Guy Gavriel Kay still a favorite

Ever since Nancy Pearl turned me on to The Lions of Al-Rassan (see earlier post), I've had a niggling desire to read more of Kay's work and my last trip to Portland and Powell's bookstore offered an opportunity to do just that. The Last Light of the Sun is set in the same world with the same two moons but shifted considerably north and focused on relations between several groups that parallel the Norse, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Celts. Very engrossing story-telling, richly detailed creation of time and place with interesting characters and bits of magic. Faeries take on a vital role and interact with humans in surprising ways in this tale. The rise of a strong English king has put a crimp in the heretofore unimpeded raids from Vikings. Tribes within England have reached uneasy truces, which some seek to cement with politic marriages. The main characters are predominantly a new generation, the sons and daughters of the kings and leaders who waged wars. An interesting twist is offered through side tales of people whose lives intersect those of the main characters, e.g., the miller or a shepherd girl tending her goats. Althogh women are portrayed as resourceful, independent and intelligent, they do not carry the story in the same way they did in Lions. Nevertheless, an excellent read which encourages me to read more of Kay.