This is a book that I've been waiting anxiously to read since Kay announced it last spring. Over the past thirty years Kay has published 13 novels, and I've read them all; he's a permanent entry on the list of my top five favorite authors, without question. I started reading him when I was a teenager, and I've felt like his work has grown and changed along with me.
I offer up all of this personal history of my relationship to his work because it's impossible for me to imagine how I would have responded to Children of Earth and Sky had it been the first Kay book I'd read. While he started his career writing fantasy novels set in various worlds that were evocative of Europe, he gradually moved in a direction of writing what I think of as historical fiction RPF with the serial numbers filed off. Five of his novels (of which Children is one) are set within a cohesive universe that is one quarter turn off from the history and geography and cultures of Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. Children's setting is the Mediterranean Renaissance, and while there are fantastical elements in this novel (and his other historical fiction), the magic that exists does not serve to make the setting feel otherwordly; if anything, it more firmly grounds it in reality.
Clearly, Kay's writing has been in conversation with the narratives of history for many years now. But in Children, he is more explicitly in conversation with his own past works than he ever has been before. It is not strictly a sequel to the other four books; I believe it could still succeed as a story for someone with no familiarity of Kay's past works at all. But there are so many moments of exceptional power and resonance that could not possibly land in the same way if the reader hadn't read his past works, in particular Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors. Those moments go beyond being Easter eggs of sorts and end up being the foundation of my appreciation of the novel. It's possible I'm overstating the benefit of having read the other four novels (especially since I can never read Children while lacking that knowledge), and perhaps the general impact of those moments will still land, even if the reader doesn't know the specific reason why. But Kay's obvious interest in (and possibly even his need for) engaging in that sort of conversation with his own work means that if the reader doesn't have that knowledge, they are missing out on something fundamental, in my opinion.
None of the above is meant as a criticism, for the record; the moment I realized how explicit and deliberate the parallels were between a Children storyline and the main narrative arc of Sailing to Sarantium was one of my favorite moments in the novel, and it deepened my understanding of and appreciation for what he was doing as a storyteller. And of course, writers will often include references and motifs and parallels that not every reader will understand; a writer cannot demand (or expect) that readers will be familiar with all of their influences. But for me, Children is a story within an already established world, and the journey does not begin there. I would have a hard time recommending this book without also first recommending the four other books in the same geographic setting; I wouldn't call those five novels a series in the traditional sense, but they enrich each other, and I think reading any one of them in the absence of the others does a disservice to the story as a whole.
Other thoughts: this book has some of my favorite characters in all of Kay's works. It is more of an ensemble piece than some of his novels are, and there isn't a clear cut main character whose journey we follow most closely. But the characters hit the right balance of depth for me, with even minor characters landing after very little time on the page. The women in particular are fantastic; while he has always written complex and compelling female characters, the variety of women and their divergent motivations and actions in this book really struck me, from the two main female characters all the way down to characters who appear for a scene or two.
On a different note, I don't think I've ever made it though one of Kay's novels without crying, and Children is no exception to that. What is different is that one of the main emotions behind my tears this time around was that of relief. I wouldn't call Children a book that pulls its punches, but I do think it's a novel about finding grace and new beginnings and sometimes forgiveness out of an intended path of revenge and grief and intrigue. It left me feeling emotionally drained in a way I wasn't expecting to be from a Kay novel; it's lovely to know that after all these years, he can still surprise me.
Grade: A
I offer up all of this personal history of my relationship to his work because it's impossible for me to imagine how I would have responded to Children of Earth and Sky had it been the first Kay book I'd read. While he started his career writing fantasy novels set in various worlds that were evocative of Europe, he gradually moved in a direction of writing what I think of as historical fiction RPF with the serial numbers filed off. Five of his novels (of which Children is one) are set within a cohesive universe that is one quarter turn off from the history and geography and cultures of Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. Children's setting is the Mediterranean Renaissance, and while there are fantastical elements in this novel (and his other historical fiction), the magic that exists does not serve to make the setting feel otherwordly; if anything, it more firmly grounds it in reality.
Clearly, Kay's writing has been in conversation with the narratives of history for many years now. But in Children, he is more explicitly in conversation with his own past works than he ever has been before. It is not strictly a sequel to the other four books; I believe it could still succeed as a story for someone with no familiarity of Kay's past works at all. But there are so many moments of exceptional power and resonance that could not possibly land in the same way if the reader hadn't read his past works, in particular Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors. Those moments go beyond being Easter eggs of sorts and end up being the foundation of my appreciation of the novel. It's possible I'm overstating the benefit of having read the other four novels (especially since I can never read Children while lacking that knowledge), and perhaps the general impact of those moments will still land, even if the reader doesn't know the specific reason why. But Kay's obvious interest in (and possibly even his need for) engaging in that sort of conversation with his own work means that if the reader doesn't have that knowledge, they are missing out on something fundamental, in my opinion.
None of the above is meant as a criticism, for the record; the moment I realized how explicit and deliberate the parallels were between a Children storyline and the main narrative arc of Sailing to Sarantium was one of my favorite moments in the novel, and it deepened my understanding of and appreciation for what he was doing as a storyteller. And of course, writers will often include references and motifs and parallels that not every reader will understand; a writer cannot demand (or expect) that readers will be familiar with all of their influences. But for me, Children is a story within an already established world, and the journey does not begin there. I would have a hard time recommending this book without also first recommending the four other books in the same geographic setting; I wouldn't call those five novels a series in the traditional sense, but they enrich each other, and I think reading any one of them in the absence of the others does a disservice to the story as a whole.
Other thoughts: this book has some of my favorite characters in all of Kay's works. It is more of an ensemble piece than some of his novels are, and there isn't a clear cut main character whose journey we follow most closely. But the characters hit the right balance of depth for me, with even minor characters landing after very little time on the page. The women in particular are fantastic; while he has always written complex and compelling female characters, the variety of women and their divergent motivations and actions in this book really struck me, from the two main female characters all the way down to characters who appear for a scene or two.
On a different note, I don't think I've ever made it though one of Kay's novels without crying, and Children is no exception to that. What is different is that one of the main emotions behind my tears this time around was that of relief. I wouldn't call Children a book that pulls its punches, but I do think it's a novel about finding grace and new beginnings and sometimes forgiveness out of an intended path of revenge and grief and intrigue. It left me feeling emotionally drained in a way I wasn't expecting to be from a Kay novel; it's lovely to know that after all these years, he can still surprise me.
Grade: A
Like you, I've always loved Kay's books and have read them all - my favourite is Tigana. I'm currently two hundred pages into Children of Earth and Sky (so thank you for the lack of spoilers!) and much enjoying it. He's one of the few authors I always buy in hardback, and read again.
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