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sloreads_ca's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Full review on sloreads.ca
All the Seas of the World is another outstanding story in Guy Gavriel Kay's alternate universe.
As always, Guy Gavriel Kay builds a beautiful world with complex characters. We get to see Falco D'Arcosi and Danio Cerra again. They've aged and grown from where we left them in A Brightness Long Ago. A chance meeting between Falco and Nadia gives him more levers to pull across the continent. Falco continues to be so devious, pushing people, princes, and clergy down the hallways they think have many doors open for them to choose from. They don't realize that Falco has barred all the options he doesn't like, so it's only the illusion of choice.
I love and am frustrated by how Kay creates his characters in almost every book I've read. Each character is an archetype, with a handful of dominant personality traits and history to support it. Falco, for example, is an honourable mercenary who loves his wife and city. That one sentence explains most of his motivations for doing anything. If you want to predict his behaviour, ask:
Does it place his wife or city at risk?
Does it provide benefits for his wife or city?
Does it conflict with direct promises or commitments he's made?
Will his company of mercenaries be negatively affected?
While the reader still sees Kay's characters as vulnerable, growing and developing, having internal conflict, etc., they ultimately behave according to their archetype. I love it because you get to believe that people are consistent and strive almost single-mindedly towards their objectives for the book's duration. I'm frustrated because people aren't that consistent, don't know themselves well, and always take actions that aren't in line with their values.
All the Seas of the World is a moving story. All the subplots and ancillary characters add poignancy and depth to the layers of the story. Reading this story evoked so much happy nostalgia for me as I call to mind the Lions of Al-Rassan, Sailing to Sarantium, and the other books I've read in this world.
All the Seas of the World is another outstanding story in Guy Gavriel Kay's alternate universe.
As always, Guy Gavriel Kay builds a beautiful world with complex characters. We get to see Falco D'Arcosi and Danio Cerra again. They've aged and grown from where we left them in A Brightness Long Ago. A chance meeting between Falco and Nadia gives him more levers to pull across the continent. Falco continues to be so devious, pushing people, princes, and clergy down the hallways they think have many doors open for them to choose from. They don't realize that Falco has barred all the options he doesn't like, so it's only the illusion of choice.
I love and am frustrated by how Kay creates his characters in almost every book I've read. Each character is an archetype, with a handful of dominant personality traits and history to support it. Falco, for example, is an honourable mercenary who loves his wife and city. That one sentence explains most of his motivations for doing anything. If you want to predict his behaviour, ask:
Does it place his wife or city at risk?
Does it provide benefits for his wife or city?
Does it conflict with direct promises or commitments he's made?
Will his company of mercenaries be negatively affected?
While the reader still sees Kay's characters as vulnerable, growing and developing, having internal conflict, etc., they ultimately behave according to their archetype. I love it because you get to believe that people are consistent and strive almost single-mindedly towards their objectives for the book's duration. I'm frustrated because people aren't that consistent, don't know themselves well, and always take actions that aren't in line with their values.
All the Seas of the World is a moving story. All the subplots and ancillary characters add poignancy and depth to the layers of the story. Reading this story evoked so much happy nostalgia for me as I call to mind the Lions of Al-Rassan, Sailing to Sarantium, and the other books I've read in this world.
marilynw's review against another edition
3.0
All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay
The vastness of this world and it's history overwhelmed me. I now realize that there were two book before this one and I know I would have been more immersed in this world and the characters if I had read the first two books. I did like some of these characters a lot, especially Rafel and his partner Nadia/Lenia, and I am happy with their progression through the story. There were other characters I liked and many I despised and I appreciate when certain characters get their just desserts.
Another character I liked was Danio Cerra and it seems that the first book in this trilogy would tell me more about him. That's one of the reasons I think I would have benefited from reading the first two books before I read this one. For as much world building, description, and information that we get in this book, I always felt like I was missing something, that I should know more. I was overwhelmed by too much yet thinking I didn't have enough from the story. I suggest reading the first two books in this trilogy, before you read this one, to get the full story. For all that we go through, as we read the story, and for all the characters go through, I really liked the ending of this story. That is the kind of thing I wanted more of, the characters, without being overwhelmed by the world.
Published May 17th 2022
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.
The vastness of this world and it's history overwhelmed me. I now realize that there were two book before this one and I know I would have been more immersed in this world and the characters if I had read the first two books. I did like some of these characters a lot, especially Rafel and his partner Nadia/Lenia, and I am happy with their progression through the story. There were other characters I liked and many I despised and I appreciate when certain characters get their just desserts.
Another character I liked was Danio Cerra and it seems that the first book in this trilogy would tell me more about him. That's one of the reasons I think I would have benefited from reading the first two books before I read this one. For as much world building, description, and information that we get in this book, I always felt like I was missing something, that I should know more. I was overwhelmed by too much yet thinking I didn't have enough from the story. I suggest reading the first two books in this trilogy, before you read this one, to get the full story. For all that we go through, as we read the story, and for all the characters go through, I really liked the ending of this story. That is the kind of thing I wanted more of, the characters, without being overwhelmed by the world.
Published May 17th 2022
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.
jessicalmsw's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up. The commentary on religion and war was very interesting. I feel like the author had a lot to say, but went off in so many directions that at times it was difficult to keep track or people. Perhaps reading this book would be better than listening to it.
aleffert's review against another edition
4.0
Kay doing his Kay thing and I think his best take on in it ages, though definitely still not up to his peak.
mxsallybend's review against another edition
4.0
Guy Gavriel Kay has always had a style of his own, but I believe this make be the ‘folksiest’ telling yet. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just a notable one. There’s very much a sense of a storyteller behind the novel, a kindly figure who is relating the events the story. Once in a while he lifts his head from the story to tell us what will happen to a secondary character over the course of their long life, and more often he nods and winks, teasing us with the likes “if only.” In many ways, this is a story about those secondary characters, about the chance encounters upon which the fates of nations can turn, and that’s the second most fascinating part of it.
As always, this is a heavily character driven novel, focused primarily on Rafel and Lenia, partners in business and the business of killing. They’re both deeply wounded souls, cut off from not just their families but their very cultures, making them deeply sympathetic. The story meanders from the main narrative in several key places to follow their pursuit of family, and it’s those side stories that I felt were the most fascinating part of the story. Empires and tyrants may rise and fall, but it’s families that break, hearts that heal, and passions that intersect that give this such life.
GGK continues his theme of highlighting slave/prostitute/concubine characters, something that I know grates on some readers, but I felt was handled better here than in previous books, and he takes some interesting steps forward with his LGBTQIA representation, giving us POV characters that don’t immediately die because they’re gay. In fact, there’s a lesbian relationship flirted with in the first half, and it’s quiet resolution is both the most beautiful and most sad paragraph in the book.
For those keeping track, there are several references to events in The Lions of Al-Rassan (a favorite of mine) and the two-part The Sarantine Mosaic (not a favorite of mine), in addition to this being a continuation of Children of Earth and Sky and A Brightness Long Ago. You don’t need to have read them to enjoy it, but you will appreciate it far more for having done so.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2022/09/03/book-review-all-the-seas-of-the-world-by-guy-gavriel-kay-fantasy/
As always, this is a heavily character driven novel, focused primarily on Rafel and Lenia, partners in business and the business of killing. They’re both deeply wounded souls, cut off from not just their families but their very cultures, making them deeply sympathetic. The story meanders from the main narrative in several key places to follow their pursuit of family, and it’s those side stories that I felt were the most fascinating part of the story. Empires and tyrants may rise and fall, but it’s families that break, hearts that heal, and passions that intersect that give this such life.
GGK continues his theme of highlighting slave/prostitute/concubine characters, something that I know grates on some readers, but I felt was handled better here than in previous books, and he takes some interesting steps forward with his LGBTQIA representation, giving us POV characters that don’t immediately die because they’re gay. In fact, there’s a lesbian relationship flirted with in the first half, and it’s quiet resolution is both the most beautiful and most sad paragraph in the book.
For those keeping track, there are several references to events in The Lions of Al-Rassan (a favorite of mine) and the two-part The Sarantine Mosaic (not a favorite of mine), in addition to this being a continuation of Children of Earth and Sky and A Brightness Long Ago. You don’t need to have read them to enjoy it, but you will appreciate it far more for having done so.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2022/09/03/book-review-all-the-seas-of-the-world-by-guy-gavriel-kay-fantasy/
thejdizzler's review against another edition
4.0
Wow I love GGK. Every time I open one of his books, I'm immediately a little skeptical of the writing style (very-telly), but throughout one of his books I usually find it grows on you, becoming almost poetic.
Loved to see the returning characters from A Brightness Long Ago, and although some of the new characters felt a bit flat (looking at you Lenia), the story was touching and made me cry at some points. Home is such an important concept, one that our hyper-capitalist society has almost completely destroyed.
Hoping for a book about ancient Rhodias, or the new world next.
Loved to see the returning characters from A Brightness Long Ago, and although some of the new characters felt a bit flat (looking at you Lenia), the story was touching and made me cry at some points. Home is such an important concept, one that our hyper-capitalist society has almost completely destroyed.
Hoping for a book about ancient Rhodias, or the new world next.
kthornette's review against another edition
DNF @ ~21%
Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!
I want to preface by saying this book has loads and loads of amazing reviews with high praise. Take my opinion with that in consideration. This review is a very clear case of "it's not you, it's me."
Here’s the thing. I don’t do well with historical or fantasy books, but there’s often certain ones that steal my attention and keep it forever. And for this one, I was intrigued by the vengeance and assassination plot.
Right from the start, I was taken away by the beautiful writing. Everything felt so poetic and whimsical. Although at times it felt too technical and flowery for my simple mind. It felt like a classic that bored me in high school. I wanted to get over the world-building aspects and just meet the characters and the plot. I got to the point where I wasn’t retaining any information.
Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!
I want to preface by saying this book has loads and loads of amazing reviews with high praise. Take my opinion with that in consideration. This review is a very clear case of "it's not you, it's me."
Here’s the thing. I don’t do well with historical or fantasy books, but there’s often certain ones that steal my attention and keep it forever. And for this one, I was intrigued by the vengeance and assassination plot.
Right from the start, I was taken away by the beautiful writing. Everything felt so poetic and whimsical. Although at times it felt too technical and flowery for my simple mind. It felt like a classic that bored me in high school. I wanted to get over the world-building aspects and just meet the characters and the plot. I got to the point where I wasn’t retaining any information.
mkpatter's review against another edition
4.0
You can tell this is a book that was written in the height of the pandemic, but actually in a good way.
merlandre's review against another edition
5.0
Always excited to see a new Guy Gavriel Kay book. Always entertaining and engrossing. Great writing. Interesting characters... What can I say. A master b