A stunning historical fantasy of love, war and political intrigues, the author's favourite of his own books. Arbonne is a lush, fertile land near the sea, and its people revere music and the Goddess Rian. In Gorhaut, the God Corannos and war are the only considerations. These two countries are on a collision course, that will lead to a war in which son battles father - and life-long friendships end in death. Honouring a lineage from Homer to Tolkien and Le Guin, Guy Gavriel Kay has written a high fantasy where both style and substance reign supreme. His characters breathe life with every entrance, his settings are as real as the fields we know. As triumph and disaster appear on page after page, the reader will fight, love and cry with all the protagonists. A Song for Arbonne has echoes of medieval France and its famed Court of Love, yet lives in the classic fantasy world of a master's imagination.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Guy Gavriel Kay was born and raised in Canada, although he does most of his writing in Europe. He is the author of eight highly acclaimed fantasy novels, including THE FIONAVAR TAPESTRY trilogy and the bestselling TIGANA. At the age of 20, he was asked by the Tolkien estate to help Christopher Tolkien with the editing of the Silmarrillion - the first and only time the estate has ever made such a request.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful, wonderful book,
By Mikko Saari (Tampere, Finland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Song for Arbonne (Paperback)
So far I have simply loved Kay's alternative history novels. A Song for Arbonne is no exception to the rule: it's an excellent story. Set in beautiful Arbonne, the book's actual historical setting is the medieval France of the troubadours. Arbonne is ruled by women, full of music and courtly love, while the northern Gorhaut is an extremely masculine country bent on war.
One can guess what happens with a setting like that. However, despite that, the story manages to be surprising and full of unexpected twists. The characters are many-faceted and full of life. The plot makes sense and packs in plenty of action, intrigue and romance. Religion plays a big role, as does family. Kay is a master: A Song for Arbonne is another fine story well told. Even though the book is labeled fantasy, there is very little supernatural in it, so as long as one is interested in medieval themes, even those who dislike most fantasy books will be able to enjoy this one.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful prose, but highly contrived plot and ending.,
By EquesNiger (Prague, Czech Republic) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Song for Arbonne (Paperback)
Arbonne and Gorhaut--two lands as different as the sun and the shadowed moon.
In the south, the olive trees and vineyards of Arbonne flourish, as the troubadours fill the air with the music of love and desire. To the north, the history of Gorhaut has been forged with blood and fire, and now a degenerate king and his ruthless advisor seek to quench a thirst for conquest by sweeping down upon Arbonne. But the land of courtly love is also a land of passion, willing to wage a complex and cunning fight to survive. This epic fantasy is inspired by the troubadour culture of Provence and the historical events of the Albigensian Crusade in the 13th century. Those who do not truly understand Arbonne--a land of goddess-worshippers ruled by a woman, a place that values song and the romantic conventions of love above all things--might think of it as weak. Certainly, that's what Blaise, a wandering young knight embittered by recent events in his home country of Gorhaut, believes at first. But Blaise gradually discerns the hidden strength of Arbonne, and his dawning respect for the land and its people as well as his passionate love for his own kingdom will lead him to defend Arbonne and Gorhaut against the man he perceives as a threat to both: Gorhaut's most powerful cleric--Blaise's father. This is a wonderful book, filled with many characters with interesting potential. One major regret was that some of the characters I found most interesting, such as Blaise's assassin friend from an analogy to an Italian city-state, or the homosexual husband of Ariane Barbentaine, don't receive the development that they deserve. The assassin fellow is fascinating enough to star in his own series. Also lacking development is Bertrand's rival, and late husband to his lost love, who lurks like a menacing cloud behind the Barbentaine court and over the heads of other major characters, but whose ultimate actions and motivations remain a mystery. Regardless, as one other reviewer said, it's easy to ascertain when an event of some great importance to the story is set to occur, as every major character suddenly appears in the room. The book is also pretty heavy handed with "real men", the rough and tumble types, but glorifies the delicate yet artistic types that one can only assume Kay himself identifies with. While the writing style builds to a fairly interesting emotional level in the first quarter of the book, by the time we actually reach Arbonne, the tone changes so much you feel Kay is driving home a personal point, and the book starts to feel more than a bit "preachy". Finally, the dénouement is somewhat contrived, in that it appears that the main enemy, in the person of Blaise's father, has only had Blaise's best interests, as he perceives them, at heart all along. His crimes on behalf of Gorhaut, and ultimate price paid for them, are merely stepping stones to ensure Blaise's security. One's credulity can only be stretched so far. Regardless, the prose is, indeed, beautiful, and I'm currently starting Tigana, in hopes of a rather better story with more believable character motivations. After that, there's always the Sarantine Mosaic, and Lions of Al Rassan.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Songs Are as Dangerous as Swords.,
By
This review is from: Song for Arbonne (Paperback)
G. G. Kay (b. 1954) is a Canadian fantasy author. Nevertheless his works are hugely inspired-based on real historical periods and characters.
The reader may consider Kay's sceneries as analogues or "alternate universes". He has researched the historical periods he reflects in each novel and gives an accurate and sensible picture of them: the value of honor, the religious beliefs (even if disguised with other names and nuisances), the mixed loyalties (to country, king, family and religion), poetry and music amongst others. "A Song for Arbonne" (1992) is the third book of the author I've read and look forward to read more from this excellent writer! The story is loosely based on the medieval Albigensian Crusade in Provence and the immediately previous period of Eleanor of Aquitaine and her Court of Love, around years 1120-1230. Six countries constitute the backdrop universe of the story. Northern kingdoms are bellicose and aggressively expansionists, worshipers of god Corannos. Southern Arbonne is the land of troubadours, poetry, love and worship goddess Rian. After delicate political equilibrium is broken by Mephistophelian machinations, the fate of Arbonne seems to be doomed. The story follows a warrior from the north, auto exiled in Arbonne; a Duke-troubadour and womanizer from Arbonne; the Countess of Arbonne; the Queen of the Love Court, nobles, minstrels, priests, priestesses, assassins, farmers and a multitude of characters, each well described and significant to the tale. Kay has a special knack to depict scenes that lead the reader to jump to conclusions that are, astonishingly, proved wrong a couple of pages later, this keep you reading on tiptoes, expecting new surprises... and they show up even if you are warned. The descriptions of cities, rural places, king's courts, markets have a distinctive flavor, without being boring. The different characters are fully human and interesting, not two dimensional stereotypes as may be expected in Fantasy story. The inner thoughts of most of them are shown, giving insight as to why they do what they do. This is a book to be enjoyed by different kind of readers. I strongly recommend it! Reviewed by Max Yofre.
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