"A Brightness Long Ago is, like all of Kay's work, exquisitely crafted and deeply moving. By turns beautiful and bittersweet, it tells the story of small people caught in the current of world-shattering events, and of the ripples they make that are sometimes--but not always--lost in the flow of history. His most compelling characters are those found lingering near the frame of a famous portrait, or rendered, almost as an afterthought, in glass and stone. Guy Gavriel Kay has written a masterpiece, yet again."--Nicholas Eames, author of Kings of the Wyld

"A beautiful meditation on how seemingly small choices can have such great consequences, and on how people who come into our lives, even briefly, can change them."--Jessica Day George, New York Times bestselling author of Silver in the Blood

"Strong historical research and worldbuilding, a vast cast of characters, world-changing events... An epic tale filled with characters compelling enough to bear the weight of the high stakes."--Kirkus Reviews

"Kay's eye for historical details and traditions imbues A Brightness Long Ago with a realism that is seldom seen in works of speculative fiction... Kay demonstrates yet again that he is a master storyteller in complete control of his craft."--Pat's Fantasy Hotlist

"A Brightness Long Ago is a masterpiece; perhaps the finest work of one of the world's greatest living storytellers...This story is shocking, devastating, and beautiful. Kay's language is elegant in its simplicity, yet painstakingly profound as it cuts to the core of what makes us think, and act, and remember."--Fantasy Book Review

Praise for Guy Gavriel Kay

"[Read] anything by Guy Gavriel Kay....His strengths are strong characters and fantastic set pieces."--The New Yorker

"History and fantasy rarely come together as gracefully or readably as they do in the novels of Guy Gavriel Kay."--The Washington Post Book World

"Kay is a genius. I've read him all my life and am always inspired by his work."--#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson

"Guy Gavriel Kay has a wonderful talent. He tells stories in an invented world that is so rich in historical echoes that I found myself smiling with pleasure as I heard the echoes, while engrossed in the story. Warmly recommended."--Edward Rutherfurd
"Kay is peerless in plucking elements from history and using them to weave a wholly fantastical tale that feels like a translation of some freshly unearthed scroll from a time we have yet to discover."--The Miami Herald