Children of Earth and Sky

As always, Kay's writing is almost poetic, smooth, with interesting twists and subtexts. The story is not as compelling as some others he's written, but interesting with insights into changes in societies after a major event such as the fall of an empire. With his usual placement of his writings into a world slightly offset from our own you get a combination of history and fiction that satisfies the historical novel requirements without jarring with events and people that didn't occur in "real" history.

I always enjoy his works, and look forward to the next.

Love this author, who writes beautiful books, though there are a few times he goes on a bit too long, even if lovely. Wish I had re-read "Sailing to Sarantium" again prior to starting in on this book, but it works as a stand-alone novel, just takes time to pick up all the threads. Characters are all new, but the background info does help. The beauty of this book and the feelings it evoked reminded me of my personal favorites of his, "Tigana" and "Ysabel." If you have not read those yet, or any of his other novels, you are in for a treat!

I have always adored Guy Gavriel Kay and look forward to any new works. His characters are well drawn and you always care deeply about them, whether you particularly like them or not. I fell in love with Mr. Kay with the Fionavar Tapestry and he absolutely never disappoints. Although I love to share and pass along favorite books with my reading friends, Mr. Kay's books will always be permanent additions to my personal library, along with Charles DeLint, Patricia McKillip, Brandon Sanderson, and the other greats.

You have different metrics for different writers. I’m an old man, I try to write, and I read a lot. Those combined make me a bit odd about how I read. I know workmanship when I see it, and I appreciate it. But for some authors, the bar is higher; you expect more.

My expectations for Guy Gavriel Kay’s fiction are the highest: Does he bring tears to my eyes?

Evoking an emotional response, causing catharsis: Kay does it better than anybody. The Lions of Al-Rassan, with two good, heroic figures, Rodrigo and Ammar, battling to the death, Ysabel, with an eternal love triangle which must find resolution, The Last Light of the Sun, and Torkell’s sacrifice for his son. Kay does it with vivid characters, set in great empires at the cusp of great changes, borrowed from and bearing the ponderous weight of history, but also redrawn as fantasy.

Children of Earth and Sky is set in the same world as Sailing to Sarantium and other of his novels, but later, contrasting the trading city-states of Seressa (Venice) and Duprava (Dupravnik, Croatia) to the Osmanli (Ottoman) empire, which is ruled from Asharia (formerly Sarantium (Byzantine Constantnople), now fallen to the Asharites.

The characters of this novel are principally from Seressa and Duprava but also from Senjan, a coastal city of warriors. Their personal lives are driven by their nationalities. There is love, loyalty, but also war, spying and murder, all spun around the lives of people who are thrown together from the pressure of states struggling with one another.

Bringing this cast together caused the book to start slowly, and I was convened early on that Children of Earth and Sky wouldn’t succeed in moving me as other of Kay’s novels had. But some reader patience was rewarded: once the forces propelling the book gained momentum, it moved with both inevitability and surprise to a very satisfying ending.

Highly recommended work from 'the leading fantasist of our age.'

With the release of CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY, bestselling Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay now has 13 books and a recent well-deserved Order of Canada to his credit. So, after more than three decades of admiring prose that will beautifully swallow you whole before you know it, and being able to read his work in at least 25 languages, worldwide fans should no longer have to look up where, or what, Toronto (his home city) is.

That’s generally regarded as beneficial in our day and age. We think it’s good to know where people, things and destinations are, although having such information poured over our senses 24/7 by the World Wide Web hasn’t done much to make the world a better place. We are literally choking on unprocessed data, but such wasn’t the case some 500 years ago. Perhaps that’s why the “slow” pre-technological civilization in which CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY unfolds a long but enthralling tale is so appealing, despite life in general being far shorter and even more dangerous than it is today.

Kay’s fictional world is a thinly disguised but impeccably researched reimagining of Renaissance Europe around the eastern Mediterranean, complete with conflicted city-states, bloody battles, internecine political intrigue, espionage, love, bravery, art, faith --- and a pinch of powerful magic. While drawn intentionally from a historical period familiar to those of us who studied it in school (and digitally accessible to those who didn’t), the world in which CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY is rooted has been subtly bent in space and time, relieving readers of any need to relate its events to actual truth or fact.

The slightly familiar environment, with slightly familiar competing religions (analogues of Christianity and Islam, with a brief nod to Judaism) and slightly familiar place names, is all part of the plan. From the beginning, Kay plays a deft game of imaginative literary counterpoint, an art he has honed meticulously throughout his career and only becomes more intricate, fascinating and elegant with each new work. The same can be said for the diverse characters he weaves into this alternate universe, this almost-Europe place. Any of them easily could have been real people, but are uniquely themselves, far deeper and more memorable than mere composites or copies.

Now one could argue, on a mentally lazy day in the middle of summer, that keeping track of nearly 60 individuals (all of which Kay lists as “principal” characters) over more than 550 pages is asking a bit much. But as the opening of CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY gradually builds momentum toward a long journey whose elements include ambition, vengeance, spying, soul-searching, profit, escape and a good helping of fear, a few distinct personalities emerge.Among them are a prominent merchant, a disgraced noble daughter, an impoverished but talented painter, a young girl with deadly archery skills, a child-soldier seeking his identity, an aging rebel commander and a powerful ruler --- all interconnected across vast geographical and emotional distances. Their narratives intersect and disperse in unpredictable rhythms and often with surprising about-turns; each is a story in himself or herself, yet none of them could satisfactorily stand alone.

In the midst of larger political, natural, mercantile and military forces that uncontrollably propel the lives of these constant literal and spiritual travelers, it is the small details, the vignettes, gestures, inspirations and end-of-chapter reflections that haunt the memory. Kay has perfected the art of blending them into the whole like particles of rare spice.Eventually the main protagonists all return “home.” For some, that can happen only through death. But for several of the least promising relationships in CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY, it happens, almost magically, through love. To elaborate further would be “spoilage.”

This is simply one great feast of a tale, served up in portions that capture the rich flavors of times long gone, but full of human immediacy. If you’ve encountered Guy Gavriel Kay before, he continues to surpass expectations. If you haven’t, be prepared to be swallowed whole.

Reviewed by Pauline Finch

I absolutely ADORED this book. I had read an enjoyed Tigana, another book of Kay's, but Children of Earth and Sky completely blew that out of the water.

First off, Kay is a master storyteller. There are author's who write fun books and engaging books and intellectual books, but master storyteller's are a whole different ball game. Kay's writing itself is gorgeous, and the characters and plot he crafted are equally amazing. Kay describes his writing as "history with a quarter turn to the fantastic," which gives you a taste of both the subject of the book and Kay's superb ability to write even the most basic of sentences.

I will say, I can see how this book would feel too dense to other readers. Not the case for me--I loved every minute of it.

One aspect of this book that earned Kay some major kudos from me was his treatment of female characters. This is a book largely inspired by Renaissance Europe and the Ottoman Empire, which is a male dominated setting, to say the least. And still he has amazing female characters who are beautifully developed and have their own agency! Kay's book is a testament to the fact that setting a book in an aggressively patriarchal society is NO EXCUSE for lackluster lady characters. The women we read about in this book are complex, have their own desires, often feel constrained by the society in which they live, but push back against it anyway. I AM SO HERE FOR IT.

Every two or three years or so, Canadian speculative fiction author Guy Gavriel Kay releases a new book that never fails to amaze me. For some unfathomable reason, though the man is definitely one of the very best fantasists of his generation, if not the best, I can't help but feel that he remains, at least outside of Canada (where he is a bestselling author), one of the genre's best-kept secrets. With unforgettable titles such as Tigana, The Lions of al-Rassan, Under Heaven, and River of Stars, Kay has set the bar rather high throughout his career. And I'm pleased to report that Children of Earth and Sky is another memorable read that remains with you long after you've reached its ending.

Like the majority of his novels, Kay's latest is another captivating blend of history and fantasy. As such, it makes for a very accessible work of fiction and the perfect opportunity for newbies to discover why the author's books usually garner such rave reviews. Having read Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors is not a prerequisite for enjoying Children of Earth and Sky to the fullest. It is indeed a stand-alone tale which takes places centuries later. Having said that, there are a few nuances that might resonate a little more with readers familiar with the Sarantine Mosaic.

Here's the blurb:

The bestselling author of the groundbreaking novels Under Heaven and River of Stars, Guy Gavriel Kay is back with a new novel, Children of Earth and Sky, set in a world inspired by the conflicts and dramas of Renaissance Europe. Against this tumultuous backdrop the lives of men and women unfold on the borderlands—where empires and faiths collide.

From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request—and possibly to do more—and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman, posing as a doctor’s wife, but sent by Seressa as a spy.

The trading ship that carries them is commanded by the accomplished younger son of a merchant family, ambivalent about the life he’s been born to live. And farther east a boy trains to become a soldier in the elite infantry of the khalif—to win glory in the war everyone knows is coming.

As these lives entwine, their fates—and those of many others—will hang in the balance, when the khalif sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world…

Long-time Kay fans will be pleased to learn that the tale occurs about 900 years following the events chronicled in the Sarantine Mosaic books, twenty-five years after the fall of Sarantium. The worldbuilding was inspired by the Renaissance era, during the heydays of the republic of Venice. A commercial powerhouse, it must nevertheless deal with Croatian pirates, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Dynasty and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as the city-state of Dubrovnik. Richly detailed, Children of Earth and Sky enthralls you from the very beginning. I'm not sure how he does it, but Guy Gavriel Kay once again came up with an incredibly evocative narrative and an arresting imagery. It's probably due to the extensive amount of research that the author puts into every project, but I feel that Kay captured the moods and nuances of his chosen setting to perfection.

I've said it before and I'll surely say it again. Kay's talent and imagination allow him to create a living and breathing environment that draws you in and refuses to let go. I don't know how he manages to do it, but Kay's worldbuilding is almost always a subtle thing. The setting never takes precedence over the story and he never relies on info-dumps and other such contrivances. Still, somehow, seemingly effortlessly, as the tale progresses Kay ends up with an elegantly crafted setting that never fails to dazzle the eye. Few authors can immerse readers in such a vivid manner, and Kay's eye for historical details and traditions imbues Children of Earth and Sky with a realism that is seldom seen in works of speculative fiction.

Guy Gavriel Kay has always possessed a deft human touch and his past novels are filled with memorable characters. And once more, it's the superb characterization which makes this book impossible to put down. As is usually his wont, the author came up with a group of disparate men and women, whose paths will cross unexpectedly and whose fates will be spun into a vast tapestry of love and tragedy. There is Danica Gradek, who lost her family to the Osmanlis and who will stop at nothing to become a raider and earn her revenge against those who took everything from her. There is Leonora Valeri, disgraced woman sent to spy in Dubrova by the Seressan government. There is Pero Villani, a young artist sent to Asharias to paint the portrait of the grand khalif and with a spying mission of his own. There is Damaz, a young slave now part of the elite djanni soldiers. And there is Marin Djivo, a merchant's son who'll be swept away by events he can't control. All of these protagonists are well-defined and three-dimensional. Each of them is going through important changes in their lives. Kay told me that as much as anything, he wanted this novel to be about non-powerful (not same as ordinary) people on borderlands in a time of war, trying to shape their lives (very differently) in difficult times. They intersect, some of them, with power, but that isn't the heart of the story. It was also important for Kay to balance the five of them, not let one character take over the book. Add to that his usual desire to also balance awareness of history and themes against characters, narrative drive, etc, and you have a complex and satisfying plot on your hands.

Although it's not evident at first, and it does take some time of the various storylines to come together, in typical Kay fashion all these threads do come together beautifully at some point and the author closes the show with style and aplomb. I loved how the decisions of minor players can nonetheless have grave repercussions that will shake the world and echo down the centuries. This being a stand-alone novel, the author does tie up all the loose ends before one reaches the last page. Though some endings are in truth new beginnings. . . Returning to the universe of The Lions of al-Rassan and the Sarantine Mosaic series was quite a treat and I wish Kay will consider giving us a book on the Fall of Sarantium one day. I did ask him about this, but he offered no answer. We can only hope. . .

Children of Earth and Sky may not be as sprawling a novel as Under Heaven and River of Stars turned out to be, yet it is one that still takes a some time to get into. Though the rhythm can be slow-moving at times, it is never dull. Indeed, I felt that the book was paced perfectly. The story progresses exactly as it should. From start to finish, with Kay's lyrical prose the narrative is a joy to read. I don't know how he does it, but it often feels as though Kay can convey more in a single sentence than most of his peers can in a full paragraph or a full page. Once again, Kay demonstrates that he is a master storyteller in complete control of his craft.

Award-winning author Guy Gavriel Kay has been one of my favorite writers for years. Hence, it came as no surprise that Children of Earth and Sky turned out to be another gorgeous and extraordinary work. Truth be told, I expected no less from Kay. No matter how lofty the expectations, he always delivers. I'm aware that it's still early in the year, and that authors such as Steven Erikson, R. Scott Bakker, Robin Hobb, Naomi Novik, and maybe even George R. R. Martin will have something to say about this. But as things stand, Children of Earth and Sky is now in pole position and will be the speculative fiction title to beat in 2016.

Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay has written a grand, epic adventure in his own fictionalized realm that is influenced by real historical elements. This book has a large ensemble cast of characters, many of whom pick up the reigns of the story. Due to this large number of characters I regularly had to use the character index at the beginning of the book, and even bookmarking it, since I used it so often. It was hard to keep certain characters and their relationships to each other straight at first and using last names that are similar (Valeri, Villani) didn't help matters.

This is my first book by Kay and I immediately realized that this man can write. His descriptions of his characters are elaborate and he is quite descriptive (sometimes overly so). He takes his time getting his reader into time, place and the internal thoughts and feelings of his characters. I found it unique that Kay takes influence for his story from real historical situations then gives them a twist to fit his story. In this book he was influenced by the Ottoman Empire, Venice and Dubrovnik each given new names of Osmanli, Seressa and Dubrava.

This book has a very slow start but once the story gets going, about a third of the way in, the plot becomes more interesting yet still cannot be considered fast-paced. There were some periods when I'd get immersed into the lives of a few of the characters, specifically Leonora Valeri, Danica Gradek and Pero Villani, but this was followed by long, overly descriptive moments which slowed down the pace and my interest. There was also at least one story line, which I was eager to learn more about, that didn't go anywhere which I found very frustrating and just plain odd.

While I respect Kay's ability to write, his attention to detail and his unique fictionalized history/fantasy genre, I found large sections of the book a struggle to get through. I also wasn't a fan of how often Kay switches narrators, often without warning or help to the reader to remember who is speaking.

This book has its good moments of murder, spies, revenge and love all within the complicated plots involving political machinations, war, power and religious persecution. Kay is an impressively descriptive writer who delves deeply into his fictionalized history and characters. Unfortunately I didn't find myself as riveted with the plot or characters as I was expecting.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Random House Canada for providing me with a complimentary paperback copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

“Children of Earth and Sky” by Guy Gavriel Kay follows a disparate group of people who become ensnared in the machinations of the rulers of their various sections of the world. A young girl who is driven by her thirst for vengeance, a woman who has been sequestered by her family in disgrace, an artist searching for fame and fortune, the younger son of a prominent merchant family, and several others, all discover that attempts to make them instruments in a power struggle have unexpected costs and benefits that will either elevate them beyond their wildest dreams or cut their lives short, depending on their choices.

This epic fantasy tale is one of those books I am really reluctant to pick up because I know it’s going to take some effort to work my way through it. The sheer cast of characters is always daunting to me, because I have to learn how they are connected, and then throw in all of the political maneuverings and history between the different factions, and my head starts feeling overcrowded. In other words, I know it’s going to be a challenge. But wow, it’s worth it.

I’ve read other series by this talented wordsmith and I am always mesmerized by the delicate threads that are laid down encompassing action in geographically separate areas that nonetheless start coalescing into a wondrous tapestry with characters that become so real that I start rooting for them and mourning them when they are struck down. The vivid scenarios and harsh lifestyles that are depicted in this story aptly reflect the historical cultures that underlie some of the events in this tale. One should be warned that there is a fair amount of violence that accompanies the various struggles, but there are also inspiring tales of courage and feats that show the strength, mental and physical, of the players in this giant chess game of dominance and commerce.

I adore strong female characters and enjoyed the various maneuvers and feats that several of the women excelled at, even as I ached at the crucibles that they underwent. The third person omniscient voice allows the reader to get insight that would otherwise be cumbersome to attain, and the tinge of mysticism combined with the battles both in the field and closer to home keep one enthralled. This was another fantastic tale that kept me ensnared for far too long but it was well worth the lost sleep. I am pleased that many of the characters’ journeys are told to completion and although I was sad that the book finally came to an end, I was also satisfied when I was finished. An excellent addition to the genre.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review, a version of which was submitted to Night Owl Reviews.

In this historical fantasy, Kay captures a beautiful tale that is part coming of age, part espionage, part love story. In a world that closely resembles Renaissance Europe, a bevy of fascinating characters captured my attention and my heart. This was such a well-balanced story, having a great mix of conflict, truth-seeking, and stumbling upon greatness.

My apologies for any misspelled names; I listened to the audio version. Pero Velarni is a painter in disgrace and he’s about to be tasked with traveling from the city-state of Seressa to the Grand Caliph of the Osmanli empire, where he is to paint the Caliph’s portrait and passively gather information, if he can. Along the way, he meets most our other main characters. There’s Danica (her dead grandfather Zadek still speaks to her) from the besieged city of Senjen. Marin Givo is a successful merchant from Dubrava. The Seressians have also tasked the disgraced lady Leonara to spy for them and she is traveling with her recently acquired husband, a physician named Yakavo Mucci. On the other side of the adventure serving the Osmanli empire is Damaz, a Jani warrior in training. The story switches often between these characters giving us a pretty good idea of the various politics and individual motivations.

Danica was my favorite character. Her city has been under attack off and on for many years and surrounding cities tend to view Senjens as pirates. However, things aren’t that simple since no cities are allowed to trade with Senjen, forcing them to steal basic supplies when they can. She’s great with a bow, carries knives, has a loyal hunting dog named Tiko, and has her grandfather constantly feeding her advice from the great beyond. She hunts for her long-lost brother Neven who she believes was taken by the Osmanli empire during one of their regular expansions. She’s young, but she had to grow up quick. She’s got her weapons skills but she’s practical too and realizes that a lone woman in the world is always going to be in a fight. It’s a good thing she has Tiko.

Pero was my second favorite character. He’s been forced into this task and he’s rather nervous about the whole thing. He is supposed to just go do the portrait painting and return with whatever passive info he was able to gather. He’s not supposed to try to be a spy because he’s totally untrained and not the right temperament for it. That’s not to say the Council or Seressa won’t be sending him with a man servant…. perhaps one that is trained in the arts of covertcy.

There’s plenty of action scenes tossed in among the inner contemplation and love interests. I can’t outright call this an adventure story because there’s too much quiet time. I can’t label it a romance because there’s also espionage, quests, and raiding. I wouldn’t want to call this novel high literature because it’s simply to enjoyable to burden it with such a tag. In short, it is simply a well-rounded story with plenty to love about it. And, indeed, I did love this story.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Audiobook Jukebox.

Narration: Simon Vance has never let me down in his narration and he does a beautiful job with this book as well. I especially liked his voice for the dead yet grumpy Zadek. He used various real-world accents which added to the flavor of the book.

Unique combination of being highly enjoyable, and relevant to many serious issues.
Reading it has great recreation value, but even if you have a tight budget for time, it is important enough to justify
taking the time to read it at a natural pace and really enjoy it.
This was not as powerful an experience for me as his previous book, Under Heaven, but maybe it should have been. It depicts a time, circa 1500, when Western civilization came close to being totally destroyed, by the most powerful and effective Caliphate in the history of Islam.
Formally, it is "historical fantasy," but, like his other book, it may be closer to the real history than the texts or historical fictions which assume that life is simpler than it really is. In a way, Kay is writing historical fiction as it would be if humans actually had souls and these realities actually had an impact on what happened. As with the other book he may have missed half of what was going on at that level (Corbin has important things to add), but that still makes it closer to reality than other things written on this subject. And there are interesting analogies to our time as well.
Since it was about real history, be warned that I discuss the plot below.
The book really develops a diversity of intense energetic characters from the start, as if he had been scanning the mental landscape of the period directly and visiting the brightest lights. But when he gets around to the question of the key branchpoints in history .. a couple of weeks later,
only two characters really stay alive in my mind: one, a strong woman who reminds me very much of my wife, whose people did about half of saving Western civilization, and another, who is the one whom I can empathize with the most out of this collection, who did the other half of the job, by maintaining his integrity and speaking truth to power. The plot is very complex, but in a completely natural way, just as the plot we are living through now is incredibly complex.
The title "children of earth and sky" drew my attention instantly (along with the author and my need for better recreational reading at the time), but is reflected only in a brief cameo in the book -- at a serious and respectable point, but not in the way he depicts the spiritual interactions. He fictionalizes the aspects which were not really important, but not the actual spiritual content, at roughly the same level as his previous novel.
Despite her intense role, my wife asks: "How sure are we that our branch in the web of history is better than the one where the second caliphate takes over everything?" And she notes a kind of bizarre resonance between the other strong female character and Melania Trump. OK, it's not all actual history, but certainly entertaining.

4.5 stars, actually.

What can you say after reading a Guy Gavriel Kay book? One basically exists in a timeless past where honor and promises cause men and women to give up all that they hold dear to play a long game for the sake of their countries. Countries that are alternate, historically compelling versions of the ones we see now.

But many Kay is getting a little less political in these later years. Children of Earth and Sky follows multiple players in an alternate Renaissance Europe (Ottoman Empire, Venice, etc) but instead of the main focus being on the political-- it's more on the paths the smaller players end up on because politics forced them onto the road. There's a fierce, female pirate, a merchant, a painter, a nun, and various others, but where I'm used to multiple POV in Kay's books, what I am not used to -- and which is used throughout this book-- is the detours into the futures of each character (even the slightly minor ones.)

There is a softness about this book, a desire to return to the pleasures of hearth and home, that I don't remember being so prevalent in Kay's books before. One of the main characters does not die, does not get a fiery defiance scene, but quietly, slowly, thoughtfully makes of his life something different than you'd think at the end.

But this is Kay, so there is political intrigue, and passion, and a kind of distancing wisdom about fundamental sadness and beauty of humanity. And saometimes the potential futures of the characters made me lose track of the main threads of the book, or diluted the impact of their emotional journeys, thus the minusing of the half star.

"You met riders on a road in Sauradia, in the wilderness of it, and everything altered in a moment, with the long flight of an arrow, with a question and an answer, with the hard needs of the heart coming home."

and

"Courage takes many forms. A truth not always understood. Sometimes it is a man managing to hold his head up, control his shaking hands, remain on his feet, when the desire to drop to the ground, head to a tiled floor is so strong. But the artist Pero Villani, at the edge of the chasm that was his death, changed the world in his time (and for a long time after) by telling truth on a morning of sun and cloud in Asharias."

So we read Kay, even this gentler, less strident Kay, to be reminded of how the world also contains these things: courage, beauty, forgiveness, remembering.

Others already have said so much about this fabulous tale, which follows Kay's earlier Sarantine Mosaic and "The Lions of al-Rassan." All I can do is corroborate the majority's judgment that "Children of Earth and Sky" is another work of magic and beauty.

Kay's world is recognizably Medieval Europe, twenty-five years after the fall of Constantinople (Sarantium), when the traders of Venice (Seressa) intrigue to maintain their dominance against all challengers. Yet all is different, Two moons float in the sky. The conquerer from the desert worship Ashur, while the Holy Emperor and his knights fight in the name of the one Sun god Jed. This world is hauntingly familiar, yet changed. Kay's characters are real, complex, and developed, while the plot is full of intrigue and surprises, bittersweet joy, loss, and discovery.

Like most of Kay's works, "Children of Earth and Sky" begins slowly and lyrically, and then expands to include an expanding web of characters and intrigues. This is not a book to read in a night, nor one that can be enjoyed without one's full attention. Kay's tales are woven together, with characters coming together, separating, and rejoining, much like a tapestry. The result is one of the best novels I have read, and certainly the best since Kay's previous gem, "The River of Stars."

A journey fraught with danger, intrigue and political manipulations. That’s what you will find in “Children of Earth and Sky”. The story is inspired by events that took place in Renaissance Europe and is a marvelous piece of fiction.

Danica is looking for revenge for the family she lost. Marin is seeking to build his family’s fortune. The city-state of Seressa wants to spy on their neighbors. Pero is a young man desperately wanting to make a name for himself as an artist. Neven has been trained to be a soldier for the Khalif, but is that really who he is? These characters and others have lives that will intertwine with each other and influence world events.

I found the story and the characters to be complex and very well developed. The author has a style that draws the reader into the world he has created and keeps him engaged until the end. I enjoyed this story in part because it tells the story of ordinary people, as opposed to focusing on a royal family or a high ranking political figure. This epic story also highlights how something a person does, which may seem inconsequential in the moment, can have a long-reaching effect on the future. Top marks to Guy Gavriel Kay for this sweeping saga.

Alinefromabook’s rating: TWO THUMBS-UP!

Finding a groove and sticking with it, Guy Gavriel Kay has been writing historical fantasy with the same m.o. since the publication of A Song for Arbonne. Aside from Ysabel, eight novels have twisted history ever so slightly to tell a tale that didn’t happen but might as well have given the verisimilitude. Drama reigning, the stories are plot and character oriented, with love, honor, virtue, and the other hallmark themes of opera front and center. Kay’s latest, Children of Earth and Sky (2016, Berkley Publishing Group), does not find the needle jumping track.

Occurring in the years following Kay’s earlier duology Sarantine Mosaic, Children of Earth and Sky is set in the Eastern Mediterranean after the Osmanli have retaken Asharias. The Balkan peninsula falling smack in the middle of Jaddite and Osmanli interests, the majority of the action occurs in and around the country of Dubrova, and the religious and political intrigue they are stuck in the middle of, not to mention generate on their own. Spies and assassins flowing freely, a handful of characters ply the waters of fate doing what they think is best. A pirate woman has her loyalties tested, a young artist is thrown into the thick of political tension by a commission he can’t refuse, and a merchant must put his martial skills to use in a court threatening to collapse around him—the starring characters among them. Their fates spread out through the years and places, we don’t always get what we want.

Something of a return for Kay, Children of Earth and Sky most closely resembles A Song for Arbonne. A kitchen sink of tenses (past to present) and foreshadowing (“He could not have known that…” “Later, she would wonder if…” ) are thrown at the reader. Likewise, there is a light, or at least lighter, tone to proceedings. Where Under Heaven and River of Stars, Kay’s two most recent novels, were weighty, heavy tomes that married gray mood to storyline, Children of Earth and Sky tends more toward the comedic side of the theatrical scale. Gravtias still exists in occasional moments, but events are delved into with less detail, and the language can be aloof—intentionally aloof, certainly, in a way that floats the story.

This leads to some issues with the novel; Children of Earth and Sky often feels routine. Lines appearing that the majority of epic fantasy on the market these days has rendered mundane, the reader finds the likes of “One of the things Hrant Bunic had learned through years of raiding was that if you could provoke an enemy to rage he was more likely to make mistakes.” The result is that the sections of text which might possess some profundity lack punch. The following would seem to define the novel, or at least a major aspect of it:

“…He enlisted in the army of the next appointed emperor of Jad and died in a later war. There are always later wars. We are children of earth and sky.”

But this thought is cut off at the knees by rehashed soap opera such as:

“I wanted you on the ship,” he says, pulling back for a moment.
Her eyes are very blue. “Of course you did. Men are like that.”
“No. Well, yes, they are. We are. But it wasn’t only because—“
“Stop talking,” she says. Her mouth takes his again.

Kay has said that “I want readers caught emotionally and intellectually by a book.” With maudlin trite such as that above, however, it’s difficult to achieve the latter. The characters, while not super-heroes, nevertheless take on proportions larger than life for it. They are easily likable and hateable people, and therefore must suffer the consequences of distancing themselves from reality, a reality in this case that is needed to achieve any type of serious thematic or philosophical agenda.

Children of Earth and Sky is a faster paced, more action-oriented novel than Kay’s two previous novels. This is certain to satisfy some while leaving others wanting. While I personally find myself in the latter group (Kay is capable of writing more humane literature), readers looking for easily accessible, historical drama on the Mediterranean with derring-do heroines, swashbuckling merchants, shifty spies, delicately feuding kingdoms, sex, and warring armies will find something to enjoy. Signature Kay or formulaic Kay, regardless, it feels written on autopilot, which, when compared to many other writers, is not a bad thing.

I generally shy away from historical fantasy -- it's usually poorly researched and depicts twenty-first centuries values more than that of an historical other. Kay is an exception on my bookshelf, and this latest novel is perhaps the most realistic of his work to date. The plot focuses on a number of different characters, from different walks of life, who share in common a sea voyage from Seressa (an alternate 16th century Venice) to Dubrava (an alternate Dubrovnik). It's a compelling investigation into a time when religious conflicts brought great insecurity. It explores identity, bravery, and most importantly the small, but significant effects that minor players can have on the world. Unlike much of Kay's corpus, this novel avoids politics and politically influential characters, for the most part, and focuses on individuals. In that way, I find it compares well to George Elliot's Middlemarch.

My main criticism of Children of Earth and Sky is one of tone. Kay is a wonderful writer of interior monologues, but by the end of the book, I couldn't help but notice that all the characters sounded very much alike in the pacing and structure of their innermost thoughts. Perhaps this was intentional, but I found it undermined the otherwise magisterial realism weaved by Kay.

Reading a Kay book is like opening a exquisitely wrapped present, and this one does not disappoint. Beautifully layered writing, characters the reader can really care about, and an exciting multi textured story combine to deliver an experience that will not soon be forgotten. Kay’s books are historical fiction, in the sense that they are impeccably researched as to time and place (this one is Renaissance Europe and the Ottoman empire), but with a fantastical bent that adds depths and mystery to the story. And what a story it is – empire building, intrigue, art, battles, piracy and romance, all combine to make this a gift readers will never want to finish unwrapping!

I received a copy of “Children of Earth and Sky” courtesy of NetGalley.

I found the book… frustrating. Lots of things are going on in the story, and it’s a wonderful tapestry of borrowed history and political machinations, but I was never invested in any of the characters. Boatloads of possibility there, but it seemed that more went into redefining the history from our world to fit this created one than went into delving into the characters. They are mildly interesting, though I had a hard time discerning their goals with only two exceptions.

The prose is complicated and flowery. Lovely descriptions give a real sense of being in the scene. The setting closely parallels the history of the Ottoman Turks, Venice, Dubrovnik, and etcetera. It is easy to see that a lot of intensive research went into the tale, even if the names are somewhat obvious (Djanni as Janissary, Dubrava is Dubrovnik, Osmanli for Ottoman).

The fantasy element showed all-too-briefly as the deceased grandfather of one of the main characters talking to her, and twice interfering in things that are about to happen.

The shifting point of view sometimes leaves characters behind (at the 30% mark in my Kindle we had yet to return to the guy who opened the story—and whose name I couldn’t help but forget), but we are given a view of cultural differences and customs that beautifully details the peoples and the challenges they face in dealing with one another.

I am curious to know why the point of view of a single character was written in the present tense. I found it jarring. There is rambling about religion, scenes or information redone in another person’s point of view (almost word for word), and some unfortunate repetition.

There is also some regrettable crassness. Do some people just never grow up, or do they think this is actually amusing? Or necessary?

And why do we get a preview of Life After This Story for some of the characters? It seems an awkward way of answering the question of what happens to this (fairly minor) character when you remember he didn’t appear again.

One quote worth taking away: “You had to grow into your own significance—or come to terms with the lack of it.”

Is there a more frustrating author than Guy Gavriel Kay active today? I think not, and if there is, I don't want to know about it. He's one of a handful of authors alive who can stop my breath with mere words...but more often, he falls back on his favorite quirks and devices. (Drinking game! Take a shot every time a woman in this book is described as "scented," or some action or remark is described as "subtle" or "amusing.") The result here is, as with most of Kay's work, that you get passages of staggering beauty and power interspersed with long floridly-written pages about nothing, or pseudo-philosophical musings about the inevitability of death, etc. There is a plot in there, but your enjoyment of that plot will depend heavily on your patience with Kay's highly unique narrative voice. Points for the setting, the callbacks to the Sarantine Mosaic (which I consider to be some of Kay's more underrated work), and the occasional paragraph that was so gorgeously done that it brought tears to my eyes. (Darn you, GGK. Even if I wanted to quit you, I can't.)

Also, why are they "Children of Earth and Sky" when so much of the book takes place on the water?

Guy Gavriel Kay has produced another wonderful, semi-historical, fantasy novel. If the Byzantine and Turkish Empires and the Adriatic port cities during the same period fascinate you, you will find the Kay's wonderful characters and plotting a pure joy!

I usually like books that are slight twists on history, but this one could not hold my interest. I think the majority of the problem was the constant changing of POVs, even mid conversation. On top of that, the pacing was quite slow with several story lines that progressed at a snail's pace.

Typical Kay as in typically very good. Multiple plot lines with thought provoking characters. Just enough of the fantastic to provide his usual mix of historical fiction with tinges of fantasy. Interesting ending with each thread being tied up. If you enjoyed his previous two novels you will enjoy this one.

The way this wove together his previous works was rewarding. The characters are engaging and their stories touch on needs we all have. I read it through quickly at first, then took my time the second time around. Almost as good as the Sarantium and China books.

Kay is perhaps my favorite author. His characters that you wish to continue in your life and his deft touch in writing about how humans are called to reverence and worship and battle are all on display here.

A competently written historically based fantasy novel. Based loosely on early modern Europe with versions of the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire. While the quality of writing is above average, the plot lacks any unifying element and the derivation of early modern history isn't particularly imaginative.

Fantastic because it created emotions in me. Few books do that. I feel extremely sad to leave these characters behind! I felt the same way when I was finished with the Lions of Al Rassan. That book really made a huge impression on me. Both books are exceptional. That's why I always come back to Kay for more. Literature at its finest.