The Sarantine Mosaic
The Sarantine Mosaic is a historical fantasy duology by Guy Gavriel Kay, comprising Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors. The titles of the novels are an allusion to poet W.B. Yeats.
The story's setting is based on the 6th century Mediterranean world, and the looming conflict between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy that had replaced the Western Roman Empire. Varena, the capital of Batiara, alludes to Ravenna, the Ostrogothic capital, while Sarantium, the capital of Trakesia, is inspired by Byzantium or Constantinople. The novels The Lions of Al-Rassan and The Last Light of the Sun also take place in that unnamed world, although in different settings. In the series we are also briefly acquainted with the character Ashar ibn Ashar, who is the creator of the Asharite religion seen in The Lions of Al-Rassan. The seeds of change for the great empire based in Sarantium are thus already being sown even at the height of its power and prestige.
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[edit] Sailing to Sarantium
Sailing to Sarantium, the first novel in the saga, was published in 1998. In this novel, mosaicist Caius Crispus ("Crispin"), is summoned from Varena to the great metropolis of Sarantium to create a mosaic for Emperor Valerius II, (modelled on Byzantine emperor Justinian I). Crispin has lost his family to plague, and has nothing left to him except his mosaic art, for which he is earning attention. The narration follows his travels from the relatively civilized Batiara through the wilder region of Sauradia, where he has an encounter with a creature of supernatural aspect resembling an aurochs, to Sarantium itself and his compelled entrance into the politics of the metropolis, centred on Valerius and his consort, the Empress Alixana (modelled on Justinian's empress, Theodora). While Crispin is a central focus of the book, there are other stories interwoven with his. Overcoming loss (loss of family, loss of the past), rebuilding (life, civilization), journey as change and the importance of art to the individual creator and to civilization itself are themes of the novel. The title and much of the thematic development alludes to the poem Sailing to Byzantium, a work of the Irish poet William Butler Yeats.[1]
[edit] Lord of Emperors
Lord of Emperors was published in 2000. The story continues from Sailing to Sarantium and tells of what happens to Crispin after his arrival in the city of Sarantium. Crispin has been charged with a project to cover the interior of the dome of a grand new religious building in Sarantium with a mosaic work. The confidant of both Alixana, the empress, and of the exiled Queen Gisel of Crispin's native Batiara (modelled on the Ostrogoth queen, Amalasuntha), Crispin struggles to survive the political machinations of the era and work on his mosaic. The reader is also introduced to Rustem of Kerakek, a physician from Bassania, an eastern empire roughly analogous to Sassanid Persia, who has also journeyed to the city, finding himself entangled in political intrigue. A significant theme of the book is the interplay between the lives of the politically powerful and the interests of the ordinary people, typified by the chariot races at the hippodrome which become an all-consuming passion for the people even as the empire draws closer to war and upheaval.[2]
[edit] Reception
Reviewing Lord of Emperors, Charles de Lint praised both volumes, saying "Kay's books ring with authenticity. They are literate and imaginative, and work on many levels. History aficionados will delight in all the small and telling insights Kay brings to the era and its cultures, while other readers will simply delight in the grand sweep of the story, the rich characterization, and Kay's sheer gift with language."[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Dena Taylor, On Sailing to Sarantium, TransVersions 10, Toronto: Orchid Press, 1999, republished on Bright Weavings (Kay's authorized website)
- ^ Thomas M. Wagner, review of The Lord of Emperors, on SF Reviews.net [1]
- ^ Books to Look For, F&SF, October/November 2000
