'A Brightness Long Ago' – Guy Gavriel Kay (Hodder and Stoughton)

I won't lie, I've spent the last couple of months building up a nice little stack of 'read' books in preparation for this little venture. If only I could be as prepared with everything else in my life... That's what happens when you mix a love of reading with a taste to blog again.

I've been reading sci-fi and fantasy since, well, ever since I learned to read and one of the things that always catches me out is that almost sense of arrogance that I'm well read in the field. Every time I find myself thinking that, along comes a reminder that there are still so many authors that I need to make the accquaintance of. In this case, one Guy Gavriel Kay. I know, right? I'll bet you've read at least one of his books, maybe more. Not me though, at least not until I was sent an ARC of his latest novel and thought to myself, there's no excuse now.

What an amazing book it was...

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.

It's clear very early on, in the book, that events are taking place in a world already well trodden by Kay in other books that he's written. The good news for me though (and for you if you've never read any of his books) is that 'A Brightness Long Ago' is a relatively self contained affair that lets you enjoy the story for what it is while getting these intriguing glimpses of a much larger world. What I loved about this book is that it's all about how a self contained tale can cast these ripples that flow out into that wider world, becoming waves that will eventually topple kingdoms. It's all very unobtrusively done, with minor interludes to the story showing how a small decision can lead to greater things happening to someone that you don't even know. The balance struck is perfect and I didn't even notice the story becoming part of that wider world until right at the end where I thought to myself, 'hang on a minute...' It's a story, and world, that Kay gently encourages you to invest yourself in with the help of the main character Danio who undergoes a journey influenced by the choices of others as well as playing his part in the fate of cities and the rivalry between the two greatest mercenary commanders of the age. Now there was a tale that could easily take centre stage in any other novel, Kay's approach of hints and brief revelations somehow makes it all the more tragic when you start to realise what lies at the heart of it. Again, another example of how seemingly small decisions can have ramifications that echo down the years.

From where I'm sitting anyone who can write such a compelling story about something that we all do every day is a writer well and truly on top of their game. I don't think I've ever had so much pleasure in reading an author for the first time. 'A Brightness Long Ago' is a glorious read and if the strength and sensitivity evident in his writing is anyhing to go by, I'm looking forward to reading more of Kay's work in the very near future.