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Guy Gavriel Kay

Author of Tigana

31+ Works 34,765 Members 1,005 Reviews 319 Favorited

About the Author

Guy Gavriel Kay was born on November 7, 1954 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada. He became interested in fantasy fiction while working as an assistant to Christopher Tolkien. He assisted him with the editing of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. After receiving a law degree from the University of show more Toronto, he became principal writer and associate producer for the CBC radio series, The Scales of Justice. He also wrote several episodes when the series moved to television. He has written social and political commentary for several publications including the National Post, The Globe and Mail, and The Guardian. His first fantasy novels were The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire, and The Darkest Road, which make up the Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy. His other works include A Song for Arbonne, The Lions of Al-Rassan, Beyond This Dark House, The Last Light of the Sun, and Under Heaven. He has received numerous awards including and the Aurora Award for Tigana and The Wandering Fire, the 2008 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for Ysabel, and the International Goliardos Award for his work in the fantasy field. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Twitter profile picture, public domain

Series

Works by Guy Gavriel Kay

Tigana (1990) 5,017 copies
The Summer Tree (1984) 4,004 copies
The Lions of al-Rassan (1995) 3,184 copies
The Wandering Fire (1986) 3,088 copies
The Darkest Road (1986) 2,973 copies
A Song for Arbonne (1992) 2,706 copies
Sailing to Sarantium (1998) 2,547 copies
Ysabel (2007) 1,975 copies
The Last Light of the Sun (2004) 1,972 copies
Lord of Emperors (2000) 1,928 copies
Under Heaven (2010) 1,892 copies
River of Stars (2013) 806 copies
Children of Earth and Sky (2016) 753 copies
A Brightness Long Ago (2019) 599 copies

Associated Works

The Silmarillion (1977) — Editorial assistant — 34,702 copies

Tagged

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Common Knowledge

Legal name
Kay, Guy Gavriel
Birthdate
1954-11-07
Gender
male
Nationality
Canada (birth)
Birthplace
Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada
Places of residence
Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Education
University of Manitoba
University of Toronto
Occupations
editor
Associate Producer (radio)
writer (radio)
fantasy writer
Awards and honors
Guest of Honour, Eastercon, UK (2000)
Scales of Justice Award (best media treatment of a legal issue, Canadian Law Reform Commission, 1985)
Guest of Honor, Vericon, Cambridge, MA (2007)
Short biography
Guy Gavriel Kay (born November 7, 1954) is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction. Many of his novels are set in fictional realms that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Justinian I or Spain during the time of El Cid. Those works are published and marketed as historical fantasy, though the author himself has expressed a preference to shy away from genre categorization when possible. Kay was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When Christopher Tolkien needed an assistant to edit his father J.R.R. Tolkien's unpublished work, he chose Kay, then a student at the University of Manitoba, whose parents were friends of Baillie Tolkien's parents. Kay moved to Oxford in 1974 to assist Tolkien in the editing of The Silmarillion.

He returned to Canada in 1976 to finish a law degree at the University of Toronto, and became interested in fiction writing.

Kay became Principal Writer and Associate Producer for a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio series, The Scales of Justice.

In 1984, Kay's first fantasy work, The Summer Tree, the first volume of the trilogy The Fionavar Tapestry, was published.

Members

Discussions

Guy Kay - where to start and other discussion in The Green Dragon (April 2013)
Tigana Spoiler Thread: Fantasy February Group Read in 75 Books Challenge for 2013 (February 2013)
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay: Fantasy February Group Read in 75 Books Challenge for 2013 (February 2013)
For Guy Kay fans in FantasyFans (June 2012)
Group Read (March): Guy Gavriel Kay in The 11 in 11 Category Challenge (April 2011)

Reviews

The sequel to Sailing to Sarantium, and final book in the Sarantine Mosaic, and I loved it! Kayā€™s books seem to simultaneously have not much happen, while so much does happen. And so far all have a melancholy, realism to the ending. Just lovely.
 
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73pctGeek | 41 other reviews | Mar 5, 2024 |
I'm glad that Kay's brave but doomed noble woman from the previous novel found a way to thrive (well, her fictional successor anyway). Traveling back to Sarantium post-fall was melancholy and terrifying.
 
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DDtheV | 39 other reviews | Mar 3, 2024 |
Can a book be gripping and meditative at once?
 
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DDtheV | 31 other reviews | Mar 3, 2024 |
Was enchanted by Under Heaven, despite not being a huge fantasy guy, so I thought Iā€™d give some of this guyā€™s other work a shot. On the bright side, it reminded of why Iā€™m not a fantasy guy? Melodramatic, clichĆ©d, and some clunky writing took away from what was an interesting attempt at world building. The crossover part of the story felt tacked on and unnecessary. I bought all three books in the series (used) so I may yet finish the trilogy just to see more of the world and see if the writing improves with time.… (more)
 
Flagged
miken32 | 100 other reviews | Feb 11, 2024 |

Lists

Ghosts (1)
1990s (2)
1980s (3)
mom (2)

Awards

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Associated Authors

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Simon Vance Narrator
Larry Rostant Cover artist
Keith Birdsong Cover artist
Euan Morton Narrator
Milena Benini Translator
David Jermann Cover artist
Kinuko Y. Kraft Cover artist
Geoff Taylor Cover artist
Greg Banning Cover artist
Holter Graham Narrator
Lisa Jager Cover designer
Leena Peltonen Translator
Tom Kidd Cover artist

Statistics

Works
31
Also by
1
Members
34,765
Popularity
#543
Rating
4.0
Reviews
1,005
ISBNs
499
Languages
19
Favorited
319

Charts & Graphs