Why You Should Read the Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay

[@gayanegasparyan4137]

One of my favourite series and GGK’ s works ever!!!! Glad you loved it !!! I will add - please read this before Brightness Long Ago cause that book feels like a love letter to Sarantium itself so you won’t feel connected to it if you starts it without reading Sarantine Mosaic…

[@RedFuryBooks]

This is great advice regarding A Brightness Long Ago. Jake had given this same advice to me - I wish I'd mentioned it. I'm going to pin your comment - thanks!

[@danielrosset6444]

You nailed it, Josh. Your pleasure after finishing the duology shines through. You summed up eloquently the craft Kay displays, the enjoyment you felt, the aesthetics.of his worldbuilding, the chiseling of his characters. I would add to the list the trust this most gifted author puts in the careful, attentive intelligence of his readers. Two examples of this. (1) He's extremely skilled at delayed payoff : an element slips into his story, sometimes barely a detail, the action moves on, then it appears again, relevant and explained, many, many pages later. In one case, this element (among others), a sudden, surreal arrow mortally injuring a main character, starts then ends a whole book, giving this detail agency, purpose. (2) He also does this absolutely brilliant stylistic maneuver where he starts at the end of a very important story development, focussing on the POV of a key character, building up emotion and relatability, then pulls us back to a time preceding the action, letting the story unfolds naturally forward. In one book, after a bloody and decisive battle, whose setup was brilliantly written, the afflicted victor laments the passing of his best friend, who led the opposing faction; following this exposé, we are pulled back to hours earlier and drawn into the conflict as it unfolds. In both cases, the reader has to notice, to concentrate, to remember to tighten his sails to catch the light breeze of his clues, or steer the shifting undercurrents of the story. He's one of the authors I read slowly for this reason. In closing, don't worry about Crispin and his works being written off from memory. In a, shall I say, bittersweet way, A Brightness Long Ago pays homage to this character in an old chapel a long time after Sarantium's fading. Thank you, @gayanegasparyan4137, for reminding us.

[@RedFuryBooks]

Thank you for the great comment here - a nice addition for people who may want to read these books! I also tend to read Kay much more slowly than other authors, because he oftentimes nonchalantly reveals something important and never relies upon hyperbole for his big moments.

[@patsycushing4708]

A favorite author!: what a surprise to find this video on my screen tonight. I started years and years ago with the Fionavar Tapestry which I have reread several times in between the publication of each of his subsequent books. The other staple on my bookshelf is Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising. Glad to find you.

[@RedFuryBooks]

Kay is truly remarkable. I'm halfway through reading all his works and have honestly enjoyed all of them thoroughly.

[@ReadingIDEAS.-uz9xk]

Library looks good. Thanks for the recommendation. So many books and so little time! The ever expanding tbr. Best wishes and happy reading to you.

[@SimonHergott]

9:50 - the loquacious one. Definitely one of my favorite characters. And I wholly agree about Kyros. The moment when he woke up and smiled and whispered at what Strumosus said was a special scene. Just finished Lord Of Emperors a few minutes ago. The ending was.. perfect. There was a part early on in Lord Of Emperors when I knew that Crispins story would end this way. It was a happy moment.

[@RedFuryBooks]

Glad you loved that ending like I did! So moving!

[@stevehoran6011]

I’m one of those people you convinced to read this duology and I’m so glad I am

[@RedFuryBooks]

Awesome!

[@Johanna_reads]

I completely agree with the theme of legacy and what the mosaic represents in this story! I'm looking forward to our discussion on this duology!

[@Shelf-Esteem]

You recommended The Lions Of Al-Rassan to me and I can’t thank you enough for that gift! (Just finished a few days ago). Cant wait to dive into these now! Great video as always Josh!

[@RedFuryBooks]

Awesome, Nikhil! glad Lions was awesome for you and hope you continue to enjoy this author as I have!

[@tordawg69]

Sounds very interesting. I’m definitely intrigued. I have Song of Arbonne that I still need to read, but I will definitely add this to my TBR.

[@jakebishop7822]

Ok, I will consider it

[@brianbartels1525]

I started 2024 with this duology and is still my top read of the year. Never has a woman's beauty been described better than the empress through the eyes of Crispin. Loved it. Glad you loved it too. A song for Arbonne is on my list for next year!

[@RedFuryBooks]

I hope you love A Song for Arbonne as I do!

[@MacScarfield]

What an excellent pitch for an excellent duology: Josh, I 💯% agree with your interpretations of the series title!🤩 These books are love letters to art and culture of every kind, sport enthusiasts will LOVE the chariot races, and with GGK’s nuanced take about faith & doubt, finding new purpose and dealing with loss: These books have something for everyone! You are doing me way too much honor mentioning me with my GGK Senpai Jake, Josh, but thank you very much!

[@RedFuryBooks]

"Love letters to art and culture." YES!

[@kirktanka8199]

Well I am convinced. I am finishing a book today, and will be starting this series today. I am putting off another book based on this video. I bought this series over the summer, and now am compelled to read it. Thank you,

[@RedFuryBooks]

Awesome! I hope you love it as I have!

[@dubhmoore575]

Thanks Josh, that's on the tbr !

[@RedFuryBooks]

Awesome!

[@marjoriedonnett5467]

One of the best things I like about Kay's best books are they don't have dragons or trolls or any of that stuff. The Lions of Al-Rassan was marvelous and I look forward to the Sarantine Mosaic.

[@RedFuryBooks]

I hope you enjoy it!

[@thegreatwaugh]

Adding this to my TBR. I haven’t read any GGK yet, but I know he’s one of your favorite authors, so I have to give him a shot.

[@RedFuryBooks]

He's remarkable!

[@esmayrosalyne]

Not for people who want constant battles... sounds like music to my ears! And such a fun approach to the POV structure, I always love the little people perspectives. If Jake hadn't already sold me on this series, then you just did. Can't wait to experience this one!

[@readbykyle3082]

Excellent video Josh. I cant wait to finish Arbonne so I can definitively like LoE more and convince you to see the light 😂

[@RedFuryBooks]

😁

[@BookishChas]

This sounds like a wonderful story, Josh. Thanks for this review. 😊

[@stevehoran6011]

I’ve just finished Part One in Lord of Emperors after reading Sailing to Sarantium, so after hearing you describe the second half of the second book, I am hyped!

[@RedFuryBooks]

I hope you love it like I do!

[@MarionHill-vq2xu]

What an excellent video, Josh. As someone who has been a GGK fan for a long time it is wonderful to see the love he’s getting on Booktube. I have written this on my blog and reviews of his books that he is greatest living fantasy writer we have currently. Sorry Martin & Sanderson fans. I’m glad you pointed Kay’s settings and characters. Those are the strengths in all the GGK novels I read. The Sarantine Mosaic is an excellent duology and a great place to start for newcomers to his work. However, it is not my favorite GGK work…that remains Children of Earth & Sky (currently rereading) which is connected to the duology too. An excellent video and it brings more readers to his work!

[@RedFuryBooks]

I hope more people read GGK for sure! If enough of us keep talking about him.

[@veronicagarcia2025]

It is nice to hear about Sarantine Mosaic. I bought Sailing to Sarantium last year (on a yard sales) $50 pesos (about $3 usd) I was hesitant to pick it up, because I tough that it would be better to read Tiagana first. You"ve sold it to me, I definitive i will read it.

[@RedFuryBooks]

I hope you love it! I enjoyed Tigana too, but in the ranking of the 7 books I've read by Kay, Tigana is 7th for me.

[@Mr.RobotHead]

I really need to read more of Kay's work. I have _not_ read _The Sarantine Mosaic_ yet, so maybe I should pick it up for my next read.

[@RedFuryBooks]

I hope you enjoy it when you decide to read it!

[@akellerhouse83]

Alright, you've convinced me! I'll make this my next GGK book. Probably next month.

[@RedFuryBooks]

Awesome!

[@Jim-be8sj]

Maybe it will be another GGK work for your book of the year. I feel convinced to reread it. I read these when they were published and just remember that they were quite good and interesting to someone who knew a little bit about the last days of the Byzantine Empire.

[@RedFuryBooks]

Yes, GGK will definitely be winning some awards at the Red Fury Book Awards again! I hope you love your reread!

[@justinawblair]

I'm reading "The Summer Tree" right now. I think it was his first novel. You can really see the influence of Tolkien on it, like a lot of fantasy from the 80's. I still enjoy it. Only other book I've read by him is Tigana and I enjoyed that a great deal. Line for line, he's one of the best prose stylists in fantasy, though his secondary worlds run too close to the real world for me. It feels half a step away from historical fiction sometimes instead of a whole world by itself.

[@RedFuryBooks]

My 20-minute video and I think I failed to talk about his prose! I agree with you - his writing style is one of the best. And can see your point about his settings - they do often feel more historical fiction than fantasy.

[@thatsci-firogue]

Top 10 Fantasy series for me!

[@RedFuryBooks]

Yeah, I need to redo my top 10 list video!

[@stjepanvaresevaccobets]

Those two books are GGK's best work for me.👍

[@jakebishop7822]

You talking about how Kay doesn't use a lot of fantasy tropes will make your reaction to Fionavar interesting, because that has all the fantasy tropes. Just literally all of them

[@RedFuryBooks]

I'm saving that for next to last! (Ysabel will be last)

[@lizc.214]

I recently got the second book in this duology free from my local library, now I'm on the hunt for the 1st book😂

[@RedFuryBooks]

Good luck!

[@SamNot-so-wise]

I’ve never read Kay but he is a priority for me next year. Would you say this is a reasonable place to start?

[@RedFuryBooks]

I think you could start here, but I'd probably recommend a stand alone first, as there's not a lot of closure with book one. So maybe The Lions of al-rassan (my first Kay) or A Song for Arbonne (my favorite).

[@fantasyfanatic6038]

I read Sailing to Sarantium a couple weeks ago and thought it was pretty good but not to the same quality of Lions of Al-Rassan and A Song for Arbonne, which I hold in the highest of regards. I'll be picking Lord of Emperors soon and I hope it will move it up a notch. I have to admit that the setting of Sarantium was great and the chariot race sequence was very thrilling!

[@RedFuryBooks]

Sailing to Sarantium definitely doesn't give you the whole story, so I hope Lord of Emperors brings it home for you!

[@cefiro1635]

I’m afraid I’m guessing the answer, but could the first book be read as a stand-alone? The second one hasn’t even been translated to Spanish and unfortunately I don’t feel comfortable enough reading in English… 😭😭

[@gayanegasparyan4137]

Sadly I don’t think you would be satisfied with the ending of the first one cause is the immediate continuation of it …

[@cefiro1635]

@@gayanegasparyan4137 💔💔

[@RedFuryBooks]

Yes, I agree. The story is incomplete with only the first book. :(

[@cefiro1635]

@@RedFuryBooks 💔

[@Gronmin]

I haven't read any Kay yet (next on my list) but I don't like that description of the character work being good just because you understand the character very quickly. Generally this is done using pre established character archetypes that allow the reader to fill in the gaps themselves. Although this may not apply in this situation it does to at least one of the authors you listed as examples (in the first Law Trilogy Joe Abercrombie does this a lot, almost all of the characters fit this) . Also in my opinion quickly understanding a character is a small aspect of good character writing. Good character writing has more to do with the decisions a character is making, how that fits in the world, their lives, thought process/perspective, etc etc

[@heidi6281]

I just got this duology on audible based on Jake Bishop’s placing it on the top tier. I will let you know what I think!! My advice to you is leave Brightness Long Ago as the last GGK book you read, it is like Star Trek TNG’s lesser episodes. It is Lion of Al- Rassan TNG, only 3 stars, a few bursts of greatness only.

[@thatsci-firogue]

Then shouldn't he have saved the best til last?

[@heidi6281]

@@thatsci-firogue No life is too short! Save the worst for last!!

[@thatsci-firogue]

@@heidi6281 if ABLA is the worst that just shows how great GGK is, I've read most of his books and that's my favourite.

[@heidi6281]

@@thatsci-firogue I think it is Benghis Khan’s favorite too. I did finish it but 3 of the main characters were lesser copies of the 3 greats in Lions. I hope I do not see that again. Brightness was an homage to Lions in a way. I never got attached to the narrator or his lady love, that was very meh to me.😕

[@thatsci-firogue]

@@heidi6281 All I can say is it didn't read like that to me, granted I read Lions and Brightness roughly two years apart.

[@Oszczywilski]

It is on my reading list, that's why I won't watch this video, to avoid any spoilers, even very generalised ones, about a tone and main characters.

[@RedFuryBooks]

I hope you enjoy it!

[@yellomoth]

Written in 1998, and no prophecies? I'm listening.