Written on the Dark, Guy Gavriel Kay
Written on the Dark, Guy Gavriel Kay
List: $24.00 | Sale: $16.80
Club: $12.00

Written on the Dark

Author: Guy Gavriel Kay

Narrator: Simon Vance

Unabridged: 10 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 05/27/2025


Synopsis

A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book of 2025

Both sweeping and intimate, a majestic novel of love and war that brilliantly evokes the drama and turbulence of medieval France

Thierry Villar is a well-known—even notorious— tavern poet, familiar with the rogues and shadows of that world, but not at all with courts and power. He is an unlikely person, despite his quickness, to be caught up in the deadly contests of ambitious royals, assassins, and invading armies.

But he is indeed drawn into all these things on a savagely cold night in his beloved city of Orane. And so Thierry must use all the intelligence and charm he can muster as political struggles merge with a decades-long war to bring his country to the brink of destruction.

As he does, he meets his poetic equal in an aristocratic woman and is drawn to more than one unsettling person with a connection to the world beyond this one. He also crosses paths with an extraordinary young woman driven by voices within to try to heal the ailing king—and help his forces in war. A wide and varied set of people from all walks of life take their places in the rich tapestry of this story.

A new masterwork from the internationally bestselling author of All the Seas of the World, A Brightness Long Ago, and Tigana, Written on the Dark is an elegant tour de force about power and ambition playing out amid the intense human need for art and beauty, and memories to be left behind.

About The Author

Guy Gavriel Kay is the international bestselling author of fifteen previous novels, including the Fionavar Tapestry series, Tigana, The Last Light of the Sun, Under Heaven, River of Stars, Children of Earth and Sky, A Brightness Long Ago, and All the Seas of the World. He has been awarded the International Goliardos Prize for his work in the literature of the fantastic and won the World Fantasy Award for Ysabel in 2008. In 2014 he was named to the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor. His works have been translated into more than thirty languages.


Reviews

Goodreads review by The Speculative Shelf on February 13, 2025

It’s such a treat to get lost in Kay’s worlds, experiencing his unique spin on history with a splash of the fantastical. While this tale doesn’t break new ground or reinvent the genre, it’s an engaging and satisfying story that longtime fans of GGK and newcomers alike will certainly enjoy. The narra......more

Goodreads review by Jake on May 07, 2025

Really good book, slightly below average Guy Gavriel Kay book. For me this is in the same tier as Children of Earth and Sky, Last Light of the Sun, River of Stars, and All The Sea's of the World. I think the first 8 chapters, are good at basically everything, but lack any stand out moments. At no po......more

Goodreads review by Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) on May 11, 2025

4.0 Stars Guy Gavriel Kay is such an incredibly beautiful writer. I love his prose. I can be hit or miss with historical fantasy because I don't read much historical fiction in general. However, this author is always a win. I found the characters to be developed and the worldbuilding to be well drawn.......more

Goodreads review by Read By Kyle on June 10, 2025

I've been a curmudgeon for this entire book, complaining the whole time that this felt half baked (it does) and that it's too short (it is). But I am a fool because the last couple chapters and especially the epilogue are just ridiculously good. Seriously might be the best epilogue I ever read, cont......more

Goodreads review by Ben on May 03, 2025

For those familiar with Kay's work, there will be nothing surprising in this book or the enjoyment I experienced reading it. Then again, for those familiar with Kay's work, why would you want anything different? Drawing from the Hundred Years' War, Kay invokes the characters, imagery, and actions of......more


Quotes

"An absolutely astonishing novel . . . by our greatest living writer of the fantastic. . . . Quite simply, a masterpiece."—JM Miro, international bestselling author of Ordinary Monsters

“Kay burnishes his reputation for worldbuilding with this believable, magic-tinged analogue for medieval France, complete with its own Hundred Years’ War and a Joan of Arc stand-in. While Kay’s fictional outcomes tend toward the happier, he plays fair with the suffering of his heroes and humanizes his villains. Longtime fans and new readers alike will be sucked in."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Kay once again delivers a skillful blend of history and fantasy that captures both the beauty and brutality of the past with poetic precision. His sophisticated prose elevates every scene, intertwining fleeting joys and deep sorrows into a narrative that resonates long after the final page... In addition to being a profound meditation on history, identity, and the human condition, this novel stands as a testament to Kay’s unparalleled storytelling.”—Library Journal

"The brilliance of Written on the Dark is its capacity to be many things at once. It’s a great story, or series of stories, moving from murder mystery to court drama to war epic to tale of love and loss and beyond, like a song changing keys.”—The Globe and Mail (CA)

“There are more than a few flashes of brilliance in Written on the Dark, as well as some profoundly moving insights and some of Kay’s most memorable characters.”Locus

Praise for the novels of 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