The Last Light of the Sun - Softcover

Kay, Guy Gavriel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143194054 ISBN 13: 9780143194057

Publisher: Penguin Canada, 2017

Synopsis

In the stirring tradition of Northern Europe's heroic sagas, award-winning novelist Guy Gavriel Kay brings to life an unforgettable world balanced on the knife-edge of change.
For generations, the Erlings of Vinmark have taken their dragon-prowed ships across the seas, raiding the lands of less warlike people, leaving fire and death behind. A young Erling man, Bern Thorkellson has been living a life of slavery at home since his father's exile. He is desperate to regain his freedom and emerge from the taint that marks his family. His opportunity arrives when he escapes and joins a group of elite mercenaries. The warriors form a raiding party destined for the coastlines of their more peaceful neighbors, but what they discover there will lead to unexpected consequences. In a tale woven with consummate artistry, people of three cultures will find the threads of their lives dramatically entwined.

About this title

About the Author

GUY GAVRIEL KAY is the author of thirteen novels (most recently Children of Earth and Sky), and a book of poetry. He has written book reviews and social and political commentary for the National Post and the Globe and Mail in Canada, and The Guardian in England. Translations of his books have appeared in thirty languages and have been on bestseller lists in many countries. Kay has spoken and read on behalf of his publishers and at literary events around the world. He was been nominated for and has won numerous literary awards and is the recipient of the International Goliardos Prize for his contributions to the literature of the fantastic. In 2014 he was named to the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honour.

Visit his website at www.brightweavings.com. The author lives in Toronto, ON.

From Publishers Weekly

In this wonderfully imaginative historical fantasy from Kay (A Song for Arbonne), seemingly random deeds connect Erling (Viking) raiders and Anglcyn (English) and Cyngael (Welsh) princes: If only Bern Thorkellson hadn't stolen that horse in a desperate act of vengeance against his sorry fate; if only Dai ab Owyn hadn't stepped outside the safety of Brynfell right at the moment when the Erlings attacked; if only Ivarr Ragnarson hadn't been born ill-formed and downright cruel; if only Aeldred hadn't been king of the Anglcyn; if only Thorkell Einarson had murdered only one man and not the second; if only Alun ab Owyn hadn't stepped into that pool on a moonless night and seen the Queen of the Elves in procession. At first glance, each individual's act appears to be a normal human response. It's only later, as the characters' paths cross, that the pieces come together to weave a dazzling tapestry of conjoined fates. Solid research, filtered through vibrant prose, serves to convey a sense of how people really lived and died in Viking and Anglo-Saxon times and how they might have interacted with the realm of magic on a daily basis. Readers of lighter fantasy should be forewarned—the novel contains a lot of gruesome killing and the fairy world plays a relatively minor role, as do women.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Canada
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0143194054
• ISBN 13: 9780143194057
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 560