He had certainly done his duty as emperor, through almost twenty-five years now. He'd fathered sons (many of them) and had them taught the ways of the Path and the Cho Master. He satisfied the imperial women, one each morning, two at night, according to the sequence presented to him by the Inner Quarters Registrar, dutifully denying himself climax except (upon being advised) with the most innocent and youthful of his women. In this way, according to his Arcane Advisers, the female essence of his wives and concubines would bolster his essence, not drain it away.
This, too, was a burden and responsibility. His strength was the strength of Kitai. His virtue was the virtue of an empire.
He performed all the imperial rites, faithfully.
- GUY GAVRIEL KAY,
River of Stars (
Canada,
USA,
Europe)
A little over one hundred pages into this one and it looks like another Guy Gavriel Kay gem! =)
And don't forget that you can now pre-order
River of Stars at 46% off
here.
5 commentaires:
I've never read any of Kay's books, but I always hear really good things about them. Can anyone suggest a good book to start with?
Tigana could swing you either way. A lot of people consider it his best work (or at least tied with A Song For Arbonne), which sounds like a great way to get into a great author. Unfortunately, not every work is a gem (see The Last Light of the Sun), so reading Tigana might leave you with unreasonably high expectations for everything that follows.
Eh, fuck it, we could all die any day, right? Do Tigana.
Although personally I love Tigana it is a polarizing (love/hate it) book so I am not sure this the best to start with.
Thus, I would rather suggest "A Song For Arbonne" or "The Lions of Al-Rassan".
Under Heaven.
The Sarantine Mosaic (sorry, two books)really resonated with me, also the Lions of Al-Rassan. I like Tigana less than I used to, though that could simply be a function of the number of times I've read it. A Song for Arbonne never really did it for me. The only strong suggestion I have is NOT Ysabel. It's not nearly as strong as his other work (I realize it's YA, but it's not always acknowledged as such).
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