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A Brightness Long Ago  By  cover art

A Brightness Long Ago

By: Guy Gavriel Kay
Narrated by: Mr Simon Vance
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Publisher's summary

Internationally best-selling author Guy Gavriel Kay's latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy, with an extraordinary cast of characters.

In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school, though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count - and soon learned why that man was known as The Beast.

Danio's fate changed the moment he recognised Adria Ripoli as she entered the count's chambers one night - intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen a life of danger - and freedom - instead.

Other vivid figures share the story: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting these lives and many more, two mercenary commanders, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance.

A Brightness Long Ago offers both compelling drama and deeply moving reflections on the nature of memory, the choices we make in life, and the role played by the turning of Fortune's wheel.

©2019 Guy Gavriel Kay (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

Praise for Guy Gavriel Kay: "The greatest living author of epic fantasy." (Brandon Sanderson)

"Contemporary fiction's finest fantasist." (Tor.com)

"One of the (if not the) premiere fantasists of our time." (The Financial Times)

What listeners say about A Brightness Long Ago

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Beautiful story, wonderfully read by Simon Vance

It may not be Guy Gavriel Kays best book, bit I dit love it. I listened it before I read id. What made the experience truly wonderful was the way it was read by Simon Vance. Het is a true storyteller.

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A wonderful experience

Guy Gavriel Kay writes wonderful books and this audio book by Simon Vance enhances the experience. As usual I went through so many emotions listening to the story and the lives of the characters. No spoilers but one character who I loved was Adria Ripoli, how wonderful it would be to meet someone like her in real life.

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