I finished reading this book quite a while ago (June of 2011 to be exact) and was waiting until I read the sequel to post about it, but since I don't seem to be getting on with it I figured I'd post what I wrote over a year ago about Sailing to Sarantium. FACT: Guy Gavriel Kay is my all time favourite Canadian author, I haven't read all of his novels yet but am coming close! What makes his books great to me is how he mixes historical facts with myth and fantasy in a smooth enough way that you are convinced that these things actually happened.
In Sailing to Sarantium I was brought into a rich world quite similar to the Byzantine Empire. Complete with artisans, chariot racing, an emperor, and pagans (a story is never complete without some crazy pagans to go along with it!). I followed the journey of Crispin, a humble yet hot tempered mosaicist whose mentor has been summoned by the emperor to complete a mosaic on the dome of his newest temple. Under the name of his mentor, Martinian, Crispin embarks on a cross continent journey to the holy capital of Sarantium. Ethics are questioned, religious beliefs are tested, lives are endangered, and whits are pushed to their limits as Crispin pushes onward. But in reaching Sarantium did he find safety or merely find himself in more danger than the treacherous road that led him there?
Guy Gavriel Kay
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