River Of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay
Oct. 22nd, 2013 11:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Ren Daiyan was still just a boy when he took the lives of seven men while guarding an imperial magistrate of Kitai. That moment on a lonely road changed his life – in entirely unexpected ways, sending him into the forests of Kitai among the outlaws. From there he emerges years later – and his life changes again, dramatically, as he circles towards the court and emperor, while war approaches Kitai from the north.
Lin Shan is the daughter of a scholar, his beloved only child. Educated by him in ways young women never are, gifted as a songwriter and calligrapher, she finds herself living a life suspended between two worlds. Her intelligence captivates an emperor – and alienates women at the court. But when her father’s life is endangered by the savage politics of the day, Shan must act in ways no woman ever had.
In an empire divided by bitter factions circling an exquisitely cultured emperor who loves his gardens and his art far more than the burdens of governing, dramatic events on the northern steppe alter the balance of power in the world, leading to events no one could have foretold, under the river of stars.
When magistrate Wang Fuyin tells 15-year-old Ren Daiyan to join his guard during an investigation, it changes both their lives and the fate of the Kitan empire. Over the coming years, their paths cross with those of Lin Shan (a woman who’s been unusually well educated by her scholar father and whose marriage has brought her into the emperor’s circle), Hang Dejin (the devious Prime Minister who’s engaged in a high stakes power game with his deputy, Kai Zhen) and the famed poet Lin Kuo, who’s fall from grace has seen him exiled to a remote island just as Kitai comes under threat from the feared horsemen of the Steppe, whose war leader, Wan’yen is intent on conquest …
Guy Gavriel Kay’s novel is an intricately plotted fantasy consisting of intertwining stories and character arcs set in a world based on the Song Dynasty. There actually isn’t actually a lot of fantasy within the book (much talk of ghosts and destiny but only one genuinely fantastical scene and even that is open to interpretation) and the story unfolds at a more leisurely pace than I normally enjoy, but I nevertheless found myself completely absorbed by it. Even the fact that the only real female character is a little too idealised to be believable and the ambiguous ending didn’t spoil it for me. I’m a big fan of Kay’s work anyway and I thought this was every bit as good as his other books. I’m already looking forward to his next one.
The central characters of Daiyan and Shan are engaging and I liked the way Kay weaves the different plot strands together and the omniscient third person voice allows him to dip forwards and backwards in time, foreshadowing some events and ruminating on the conclusion of others. I also really enjoyed the politics at play within the book, with Kay skilfully depicting the rivalries between different factions within the court – Hang Dejin was probably my favourite character – old, wily and always playing the long game, he’s a master manipulator whose power is threatened by his increasing blindness.
There are strong themes of destiny, duty, self sacrifice and ambition throughout the book and Kay skilfully shows an empire in decline, its power fading amidst fear of its own military and the personal desires of its rulers. I was completely absorbed by the whole thing and look forward to Kay’s next book.
The Verdict:
Guy Gavriel Kay’s novel is an intricately plotted fantasy consisting of intertwining stories and character arcs set in a world based on the Song Dynasty. There actually isn’t actually a lot of fantasy within the book (much talk of ghosts and destiny but only one genuinely fantastical scene and even that is open to interpretation) and the story unfolds at a more leisurely pace than I normally enjoy, but I nevertheless found myself completely absorbed by it. Even the fact that the only real female character is a little too idealised to be believable and the ambiguous ending didn’t spoil it for me. I’m a big fan of Kay’s work anyway and I thought this was every bit as good as his other books. I’m already looking forward to his next one.
RIVER OF STARS was released in the United Kingdom on 18th July 2013. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
Ren Daiyan was still just a boy when he took the lives of seven men while guarding an imperial magistrate of Kitai. That moment on a lonely road changed his life – in entirely unexpected ways, sending him into the forests of Kitai among the outlaws. From there he emerges years later – and his life changes again, dramatically, as he circles towards the court and emperor, while war approaches Kitai from the north.
Lin Shan is the daughter of a scholar, his beloved only child. Educated by him in ways young women never are, gifted as a songwriter and calligrapher, she finds herself living a life suspended between two worlds. Her intelligence captivates an emperor – and alienates women at the court. But when her father’s life is endangered by the savage politics of the day, Shan must act in ways no woman ever had.
In an empire divided by bitter factions circling an exquisitely cultured emperor who loves his gardens and his art far more than the burdens of governing, dramatic events on the northern steppe alter the balance of power in the world, leading to events no one could have foretold, under the river of stars.
When magistrate Wang Fuyin tells 15-year-old Ren Daiyan to join his guard during an investigation, it changes both their lives and the fate of the Kitan empire. Over the coming years, their paths cross with those of Lin Shan (a woman who’s been unusually well educated by her scholar father and whose marriage has brought her into the emperor’s circle), Hang Dejin (the devious Prime Minister who’s engaged in a high stakes power game with his deputy, Kai Zhen) and the famed poet Lin Kuo, who’s fall from grace has seen him exiled to a remote island just as Kitai comes under threat from the feared horsemen of the Steppe, whose war leader, Wan’yen is intent on conquest …
Guy Gavriel Kay’s novel is an intricately plotted fantasy consisting of intertwining stories and character arcs set in a world based on the Song Dynasty. There actually isn’t actually a lot of fantasy within the book (much talk of ghosts and destiny but only one genuinely fantastical scene and even that is open to interpretation) and the story unfolds at a more leisurely pace than I normally enjoy, but I nevertheless found myself completely absorbed by it. Even the fact that the only real female character is a little too idealised to be believable and the ambiguous ending didn’t spoil it for me. I’m a big fan of Kay’s work anyway and I thought this was every bit as good as his other books. I’m already looking forward to his next one.
The central characters of Daiyan and Shan are engaging and I liked the way Kay weaves the different plot strands together and the omniscient third person voice allows him to dip forwards and backwards in time, foreshadowing some events and ruminating on the conclusion of others. I also really enjoyed the politics at play within the book, with Kay skilfully depicting the rivalries between different factions within the court – Hang Dejin was probably my favourite character – old, wily and always playing the long game, he’s a master manipulator whose power is threatened by his increasing blindness.
There are strong themes of destiny, duty, self sacrifice and ambition throughout the book and Kay skilfully shows an empire in decline, its power fading amidst fear of its own military and the personal desires of its rulers. I was completely absorbed by the whole thing and look forward to Kay’s next book.
The Verdict:
Guy Gavriel Kay’s novel is an intricately plotted fantasy consisting of intertwining stories and character arcs set in a world based on the Song Dynasty. There actually isn’t actually a lot of fantasy within the book (much talk of ghosts and destiny but only one genuinely fantastical scene and even that is open to interpretation) and the story unfolds at a more leisurely pace than I normally enjoy, but I nevertheless found myself completely absorbed by it. Even the fact that the only real female character is a little too idealised to be believable and the ambiguous ending didn’t spoil it for me. I’m a big fan of Kay’s work anyway and I thought this was every bit as good as his other books. I’m already looking forward to his next one.
RIVER OF STARS was released in the United Kingdom on 18th July 2013. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
