International bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay's latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy and offers an extraordinary cast of characters whose lives come together through destiny, love, and ambition.
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 even 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 saw and recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count's chambers one autumn night--intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen, instead of a life of comfort, one of danger--and freedom. Which is how she encounters Danio in a perilous time and place.
Vivid figures share the unfolding story. Among them: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a powerful religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting all these lives and many more, two larger-than-life mercenary commanders, lifelong adversaries, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance.
A Brightness Long Ago offers both compelling drama and deeply moving reflections on the nature of memory, the choices we make in life, and the role played by the turning of Fortune's wheel.
"Strong historical research and worldbuilding, a vast cast of characters, world-changing events ... An epic tale filled with characters compelling enough to bear the weight of the high stakes."--Kirkus Reviews
About the Author :
Guy Gavriel Kay is the internationally bestselling author of numerous novels. He has been awarded the International Goliardos Prize for his work in fantasy literature, as well as the World Fantasy Award in 2008. He has twice won the Aurora Award, and in 2014, he was named to the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honor. His works have been translated into more than twenty-five languages.
Simon Vance is an award-winning actor and an AudioFile Golden Voice with over fifty Earphones Awards and thirteen prestigious Audie Awards. He was named Booklist's very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009.
Review :
"Strong historical research and world-building, a vast cast of characters, world-changing events...An epic tale filled with characters compelling enough to bear the weight of the high stakes."
-- " Kirkus Reviews"
"A masterpiece; perhaps the finest work of one of the world's greatest living storytellers...This story is shocking, devastating, and beautiful. Kay's language is elegant in its simplicity, yet painstakingly profound as it cuts to the core of what makes us think and act, and remember."
-- "Fantasy Book Review"
"Not quite historical fiction nor quite fantasy but a piquant amalgam of both."
-- "Financial Times (London)"
"Simon Vance is in the wheelhouse with another strong performance of an expansive novel...Vance's voice is regal and enthusiastic, leaping into the spirit of the pseudo-Mediterranean world with verve. His dialogue is especially strong with male voices."
-- "AudioFile"
