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yarrowkat 's review for:
Under Heaven
by Guy Gavriel Kay
Kay is *back!* if Ysabel was a mediocre, predictable, disappointment (and it was), Under Heaven places Kay firmly back in place among the best living fantasy writers of our day. Here he returns to the genre that has defined most of his recent career, historical fantasy. Under Heaven tells a story from a recognizable but fictionalized rendition of Tang Dynasty China, much in the way that Sailing to Sarantium (aside from it's embaraassingly transparent Yeats-rip-off of a title) is set in the Byzantium of Justinian and Theodora.
This one is *good.* I don't want to give anything at all away. If you loved the Lions of Al-Rassan, A Song for Arbonne, or the Sarantium books, you should pick this one up as soon as you have time. Very strong characters, including what is becoming one of the hallmarks of Kay's writing, the quick in-depth dive into minor character viewpoints to describe key scenes, until you feel you know a hundred people from this place and time. Excellent work on the setting -- says someone who knows precious little about Tang Dynasty China -- there's a lengthy bibliography in the acknowledgements if you want to know more about the historical realities behind the story. And, you can count on it -- a strong, driving adventure plot, marked in this case by a beautiful awareness of the passing of time and grief and the beauties of life.
This one is *good.* I don't want to give anything at all away. If you loved the Lions of Al-Rassan, A Song for Arbonne, or the Sarantium books, you should pick this one up as soon as you have time. Very strong characters, including what is becoming one of the hallmarks of Kay's writing, the quick in-depth dive into minor character viewpoints to describe key scenes, until you feel you know a hundred people from this place and time. Excellent work on the setting -- says someone who knows precious little about Tang Dynasty China -- there's a lengthy bibliography in the acknowledgements if you want to know more about the historical realities behind the story. And, you can count on it -- a strong, driving adventure plot, marked in this case by a beautiful awareness of the passing of time and grief and the beauties of life.