- Hardcover: 448 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd; First Edition edition (7 Sep 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0684851695
- ISBN-13: 978-0684851693
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.4 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 938,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Guy Gavriel Kay's fantasy career began with "The Fionavar Tapestry", a popular trilogy mixing Arthurian and Tolkienian themes. He's since developed an original vein of alternate- historical fiction; richly suspenseful stories whose period settings have different country names and added magic. The Lions of Al- Rassan reinvented medieval Spain; Sailing to Sarantium lovingly reflects the intrigue and splendour of the Byzantine Empire, and echoes W.B. Yeats's famous Byzantium poems. Magic exists: at least one old god is horribly real, and those artificial singing birds celebrated by Yeats take their life from an unexpected, creepy source. Sarantium City is intensely imagined, with dynastic upheavals, riot and rebellion, a smashing chariot race, and knives glinting in every alley. There's sharp intelligence here, too. The hero, an outlander mosaic expert summoned to decorate Sarantium's newest and greatest dome, faces his worst test at the Emperor's court--where mechanical trickery lurks, conversation is double-edged, exile awaits the loser in a debate on mosaic techniques, and there's a Sherlockian challenge to deduce how the top charioteer pulled off a magical-seeming coup. Kay has laid fine groundwork for this new series "The Sarantine Mosaic", with more to follow. --David Langford
Product Description
The first of a two-volume story continuing that of the world created in "Tigana". The empire of Sarantium is beset to east and west but Valerius II wishes to take back the western lands which gave birth to the empire he now rules. The master mosaicist, Caius Crispus, is called upon to play a role.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Since Tolkien created Middle Earth fantasy novelists have struggled to construct a fantasy society which is as detailed, well-rounded and satisfying to the reader. Guy Gavriel Kay hasn't struggled at all - he's succeeded, several times over. While the David Eddings and the David Gemmells of the fantasy scene revisit established settings in their shelf-hogging sagas, Kay gifts the reader with a new world to explore in each much-awaited novel - each one a multi-faceted jewel; the closest thing within the genre which resembles art. His latest work of art is 'Sailing to Sarantium' - a rare occurance in the realms of fantasy literature - a novel you can read without being completely familiar with the writer's previous volumes of prose. But this particular novel should carry a health warning : May utterly consume your attention to the exclusion of all other distractions until thoroughly read. With its superbly drawn cast of characters and intricate plot, its not a casual read - but worth the effort.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Guy Gavriel Kay is Canada's best kept secret. From Tigana on, his books have been miles above the average fantasy novel. Superbly written and intricately plotted, GGK's novels are a delight for the discriminating reader. Sailing to Sarantium doesn't disappoint, except that it's the first of a duology and it's hard to wait for the next one! Sailing to Sarantium, like Tigana, Arbonne and Lions, is thinly disguised history, this time the Byzantine empire (the title owes a debt to Yeats). Crispin, a master mosaicist, travels to Sarantium to decorate the emperor's new temple, a structure resembling Hagia Sophia. On the way he encounters mystery and horror; those familiar with Kay's heart-stoppingly sad set pieces will find another such in the forest on the Day of the Dead. And that's only half-way through the novel! I was sorry to finish this and highly recommend it.
Guy Gavriel Kay has not failed to satisfy with his superb talent -- he is a "giant" in the literary field, let alone Fantasy works. This book in particular has been truly wonderful. All I can say is READ IT! and then, while waiting for the next book to come out - read his other books, particularly The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy and Tigana.
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