Children of Earth and Sky

The fortified town of Senjan sends pirate raiding parties against those of the Asharite faith at every opportunity. Considered by some to be a brave defender of the Jaddite religion and by others as a thorn in the side of global trade, this coastal community is just one of the fulcrums on which politics turn in Kay's latest historical fantasy. There are also the schemes of the wealthy merchants in Seressa, the carefully husbanded neutrality of Dubrava, and a brother and sister standing on either side of a religious war. In a departure from the author's recent expertly crafted fantasies set in a version of ancient China (Under Heaven; River of Stars), this title, as with many of Kay's other books (Sailing to Sarantium; The Lions of Al-Rassan) takes place in a universe inspired by European Renaissance history. A bonus for longtime readers are the many references in this work to the places from those previous novels, especially Sarantium, fallen 25 years at the start of this story.