Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club

THE LAST LIGHT OF THE SUN
by
GUY GAVRIEL KAY
Last Light of the Sun US cover The Last Light of the Sun (2004)

Roc fantasy hardcover
cover art by Larry Rostant
496 pages (left)

Peguin Canada paperback
512 pages (right)		 Last Light of the Sun Canadian cover
From the hardback inside flap:
       There is nothing soft or silken about the north.  The world echoes with the clash of weapons and sea-raiders' cries, the lives of its inhabitants as challenging as the climate and lands in which they dwell.  For decades, the Erlings of Vinmark have taken their dragon-prowed ships across the seas, raiding the lands of the Cyngael and Anglcyn peoples, leaving fire and death behind.  But times change, even in the north, and in a tale wrought of violence and beauty and supernatural presences, men and women of all three cultures find the threads of their lives brought together....
       Bern Thorkellson, punished for his father's sins, denied his heritage and home, commits an act of vengeance and desperation that brings him face-to-face, across the sea, with a past he's been trying to leave behind.
       In the Anglcyn lands of Aeldred, their shrewd king, battling inner demons all the while, shores up his defenses with alliances and diplomacy -- and with swords and arrows -- while his exceptional, unpredictable sons and daughters give shape to their own desires when battle comes and darkness falls in the spirit wood.
       And in the valleys and shrouded hills of the Cyngael, whose voices carry music even as they feud and raid amongst one another, violence and love become deeply interwoven when the dragon ships come and Alun ab Owyn, pursuing an enemy in the night, glimpses strange lights gleaming above forest pools....

Read for group discussion on September 13, 2006
RATINGS:
How we each rated this book
Dan - Amy - stack of books 10   Wow! Don't miss it
8-9  Highly recommended
7    Recommended
5-6  Mild recommendation
3-4  Take your chances
1-2  Below average; skip it
0    Get out the flamethrower!
U    Unfinishable or unreadable
-    Skipped or no rating given
Cheri 9 Barb -
Aaron - Cynthia -
Jackie 8 Ron 9
Christine - Deb -
Mike - Stephanie -
Patty - Shannon 10
Our book group has also read the following books by Guy Gavriel Kay:
-- A Song for Arbonne  in December 1994
-- The Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy  in January 1998
-- The Lions of Al-Rassan  in May 2002
-- Ysabel in February 2009
Bibliography:
Guy Gavriel Kay (1954-     ) is a Canadian fantasy writer.

Awards
1987 Aurora Award for The Wandering Fire
1991 Aurora Award for Tigana
2008 World Fantasy Award for novel Ysabel

Kay worked for several years during the 1970s as an assistant to Christopher Tolkien in editing J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion (1977).

Fionavar Tapestry trilogy:
-- The Summer Tree (1985)
-- The Wandering Fire (1986)
-- The Darkest Road (1986)

His following books, all stand alone fantasy novels, are:
-- Tigana (1990), set in land inspired by Italy
-- A Song for Arbonne (1992), set in an alternate troubadour era France
-- The Lions of Al-Rassan (1995), set in an alternate medieval Spain

Sarantine Mosaic duology, set in an alternate Byzantium Empire
-- Sailing to Sarantium (1998)
-- Lord of Emperors (2000)

-- The Last Light of the Sun (2004), is inspired by the Vikings and Saxon England

-- Ysabel (2007), is a fantasy set in present day in Southern France

Poetry collection
-- Beyond This Dark House (2003)

Links:
Our book club's page for The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay
Our book club's page for The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay
Our book club's page for Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay: Bright Weavings, the Authorized website
Guy Gavriel Kay - Wikipedia
SF Site Interview - A Conversation with Guy Gavriel Kay (2000)
Green Man Review: Guy Gavriel Kay, The Last Light of the Sun
The SF Site Featured Review: The Last Light of the Sun (1)
The SF Site Featured Review: The Last Light of the Sun (2)
The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay - an infinity plus review

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 This page was last updated February 15, 2009