Guy Gavriel Kay Books in Order (Fionavar Tapestry)

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All of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Books in Order!

Who is Guy Gavriel Kay?

Guy Gavriel Kay is a Canadian writer known for his work in the fantasy fiction genre. In fact, most of his novels are set in fictional settings inspired by real places link to historical periods.

Kay was a student when he started to work as an assistant for Christopher Tolkien, landing his hand to edit J. R. R. Tolkien’s unpublished work, The Silmarillion. After that, he got back to Canada where he practiced law for a short period of time before becoming a writer and producer on the CBC radio series The Scales of Justice–and made the transition to television.

Kay published his first fantasy work, the novel “The Summer Tree“, the first volume of The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, in 1984. Since then, he published almost 15 books, including a collection of poems.

If you like his work, take a look at the Avaryan Chronicles series.

How to read Guy Gavriel Kay’s Books in Order?

The Fionavar Tapestry Series

Taken to a realm of magic and war, five men and women from our world embark on an epic journey.

  1. The Summer Tree (1984) – It begins with a chance meeting that introduces the five to a man who will change their lives: a mage who brings them to the first of all worlds, Fionavar. In this land of gods and myth, each of them is forced to discover what they are and what they are willing to do, as Fionavar stands on the brink of a terrifying war against a dark, vengeful god…
  2. The Wandering Fire (1986) – After a thousand years of imprisonment, the Unraveller has broken free and frozen Fionavar in the ice of eternal winter. His terrible vengeance has begun to take its toll on mortals and demi-gods, mages and priestesses, dwarves, and the Children of Light. The five brought from Earth across the tapestry of worlds must act to wake the allies Fionavar desperately needs. But no one can know if these figures out of legend have power enough to shatter the icy grip of death upon the land-or if they even want to…
  3. The Darkest Road (1986) – As the Unraveller’s armies assemble, those resisting him must call upon the most ancient of powers, knowing that if this realm of gods and magic is conquered by evil, the ripples of destruction will be felt across all worlds. But despite the sacrifices made and courage shown, all may be undone because of one child’s choice. For that one has been born of both Darkness and Light, and he alone must walk the darkest road as the fate of worlds hangs in the balance…

The Sarantine Mosaic Series

Sarantium is the golden city: holy to the faithful, exalted by the poets, jewel of the world, and heart of an empire.

  1. Sailing to Sarantium (1998) – Caius Crispus, known as Crispin, is a master mosaicist, creating beautiful art with colored stones and glass. Still grieving the loss of his family, he lives only for his craft-until an imperial summons draws him east to the fabled city. Bearing with him a Queen’s secret mission and seductive promise, and a talisman from an alchemist,Crispin crosses a land of pagan ritual and mortal danger, confronting legends and dark magic.
  2. Lord of Emperors (1999) – The beauty and solitude of Crispin’s work cannot protect him from the dangerous intrigues of court and city, swirling with rumors of war and conspiracy, while otherworldly fires mysteriously flicker and disappear in the streets at night. The emperor is plotting a conquest of Crispin’s homeland to regain an empire. And with his fate entwined with that ofhis royal benefactor, Crispin’s loyalties come with a very high price.

The Under Heaven Series

A masterful story of honor and power set during the Tang Dynasty of 8th-century China.

  1. Under Heaven (2010) – It begins simply. Shen Tai, son of an illustrious general serving the Emperor of Kitai, has spent two years honoring the memory of his late father by burying the bones of the dead from both armies at the site of one of his father’s last great battles. In recognition of his labors and his filial piety, an unlikely source has sent him a dangerous gift: 250 Sardian horses. You give a man one of the famed Sardian horses to reward him greatly. You give him four or five to exalt him above his fellows, propel him towards rank, and earn him jealousy, possibly mortal jealousy. Two hundred and fifty is an unthinkable gift, a gift to overwhelm an emperor.
  2. River of Stars (2013) – Ren Daiyan was still just a boy when he took the lives of seven men while guarding an imperial magistrate. That moment on a lonely road changed his life in entirely unexpected ways, sending him into the forests of Kitai among the outlaws. From there he emerges years later-and his life changes again, dramatically, as he circles toward the court and emperor, while war approaches Kitai from the north.

Other Novels by Guy Gavriel Kay

  • Tigana (1990) – Set in a beleaguered land caught in a web of tyranny, Tigana is the deeply moving story of a people struggling to be free. A people so cursed by the dark sorceries of the tyrant King Brandin that even the very name of their once beautiful land cannot be spoken or remembered. But not everyone has forgotten. A handful of men and women, driven by love, hope, and pride set in motion the dangerous quest for freedom and bring back to the world the lost brightness of an obliterated name: Tigana
  • A Song for Arbonne (1992) – The matriarchal, cultured land of Arbonne is rent by a feud between its two most powerful dukes, the noble troubador Bertran de Talair and Urte de Miraval, over long-dead Aelis, lover of one, wife of the other and once heir to the country’s throne. To the north lies militaristic Gorhaut, whose inhabitants worship the militant god Corannos and are ruled by corrupt, womanizing King Ademar. His chief advisor, the high priest of Corannos, is determined to irradicate the worship of a female deity, whose followers live to the south.
  • The Lions of Al-Rassan (1995) – The ruling Asharites have come from the desert sands, worshipping the stars, their warrior blood fierce and pure. But over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, that stern piety has eroded. The Asharies empire has splintered into decadent city-states lead by warring petty kinds. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, adding city after city to his realm, even though Cartada is threatened by forces both within and without. Almalik is aided by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan — poet, diplomat, soldier — until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever.

  • The Last Light of the Sun (2003) – Bern Thorkellson, punished for his father’s sins, denied his heritage and home, commits an act of vengeance and desperation that brings him face-to-face with a past he’s been trying to leave behind… In the Anglcyn lands of King Aeldred, the shrewd king, battling inner demons all the while, shores up his defenses with alliances and diplomacy-and with swords and arrows. Meanwhile his exceptional, unpredictable sons and daughters give shape to their own desires when battle comes and darkness falls in the spirit wood…
  • Beyond This Dark House (poems) (2003) – Readers of contemporary poetry will be captivated by the exquisite craft and power of these poems. Some are ironic and austere, slyly tracing the interplay of writer and world, present and past; others are sensual, even erotic, charting the mercurial but abiding nature of passion-in love, in language, in history.
  • Ysabel (2007) – Ned Marriner, fifteen years old, has accompanied his photographer father to Provence for a six-week “shoot” of images for a glossy coffee-table book. Gradually, Ned discovers a very old story playing itself out in this modern world of iPods, cellphones, and seven-seater vans whipping along roads walked by Celtic tribes and the Roman Legions. On one holy, haunted night of the ancient year, when the borders between the living and the dead are down and fires are lit upon the hills, Ned, his family, and his friends, are shockingly drawn into this tale, as dangerous, mythic figures from conflicts of long ago erupt into the present, claiming and changing lives.

  • Children of Earth and Sky (2016) – From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request-and possibly to do more-and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor’s wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.
  • A Brightness Long Ago (2019) – 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. Danio’s fate changed the moment he saw and recognized Adria Ripoli as she entered the count’s chambers one autumn night-intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen, instead of a life of comfort, one of danger-and freedom. Which is how she encounters Danio in a perilous time and place.
  • All the Seas of the World (2022) – On a dark night along a lonely stretch of coast a small ship sends two people ashore. Their purpose is assassination. They have been hired by two of the most dangerous men alive to alter the balance of power in the world. If they succeed, the consequences will affect the destinies of empires, and lives both great and small.

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