All the Seas of the World

By: Guy Gavriel Kay

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Returning triumphantly to the brilliantly evoked near-Renaissance world of A Brightness Long Ago and Children of Earth and Sky, international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay deploys his signature "quarter turn to the fantastic" to tell a story of vengeance, power, and love.

On a dark night along a lonely stretch of coast a small ship sends two people ashore. Their purpose is assassination. They have been hired by two of the most dangerous men alive to alter the balance of power in the world. If they succeed, the consequences will affect the destinies of empires, and lives both great and small.

One of those arriving at that beach is a woman abducted by corsairs as a child and sold into years of servitude. Having escaped, she is trying to chart her own course—and is bent upon revenge. Another is a seafaring merchant who still remembers being exiled as a child with his family from their home, for their faith, a moment that never leaves him. In what follows, through a story both intimate and epic, unforgettable characters are immersed in the fierce and deadly struggles that define their time.

All the Seas of the World is a compelling drama that also offers moving reflections on memory, fate, and the random events that can shape our lives—in the past, and today.

©2022 Guy Gavriel Kay (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

*LONGLISTED FOR CANADA READS 2023*

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 AURORA AWARDS*

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

One of:

Amazon's "Best science fiction and fantasy of 2022"

The Globe and Mail’s “Best books of 2022”

“Tragic, stirring, romantic, meticulous, comic, rueful, worldly-wise, and written in the intimate, deceptively nonchalant voice of a storyteller offering up his great gift, All the Seas of the World is classic Kay, and to this reader, at least, there can be no higher praise.”—Michael Chabon

“A compelling historical fantasy, [All the Seas of the World] develops with the creeping intensity of an avalanche: an action here, an assignation there, and before you know it, all hell has broken loose. It’s a thrilling and exciting reading experience. . . . Written largely during the pandemic [the novel] has an elegiac quality, an aching awareness of the temporary nature of lives, empires, worlds. As Kay writes, ‘If we take a moment for them it is also a moment taken for ourselves. For those who love us, those we love.’”—Robert Wiersema, Toronto Star

"The heart of All the Seas of the World is the relationship between Nadia bint Dhiyan and Rafel Ben Natan . . . fully realized, powerful and thought-provoking characters. Kay asks questions . . . about how we move forward in a world shaped by loss. From his very first trilogy, The Fionavar Tapestry, Kay has shown an ability to inhabit female characters with depth and intelligence, while exploring how they navigate worlds built for and by men. . . . All The Seas of The World captures all that Kay does best: a deep look at what makes us human, woven into a package of thrilling adventure."—Winnipeg Free Press

Wow

Unbelievable how Kay can develop so many characters so fully, and veer into sub plots that are interesting, relevant, and revealing about the human condition.

Not his best - but still good

It is still worth the read. I like how he blends the 3 stories together

Kind of a sequel

When I started this book I was disturbed because it didn’t seem to follow Children of Earth and Sky, but thankfully I was wrong. It is more a contemporaneous story, involving characters introduced in the other book, not specifically a sequel, but related. Excellent world building and characters, with a hint of supernatural.

Excellent from beginning to end

I only discovered Kay this year, and he has become my favorite author. He writes characters with such humanity that I feel I know them, and his worldbuilding is so rich that I feel as if I am there. I probably prefer A Brightness Long Ago only because it was my first Kay book, but this one is really equally good. I’d suggest anyone starting with Kay read ABLO first (set a bit earlier) and follow up with this. There are also allusions to events and characters in other books (almost Easter Eggs), and while it’s not necessary to understand them, it does enrich the reading experience.

As Always

Start with the Summer Tree … and you will never look back

Wonderful, I cannot wait to listen to it again!

A tale worth telling

Love, death, victory, defeat, life with purpose and without. The author weaves an intricate tale filled with both passion and dispassion. Fabulous in delivery by the teller. For long time admirers, special echoes of works past. A delight.

Stunning as always

As usual, Kay’s writing glows, and his insight, wit, and intelligent view of the world and the human condition facilitates a new and beautiful perspective for the reader. Profound, complex, and deeply satisfying. Highly recommended.

wow

unexpected journey. poetic brutal. lovely. I really likes this and hope there are more

Amazing…again

I never grow tired of GGK and Simon Vance. Loved jt. Can’t wait for the next…

Guy is a master storyteller and I have told him so

I cannot think of a single book that this author has written that I did not love. I would like to issue a complaint, however; concerning the gratuitous homosexuality that threads its way through this superb author’s books. It tells us more about the author than it does about the story. At some juncture, there must balance in every universe.

At age 65, I have a sense of these things. The normalization of the unusual, despite what artists wish to believe (especially amongst competent military personnel), is counterintuitive. I work for a multinational Canadian corporation and I see this counterproductive DEI foolishness with disturbing frequency.

There is beauty to be found in the most unexpected, delicate ways. Guy is exceptional, but he should stick to beautiful stories instead of exporting decadent morality.

The superb narrator makes this penchant even more creepy.