A brightness long ago

Summary/Review: "From the internationally bestselling author of Tigana, The Lions of Al-Rassan, and, most recently, Children of Earth and Sky, comes a masterful new novel set in a vivid, enthralling world inspired by Italy in the early Renaissance. In this fascinating, decadent, often violent setting, in which mercenaries destroy city-states for the highest bidder and women remain desperately limited in their life options, the lives of a few extraordinary figures play out... Guidanio Cerra, known as Danio, is the son of a tailor whose intelligence had won him entry to a renowned school attended mainly by aristocrats. There he's learned languages, politics, courtly manners--and a great deal about horsemanship. He takes service at the dangerous court of a count known as The Beast... Adria Ripoli, born to power, daughter of a duke, has rejected the choices offered to her, opting for a life of danger--and freedom--in the service of her mercenary uncle. That decision leads her to a nighttime encounter in a castle, from which she is unlikely to escape alive. Speaking to us from a chamber overlooking the busy waterways of a maritime city, Danio looks back on his youth to tell us part of the tale--the most unforgettable days of his life. But others share the telling, the story we read. Guy Gavriel Kay brings alive a cast of unforgettable characters whose paths intertwine in an extraordinary time. They include a healer who has also disdained her expected lot; a charming, if frivolous son of immense wealth; a young, powerful religious leader, more dedadent than devout; and the two larger-than-life war leaders, lifelong adversaries entangled in their shared history, whose encounters put a world in the balance... A Brightness Long Ago offers both compelling drama and intimate reflection on the nature of memory, the choices we make in our lives, and the role played by the turning of Fortune's wheel."--