Children of the Skies

I cannot think of another author who writes such layers, such nuance, and with such an eye for the beauty in every day life. He is, to quote the great philosopher Lola, My favorite and my best. Jun 20, Eilonwy rated it it was amazing Shelves: All I can say is, it was a great read. I blame this book for the reading slump which has haunted me through most of July. It was such a great mix of action -- the kind that makes it really hard to put a book down at any point -- and fascinating characters, whose emotional struggles also made for no good point to leave off reading.

I loved living in this world and being with these people. This is one of those books that didn't feel long at all, because it was just so good. I could happily have spent another two weeks reading it. And I was very, very sorry to finish it. My only nitpicks are: First, what exactly is the definition of "fantasy"? This story has no magic, nor is it set in a world significantly different from our own. It's more "alternative historical fantasy," which takes elements of our familiar world in this case, parts of Europe and the Middle East , places them on a similar but tilted map, and turns the time to a sort of fourteenth century feel.

In his note at the back of the book, GGK calls his books "historical fiction with a twist," which I guess sums it up. Second, since this was set in a European-type world, most of the characters are white, and that got me wondering, if you're going to come up with an alt-Earth, why not be a little more creative with the human diversity while you're at it? All the familiar Europe-type places and people felt just a bit bog-standard to me.

But that was really the only thing that dulled my enjoyment of this book, so the five stars stand. View all 8 comments. Aug 28, Wanda rated it really liked it Shelves: Since I read Under Heaven three years ago for my real life book club, I have been gradually chipping away at his works and have adored every single one of them so far. This too was a big, thick book and I read it in two days. There were no threads left hanging, nothing unresolved, nothing that I could daydream about after it was done.

Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay

I have some ideas of which cultures Kay based his characters on, but I would like to have a bit more background. Even without an extensive knowledge of the history of the Mediterranean area of that period, I enjoyed the storyline. It was convoluted and told from many different points of view. As always, GGK provided some admirable female characters and a couple of not so honourable women too, of course that prevent this novel from being solely about scheming men. He is masterful at creating believable women, apparently believing that women are people.

I enjoyed it immensely, but would probably not recommend it as a first book to introduce oneself to GGK—for that honour, I would nominate either Under Heaven or River of Stars , both of which are set in an Ancient China-like setting and are absolutely stunning. View all 11 comments. May 05, Alyssa rated it really liked it Shelves: May 10, Rating: Review copy sent by the publisher Summary from Goodreads: The bestselling author of the groundbreaking novels Under Heaven and River of Stars, Guy Gavriel Kay is back with a new book, set in a world inspired by the conflicts and dramas of Renaissance Europe.

I don't even know where to begin, with my review of this book. Like most adult fiction novels, it's complex. Intricately yet intensely written. If you find this review lacking, well, it's because this book is not easy to review! I was very satisfied with this book, and highly enjoyed it. There is conflict, between the lands of Senjan and Seressa. An artist is sent to spy on the Khalif, as well as a young woman posing as the wife of a young doctor.

A young Senjan woman wants revenge for her lost family. A second son of a merchant owns a ship, and is ferrying the artist, the doctor, the and the doctor's fake wife to Dubrava. A young boy is training as a djanni to be a soldier in the infantry of the Khalif. The lives of all of these people will intersect, as a war is emerging. I love how this story unfolds.

World, Hold On (Children of the Sky)

There are so many characters, so many protagonists, so many names to keep track of. In the beginning of the book, there is a handy list of all of the important characters. That was really helpful! Overwhelming at first, but definitely helpful. The story is told slowly in each character's third-person perspective. Within each chapter, the perspective switches in an obvious way , and between each chapter. Information is revealed slowly, and I like how everything comes together like a puzzle, as the story progresses.

There are so many characters that I could name and discuss. Pero is the young artist who is sent to spy on the Khalif by painting his portrait. Pero is quiet and not a violent man, but his role in the story is pivotal. Danica is the young Senjan woman seeking revenge, who joins the crew of the ship with Pero, the doctor, and the doctor's wife.

The doctor, Jacopo, is no spy, but his fake wife Leonora is to be one. He is instructed to "marry" her and she him so that she will gain entry into Dubrava. I felt bad for Leonora!

Fly on, children EP

Not that she had to marry the doctor - no, Jacopo is kind and gentle and she has no issue with him or he her. But her past life is so said. My favorite characters are Marin, the second son of a merchant and owner of the ship, and Danica, the young Senjan. The Senjans are hated by many, and so Danica is never really welcomed. She's a raider, which is how she "meets" Marin and his crew.

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But she joins his crew for protection from her fellow raiders. Danica is so fierce! She is a strong young female character that I admire. Marin is a ladies man, a very handsome and very charming second son who is extremely clever as well. He's just as good with a sword as Danica is with a bow and arrow.

I like him because he is very intelligent, but he's also a flirt very roguish. Each of the character's lives intersect with each other, in complicated ways. As one would encounter in adult fiction novels, there is a lot of slow-building action, and things can change in the blink of an eye, from one paragraph to the next.

The pace of this book is slow, but skip a paragraph or a page and you've missed crucial information. I didn't mind the pacing too much. This book is long, but so detailed. A lot of time passes in the story, from start to finish.

Children of Earth and Sky

While it is written in third-person and there are many perspectives, we get to know all of the characters extremely well. Especially Danica, Marin, Pero, and Leonora. There is some romance! There are a few couples, and my favorite was Marin and Danica. As with many adult fiction novels, the relationships start with sex, and there is some somewhat explicit scenes so this is definitely not for children.

Marin is a ladies man, and so it's not surprising that he and Danica attract each other. What is surprising is the development of feelings - from both of them. None of the romances there are several pairs are terribly significant in the book, but they are there, in a peripheral sense. And there is some messiness to the relationships. So I would not read this book for the romance and why would you, it's not a focus in the book. Lots of sex, sexual acts though not as explicit as adult romance novels , violence, and such.

Some of the deaths totally caught me off guard, and I didn't see them coming. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Probably more than I thought I would though I don't really know what I had been expecting! This is my first book by Kay that I've read, and I liked it.

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While the first half ish of the book was a little slow, things really started to pick up about halfway. What I Did Not Like: This is the romance reader talking, but I would have loved to see more from Marin and Danica! The ending was incredibly sweet and made up for a lot of things, but still. Maybe it was supposed to have been explained by religion and faith, but I wasn't sure. Still, I liked the small presence of the supernatural. Would I Recommend It: I'd recommend this book but ONLY to seasoned adult fiction readers, or adult readers in general.

Definitely not young teens or adolescents. It's an excellent historical-esque fantasy novel, but there are graphic scenes that I don't think would be appropriate for all ages. I am glad I took a chance on this book! The length had me hesitating, but this was worth the read. I'll be looking out for books by this veteran author in the future.

Mar 22, Lyn rated it liked it. This is the first book I have read from Canadian writer Guy Gavriel Kay and reviews about the quality and originality of his work is earned. Children of Earth and Sky, his novel, is set as so many of his works in a fantastic world but one not far removed from our own. This seems like an alternative history Europe, perhaps Middle Ages eastern Mediterranean. The reader is introduced to a world of intrigue among competing empires and city-states.

Using a shifting perspective narrative style, the author applies omniscience to further explore the psychology of the interactions between the characters. Sociological and cultural distinctions between the nations are also fascinating. I'm really torn between giving this a 2 or 3 star rating. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for free in exchange for a review, but I just can't say that I loved it when I didn't.

I'm not even sure how to describe what this book is about. I finished reading it and wasn't even sure what the point was. The book gets off to a very slow start introducing different people who have their own POVs in the story. The I'm really torn between giving this a 2 or 3 star rating. There's a banker's wife who isn't what she seems, an orphan warrior teenage girl, a merchant's son, a painter, an ambassador, a teen age boy who is a soldier for the "bad guys" brother to the warrior girl and a few others.

The book is just a broad sweeping view of their lives as they interact with each other although it takes forever to get to that point. There isn't a main story or main character like you'd find in other GGK novels. The plot just felt all over the place. There was one character who was pretty prominent in the beginning, and then just disappeared about halfway through - others who seemed like they were going to be important, but didn't really matter.

There are so many characters, I didn't know who to focus on, nor did I particularly care about any of them. I think the first chapter of the book has the potential to be very confusing for anyone who is new to GGK. For example, it calls some people Jaddites and some Asharites and Kindath - he talks about Osmanalis but later refers to them as Asharites.

There are five main cities involved and it was a lot to absorb in the first chapter. I've read several GGK books set in that same "world", but even I was getting confused. One of the things that really drove me crazy was the change in tense used for one character. Most of the book was written in "normal book tense" 3rd person past tense? John walked down the road, and stopped to look at the sky.

It was really jarring to read and I thought disrupted the flow of everything. I didn't see the point of just that one character being written differently. Another issue is that a lot of scenes in the book are repeated from a different characters POV. For example, a "big thing" happens, followed by something bad. It all gets taken care of and the storyline wraps up. Then, the next paragraph switches POV and you're back to the middle of the "big thing" that happened and you're reading it all over again - and it almost never served to offer anything new that made it worth repeating.

In fact, the book was overly wordy in general. I think at least a hundred pages could have been cut with no loss. This book happens a long time after those, but it made me nostalgic reading about the ruins of the chariot racing arena, or a few references to ruined mosaics. All I can say is this book didn't do it for me. I wish that I liked it. I've been looking forward to reading this one for nearly a year.

I think if you're new to GGK this isn't the book to start with. View all 10 comments. Mar 19, Sherwood Smith added it Shelves: Copy received courtesy of NetGalley This book is set twenty-five years after the fall of Byzantium, that is, Sarantium. The veneer is pretty thin in places: Kay makes it work, especially if you can enrich your perceptions with images of the various settings. The inevitable pirate attack brings Senjans, people whose lives hardened by constant invasions from various armies, especially the Osmanlis, had turned them all into guerillas and pirates.

They are led by eighteen-year-old Danica, a talented archer and knife fighter, who lost her family to Osmanli attack. Most died, except her four-year-old brother Neven, who had been carried off by the Osmanlis, they assumed to be gelded like the rest and sold at the slave market.

I say "they" because unaccountably, she hears the voice of her grandfather, also dead. Danica is accompanied by her faithful dog Tico view spoiler [and I am delighted to say that Tico is not there as an easy plot device for wrenching sentiment hide spoiler ]. These characters, and a few others introduced through the action including a number of fascinating female characters , are at the heart of this tale about the clash of cultures and trade, shadowed by a century of plague attacks during summer. Kay uses an omniscient narrator whose voice evokes storytellers in long winter evenings by the fireplace, the pacing leisurely until action is sudden and shocking.

There is just enough of a fantastical element to evoke a shimmer of the numinous over the colorful indeed, sanguinary tapestry of interactions and consequences, some of them real white-knuckle moments. My only complaint is that an omni voice gives one the chance to keep the flow linear, unlike limited third epics, which have to jolt and jerk back and forth in time, sometimes repeating whole conversations as one POV then another gets its airing. There are several of these jolts here, including repeated exchanges, which could have been worked seamlessly by the all-seeing narrator, but that is a small problem given the scope, the imagination, the elegiac observations about the fragility of human life under the inexorable threat of war, pestilence, and time.

Kay brings the story to a poignantly triumphant and satisfying close, as the narrator slowly weaves inward and then outward again for the long view, then ends gently, and perceptively, with characters we have come to love. Mar 19, Melissa McShane rated it it was amazing Shelves: I'm not sure what to say to do justice to this book.

Kay is a master of creating worlds just inches from our own, drawing on real history and then twisting it to his own ends. With several protagonists, and a prose style that leaps from one to another, sometimes within a single scene, this could have been overdone. I loved the different voices and characters and was never bored or impatient to get back to one or the other.

Kay plays with time and space in a way that bound all of th I'm not sure what to say to do justice to this book. Kay plays with time and space in a way that bound all of them together, choosing his narrators carefully--even the ones who are only there to narrate their deaths. If I had a complaint, it's one I think I had with River of Stars , and that's the seemingly random choice to have one of the characters' scenes be in third person present tense. It didn't make that character more interesting Marin is already plenty interesting on his own and I don't think it added any immediacy to those sections.

If I were going to make a critical analysis here, I'd say it indicates Marin's always living in the now--but I wouldn't take myself seriously. More interesting to me is the way the narrative gets tossed between characters, at some points even overlapping, and in one key scene revealing the difference between perception and reality.

I found the whole thing fascinating and tension-building. I'm not as certain how I feel about the third person omniscient passages, though they're usually used to reveal the future and are satisfying in that way. They did tend to drag me out of the story, and I think I accepted them mainly because I did want to know what happened to the characters in the long run. For much of the book I was so, so grateful to live in a more civilized time and place, one where women's power isn't so dependent on their ability to please men.

This is a brutal time, where honor killings are acceptable if you've got enough gold to pay the victim's family off, where men and women are vulnerable to the vicissitudes of climate and weather, where a father can condemn a wayward daughter to a lifetime shut up in a religious retreat because she fell in love with the wrong man. And yet there's great beauty here as well, people showing love and kindness even when it doesn't benefit them. Beauty, and courage in all its guises. The contrast gives the book great power.

I love that Kay is a romantic and that everyone who deserves it gets a happily ever after. I love that in this story, the miracles that exist feel natural, part of the world. It's just the tiniest stroke of magic that makes the whole thing feel otherworldly. If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review. The Implausibility of Happenstance: All songs by Glass Skies. Lyrics by Josh Van Looy. Tags rock party psych psychedelic psychedelic rock rock Adelaide.

Live at Adlai Stevenson Memorial Park. If you like Glass Skies, you may also like: Ringnes go to album. AbNormal Listening Habits go to album. Nick Bradey go to album. Support for Nevil's leadership begins to falter as the medical advances he promised fail to bear fruit.

Ravna conspires with Johanna Olsndot and the pack Pilgrim to force Nevil to compromise. Before that can happen, three of the youngest Children are kidnapped, ostensibly by Tines from the Tropics. Nevil uses the opportunity to leverage more power. It is revealed that Nevil was behind all three incidents and for several years has been allied with Tycoon and Vendacious to undermine Ravna and Woodcarver. Ravna, with the help of Jefri Olsndot, his friend pack Amdiranifani, and the pack Screwfloss a rehabilitated Lord Steel , escapes her captors and attempts to return to Woodcarver's Domain to stop Nevil's tyranny.

On the way, however, the four are re-captured and taken to the Tropics aboard two of Tycoon's airships. Back on Oobii , now under Nevil's control, Nevil's second-in-command Bili Yngva witnesses a massive Zone shift recorded by the ship's sensors. For a few minutes, Tines World is part of the Beyond and the "rescue party" fleet is estimated to close to within 20 light-years. Ravna and company arrive at Tycoon's Reservation, where they learn that Tycoon, under Vendacious' influence, is on the verge of forcing Woodcarver to accede to an alliance, thereby removing Woodcarver's Domain as a threat to Tycoon's rapidly growing business empire.

Later, when the meeting that Nevil had coordinated to force the "alliance" on Woodcarver and solidify his control over the Children occurs, it ends disastrously for him. Ravna regains control of Oobii with her Command Privilege, Vendacious is killed by a mutiny of his airship's crew, and Tycoon flees to the Tropics with Johanna whom Tycoon believes to have killed his brother-pack, Scriber Jacqeramaphan as an apparent hostage.

Nevil and his fellow Disaster Study Group members nearly half of all the Children depart and establish their own settlement, "Best Hope", in a distant valley.