Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Everybody who has read Guy Guvriel Kay has been gushing unequivocally great things about him. I as usual, am late to the party but having started off with one of his BEST Ever works, Under Heaven (published in 2010), I think I know pretty much how you guys feel about GGK. He’s an exquisitely talented writer. Under Heaven is easily one of the best pieces of literary fiction or historical fantasy (it sits easy on any shelf I would wager) that I’ve ever read. “Among the ten-thousand noises and the jade-and-gold and the whirling dust of Xinan, he had often stayed awake all night among friends, drinking spiced wine in the North District with the courtesans.” So starts this literary epic that waltzes and dances to the words as woven by Guy Gavriel Kay – you get to “feel” the tone in that very first sentence that belies the depth of this multi-layered novel. It is deep, haunting and beautiful in ways that defies description. Making a historical fantasy based on th...