River of Stars

Rating, much less reviewing, this book is hard for me. It's beautifully written, yet I was angry while reading it. I am angry at the end, even while appreciating how things played out and being satisfied with how it was handled. It's not through any fault in the writing; as always, Guy Gavriel Kay's writing is beautiful. The things that happen in the book are SUPPOSED to make the reader angry, at least if the reader has a hard time accepting an unfair status quo, and it's disconcerting because it's all told in such a beautiful way.

Amazing. Picks up the story, couple of hundred of years after [b:Under Heaven 7139892 Under Heaven Guy Gavriel Kay http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327894315s/7139892.jpg 7373286] ends. The book describes many intertwined destinies in Kitan, a version of China, an empire where the fear of strong military leaders (after the events in Under Heaven) has made the empire weak, and ripe for picking for ambitious barbarians. Masterful storytelling, and interesting characters living in interesting times. Guy Gavriel Kay has done some of his very best work in these two books.