All the Seas of the World

Sarantine Universe #6

by Guy Gavriel Kay

Returning triumphantly to the brilliantly evoked near-Renaissance world of A Brightness Long Ago and Children of Earth and Sky, international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay deploys his signature ‘quarter turn to the fantastic’ to tell a story of vengeance, power, and love.

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.

One of those arriving at that beach is a woman abducted by corsairs as a child and sold into years of servitude. Having escaped, she is trying to chart her own course — and is bent upon revenge. Another is a seafaring merchant who still remembers being exiled as a child with his family from their home, for their faith, a moment that never leaves him. In what follows, through a story both intimate and epic, unforgettable characters are immersed in the fierce and deadly struggles that define their time.

All the Seas of the World is a page-turning drama that also offers moving reflections on memory, fate, and the random events that can shape our lives — in the past, and today.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fantasy, Audiobook, Canada

528 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 2022

About the author

Guy Gavriel Kay is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction. Many of his novels are set in fictional realms that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Justinian I or Spain during the time of El Cid. Those works are published and marketed as historical fantasy, though the author himself has expressed a preference to shy away from genre categorization when possible.

Reviews

[MarilynW · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay

The vastness of this world and it's history overwhelmed me. I now realize that there were two book before this one and I know I would have been more immersed in this world and the characters if I had read the first two books. I did like some of these characters a lot, especially Rafel and his partner Nadia/Lenia, and I am happy with their progression through the story. There were other characters I liked and many I despised and I appreciate when certain characters get their just desserts.

Another character I liked was Danio Cerra and it seems that the first book in this trilogy would tell me more about him. That's one of the reasons I think I would have benefited from reading the first two books before I read this one. For as much world building, description, and information that we get in this book, I always felt like I was missing something, that I should know more. I was overwhelmed by too much yet thinking I didn't have enough from the story. I suggest reading the first two books in this trilogy, before you read this one, to get the full story. For all that we go through, as we read the story, and for all the characters go through, I really liked the ending of this story. That is the kind of thing I wanted more of, the characters, without being overwhelmed by the world.

Published May 17th 2022

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Nicholas Eames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh boy, I loved this one. Granted, the chance of me disliking a Guy Gavriel Book is about the same as me disliking a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, which is to say: zero.

But I IESPECIALLY loved this book for two reasons (aside from the fact that the prose is god-tier and so far beyond what any other human being has, is, or may ever accomplish). The first is that it features characters from Kay's previous two books, which makes it feel like the oh-so-satisfying conclusion to a trilogy you didn't even know was a trilogy. It makes the events of those books even more poignant and relevant within this not-quite-earth he's been constructing since The Lions of Al-Rassan.

And saying that, what I also adore about this book is that it feels like a victory lap, or a farewell tour (though hopefully not), of all his Mediterranean settings, with my personal favourite, the Sarantine Mosiac, serving as the bedrock of it all. When a character laments the lost glory of Sarantium, we who have read that duology feel this loss so acutely because of how beautiful (and truly glorious) those books were.

Anyway, as I've said before and will doubtless say in the future: Guy Gavriel Kay has crafted a masterpiece, yet again.

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have not read Children of Earth and Sky or A Brightness Long Ago, I’d recommend reading at least one of those before starting All the Seas of the World. I read A Brightness Long Ago a few years ago but forgot most of it, so I was a bit lost at the beginning of this book. This latest publication focuses on some characters and events from those previous books.

It is three years after the events of A Brightness Long Ago, and two powerful brothers have hired Nadia and Rafel to assassinate a khalif in a bid for power. Though Nadia and Rafel’s mission is successful, an unexpected turn of events completely changes these two merchants’ lives in ways they never dreamed.

The rest of the narrative follows these characters and several others in this richly detailed historical fantasy. There are many religious and geo-political factors that these characters must navigate.

It takes place in something close to Renaissance Italy. But it leans more toward historical fiction than it does as fantasy. The fantasy element is more of a whisper than anything else.

This book held my attention in stops and starts. There is a ton of info-dumping at the beginning that outlines the different religious groups and why they are at odds with each other. I found the pages in between the beginning and the end were the most compelling. The last 100 pages dragged quite a bit.

There are themes of exile, religion, identity, and memories.

The writing style is beautiful and elegant, but it is quite dense and requires a lot of focus. The POVs change abruptly, almost exclusively in the middle of a chapter.

I would absolutely recommend reading a Guy Gavriel Kay book, but maybe not this one until you’ve read the ones mentioned above.

Thank you to Viking for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

[nastya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Guy Gavriel Kay continues to mine the hectic world of the Renaissance Italy, in this book, after the fall of Constantinople. The two protagonists are traders moonlighting as pirates and assassins, a Christian woman who was abducted into sexual slavery as a child by her Muslim owner (GGK has alternative names for everything but the connection to our world is 1 to 1: a pope, Constantinople, Jews, Muslims, Christians, all clashing in the Mediterranean sea, Florence, Venice and Genoa fighting for domination. There is even a family of powerful bankers getting into politics, I assume Medici? etc) And her Jewish partner of this alternative reality (it's called something else), whose family was expelled from Spain (that is called something else).

I wanted a good atmospheric fantasy novel, this is his latest, I even reread A brightness long ago in preparation. (And you really should, I would argue this is not a standalone, the characters in common are prominent and multiple, and they mention in passing the events from A brightness long ago which I assume would be confusing for the uninitiated.)

This started out ok and was getting worse by the page. By the numbers plot, the motivations, the connections between the character were not well established, everything is written in the broad strokes, the random povs that never mattered and GGK using pages and pages to break the fourth wall and wax poetic about things he fancies. By page 400 I didn't care about anyone and anything.

A disappointing read by a writer I seem to struggle with.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

One line baby feeding review (ok this one gets two fav authors are exceptions)

I thought he was phoning this one in for awhile, to be honest and I was still kind of okay with it because we’re back in the world of Lions/Sarantium/Brightness/Earth&Sky with lots of rewards for longtime readers of his tapestry- but I changed my mind by the end of this second in a row medium stakes story that I liked better than anything he’s done in nearly 20 years (last one that transported me completely was Lord of Emperors). Ok another line- The end saved it and finally reached towards that bard thing he’s been trying to achieve all along- a much wiser, more controlled and interesting one than when he tried it at first with Fionavar still enamored with Great Man Theory- this is a better story and despite a couple of REALLY clunky lines as he gets going and scattered throughout shows off his craft in a helpful way I think he’s been trying to reach for over the last few books.

****New GGK alert! New GGK alert! This is not a drill!: https://twitter.com/guygavrielkay/sta...

PS I love that he made this announcement on Twitter and I came here like an hour later and it was already up on goodreads. I love us, GGK fans. Never change!

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book over 500 pages can be either a burden or a joy. This one was a joy to me, consumed over two days, but I will savour it for some time to come. It is set in the same world as Kay's previous novel, Children of Earth and Sky. Knowledge of that novel may enhance your appreciation for this work, but isn't necessary to enjoy it.

I've said it before and I will say it again—Guy Gavriel Kay writes female characters with tremendous skill. He writes women as fully realized as his male characters, recognizing the same desires and motivations behind behaviour, but knowing the threats that women face that most men don't. Lenia embodies this, having been taken as a slave as a very young woman. If she finds her family after all these years, will they be glad to see her or horrified because she is now “damaged goods"?

He also includes his version of the Jewish people (the Kindath), known for their business skills but generally distrusted. Nevertheless, Kay treats them with sympathy. Like any of the nationalities and religions included in the book, there are good and bad people in all the divisions. As it is in our world. And really, I wouldn't have thought that I would be cheering for the two assassins who I met in the initial pages. Yet here I am, sorry that this volume is finished and I won't be able to follow them further.

The use of alternative history enables Kay to examine issues without the need to accurately represent the historical record. He can invent his own powers and potentialities, his own battles and historical events. Plus, he can add little fantastical elements, white stags among them. If you have enjoyed Kay's earlier works, you can rest assured that you will feel the same about this one.

[Jake Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread update after having read every other GGK book.

Book good. Much much richer in terms of the supporting cast than last time, and comparable to the best GGK supporting casts. Final act is still somewhat lackluster in terms of suspense, and intrigue, but I think is very fulfilling from a character arc sense. Liked the main protagonists even more this time, and I think it is very thematically strong, and powerful in it's exploration of exile, and it's portrayal in those whose homes have become all the sea's of the world. Also the amount of really good, bitersweet sibling relationships was fantastic. The book is also just quietly quite funny when it wants to be in a very natural way that never takes away from the story.
Still think the inner monologue's/ narration get's a bit repetitive in this one, but only towards the very end, and overall, this book is pretty darn fantastic.

Also this in my opinion could basically be considered a sequel to A Brightness Long Ago, and all the connections between it, Children of Earth and Sky, and Brightness will likely having me rereading all 3 for a long time.

It isn't a sequel to the main story of Brightness, which isn't featured here at all, and the main story of this isn't in Brightness at all. But like....most of the side narratives of Brightness are continued in this book.

I know Guy Gavriel Kay's goal was to write 2 really good books, that could be read equally successfully in either order. And well I think he wrote 2 really good books, so succeeded at the important part.
8.7/10


I received the eARC for All THe Sea's of the World in exchange for an honest review.

I want to preface this review with the knowledge that you should take it with a massive grain of salt. As I feel I missed a lot from not having read A Brightness Long Ago, and Children of Earth and Sky before reading this book. From reading the back of those books and the dramatis personae I already feel I missed a lot. Like if I read The Age of Madness trilogy before the other First Law works. I am not going to try and speculate what my score would be had I read those, I will only say this is a review of how enjoyment having read this after The Lions of Al-Rassan and The Sarantine Mosaic(which both boosted my enjoyment) but not Children of Earth and Sky and A Brightness Long Ago, which feel way more connected. Additionally I feel reading this first spoiled large scale and personal narratives from Children of Earth and Sky, and A Brightness Long Ago. Basically I would highly recommend learning from my mistakes and not reading this unless you have read The Lions of Al-Rassan, The Sarantine Mosaic, Children of Earth and Sky, and a Brightness Long Ago.



Ok, now the actual review. It was good, but disappointing. Maybe it won't be disappointing in the future when I reread it having read all the stuff before it.

Let's start with all the stuff it does well

GGK has said he strives to write thought provoking, character driven books that also keep you turning the pages. He did the first half well. This was character driven and thematically interesting.

This book tackles themes in a really interesting way, like GGK almost always does. To me my favorite was how it showed the impact on bystanders. He does a really good job at making us not forget the effect of the actions of the people we know about, on the people we neither know nor care about. He actually does something that is really cool, where as a character goes of stage from this story we will get narration about how their life continued, and we get to see how little things effect big things in their life, and how bigger events can effect the little people, who of course are the big people in their own story. It does another really cool thing for this, that I mention later but am not going to spoil. It covers other themes as well of course, but this was the stand out for me in this book. The other main one would be people who have had defining aspects of early parts of their life, trying to move on and escape that shadow.

More positives, I think the way this stories kicks off is legitimately fantastic. It was tense, it introduced the characters, it introduced the world, the writing was fantastic. I was extremely optimistic. It starts with an assassination, multiple people working together, adjustments on the fly, and various things going wrong, and right, in expected and unexpected ways.

Additionally I do really enjoy the main two characters of this book. Not among my favorite GGK characters, but they are compelling.

There are, as there always are, some fantastic quiet moments , especially in the first half. Some great emotional payoffs, and a part where we got a scene, and then that scene was reframed, and something that first seemed unimportant became shocking.

The prose is of course, very good compared to 99% of authors. In this case it did feel slightly less inspired to me. Some internal monologues felt repetitive. Still very good, but felt weaker than what I am used to. Also the banter and dialogue simply didn't feel as inspired as it was in some of his previous GGK works. Again, still good, but to me felt less good than the insane standard he has set.

So, plenty of good, enough that this still obviously and easily gets a positive rating. But there is going to be more stuff in the cons than usual for my GGK reviews.

The first main one is just....the lack of narrative thrust and conflict for a large section of this book. There is just not that much conflict except for mini subplots for quite a decent stretch of this book. Things at times just went too well to be compelling. It didn't have the bittersweet or even tragic personal narratives I have come to expect from GGK, and a lot of my favorite authors. It lacked emotional weight.

Continuing on that, the climax, again lacked emotional weight. It was kinda just like, Ok that was interesting I guess. Easily the weakest final act in my opinion of any GGK book I have read, including Fionavar. Probably even weaker than the climax of Sailing to Sarantium, which is barely a climax, as that book just kinda ends, since it is basically the first half of a book, that got split because The Sarantine Mosaic would be a super long stand alone

Last of all, and this one is almost certainly my fault, for not reading Brightness Long Ago, or CoEaS.(but also kinda GGK's fault for advertising this as a stand alone, and saying people can start his work anywhere) and that is that after every other historical GGK book I get the impression that every side character could have been the protagonist, and was the protagonist of there story, which just happens to not be the story of the one being told. I always feel I understand the entire cast of characters. I did not get that here. The side cast felt weak by comparison, and supporting characters blurred together. Definitely there were some compelling supporting characters, but this book felt like it had a shallower lineup once you get passed the main group.


So basically that's it. A book that was the weakness of the insanely high bar this man has set, and one I do need to reread after I read the books that now in hindsight feel like prerequisites. If you have not read GGK, and are thinking of starting here, I highly recommend you don't. It's still good though


This hurts me to say, but I have to be honest.

7.5/10

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many different ways for a home to be lost, and for the world to become defined by that loss.

The latest novel from GGK doesn’t actually travel over all the seas in the world, being confined to Renaissance Era Mediterranean shores, called here the Middle Sea. But it does explore in detail this concept of alienation, of exiles from a lost homeland, of people in search of a stable and safe haven. A lot of the characters are moving around in ships, sail-driven or rowed by slaves. Many of them are either pirates or trying to protect their lands from pirates and invaders. They are living in ‘interesting’ times, turbulent enough to catch the artist’s imagination.

It was not what anyone would have called a safe time to be sailing on, or living beside, or anywhere near the reaches of the Middle Sea.

All the books written by Kay are part of an ever expanding tapestry, with each new novel woven into the already established pattern that is based on the known history, yet transformed and given a mythical dimension in the author’s vision. [and with a little magic to spice things up]
The present novel can be considered a direct sequel of A Brightness Long Ago , with many characters carried over and numerous events from that story heavily referenced here. It can be read as a stand-alone adventure, but I believe it works better for readers who are familiar with what went on before.
This observation is valid for practically all the other ‘medieval’ novels written by Kay, who likes to include a lot of Easter eggs and allusions from his own alternate history, stretching here from Al-Rassan and Sarantium up to more recent events in Batiara.

A murder, a diamond, a book.

We start the journey aboard a pirate/commercial/envoy ship on the north coast of Africa, where two adventurers, Rafel and Nadia, are on a secret mission to assassinate the local caliph. There are complications, but also unexpected rewards for the bold and shrewd agent, and Kay wants to show us how from this minor incident the whole Middle Sea is taken by storm.

You navigated your life, he thought, like a ship between rocks, in night and a storm.

Rafel ben Nader and Nadia bint Dhiyan have been brought together by their common plight: they have been both exiled from their homelands, the man for his Jewish religion by the Inquisition, the young woman being abducted by pirates and sold as slave to a harem.
Both are remarkable for trying to take control of their lives in this cruel and merciless setting, as they travel around the Middle Sea to the courts of the most powerful rulers on the shores: tyrants and emperors, merchants and bankers, pontiffs and pirates, outcasts and sellswords.

How do people make choices in life? she wondered. If they lived a life that allowed choices. Did they really make them? Or merely drift into things then look back, years later, and wonder? Or were choices made for them. Or ...?

The story can be read as pure adventure: there are enough battles and political machinations, alliances and betrayals, mercenaries and secret spies to satisfy the most exigent thrill seeker, but this is for me first of all a GGK type of story: so familiar that it almost becomes annoying in its peculiar characteristics. Such as the author’s habit of constantly breaking the fourth wall in order to comment on his own prose and characters. The story is about half action, half commentary, but I still love GGK’s sensibility and vision, even as I jot down in the margins words like lachrymose after one too many scenes of tearful reunion or emotional overload.

There is a sameness to the type of character the author likes to focus on that makes me think he often changes settings but he reuses plots and actors. This can be explained by the sort of history that Kay considers important and worth telling, by the qualities he admires in the people he views as shapers of history and art. Most of them are defined by extreme shrewdness, a necessary survival trait in the opinion of the author, which makes them a tad too good to be true in my book. Luckily, Kay is not satisfied with two-dimensional characters, and he weaves into their personalities balancing traits, yearnings, dreams. His histories are also known for trying to find a balance between telling of the lives of the powerful and the lives of the downtrodden.

It is also true that the balancing of people’s lives, however trivial they might be within a grander tapestry, can matter just as much in a certain kind of history. Most lives are trivial, after all, in the reckoning of the world, if not for those living them. These stories can also be told, however. Perhaps they need to also be told.

Rafel and Nadia are examples of what passed for ordinary lives in these dangerous times, made special by circumstances and by their own abilities to navigate the perils of the seas. Through them, we get involved with the most powerful agents of change, as recorded by official histories, but also with the people from the streets and the farms.
To mention all of them here in my review is beyond the scope of my own commentary, but it is part of the attraction I still feel for every new book written by GGK.

Stories are, as much as anything else, an act of love.

If anything, the author can be said to love his characters too much. His sympathies are never in doubt, to the point that some developments become predictable to the reader who is already familiar with his other novels. I was conscious of this sappy trend in his prose right from the start [Tigana], yet I am always in a forgiving frame of mind when I turn the last page, probably for the subtle nudge I received in the direction of looking at the past through the tinted glass of a true artist.

A tale can be spoken, or sung – in a castle hall, a sun-bright marketplace, a tavern filled with singers listening to the oldest one. Or there might be pages to be turned, slowly or quickly, by a fire or a river, or before sleep comes at night.
The magic tapestry will teach us that it is hard to survive in this cruel world, that homes and families can be lost in natural or human made cataclysms, that there are predators and prey out there, storms and black rocks that wait to breach the timbers of your ship, but that, in the end, the journey must be taken.
And that there are compensations along the way for pain and loss.

Sometimes the tale offered is of the lives and deaths of those deemed powerful. And sometimes it is about men and women trying as best they can to live, shape lives, despite the loss of a home, roots, origins, a sense of where they might belong. That loss never goes away but it can, with great good fortune, become one thing among others. Because there are sometimes grace, mercy, kindness, friendship, love ...

[Adam Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five years after the fall of Sarantium, the Jaddite world continues to argue over their inability to unite and retake the great city. However, an assassination in a coastal city of the Majriti, far to the west, sets in train a series of momentous events. At their heart is a Kindath trader and a young woman who was once abducted by corsairs. Surviving to adulthood, she has vowed vengeance on those who wronged her.

The arrival of a new Guy Gavriel Kay novel is an event to be celebrated. Every three years or so, a new Kay novel arrives. Established readers will have a sense of what to find: an erudite work of fantasy with beautiful, thoughtful prose. But the story and the historical parallels Kay delights in finding are always a surprise.

All the Seas of the Worlds can easily be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone novel, although it is also the third (and possibly concluding) book in a linked thematic trilogy, continuing from 2016's Children of Earth and Sky and 2019's A Brightness Long Ago (All the Seas of the World is set several years after A Brightness Long Ago and maybe twenty years before Children of Earth and Sky). All three books are also set in a larger world, also the setting for his classic 1995 novel The Lions of Al-Rassan, the Sarantine Mosaic duology (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors) and his 2004 novel The Last Light of the Sun. Familiarity with Kay's work can enhance enjoyment of this novel, as you'll know who Folci d'Arcosi is and how he became so renowned, but the narrative is completely self-contained as it stands.

The historical analogues between the novel and real history are slighter this time (the 1535 conquest of Tunis may be one influence) and the focus is on two major protagonists. Rafel ben Natan is a Kindath corsair and merchant with a complicated family background. His friend and ally Lenia is a former slave of Asharite corsairs who is filled with anger towards her captors and a need for vengeance. However, as the novel continues, Lenia's experiences give her something more to live for than just the need for blood. Similarly, the political-religious situation with the Holy Patriarch of Rhodias angrily demanding vengeance for the fall of Sarantium slow changes to a more nuanced political situation with a politically canny substitute for that vengeance making itself known. Characterisation is Kay's greatest achievement, panting his characters as flawed but relatable colours and having them overcoming external challenges and their own doubts and insecurities in order to prosper.

All the Seas of the World is both a deeply personal novel, closely focused on two major protagonists and a number of minor ones (some recurring from A Brightness Long Ago, or precurring before Children of Earth and Sky), and also a hugely epic one. It may be the most epic novel Kay has written, spanning all the lands of the Middle Sea. Esperana - former Al-Rassan - makes its most significant showing in a Kay novel since The Lions of Al-Rassan itself, and we spend time with the King of Ferrieres, the rulers of multiple Majriti and Batiaran city-states, the exile ruler of Trakesia and even, briefly, the conqueror of Sarantium himself. Kay shows an adept facility for Game of Thrones-style realpolitik and a solid affinity for battles, but these are not the primary focus of his novels. Instead, he uses epic events to impact on the lives of ordinary people, or uses ordinary people to set in motion unexpected, epic events that reflect back on his characters.

It is not hyperbole to say that Kay has a claim to being one of our greatest living fantasy writers, if not the greatest - an opinion shared by the likes of George R.R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson - and All the Seas of the World (*****) is one of his very strongest books. Characterisation, narrative and prose all work in near-perfect concert to deliver a formidable work of art, with a more prominent depiction of politics and warfare than some of his other works have delivered. The novel will be released on 17 May in both the UK and USA.

[Joshua Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A loose sequel to A Brightness Long Ago, although the story and themes are quite different. I enjoyed seeing several of the main characters in Brightness end up being important characters in this one, even if it wasn't really "their story." (Arguably except for one). While I do feel All the Seas of the World doesn't reach the highs of Brightness, the last half in particular was quite compelling, especially in seeing the characters and world dealing with the fall of Sarantium (which happened off page before the start of this book). The story, which started small - though with big acts - eventually was a much larger story with larger stakes. As usual, Kay's prose and voice continue to impress, in this tenth book of his that I've read, all of which are great books! 4.5/5

[Oleksandr Zholud · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is historical fiction that masquerades as fantasy. I read it as a part of monthly reading for August 2022 at SFF Hot from Printers: New Releases group. I’ve read a lot of acclaim for the author’s fantasy works, but this is my first book by him. It is interesting and solidly written but I wasn’t awe-struck with it and while I plan to read more by him, there is no rush as happens with some authors.

The story starts in the port city Abeneven, where three quite different people get together to assassinate a local khalif. They are:
• a female assassin Nadia bint Dhiyan, who as a kid was stolen on a raid by Asharites, sold to a nobleman, who thought it funny to train her as his bodyguard, and whom she escaped
• a male Kindath merchant and corsair Rafel ben Natan, a principal owner of the Silver Wake ship, which helped Nadia to escape and later made her a co-owner
• Ghazzali al-Siyab of Almassar, engaged on a task with them, a person they hardly know
The book instantly overwhelms its readers with new words – Asharites, Kindath, names of places, characters and their occupations, as well as a lot of known ones – khalifs, viziers, patriarchs, queens, dukes and members of different Councils. While two of the three abovementioned characters will persevere for a large enough part of the book to be its main characters, there are a lot of other characters as well, so if you don’t like a lot of different points of view and persons, who may appear once on a page to reappear a hundred pages later – beware!

The novel also regularly breaks the fourth wall, addressing its readers directly and indirectly. It has a steady pace and the plot is unpredictable and gripping enough to keep readers turning pages (or listening to audio).

What surprised me is why this book has been written as a fantasy. any person, with a bit of knowledge of the history of late medieval/early renaissance period, will see the real history behind new names. For example, there is Gurçu of the Osmanlis named “the Conqueror” or “the Destroyer,” who had conquered Sarantium and renamed it Asharias. Sarantium is described as a triple-walled, golden city with its thousand years of history. From these notions alone one can guess that Sarantium is a Constantinople, captured in 1453 by Mehmed II of Ottomans, commonly known as the Conqueror, who renamed it Istanbul.

So, while the High Patriarch of Jad prays to the Sun, Kindaths to two moons and Asharites to stars, he is just a Catholic Pope, and they are Jews and Muslims respectively. Despite the two moons, there has been no word in a whole book, parts of which happen at sea or in port cities about tides these moons generate.

Yes, the book isn’t a direct transfer of the Mediterranean of 1450s-60s to fantasy – say there is an expulsion of all the Asharites and the Kindath from Esperaña, which is the exile from Spain in 1492, but overall, there are too many points and events from history to consider it a fantasy, especially because there are no magic, dragons or gods, directly affecting the plot – there is a supernatural but on a level present say in One Hundred Years of Solitude, which isn’t labeled fantasy.

[tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

only ggk writes a book where multiple times i'm introduced to a sympathetic character in unfortunate circumstances only for them to die immediately u sick and twisted man!!!

[Benghis Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Words cannot do justice to the experience GGK just provided me over the past week with this magnificent book. I could use words like entrancing, poignant, engaging, perfecto (we were in Batiara/Italy after all) -- and they couldn't capture the indefinable way GGK can make me feel holding one of these utter masterpieces in my hands.

I was delighted to discover how closely this follows up on A Brightness Long Ago (just one of my favorite books of all time), with only a few years having passed since that one ended and with much of it taking place in the same setting of Renaissance Italy. GGK is just magic with this setting and time period, and he whisked me away so completely to the Mediterranean every time I dipped into the story that I was bereft once I closed the book and came back to myself in New Jersey, left sad with every chapter ending, knowing I had fewer remaining ahead of me. I just didn't want this one to end.

But end it did, and magnificently so, with tears clouding my eyes as I basked in the emotions of one of the most beautiful tales I've been lucky enough to experience.

This is GGK at what feels like his most playful and experimental narratively speaking, and what he was able to accomplish through his rotation of so many different POVs just beggars description. It never felt like the narrative was spinning out of control or losing focus, with a couple of main characters to anchor things, a few secondary characters getting multiple POVs throughout, and then tertiary characters sprinkled in for one-off impactful tangents or returning for little bits from their perspective here and there. Seas foregrounds some of my most personally satisfying types of relationships in stories, ones where friends and acquaintances build up regard and understanding for one another steadily through trust, openness, and mutual respect. GGK books like this are just such a refreshing antidote to the all-too-frequent types of antagonistic interaction even supposed friends or romantic interests engage in constantly in other fantasy reads in particular.

This is a relatively quiet book for the fantasy or hist-fic genres, or even by GGK's standards, yet I found it riveting nonetheless on a page-by-page and chapter-by-chapter basis. To quote GGK in one of his classic omniscient asides to encapsulate what this book is all about:

Sometimes the tale offered is of the lives and deaths of those deemed powerful. And sometimes it is about men and women trying as best they can to live, shape lives, despite the loss of a home, roots, origins, a sense of where they might belong. That loss never goes away but it can, with great good fortune, become one thing among others. Because there are sometimes grace, mercy, kindness, friendship, love...

If you enjoyed A Brightness Long Ago, then All the Seas of the World is a no-brainer absolute must-read. If you haven't started either yet, I'm jealous, since you have one of the great literary treats the world has to offer just waiting for you to dig in.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the Seas in the World is the third of a set of related novels set in an alternate Mediterranean world of 1450-1500 and following related characters and stories, though each of the three novels to date (Children of the Earth and Sky, A Brightness Long Ago and All the Seas in the World) has different main characters, and can be read independently.

Here we mostly follow Lenia Serrano (the lost sister of the horse racing character from a Brightness Long Ago) who escaped slavery and is burning for vengeance against her captors, while fearing to return home to Batiara as men who escape slavery are heroes, but for women, it's quite a different tale...

Partnering with ship captain and occasional corsair and diplomat, Rafel ben Natan, whose family fled from Esperrana across the sea when the great persecutions against the Kindath started decades ago and who took a chance on Lenia (known as Nadia, her slave name at the time) who was good with weapons and numbers as taught by her master (an older respected judge who while generally kind thought nothing about using her physically without any consideration for her wishes as Nadia was a slave after all), Lenia soon became a true partner of Rafel in all things maritime, though neither really knows about the other's family and related troubles as Rafel is responsible both for his elderly parents and his sister-in-law and her two children as his brother has absconded some years before

Fate sends them on a path intersecting with various important people, the feared pirate brothers ibn Tihon, the general Folco d'Acorsi, the Sardis (both the "pope" and his cousin Antenami and Antenami's powerful father Piero), and the duke of Seressa and his main advisor Guidanio, all of course known to us from A Brightness Long Ago.

With many larger than life characters (including the king of Ferrieres, an Asharite envoy of Gurcu the conqueror of Sarrantium, the Kindath "queen" - the richest woman in the Middle Sea basin who is trying to find a safe haven for her people), and the usual musings about fate, fortune and all, characteristic of the author's books, All the Seas in the World is a true page-turner that is hard to put down and achieves the best balance between narration, action, and musings of all the GG Kay's books since the Lion of Al Rassan(which is actually mentioned here)

Highly recommended

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big thank you to the publisher Hodder & Stoughton for providing me a free book in exchange for an honest review!

Kay did it again!

Anyone who has been following me on any platform or knows me in real life knows that Guy Gavriel Kay is my absolute favourite author. I have read each and every one of his books and even own most of them. I could re-read his books over and over again and always find something new that will amaze me.

I absolutely love Kay's writing style! I love that it doesn't feel like any particular main character in his stories and he manages to splendidly interweave different stories and plots, all the while keeping us asking for more.

Each and every story has at least one strong female character, and it is always a different kind of strength to show us that there is no one right way for a woman to be strong. Kay's works cannot be categorized into one single genre and that is another thing I love about him. He basically takes a part of history but makes it his own and makes it fantastical.

A story full of adventure, intrigue and different people working together toward a common goal sprinkled with a bit of magic and love. Everything anyone could ask for in a book. Honestly, I wish I could read it again for the first time.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new Guy Gavriel Kay book is always a celebration, and something to meditate over, immerse yourself in. It's not just the style of his writing, which warrants rereading of passages that are more poetry than prose. It's not just the characters whose inner and outer lives you are being gifted with, it's the whole. It's the world that you are being invited to enter, a world of glorious vistas, vistas, ancient gods, humans, love, and death. There's simply nothing else like it.

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guy Gavriel Kay returns to his common world setting which is roughly analogous to our Earth and its history. Thus, the major religions are represented such as Asharites (Muslims); Jaddities (Christians); and Kindath (Jews). In fact, it can be fun trying to figure out what the real world versions of these places are, for example, Sarantium is Constantinople or Fierenta is Florence.

The story starts with an assassination. The Khalif of Abeneven has been killed and the ibn Tihon brothers are responsible. This event sets into motion many events. This world is roughly analogous to the year 1455 or so ( a few years after the fall of Constantinople). Sarantium (Constantinople) has fallen to Gurcu the Destroyer (Mehmed II the Conqueror) and the Jaddite High Patriarch (The Pope) has called for revenge.

The key players around whom this story revolves are Rafel ben Natan, a Kindath merchant, and pirate; Nadia bint Dhiyan, an Asharite assassin (or is she?); and Folco Cino d'Acorsi, a mercenary commander.

These characters' lives will be turned upside down as they get involved in the power politics of this world. The Asharites and Jaddities seem destined to clash and the efforts of our main characters to help in this process lead them from this world's version of the Italian City states to the halls of power in Tarouz.

Not only superbly written and peopled with great characters, I truly enjoyed finding the "real world" versions of many of the places and events. A fantasy story that reads like alternate history. Highly recommended.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kay's newest book takes us back into the world he created in previous books, where the context of the story is very much based on Medieval Europe and the tragic religious wars and prejudice.

The two protagonist are both dealing with trauma, one from exile due to his beliefs the other from a childhood kidnapping that she just recently ended with killing and escape.

As always, Kay's poetic writing drew me in from page one and never left until I finished the final page. I have read his entire library now, and instead of waiting impatiently for a new book I will go back and read them all again, at some point. Re-reading is not something I do - for this author I will make the exception.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

A return to Kay's World of Two Moons, set a few years after the events of A Brightness Long Ago. (And while it's not a direct sequel or part of a formal trilogy or anything like that, I'd highly recommend reading Children of Earth and Sky and A Brightness Long Ago before reading this book, both because there are shared characters and some events will take on additional resonance, and because those two books are both wonderful in their own right.)

The main characters this time around are Rafel ben Natan and Nadia bint Dhiyan, co-owners of the ship Silver Wake, sometimes a merchant vessel, sometimes engaging in ... less reputable business practices. As the story begins, they've been sent by their principals to the city of Abeneven on a most ... delicate mission, and just within the first few pages there are assassinations and thefts and all manner of skullduggery; and these events, of course, will ripple outward into the wider world with great repercussions for everybody involved, from the highest to the lowest.

Another achingly beautiful and true book.

[Brok3n · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geopolitical fantasy

How to describe Guy Gavriel Kay's books? He is a genre of his own. His novels live somewhere between fantasy and historical fiction. He has borrowed the words "a quarter turn to the fantastic" from a reviewer to describe it. The events and many of the characters are borrowed from real and carefully researched history. They are, nevertheless, Kay's creations. Here is some of what he has to say about his unique approach (and by the way, I am using "unique" in its strict sense -- to the best of my knowledge, no one else writes fiction like Kay).

Why isn’t the book set in a ‘real’ place, in our own Europe? Why do I have Seressa instead of Venice and Batiara for Italy? Why a rebel leader named Skandir, instead of Albania’s great Skanderbeg, who inspired my character?

...

I found that I liked what all this allowed me to do. I could work with history but tighten focus on themes. I could have my characters do and think and be what I wanted them to, because they were not the real people. Readers who knew the history would see the riffing involved, those who didn’t would either not miss it or – a bonus, for me – might be moved to do some non-fiction reading of their own, after.

--From On the Strengths of Fiction Done as Near-History

The main characters of All the Seas are the Kindath (Jewish) merchant/corsair Rafel ben Natan and the Jaddite (Christian) assassin Nadia. As the story opens, they are on the Sea near the Ashar (Muslim) city of Abeneven (Algiers, perhaps?) preparing an assassination. (That's in the publisher's blurb for the book, so I'm not counting it as a spoiler.) Rafel and Nadia are small players, but they become caught up in the affairs of the powerful. Thus we get a tale of political intrigue and war. I found all the characters believable and interesting.

All the Seas takes place on and around the Middle Sea (the Mediterranean) of an Earthlike world that has two moons. Thus, it is fantasy. However, it is very close to the Mediterranean region of our world. It is, in fact, the same world in which many of Kay's other novels are set, from The Lions of Al-Rassan through A Brightness Long Ago. If you are familiar with European history, you will recognize many of the places and people here described under aliases, e.g. Seressa and Skandir as named in the quote above. If you have also read other books by Kay, some of the characters and events alluded to will also be familiar. For instance, although Jehane, the physician of The Lions of Al-Rassan, is long dead at the time of All the Seas, some of the characters spot a worn statue of her in a public square.

This raises the question of whether you should read Kay's other books before reading All the Seas. The first answer is easy: Yes!, you should definitely read Kay's other books, because they are VERY good. But you don't need to read them in order. They are written to stand alone, and they do. If you have time on your hands and plan to read all the books, I would advise reading them in publication order, so that you can appreciate Kay's gradual world-building. In fact, I plan to go back and re-read some of them now.

I said that All the Seas is fantasy, and indeed, that is how the Library of Congress classifies most of Kay's work. However, All the Seas will not feel like an typical fantasy novel to you. There is almost no magic (and the smidgeon there is plays only a minor role in the plot). The military technology is realistic for the time in history portrayed. (This can be fixed fairly accurately because the events take place five years after the fall of Sarantium (Constantinpole) to the Osmanlis (Ottomans). In our world Constantinople fell in 1453, so the era of All the Seas corresponds roughly to mid-fifteenth century.)

I received an advance copy of the paperback edition of All the Seas of the World in a Goodreads giveaway. This gift came with no obligation on my part -- what I have written is what I really think.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another enjoyable foray into the alt-history Europe Kay has done such a wonderful job creating. In this installment we get to kick around roughly mid-15th century alternative Italy and North Africa and all the theological and political competition that entails. Kay populates the story with fascinating, fully realized characters and tells a great story, where even the most minor of decisions can have far reaching and monumental consequences.

My only criticism of the book is that literally everything goes the way for the main protagonists. There never seemed to be a challenge they could not easily overcome either by skill or having won the interest/favor of power people. I kept expecting some big set backs that just never happened.

However, the prose and narrative kept me invested and interested in the book. While not my favorite of his, it was still a solid and enjoyable read.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have just read All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay

This is the first book that I have read by this popular Canadian Author.

Author Guy Gavriel Kay specializes in Fantasy/Historical Fiction.

This book is well written, but not really my favourite venue in a book, and I do believe that I would have enjoyed it more if I had read some of his previous books.

The story begins with an assignation after a merchant ship arrives on shore on a coastline.

There is a great deal of detail with the characters, and the story.

I would highly recommend this book to readers looking for a great Fantasy story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the Author and Penguin Random House Canada, for my advanced copy to read and review.

3.5 Stars

#AlltheSeasoftheWorld #NetGalley

[Sara the Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have tried and failed over and over to review Guy Gavriel Kay's writing. Honestly I equate it with someone trying to review Hamlet after it opened at the Globe. That's how good I think he is. If all I had to read for the rest of my life were Kay's books? I'd be fine with that.

Like every single other one his books that I've had the deep, lingering, shivery tingly pleasure of reading this is a gorgeous fantasy set in a fantastical version of Renaissance Italy with all the decadent beauty, tragic romance, and war mongering of the real one with just a touch of ancient magic and wonder.

A pair of merchants, who occasionally dabble in piracy, accept a dangerous commission. If they succeed it won't just change their lives forever, it will change the entire world.

Out of this incredibly simple premise Kay weaves a sumptuous tapestry of exiled queens and spies, battle scarred generals and rebel princes that left me absolutely breathless when it wasn't driving me to tears. Read by the unrivaled Simon Vance this is simply the stuff of fantasy novel legend.

It always breaks my heart that more people don't seem to know about Kay. But there's another part of me that treasures his work as my own sort of literary secret. I love telling people about him when they ask about my favorite authors. I sit with his stories for days after I finish reading them and I got back to them over the years more times than I can count. Everything he writes is worth reading. Absolutely everything. This is no exception.

[kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ ~21%

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

I want to preface by saying this book has loads and loads of amazing reviews with high praise. Take my opinion with that in consideration. This review is a very clear case of "it's not you, it's me."

Here’s the thing. I don’t do well with historical or fantasy books, but there’s often certain ones that steal my attention and keep it forever. And for this one, I was intrigued by the vengeance and assassination plot.

Right from the start, I was taken away by the beautiful writing. Everything felt so poetic and whimsical. Although at times it felt too technical and flowery for my simple mind. It felt like a classic that bored me in high school. I wanted to get over the world-building aspects and just meet the characters and the plot. I got to the point where I wasn’t retaining any information.

[Anneri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reread in December 2024, more notes below. This time, though, I'd rather give 1,5* AT MOST.

To put it bluntly: this is badly written, and you've no idea how much it pains me to write this.

First, the POVs. It's a Kay thing to have multiple POVs in his novels. Usually, this is used to great effect - it gives you multiple facets of the same story and keeps the reader always on their toes and slightly unsettled. Usually this is done to point out how different events can be viewed differently through the lenses of different protagonists. From time to time, he used to throw in one page with the POV of a bystander, who usually vanishes from the story as quickly as he entered it, to show how events effect the whole world. In a book that discusses on the first pages where and when to start the story, this technique is used so much that it becomes absurd. It's like you start watching a movie at some point in the first hour, go on watching and then just stop after the battle.
The first person narrator is introduced 40% into the book and has about three chapters of narrative to him, which begs the question: why.
Different POVs have different reasons in a narrative, and first person is usually used to signal immediacy but at the same time limitations. We already have that due to the multiple POVs anyways. SO. WHY. (My first review below did accuse Kay of too much self reflection and some kind of circle wanking and self-congratulatory reflection upon his own writing and universe, and I could at this here. He wanted to include Danio, so he did. Absolutely no reason for that, though.)

Second, characterization. I don't know why Kay in this novel uses 'tell, don't show' to a ridiculous degree. Just because characters repeat what they fear/hope/want time and time again doesn't make a compelling narrative driven through character growth. I honestly don't want to count how often characters think about the same thing over and over again, without coming to any kind of resolution. Much of this novel is just internal monologue of different characters (he thought that...) and it makes me tired.

Third, plot. God, Kay used to be such a master plotter, delivering gut punches in every climax of every book. Please show the man who used to write the ending of Lions in which you've got no idea which of our heros survived that duel until you come to the epilogue!!!!1 this novel where everything needs to be tied up in a ridiculous little, self-content little bow.
But the thing is: the plot here is thin, and there's no real plot twist. The last battle attempts it, but there's a serious error in the aborted duel: if he had shown Lenia overhearing that fact about poison on a blade, it could've been a moment. Instead, Lenia's intervention was just random.
Finally, I REALLY grew tired of that little tactic of Kay's alluding to a future death at the end of a paragraph/chapter and then doubling back in time and place to actually tell the story. ('I could've died during that night. The afternoon before...') (Usually, no-one important dies.)

I'm really afraid for the next book, and am afraid it will also feature Leora, sacred bisons and allusions to all and sundry.

-----------------------

2.5*

(review full of spoilers)

Let me start by stressing that Guy Gavriel Kay is one of my favourite authors, and some of his books (Sarantine Mosaic, Lions, A Brightness) are among my favourite books ever. When there's an announcement that a new book is released, I save that date and plan to do nothing else but read that day. In short: I was looking forward A LOT to All The Seas Of The World.

I don't like it. I was also incredibly disappointed: I WANT my favourite writers to go on and write masterpieces! Of course I want them to succeed! In this case, it didn't happen.

What's my problem?
Here's what I love about GGK's writing: he's a master plotter. I don't know any author who weaves together many strands of narration seamelessly, and by doing that, usually manages to deliver a masterful punch into the gut in the last quarter of the story. After which I usually ask myself "how did he do THAT?"
This time, he didn't deliver: what we get is a somewhat linear story that spans maybe two years from an assassination to the following war. We do get the usual big cast, though, which usually serves to bring home GGK's usual message: how seemingly unimportant people get caught in big events. What's new is that the author actually stresses that in the book itself. He actually repeats it over and over again: first, people die because they're caught up in big events (or could die any minute), and how big events have implications for a lot of people. And you know what? I found those reminders absolutely unnecessary. I found them also rather jarring, and just a teensy tiny bit self-important. I also don't like when an author talks down to me: I don't need a kindly explenation of what's going on, thank you.
Strangely, I found the tone (gentle melancholy) absolutely detrimental to the story. This is a rather violent story with room for many emotions - that kinda high-brow melancholy didn't cut it. Every character felt ultimately bland.
And in the same vein, the supernatural and the many, many allusions to former books and characters had the same result for me: unbearable blandness.
When Crispin meets the bison-god in Saraudia in The Sarantine Mosaic it's a masterful, chilling moment. Danica hearing the voice of her dead Grandfather in Children of Earth and Sky? The supernatural coming into our world, but in a completely believable way.
The bison-god's reappearance here? Why? How?! it didn't make ANY sense to me. Same with Lenia hearing the child's voice in her mind: for what purpose was that for?! Leora was brought into the story and went out with absolutely no deeper purpose. It just felt flat.
Similarly, I couldn't understand the incessant name-dropping and allusions to former characters. All The Seas In The World is supposed to be a stand-alone, as well as the last book in a trilogy with A Brightness Long Ago and Children of Earth and Sky.
As a standalone, I would be continously baffled by the allusions (Adria popping up in a few pictures, for example), while it absolutely does nothing to the story, same with a street named after Jehane. Look, I love Lions. But did I need to know that they built a statue of Jehane? Absolutely not. For someone not knowing Lions - that must be continually frustrating.
And in this book, I found GGK's tic of tidying up his storylines with a little bow absolutely unnecessary. Lenia's parents' farm - sigh. Raina Vidal's death - sigh. Maybe giving the reader's imagination some space would've helped the book. Maybe not.

[Jennifer Sakash]

DNF p. 27. This will be my last attempt at reading Kay. I really wanted to like this, along with the last few of his books I've attempted but could not force myself to continue. I just couldn't get interested in the tedious background and fantasy world-building in this case. I liked the first book of his that I read (The Last Light of the Sun), but haven't been able to get into any of the others since. At least I can say I tried.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING READING THIS BOOK PLEASE READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH, NO SPOILERS I PROMISE!

I wish, I truly and heartily wish, I'd even glanced at some of the reviews on here noting that having read some of GGK's other recent works set in roughly the same place(s) and time period in his shared alt-Medieval European world would enhance the experience of this book. Just 2 chapters into A Brightness Long Ago I can tell immediately that lots of the scenes would have been more meaningful for me had I read it first, not to mention Children of Earth and Sky which I have not yet touched.


That said, I really am a major nerd for all things late Medieval/early Modern and Kay's only ever-so-slightly fantastical "Secondary World" of Sun, Moon and Star worshippers standing in for Christians, Jews and Muslims is a great opportunity to read original stories from those times informed and inspired by our own shared and often unspeakably tragic history without all the baggage the usual labels would bring. Our dual protagonists here are both dealing with the trauma of tremendous personal and geopolitical upheavals, the one an exile from a religiously fanatical pseudo-Spain (very much inspired by the very real expulsion of the Jews in 1492), the other yet more tragically the survivor of the kind of child kidnapping and enslavement that took place all-too-commonly on and near the coasts of the Mediterranean of the times. Meanwhile our "villains", if this label can even be truly applied, are themselves corsairs of precisely the kind that would take such children and slaughter their parents as soon as cross the street, very much inspired by but not exactly matching the dreaded "Barbarossa" brothers that served the Ottoman Empire at sea in North Africa and elsewhere in the early 16th century.


The infamous and merciless brothers "Redbeard". You likely won't see any cute Disney movies made about them.

I won't go into any further detail but the discerning reader who has studied the movements of people, things and ideas in the 14th-16th century Mediterranean world and beyond will recognise a lot of key locales and incidents given their own Guy Gavriel Kay spin, and the world of literature is the richer for it.

Recommended wholeheartedly, as long as the disclaimer above is noted.

[Selma Šljuka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huh... Jos jedno izuzetno djela Kaya. Godinama nakon Lavova Al Rassana. Smjestena priča u istom svijetu Asharita, Kindatha i Jada. Divno ispričana, divno opisana, potraga za sobom i za domom, borba sa sobom i svijetom. Likovi, divno razvijeni... Za one koji dom nisu našli, ili su ga izgubili. Za otrgnute duše. Jos jedna 4* priča

[Patrick St-Denis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been foaming at the mouth ever since Guy Gavriel Kay announced the release of his upcoming novel, All the Seas of the World. Every two or three years, this Canadian speculative fiction author comes up with a new book that never fails to enthrall me. With such memorable titles as Tigana, The Lions of al-Rassan, Under Heaven, River of Stars, Sailing to Sarantium, and Lord of Emperors, Kay has set the bar rather high throughout his career. And if Children of Earth and Sky and A Brightness Long Ago are any indication, it appears that like a fine wine, Kay only gets better with time.

Simply put, All the Seas of the World showcases a master of the craft writing at the top of his game. This is one of those novels you wish just never ended. Alas, it does and now we have to wait a while for whatever comes next.

Some reviews claim that Kay's latest can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone work. While technically true, I would tend to disagree. Reading both Children of Earth and Sky and A Brightness Long Ago are somewhat essential for getting the most out of reading All the Seas of the World. The three works form a thematic trilogy of sorts and I feel that they should all be read in their order of publication. Moreover, I would say that The Lions of Al-Rassan and the Sarantine Mosaic duology should also be read prior to tackling Kay's newest. To jump into this book as a complete newbie would make you miss too many nuances and your overall reading experience wouldn't be the same. That shouldn't deter you, though. Believe you me: More Guy Gavriel Kay novels to read just means more hours of captivating reading that will fill your mind with wonders!

Here's the blurb:

Returning triumphantly to the brilliantly evoked near-Renaissance world of A Brightness Long Ago and Children of Earth and Sky, international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay deploys his signature ‘quarter turn to the fantastic’ to tell a story of vengeance, power, and love.

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.

One of those arriving at that beach is a woman abducted by corsairs as a child and sold into years of servitude. Having escaped, she is trying to chart her own course—and is bent upon revenge. Another is a seafaring merchant who still remembers being exiled as a child with his family from their home, for their faith, a moment that never leaves him. In what follows, through a story both intimate and epic, unforgettable characters are immersed in the fierce and deadly struggles that define their time.

All the Seas of the World is a page-turning drama that also offers moving reflections on memory, fate, and the random events that can shape our lives—in the past, and today.

All the Seas of the World is set a number of years following A Brightness Long Ago and around two decades or so prior to Children of Earth and Sky. Richly detailed as only a Kay book can be, his latest work will engross you from the very beginning. Guy Gavriel Kay has a knack for coming up with an amazingly evocative narrative and an arresting imagery that leaps off the page. Exile, loss, faith, identity, and love are just a few of the themes explored throughout this novel. Building on storylines and characters from two other books sharing the same setting, All the Seas of the World manages to surpass them both in terms of quality. Which is high praise indeed given that both were unforgettable reads.

I've said it in previous reviews. Kay's talent and imagination allow him to create a living and breathing environment that draws you in and refuses to let go. I don't know how he manages to do it, but Kay's worldbuilding is almost always a subtle thing. The setting never takes precedence over the story and he never relies on info-dumps and other such contrivances. Still, somehow, seemingly effortlessly, as the tale progresses Kay ends up with an elegantly crafted setting that never fails to dazzle the eye. Few authors can immerse readers in such a vivid manner, and Kay's eye for historical details and traditions imbues his latest book with a realism that is seldom seen in works of speculative fiction. All the Seas of the World is a more sprawling novel than its two predecessors. It's a big, meandering sort of book. Not as self-contained as what Kay has accustomed us to in the past. Vaster in scope, nearly all the kingdoms and locales of the Middle Sea are visited or play a role in this story.

Around the time when Children of Earth and Sky was about to be published, Kay told me that as much as anything, he wanted that novel to be about non-powerful (not same as ordinary) people on borderlands in a time of war, trying to shape their lives (very differently) in difficult times. They intersect, some of them, with power, but that isn't the heart of the story. It was also important for Kay to balance the five of them, not let one character take over the book. Add to that his usual desire to also balance awareness of history and themes against characters, narrative drive, etc, and you ended up with a complex and satisfying plot on your hands. For the most part, the same could be said of A Brightness Long Ago. The difference was that the protagonists were "less important" people in the greater scheme of things who get caught in the periphery of influential men and women whose actions will cause world-shaking ripples that will change the world as they know it. Once more, it appears that Kay used the same recipe for All the Seas of the World. Taking center stage in this one are two main protagonists. One is Rafel ben Natan, a Kindath merchant and sometimes corsair with various identities due to his faith. The other is Lenia, a young woman who was abducted by Asharite corsairs as a child and turned into a slave. Now that she has escaped, Lenia has vowed vengeance upon those who wronged her. Guy Gavriel Kay has always possessed a deft human touch and his past novels are filled with memorable characters. And once again, it's the superb characterization which makes this book impossible to put down. As is usually his wont, the author came up with a group of disparate men and women, whose paths will cross unexpectedly and whose fates will be spun into a vast tapestry of love and tragedy. The supporting cast is particularly good, chief among them Folco d'Acorsi and Raina Vidal.

Though the pace can be slow-moving at times, All the Seas of the World is never dull. Though meandering in terms of plot, with Kay's lyrical prose the narrative is a joy to read from start to finish. I for one wouldn't mind if the author revisits the lands of the Middle Sea for an encore. Or several encores!

This book deserves the highest possible recommendation.

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[Lata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intricately plotted and, of course, deeply researched, Guy Gabriel Kay returns to the alternate Europe he created years ago and fleshed out over several novels ("Sailing to Sarantium", "The Lions of Al-Rassan", etc.)

Following two characters, a former slave now assassin, and a merchant whose flight from his home because of his culture/religion has left him feeling unmoored for years.

The two become involved in a plot to destabilize one of the nations, which has ramifications throughout this collection of countries.


This is my first book by Kay after an absence of several years. I left his tales years ago because of what I found to be annoying: a tendency by the author to foreshadow tragic events heavy-handedly. Thankfully, Kay does not do that here, and I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting it was to return to this world Kay had created.

I was, however, hard-pressed to keep my attention on the narrative. I never really felt anything for the two main characters in this long book, and consequently, did not care much about the their outcomes, or those of the many supporting characters. And though I was impressed by the detailed political landscape, I wish had enjoyed this book more.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.