Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Kay's latest takes place twenty-five years before the events of Children of Earth and Sky (2016). In Batiara, a fictionalized proto-Renaissance Italy, city-states vie for power through trade, espionage, and military campaigns waged by hired mercenaries. In the city of Seressa, Guidanio Cerra recalls his younger days. Though the narrative is structured as Danio's flashback, Kay also incorporates the viewpoints of a noblewoman exploring the limits of her freedom; a pagan healer; a son of privilege; a powerful mistress; the patriarch of the church; and two mercenary commanders around whom much of the action revolves. Danio is caught up in the struggle between these two men as they plot against one another, playing out the latest moves in a decades-old feud even as world-breaking news arrives from abroad. The novel's deliberate pace suits its focus on character notes and preoccupation with moments of decision, interconnectedness, and crossroads in the lives of those involved. Another rich tapestry from a skilled author, A Brightness Long Ago will be welcomed by the author's longtime fans but should also appeal to other fans of historical fiction.--Anna Mickelsen Copyright 2019 Booklist

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Veteran fantasist Kay (Children of Earth and Sky, 2016, etc.) weaves another grand drama of war, intrigue, and love set against a backdrop inspired by the Italian Renaissance.Set in the same world as several of his previous booksa reimagined Mediterranean with locations that serve as analogues for Venice, Florence, and Constantinoplethe story follows an expansive cast, though the central figure is a one-time tailor's son named Danio. As an old man, Danio recalls the ways in which, despite his humble birth, his life came to involve dukes, lords, and generals. While serving as a court official's assistant, young Danio recognizes a woman being brought to satisfy the monstrous appetites of the city's despot. He deduces her true goal of assassination...and says nothing. The woman in question is Adria, a duke's rebellious daughter, who chafes against the expectations of her gender and instead pursues a dangerous life covertly serving her uncle Folco, a renowned mercenary commander. Danio's silence enables the assassination's success and puts in motion events that will take him to the courts and council rooms of the powerful. The memory of Adria haunts him, and their paths will cross again. Choices made by Adria and Danioas well as by Folco; his hated rival, Teobaldo; and an independent healer named Jelenacontinue to impact the duo and their world, and the characters move in an orchestrated orbit in which no encounter is truly "chance" and may in fact change people's lives forever. Fans of Kay's previous work will find his usual elements in play: strong historical research and worldbuilding, a vast cast of characters, world-changing events, and prose that sometimes gets carried away with itself.An epic tale filled with characters compelling enough to bear the weight of the high stakes. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
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Kay returns to the rich world of Children of Earth and Sky in order to focus on Batiara, an analogue of early Renaissance Italy, in this lovely work of historical fantasy. Narrated primarily by Guidanio Cerra, a clever young scholar, the story centers on two powerful and magnetic warlords, Teobaldo Monticola of Remigio and Folco Cino of Acorsi, as they dance around each other in a series of elaborate machinations. Folco's plots-including assassinating the ruler of a nearby city-state in a bid for power and fixing a famous horse race for financial gain-are always countered in some way by Teobaldo, his foremost rival. Their long-standing hatred of each other not only alters the brutal and heavily stratified world around them but changes the lives of those drawn into their orbits: Folco's fiercely independent niece Adria, queer itinerant healer Jelena, feckless merchant noble Antenami Sardi, Guidanio himself, and many others. Though not quite as intricate as Kay's early work, this well-constructed tale still has all the thoughtfulness and poignancy his fans have come to love and expect. Agent: John Silbersack, Bent Agency. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Library Journal
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Fantasy master Kay (Tigana) crafts a new novel set in a balkanized land reminiscent of Renaissance Italy. Danio Cerra, low-born but well educated, is caught up by chance in the assassination of a sadistic count. When he intervenes in events bigger than himself, he's entangled in a decades-old conflict between two mercenary leaders, which is further complicated by his feelings for a young noblewoman who serves one of them. The cast of supporting characters includes sharply drawn nobles, healers, and gamblers whose lives intersect with Danio's. The setting is evocative and vivid, inspired by real historical events and figures, and Kay manages a deft balance between quiet contemplation and exciting action as he explores the roles that fate, chance, and choice play for a minor figure in a time of upheaval. VERDICT Readers of Jacqueline Carey's "Kushiel" series or Joe Abercrombie's "Half a King" books should enjoy this dramatic and lush title for its almost, but not quite, historical backdrop. Also a good potential crossover for historical fiction fans since, as is usual for Kay, magic and the supernatural play only the tiniest role. [See Prepub Alert, 11/19/18.]- Jason Puckett, Georgia State Univ. Lib, Atlanta © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.