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    A Brightness Long Ago
    A Brightness Long Ago
    A Brightness Long Ago
    Audiobook14 hours

    A Brightness Long Ago

    Written by Guy Gavriel Kay

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 14, 2019
    ISBN9781501966231
    A Brightness Long Ago
    Author

    Guy Gavriel Kay

    Guy Gavriel Kay was born and raised in Canada. He lives in Toronto, although he does most of his writing in Europe. His novels include ‘The Fionavar Tapestry’ trilogy (described by ‘Interzone’ as ‘the only fantasy work… that does not suffer by comparison with ‘The Lord of the Rings’), ‘Tigana’ and ‘A Song for Arbonne’.

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    Reviews for A Brightness Long Ago

    4/5

    133 ratings15 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A beautifully written book. Evocative. Elegant. Well worth the listen.
    • 5/5
      So great. Excellent writing, characters and plot- although i sometimes got a little confused keeping it all straight ?
      I loved the Children of Earth& Sky, and thought it was a bit more grand, this was an awesome prequal.
    • 4/5
      What makes up a good SF story/novel?1. How to make your prose work on a sentence-by-sentence basis. This means some understanding of grammar but also the use of simile and metaphor to enliven the surface of your writing. Reading someone like the American James Lee Burke would be a good way of understanding how imagery works (which “A Brightness Long Ago”checks);2. Structure - particularly beginnings and ends of chapters and Beginning-Middle-End in respect of the whole book. When do you start to reveal information? How can you use foreshadowing? Where should the heroine suffer a reversal? (which “A Brightness Long Ago”checks);3. How to create conflict between characters to raise the reader's interest. This doesn't mean goodies versus baddies. It might mean conflict between people who are actually working towards the same goal. Readers are interested in what's going to happen next, but also in the differences between people - so you have to show those differences in a dramatic way, through their actions and their dialogue (which “A Brightness Long Ago”checks);4. Which leads to that old warhorse, “Show not Tell”. Beginning writers often feel that they have to give you a lot of information so that you understand the context of their story and their characters. But readers are more interested in what's happening now, on the page in front of them, and will happily pick up context as they go (which “A Brightness Long Ago”does not check).That's my syllabus, anyway. :-)Book Review SF = Speculative Fiction
    • 4/5
      Not Kay's best. But of course, even his not-best are pretty darn good. I didn't find a character that I became emotionally attached to the way I have in so many of his books, but the story was superb.
    • 4/5
      A world based on Renaissance Italy, but not quite. Very enjoyable.
    • 3/5
      It would be a stretch of the truth to say Guy Gavriel Kay is anything but an accomplished story-teller. He crafts his work with elegance, passion, and detail. You would think with that praise I would rate his work higher than I do, for certainly there is much here to engage the reader.However, having read almost all of Kay's canon of literary works, I have come to recognize there is formula to what he writes. There is always the femme fatale. There is always the dashing rogue. There is always the clash against the immutable forces of political or religious power. It's the same story, different cover, different title, and while each novel is definitely immersive, wonderful escapist literature, it also is endlessly formulaic.And then there's the historical influence in each of Kay's stories. In this novel it's very much the history of the Italian city states during the powerful influence of the Medici, and the warring dukes and mercenary captains of the period.It is the same with all of his other works. Change the names and do a bit of liberal interpretation, you still end up with a pseudo-history of China, or Spain, or Byzantium, or France. Given the considerable research Kay has undertaken to write about these empires and their places in history, one wonders why he just didn't write historical novels. Certainly there is little to no magic in any of his work, so the stories cannot be considered fantasy. It's all alternate history with a twist, and with similar characters placed upon the boards.Given all that, A Brightness Long Ago remains firmly in the genre of entertaining alternate history, rather than elevating to something quite beyond and memorable, even haunting. Thus a rating of three stars for me, rather than four or five.If you're looking for escapist reading: A Brightness Long Ago may be just your next go-to. However, if you're looking for more than a snack, you may want to give it a pass.
    • 3/5
      A Brightness Long Ago is continuing Kay's writing of a book based on a historical country or region. In this case, he wanted to write roughly based on what Italy was back before it was a single country, when Florence and Venice and other small kingdoms constantly warred and struggled against each other.In this setting put 2 Dukes/warlords, each a successful mercenary captain, each a ruler of a small province. Each year, they get paid by one side or another to capture some smaller city, or prevent the other one from doing so. The book actually starts with another character, but that just serves as a mechanism to drag us into the larger plot.I actually found the other characters to be more interesting. Adria and Danio, I guess are the main characters, but since the story is really driven by the others, it is hard to tell. I wish there was more about them.
    • 5/5
      " ... isn't it also true sometimes that the only way a person survives after they die is in the memories of others?"I think that excerpt from the book is the essence of what this story tells us.I have wanted to try one of Guy Gavriel Kay's novels for a long time. This recent novel (2019) sounded interesting. It far exceeded whatever expectations I had. It is a historical fiction and a slight fantasy because it is set in a fictional place, although it bears a strong resemblance to what renaissance Italian city-states must have been like. Despite the resemblance this place does have two moons. So it is not Italy. This book is so richly drawn with characters the reader is drawn to, that I was easily immersed into this world and pulled into these imagined lives.It can be a bit of a chore with books like this to initially sort out relationships between characters. The author here lets us learn them through the story and does it very well with multiple viewpoint characters. There are also names laid out at the start of the book along with a map to reference to help.The story is so intense, full of insight, and so well told that I will have to read more stories by this author. This is a journey through life. And death. Your heart will be ripped.It is also a mature, reflective work, and I appreciated that.
    • 4/5
      subtle and moving. set in a thinly disguised, but possibly just a little kinder, 15th Century Italian Renaissance of city-states and condottieri, the characters are indelible, and the mood is generally elegaic. the style is a little different, not quite chronological. lovely stuff, just barely related to the earlier Children of Earth and Sky by the setting, but this takes place in a different period.
    • 4/5
      The story is set in fictional nation of Batiara (15th century) and features several different points of view and complex narration. The characters are fully developed and not black and white characters. Characters are flawed but also have their good points. It features two hired mercenaries who are rivals but the story is often told to us through characters that surround these two. The theme is how these less known characters and their choices and impulses effect outcomes. The author also asks the reader to consider whether sometimes these impulsive decisions are actually divine interventions. Characters; mercenary captains Folco d’Acorsi and Teobaldo Monticola di RemigioGuidanio Cerra; booksellerAdira Ripoli is a noble’s daughter Jelena is a pagan healer with a supernatural sense of the spirit world
    • 4/5
      A Brightness Long Ago tells the story of Danio Cerra, an educated tradesman in the world of renaissance Italy (or Kay's analogue thereof), where political power is slowly shifting away from the church and the nobility and toward mercenary generals and merchant lords. Cerra inadvertently finds himself mixed up in the affairs of two of the most notorious mercenary generals of the time, whose long-standing feud is legendary in its time. Cerra uses his quick wit and honorable nature to deftly navigate the complex politics of the time, earning him respect and admiration from both sides. While the plot meanders in unexpected directions and is not quite as cohesive as I would like, what really stands out in this book is Kay's characterizations. Almost every single character in the novel is sympathetic in some way, and the reader can understand the character's motivations and actions. Additionally, many of the characters are highly intelligent, and it's just fun to watch them maneuver and act out their roles. This isn't Kay's best work, but it's definitely solid.
    • 5/5
      Exquisite. Ah how is is possible for someone to be this good every
      Single
      Time?

      Loved this one as i loved all the others.
    • 4/5
      "I knew, once, a woman diamond bright and two men I will not forget. I played a part in a story in a fierce wild, windblown time. I do have that. I always will. I am here, and it is mine, for as near to always as we are allowed." So reminisces Guidianio Cerra, the main character in this historical fantasy set in a fictional 15th century Renaissance Italy. This novel traces the city-state warfare of that time, and concentrates on two leading mercenary commanders, who carry on a violent feud with each other. These men are based upon two men who actually lived then and feuded with each other. This novel was another fascinating read from this author, a leading writer of fantasy set in lands similar to actual historical places. The novel was perhaps a little long, and could have been tightened up. I had fun trying to figure out what actual cities he really meant.
    • 5/5
      In some ways, A Brightness Long Ago could be the third book in the Sarantine Mosaic series. Sarantium is mentioned frequently, under attack by the Asharites, and its fall profoundly changes the lives of the main characters in the book.Set in the equivalent of Renaissance Italy (called Batiara here), A Brightness Long Ago centers on the rivalry between two Dukes who are leaders of mercenary companies of soldiers. Teobaldo Monticola is a handsome man while Folco d’Acorsi is missing an eye and has a scarred face, but both men are powerful, ruling their small city-states and hiring out to more wealthy families for the constant wars enacted each summer. Adria Ripoli, Folco's niece, is also important to the story.The story is partially told by Guidanio Cerra or Danio, a student, bookseller, and inadvertent participant in many of the events recounted here. Now he's an old man, but memories of the bright lives of these people he knew in his youth have him looking back. The story meanders between these characters and many others as various events, some trivial and some more important, weave together in a tapestry that creates an unforgettable story.Every Guy Gavriel Kay book is a treat, something to savor, and I enjoyed this one a lot. He is a master of taking small events and characters to little by little create a cohesive tale. As he says in the book: "Who can know which idle decisions we make will play a role in our lives? That feeling of randomness is surely a reason we pray, or carry objects meant to bring protection or good fortune, why we live in terror of demons."
    • 4/5
      Enjoyable as GGK always is. I am a long time fan and he always tells a good story. But I still prefer his older novels to his newer novels. Guess I just prefer more obvious fantasy to historical only just fantasy.