River of Stars

Historical fiction has always been a favorite genre for me. Mr. Kay is a gifted writer. The only reason thus isn't 5-star is the pace, which was a little slow, and the difficulty pronouncing and remembering the foreign names.

Like so many others, my first exposure to the world of fantasy literature was JRR Tolkien's sagas of Middle Earth. My younger self enjoyed these books...over and over again. As I began to look for other works to read in the genre, however, my enthusiasm began to wane somewhat due to the fact that everything I read seemed to be a flaccid rip off of Lord of the Rings. For almost thirty years I didn't even consider anything that was described as fantasy. That is, until I read Game of Thrones, which is fantasy, with a firm footing in what looks like medieval Europe and borrows heavily from that continent's history. My enjoyment of Martin's work propelled me towards historical fantasy and the first stop I've made is Guy Gavriel Kay's River of Stars. River of Stars is based heavily on 11th century China. Set in the fictional Empire of Kitai, the book tells the story of Ren Daiyan, youngest son of a clerk born in a backwater of the Empire. The book follows Daiyan as he realizes his destiny lies far beyond his humble place of birth. As he tries to fulfill that destiny, Ren Daiyan must battle his own doubt, factions within the court of the Emperor of Kitai and enemies beyond his land's borders; enemies who desire to destroy the empire. One of the first things I noticed about the book was the sparse dialog in the opening pages. I thought this might be an issue until I remembered an old favorite that I had reread not very long ago: James Clavell's Shogun. Like the characters in that classic, the people in Kay's book live in a world where one's thoughts and motivations are, whether because of tradition or the need to survive, masked by formal patterns of speech and ritual. It was through this well written and entertaining inner dialog that characters like Lin Shan are formed. Shan, who becomes close to Daiyan, is an unusual woman at that time in her country in that she has been educated and encouraged to be independent in thought by her doting father. While River of Stars has an epic feel to it, with its grand political intrigue and its great armies battling across vast Kitai and beyond, the book's strength lies in Kay's fully formed characters and how they act in relation to one and other. I particularly enjoyed a device Kay uses very well to flesh out his characters. He writes a small obituary when one of them passes away, revealing both small and large details about their life and how the world will, or won't, remember them. I wondered at times if these were the author's way of personally saying goodbye to his beloved characters, so tender was some of the writing. Kitai itself is a character that Kay must invent and do so with conviction. If not, then the motivations and decisions of human characters in the book don't make much sense. The author does a very good job of doing this, moving through various plots and subplots, all the while giving a very real sense of realism to a place that never existed. Within the inner meanderings of the characters, there are short digressions that sometimes hurt the book's pace. And at one point, I read a couple chapters that, though entertaining, seemed out of place in the whole of the book. But for the most part the tale moved at a pretty good clip toward a conclusion that was satisfying in its sadness and ambiguity. Unlike a lot of Tolkien knockoffs I read when I was younger, the strength of River of Stars lies in its treatment of a land in a time of war and upheaval, where death is too common and triumphs are, at best, half victories. Kudos also to Kay for including an afterword with a list of sources he used in researching ancient China. Although Kitai's Twelfth Dynasty is a fabrication, the author did spark my interest in the place and time on which it was based and I was appreciative that he took the time to point me in the right direction for further reading.

"When the world changes greatly this can occur because of a single dramatic event, or because many small elements, each inconsequential in itself, fit together - like the pieces of a wooden puzzle box, of the sort sold in any village marketplace for a few copper coins"I really liked this book but beware even if you are familiar with Guy Gavriel Kay’s works, this book's pacing is extremely *extremely* slow much more than usual even for him at least for the first 50% and this book is 639 pages long. I had to force myself to continue reading the first maybe five percent but then it sucked me in. For me the slow pacing fits perfectly because it is ancient China and I always imagine the rhythm of life there to be much slower than say in Europe. Characters are carefully introduced one by one and they create a beautiful picture together, even if the plot seems to not move, but really I think it does move in a sense that the picture gets bigger and bigger. I don't know - I really enjoy it even if it takes me several days to read it and will probably take few more.I cried through last two chapters of the book – but again if you are familiar with Kay’s works you should know that the most you can hope for is bittersweet ending and for the characters I usually fell for the most in his books it is not even that .Would I recommend it? Wholeheartedly so, but again please be warned - very slow pacing."THAT NIGHT NORTH of the Wai the cloud cover finally broke and a waxing moon shone among hard and brilliant stars. What followed become the matter of legend"It was moving much faster in the second half, more like even in the last third of the book, but only in comparison with the first half of course, because fighting and battles finally came in the last quarter, but it is still rather leisurely paced in comparison with so many other books. And it still grieves me that rulers of the world always did and always will betray the best and brightest and most loyal to them. And those loyal till the end will still continue fighting on their behalf.I thought the main theme in the book was that "our lives are not just our own" - every individual means very little by himself, only as a tiny part in the huge tapestry of what China was and is. I know it reflects the philosophy of some Asian cultures, but for some reason in my head it was more contemporary philosophy and related to China's societal structure.Because I totally understand the "collective" is everything and "individual" is nothing argument - my teenage years were spent in the country with the similar philosophy, so to a degree I can relate really well. Amusing how the philosophy of the governments looks so similar.Did I like this philosophy in general and as applied to the book? Well, I think he reflected the historical reality, it rang true, etc, but my Goodness I hated that individuals mean nothing except to increase the glory of Kitai.The best, the brightest, the most loyal - yes they can be the small part of the whole, as long as the rulers are happy - and boy their unhappiness with you can come fast.But these characters , they live for their country, they die for their country - I am just an outsider watching and crying for them.

Kitai, during the Twelfth Dynasty. Several centuries after a devastating civil war that left half the population of the empire dead and its armies disbanded, the empire has still not fully recovered. Soldiers and generals are mistrusted, the fear of another rebellion overwhelming. When Kitai is drawn into a civil war amongst the barbarians of the steppes to the north, their lack of military preparation will lead to disaster. For Ren Daiyan, a young outlaw-turned soldier who hungers to reclaim the Fourteen Prefectures lost to the barbarians decades ago, the chaos will be an opportunity to rise far.River of Stars is Guy Gavriel Kay's twelfth novel and the second set in a lightly fantasised version of China. The setting being reflected this time is 12th Century China during the Song Dynasty, and specifically the events surrounding the Jurchen/Liao civil war and China's unfortunate intervention in that conflict (motivated by China's desire to reclaim its sixteen lost prefectures) which backfired quite spectacularly.River of Stars is a self-contained novel but a few oblique references to the events of Under Heaven will resonate more for people familiar with the earlier book. Indeed, whilst being stand-alone in terms of plot and character, River of Stars's themes resonate more strongly when contrasted against the earlier book. Under Heaven was about an empire at the height of its power and River is about the same nation in what some might term decline. The excesses and dangers of the former empire that resulted in over thirty million deaths are also made clear, and make the current nation cautious as a result. If wars and conflicts (real and fictional) stem from often forgetting the lessons of history, River of Stars is about learning from those lessons, perhaps to the point of over-caution.With Ren Daiyan (loosely based on the real General Yue Fei) Kay has created what initially appears to be a standard heroic protagonist. He is a young, callow youth with a supreme talent for archery and military strategy who grows up to become a leader of men and a national hero when he wins an important, morale-boosting victory in an otherwise disastrous campaign. Yet Kay is not interested in regurgitating Joseph Campbell. Daiyan is more complex than he first appears, his own belief in his own destiny (bolstered by a confrontation with a fox-spirit entity in the novel's only notable magical/supernatural episode) having to be tempered with what is best for Kitai, as Daiyan is - oddly for a former outlaw - a true patriot. The reaction of the Imperial Court to Daiyan's military adventurism is something that I think a lot of readers will find frustrating or even infuriating, but it's also fascinating to see how the court has learned from the lessons of the past and fears anything to prolong war and thus increase the power of the military (and again, it is based on real history; Yue Fei faced much the same opposition after he won a series of significant victories). Ultimately this conflict, between war and peace and between soldiers and governors, lies at the heart of the novel and though our sympathies may be best-won by Daiyan, the point-of-view of the emperor and his advisers is also presented with conviction.Daiyan's story is only one part of the story. On the other lies Lin Shan, a female poet and writer (loosely based on Li Qingzhao) during a period when women are not expected to pursue such tasks. This wins her a certain notoriety at court and a difficulty in winning female friends, but brings her to the attention of the emperor. Refreshingly, this story sets up a cliche (a woman cutting her own path in a sexist world) which the author then refuses to indulge in. Shan's deportment is unusual for her culture, but she is not persecuted for it and ultimately wins respect and appreciation. However, Kay does use her to reflect on some of the less progressive elements of the period for Chinese women (such as being forced to wear hobbled footware) and muse on how this period was less free and open for women than the preceding one in Under Heaven. Kay also uses Shan's storyline to explore issues such as sexuality and the power of myth and story versus the reality of history.River of Stars (*****), like so much of Kay's work, is a novel that moves between being bittersweet, triumphant, tragic and reflective. It engages with a variety of themes against a backdrop informed by real history and is told with flair, passion and elegant prose.

I really enjoyed this - the writing has a definite oriental styling which adds so much to the storytelling. An 'alternate' retelling of a period of Chinese history - the names are changed, the characters are fictionalised and there's a small magical element but the overall story matches the historical narrative. The characters are fully developed, engaging and interesting, the storyline is dramatic but believable, and overall it's just a great novel.

Ren is an interesting character and we watch his life go through a variety of upheavals as he tries to follow his naive goal of helping the empire reclaim lost lands and pride, as a boy this is just a dream but as he grows he starts to believe it is his destiny.The characters and their relationships in the book as all well written and complex with issues of class, wealth, politics and sexual equality dealt with in an intelligent way.There is plenty of action and the politics and battle tactics are believable and keep you guessing.The book never really takes sides, it shows the good and bad of the empire and good and bad people inside and outside of it, and this makes for a compelling story where you can't simply take sides and cheer for the hero.The ending is a surprise with a few last twists where politics and idealism clash.

Ideally I would give this book 4.5 stars. GGK is one of my favourite writers. 'The Lions of Al-Rassan'  The Lions of Al-Rassan , also historical fantasy, is one of my all time favourite books, and for me it is that comparison/expectation, rather than a comparison with other authors, that would lead me to dock half a point.Mr Kay has the ability to create characters that are so vibrant and enchanting and through them levels of tension and anticipation that make reading almost too exciting. I did not quite feel that magic. It is in GGK's focus between character and events that I find there is a change. In his recent work, although the characters are well-drawn, GGK's main interest seems to be elsewhere. The net of events, changes, repercussions and philosophical questions dominate the focus. The characters are still interesting but no longer compelling and, for me, his later books have an episodic and slightly disjointed feel. Indeed 'The Last Light of the Sun' felt at times like a collection of short stories.That said I enjoyed 'River of Stars'. The fact that I take issue at all is due to the level of interest/investment GGK's book inspire. The Lions of Al-Rassan

I am a great fan of Guy Gavriel Kay and bought this because I enjoyed "Under Heaven" immensely. I expected another novel of his set in China to be equally enthralling but never got lost in this one. I couldn't engage or sympathise with the characters and found it rather gloomy. There were also an awful lot of characters to keep track of and a dispiriting amount of information about places to remember. I do not usually find his books hard work. Luckily this sense of dissatisfaction was dispelled by the marvellous " Children of Earth and Sky" but "River of Stars" is not a favourite of mine.