Hey Karen...

  Apparently, March third is World Book Day, and we have been encouraged to write about books; maybe recommend a couple. If you have checked out the links listed in my favourite sites section, you will know that a Canadian writer by the name of Guy Gavriel Kay is one of my favourites.
  Guy Kay's work can be rather difficult to pigeonhole, for those who want to do so. His writing career began in the mid-seventies when he befriended Christopher Tolkien, and was subsequently invited to Oxford, where he assisted in the organisation and editing of the material that eventually became The Silmarillion: J.R.R. Tolkien's elaboration of the mythic and historical framework in which he based The Lord of the Rings. (I know, that sentence is way too long. I tried breaking it up, but I couldn't get it to read the way I wanted, so just deal with it.) Returning to Canada, he pursued a law degree before turning again to writing on the CBC television program The Scales of Justice. It was not until 1984 that he published his own first novel.

  The Summer Tree was the first book of a classic high fantasy trilogy called The Fionavar Tapestry. It, and its follow up novels The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road were a response by Kay to both the dry, narrative-driven style of Tolkien, and the general decline in the quality of the fantasy genre during the late seventies and early eighties.
  Having got that out of his system, so to speak, Kay turned in a different direction. His next novel, Tigana, examined the nature of names and memory, and how those things affect identity, both of an individual, and of a people. Still set in an imagined world, there are strong parallels between Kay's Peninsula of the Palm and fifteenth century Italy.
  This is trend he would continue with A Song For Arbonne, The Lions Of Al Rassan, The Sarantine Mosaic, and The Last Light Of The Sun. All of these novels take place in worlds only slightly removed from our own history. The Lions Of Al Rassan, which examines the Christian re-conquest of Spain has recently been optioned by a major motion picture studio.
  Although there are Sorcerers in Tigana, and Faeries in The Last Light Of The Sun, all of Kay's work since The Fionavar Tapestry has been much moreaccessible to non-fantasy readers. Readers, especially, of historical fiction will find it a short and comfortable step into Kay's world. A good jumping off point might be The Lions Of Al Rassan, as it has the most historical aspect of all the novels, and involves very little mention of the supernatural.
  Once you have immersed yourself in Kay's universe of compelling, real characters though, you will find yourself devouring the rest of his novels in short order. Just don't ask to borrow a copy. I'm already down a Tigana first edition hardcover that I lent out and no one will admit to having.