as my second all-time favorite fantasy series ever, coming in just behind Lord of the Rings.  If you're looking for some epic high fantasy, just start out with The Summer Tree and you'll be hooked. 

I agee - a great series that all fantasy fans should have in their collection. Having lived in downtown Toronto for several years, the setting at the start of The Summer Tree really grabbed me!

[Martok]

Stop saying good things about Kay!  I already have too long a "to do" list as it is before I can get to him -- and I already want to check out his stuff badly enough as it is...  :P 

[Longdan]

I did not care that much for the Tapestry because his later
books are so much better... or maybe because I do not like Toronto.
But "Tigana" really involved me emotionally and when I was done I cried.
(Well I WAS drunk..but books do not usually do that to me.)
cheers

[Staggerwing]

I have just scored a trade paperback of 'Last Light of the Sun'. I'll start that after I finish 'Ravenor'.

[Toonces]

I just finished the Sailing to Sarantium series (two books).  This story was so good that I did two things I haven't done in a REALLY long time.

I actually stayed up reading in bed after bed time, when my wife rolled over to go to sleep, for about an hour so I could finish the chapter I was reading.  Today, even though there's pretty good surf and I haven't surfed in almost 3 weeks, I skipped surfing to finish the last 1/4 of the book.  I HAD to find out how it ended.  It was that good.

I simply cannot recommend Kay's work highly enough. I've read 5 of his books now and each one was better than the last.  Every single one has been just an amazing ride.  Sailing to Sarantium was just amazing.  After I finished it I had to just sort of take a few minutes and relax, sort of ponder the end of the story.  I know that sounds silly, but it's true.  I was totally moved by how it all turned out.

So, I just wanted to put that out there if anyone is looking for a good fantasy historical novel to read.  Sarantium is loosely based on ancient Rome.

http://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Sarantium-Book-Sarantine-Mosaic/dp/045146351X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368323787&sr=8-2&keywords=sailing+to+sarantium

[Staggerwing]

I'm trying to decide between Kay's 'Last Light of the Sun' (trade paperback, used) and Neal Stephenson's 'the Mongoliad pt 1' (kindle), both of which I have ready to go, as my next fiction read. I'll be done with my present book in a day or two so I'll need to decide soon.

[MetalDog]

I'm trying to decide between Kay's 'Last Light of the Sun' (trade paperback, used) and Neal Stephenson's 'the Mongoliad pt 1' (kindle), both of which I have ready to go, as my next fiction read. I'll be done with my present book in a day or two so I'll need to decide soon.

I've been dying to ask, how did you like Millionaire's Unit?