The Last Light of the Sun

I'm a big fan of historical fiction. My wife thought I might like this. At best this is twisted historical fantasy (fairies and two moons?)with all too many parallels thrown in that make it seem to be Britain but not. No "map" so east, west, etc. are confusing. What I disliked the most were all the commas, some sentences seemed to have as many as five. Quite frustrating at first. Then there are the frequent unremarked character changes that leave you wondering which "he" the author was referring to ... who said or did what? Go back and read it again to try to figure it out. As far as Kay's other books I'll pass after this one if other reviewers think it's his best. I kept wanting it to be done. Readers looking for a great historical fiction read should really happily dive into Bernard Cornwell's 50+ writings. I'm very close to having read them all ... at least once, twice or some even three times! From Stonehenge prehistory to the American Civil War with The Starbuck Chronicles. All are completely enjoyable with historical deviances noted at the end of each book.

One of the best fantasy books. It is better than Tigana imho. Tigana was sort of epic fantasy with wizards, etc. This one is a dark fantasy reminding me of Black Company by Glen Cook but in some ways it is even better. I am not very good at reviews, so I can only say that I really really liked the book. I would most definitely recommend this one. Love, death, heroes, loyalty, battles, ugliness of the war, unpredictable events and mystery. I am stunned. I never expected so much from a single volume fantasy work. 10 out of 10 without a cloud of doubt. The only slight drawback is a missing map.

This is the best he's written yet. Adventurous, exciting, and quite moving.

Guy Gavriel Kay has been expanding the borders of the Fantasy genre ever since he began the Fionavar Tapestry (in 1984). This is his strength, what makes his novels a cut above the rest. "The Last Light of the Sun" is set in a world we might recognize as 9th century Britain / Scandinavia, with a few names changed and some major "philosophical" tweaks. I have read the legend of The Marsh King (aka Alfred the Great) many times, but never in such vital prose or with such pace. It is very difficult to put down, right from the start. Other authors who attempt this sort of fantasy, such as Jack Whyte, do an equally impressive job researching, but cannot convert the material into such a gripping story, or the characters into such engagingly real people. Of course, the main characters seem to be male, because it is a story of struggle between cultures, and women do not, as a rule, take up arms in such causes. Kay's women do the logical thing, influencing the male characters, which gives them as large a role, in keeping with their abilities and their culture. Many of the events hinge on the decision of a female character, and readers ignore this at their peril. Occasionally, Kay takes a few pages to illuminate a character who only brushes the central story for a brief moment. This is refreshingly original, adding to the depth of the tapestry, without cluttering the central picture with undue detail in the manner of the much maligned (but still popular!) Robert Jordan. Kay's novels (except the Fionavar trilogy) do not deal with Great Evil & Great Good, like most fantasy, but rather with ordinary people who are more or less Good or Evil, and conflicting cultures, each with better or worse features, and their ability to adapt to each other in order to survive. His characters write poetry, fight battles, love, struggle with themselves, create and re-invent their worlds, uniquely. Kay is my absolute favourite fantasy author, and this is one of his two best works to date. (Read "The Sarantine Mosaic", if you haven't already!) Nobody does it better.

The Last Light of the Sun is a magnificent book that stirringly depicts a relatively obscure period of history. It also establishes Guy Gavriel Kay as not only a good writer, but one comfortable in his maturity as well. I have read all of his works, and while this is not my favourite (The Lions of Al-Rassan is), it does take a decidedly different turn from his other works. It takes a far gritier look at the life and times of its characters. None of the main characters exhibit the almost smug rapier wit found in his other books. People die unexpectedly (thank you George RR Martin). The fantasy element is a bit more pronounced as well, consistent with the cultural milieu of the book's world. Faere are handled deftly. The evolution of Kay's writing from the Fionavar Tapestry is readily apparent. There are no more Pollyannish homilies, and simplistic heroism. The characters here are made of different stuff. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. Some negative reviews had dampened my enthusiasm. The Last Light of the Sun is a great book, however, it will displease those who are more inclined to the poetic and less violent side of things, prevalent in all of Kay's previous books. The violence here is more graphic, and the grayer characters will disappoint the more romantic fantasists. As someone who enjoys both, the expansion of Kay's range is well received.

I took the time to scan a few previous reviews before I started mine. Those of which were done by readers who read previous books by Kay. All gave him fewer than five stars and stated the reason was that Kay's previous books were better. Well, this is the first book I've read by Kay and I have no other books to compare it to other than the drivel that sometimes comes from aspiring writers. I found Last Light of the Sun to be well written and page turning. There was an impression Kay added to paper that had more to do with the daily lives of the characters. He showed us how each of us and the decisions we make can affect everyone we come into contact with. I especially liked the way he would stop and explain the path of life the less than minor characters took after coming into contact with a major character. He didn't drone on and on, but simply took a few paragraphs to a couple of pages to name the person they ran into, hired, whatever, and said what became of them. It made me think of all the impressions I place on the people I come into contact with. People I know I will never see again, but perhaps there was something I said or did that pushed them choose a different path in life. Was it positive, negative, or nothing at all? Now to the book, those of you wondering what the story is about; basically you have two main characters: Barn and Alun. The story flips from characters to characters as well as several others major charcters that stay in close contact with these two. Barn represents the viking aspect--maradering, killing, etc. But he really is just a good guy that had a lot of bad luck in his life. Basicallly he is just trying to keep his butt out of trouble. Then you have Alun, who represents the Welch prince (other names used in book). He goes through a tramatic life alternating experence and wants revenge. Other characters include fathers, kings, and the king's children. There are women in the story, but Kay is a very well researched author and properly gave women the same rights they had in this time period--NONE. Although a few women, very few, have the intelligence to use what they have to their best advantage. Those women with the wholier than thou attitude--leave it behind before you pick up the book. (I can say these things because I'm a women):-) Kay flips back and forth between all characters and then slowly brings them together in the end. I read this in under two days and kept wanting to flip forward to make sure characters were going to be reintroduce quickly before reading on. I greatly enjoyed this book and am eager to read all these other books Kay has written that is supposedly much better than this one. Happy Reading!