Book Description
One of the world's foremost masters of fantasy, Guy
Gavriel Kay has thrilled readers around the globe with his
talent for skillfully interweaving history and myth, colorful
characterization, and a rich sense of time and place. Now, in
Lord of Emperors, the internationally acclaimed author
of The Lions of Al-Rassan continues his most powerful
work.
In Sailing to Sarantium, the first volume in the
Sarantine Mosaic, renowned mosaicist Crispin--beckoned by an
imperial summons of the Emperor Valerius--made his way to the
fabled city of Sarantium. A man who lives only for his craft,
who cares little for ambition, less for money, and nothing
for intrigue, Crispin now wants only to confront the
challenges of his art high upon a dome that will become the
emperor's magnificent sanctuary and legacy.
But Crispin's desire for solitude will not be fulfilled.
Beneath him the city swirls with rumors of war and
conspiracy, while otherworldly fires mysteriously flicker and
disappear in the streets at night. Valerius is looking west
to Crispin's homeland of Varena to assert his power--a plan
that may have dire consequences for the family and friends
Crispin left behind. But loyalty to his homeland comes at a
high price, for Crispin's fate has become entwined with that
of Valerius and his empress, as well as the youthful Queen
Gisel, his own monarch who is an exile in Sarantium herself.
And now another voyager arrives in Sarantium, a physician
determined to earn his fortune amid the shifting currents of
loyalty, intrigue, and violence.
Drawing from the twin springs of history and legend, Lord
of Emperors is also a deeply moving exploration of art,
power, and the ways in which people from all walks of life
seek to leave an impressionthat endures long after thery're
gone. It confirms Kay's place as one of the most esteemed
masters of fantasy.
