A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay – Review

Published: May 14, 2019

Publisher: Berkley Books

Series: Standalone

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Pages: 448 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

International bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay’s latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy and offers an extraordinary cast of characters whose lives come together through destiny, love, and ambition.

In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra’s intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count–and soon learned why that man was known  as the Beast.

Danio’s fate changed the moment he saw and recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count’s chambers one autumn night–intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen, instead of a life of comfort, one of danger–and freedom. Which is how she encounters Danio in a perilous time and place.

Vivid figures share the unfolding story. Among them: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a powerful religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting all these lives and many more,  two larger-than-life mercenary commanders, lifelong adversaries, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance.

A Brightness Long Ago offers both compelling drama and deeply moving reflections on the nature of memory, the choices we make in life, and the role played by the turning of Fortune’s wheel.

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Now that I’ve read a handful of Kay’s books and understand the beautiful tragedies that are his tales, I will celebrate the release of each of his new books – they’re just SO good. A Brightness Long Ago, while not a visually exciting book (the cover is fine, just not overwhelming), was a truly lovely read. It is set in the same world as several of his other books including Sailing to Sarantium and Children of Earth and Sky and it was a treat to return to familiar places again.

Guy Gavriel Kay is gifted at writing these elegant, historically inspired tales in which he examines how choices both great and small made by people both grand and humble can influence history. I hesitate to even label many of them as fantasy because the presence of the fantastical is so minimal it could almost be excluded entirely. A Brightness Long Ago doesn’t really need a summary from me – I would do it an injustice, so best just to read the official synopsis. Just know that it’s beautifully written and at times somewhat heartbreaking, though it’s entirely worth it.

This can definitely be read as a standalone despite it being set in the same world as several other books. The other books are set at different times, with mostly different characters so it won’t detract from the experience. I, however, do plan to go back and read all the other books set in this same world because I just love it to be honest. Somehow GGK makes me nostalgic for something that never existed and his writing evokes actual feeling and pensiveness from me which I find to be amazing.  I would highly recommend the audio version of the book as his narrator, Simon Vance, brings characters to life so well.