Product Description

There is nothing soft or silken in the northlands, where for decades there has been bitter, bloody war between the Vikings, the Celts and the Anglo-Saxons. But times change, even in the north, and for a generation there has been peace...And yet, what has changed once can always change again...Alun ab Owyn, grieving for his brother's death at the hands of the raiders, leaves his lands to become embroiled in the politics of the great. Bern Thorkellson, punished for his father's sins, commits an act of vengeance that brings him face-to-face, across the seas, with a past he's been trying to leave behind. And the shrewd King Aeldred shores up his defences with alliances and diplomacy - and with swords and arrows. The death of a prince, the new life of an exile, and the dreams of a king will be the threads from which the tapestry is woven, and the world is changed forever...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #239813 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 501 pages

Customer Reviews

Kay does it again
Anyone who's had the pleasure to read a novel by Guy Gavriel Kay will knowwhat to expect from "The Last Light of the Sun", namely a wonderfullymoving fantasy based around a certain time or culture in our own history.As this is Kay's "Northern" book, it is easy to identify the Erlings,Cyngael and Anglcyn from the novel to our own Vikings, Welsh Celts andAngles of England. Each and every character has their own believablemotives, history and depth, no matter how minor or incidental to the mainstory, and Kay has never been afraid to put many of them through theemotional wringer or to kill off main characters as an integral part ofthe story.
Kay has always been one of the few authors who can generategenuine lump-in-the-throat moments for me, who could forget the finalscene between Paul and Jaelle in "The Darkest Road", and this one iscertainly no exception, especially in the more magical scenes.
Though certainly a lesser work in scope and size than "The SarantineMosaic" or "Tigana" I still have no hesitation in giving this top marks.

Best book by Kay so far
I have finished this book in 3 nights, and that says a lot for a full-time working mother of a small baby ... This is Kay at his best, the only one of his books I loved more than Tigana.
Every time I pick up one of his books, I am amazed how the writer has managed to create an imaginary world similar enough to our own to be realistic, but completely different and fascinating at the same time. The Last Light of the Sun has the proper mix of familiar places and everyday people on the one hand and magic creatures and violent battles on the other, to satisfy any serious fantasy reader. I also personally enjoyed a lot the references to places and events of previous books (e.g. Sailing to Sarantium) that create a sense of familiarity, while at the same time the story and characters are completely original. I wish more writers of "series" could be inspired by this example, and avoiding repeating themselves over and over.

Kay Does it Again!
For those of you who know of Kay's writing, it will come as no surprise that there is no disappointment with The Last Light of the Sun after such a long wait. Yet another amazingly written history for escapists everywhere, as Kay transports you to a different realm in such complete entirety that you will spend weeks pining for this world once you leave. And again, be prepared to shed tears, as joy and sorrow are so completely interwoven on the tapestry.

For those of you who don't know of Kay's writing, get reading. You won't regret it, and you will never look back. You would probably not want to read this book before any of the other Kay books as there are references to his previous sagas which take you back in time and emotion, although they do not in fact limit the reader should you choose to read this book first.