-
River of Stars
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 20 hrs and 49 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.50
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
In his critically acclaimed novel Under Heaven, Guy Gavriel Kay told a vivid and powerful story inspired by China’s Tang Dynasty. Now, the international best-selling and multiple award-winning author revisits that invented setting four centuries later with an epic of prideful emperors, battling courtiers, bandits and soldiers, nomadic invasions, and a woman battling in her own way, to find a new place for women in the world - a world inspired this time by the glittering, decadent Song Dynasty.
Ren Daiyan was still just a boy when he took the lives of seven men while guarding an imperial magistrate of Kitai. That moment on a lonely road changed his life...in entirely unexpected ways, sending him into the forests of Kitai among the outlaws. From there he emerges years later - and his life changes again, dramatically, as he circles toward the court and emperor, while war approaches Kitai from the north.
Lin Shan is the daughter of a scholar, his beloved only child. Educated by him in ways young women never are, gifted as a songwriter and calligrapher, she finds herself living a life suspended between two worlds. Her intelligence captivates an emperor - and alienates women at the court. But when her father’s life is endangered by the savage politics of the day, Shan must act in ways no woman ever has.
In an empire divided by bitter factions circling an exquisitely cultured emperor who loves his gardens and his art far more than the burdens of governing, dramatic events on the northern steppe alter the balance of power in the world, leading to events no one could have foretold, under the river of stars.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
All the Seas of the World
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Excellent from beginning to end
- By L. Williams on 07-06-22
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Under Heaven
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under Heaven takes listeners to Tang dynasty China, where the son of an honored general has received an unheard of gift: 250 Sardian horses. But this is a prize men would, and will, kill for.
-
-
One of my favorite by my favorite historical fantasy author
- By KBergin on 10-03-20
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Summer Tree
- Fionavar Tapestry, Book 1
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two-time Aurora Award-winning author Guy Gavriel Kay has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award three times. In the first book of his Fionavar Tapestry series, five college students meet a wizard who takes them to the heart of the first of all worlds - a place called Fionavar. The students soon discover that they have been pre-ordained as part of the pattern called the Fionavar Tapestry - and if they don't fulfill their destinies, the world will suffer devastating consequences.
-
-
My favorite trilogy.
- By NZDreamin on 02-10-21
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Children of Earth and Sky
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request - and possibly to do more - and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor's wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.
-
-
Deep Echoes of the Sarantine Mosaic
- By Sarah on 05-13-16
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Lions of Al-Rassan
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan - poet, diplomat, soldier - until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever.
-
-
Lots of drama
- By KH on 10-12-12
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
A Brightness Long Ago
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count - and soon learned why that man was known as the Beast.
-
-
Another Masterpiece from Mr. Kay
- By Craig Cassar on 06-01-19
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
All the Seas of the World
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Excellent from beginning to end
- By L. Williams on 07-06-22
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Under Heaven
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under Heaven takes listeners to Tang dynasty China, where the son of an honored general has received an unheard of gift: 250 Sardian horses. But this is a prize men would, and will, kill for.
-
-
One of my favorite by my favorite historical fantasy author
- By KBergin on 10-03-20
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Summer Tree
- Fionavar Tapestry, Book 1
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two-time Aurora Award-winning author Guy Gavriel Kay has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award three times. In the first book of his Fionavar Tapestry series, five college students meet a wizard who takes them to the heart of the first of all worlds - a place called Fionavar. The students soon discover that they have been pre-ordained as part of the pattern called the Fionavar Tapestry - and if they don't fulfill their destinies, the world will suffer devastating consequences.
-
-
My favorite trilogy.
- By NZDreamin on 02-10-21
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Children of Earth and Sky
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request - and possibly to do more - and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor's wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.
-
-
Deep Echoes of the Sarantine Mosaic
- By Sarah on 05-13-16
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Lions of Al-Rassan
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan - poet, diplomat, soldier - until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever.
-
-
Lots of drama
- By KH on 10-12-12
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
A Brightness Long Ago
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count - and soon learned why that man was known as the Beast.
-
-
Another Masterpiece from Mr. Kay
- By Craig Cassar on 06-01-19
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Last Light of the Sun
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 17 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bern Thorkellson, punished for his father’s sins, denied his heritage and home, commits an act of vengeance and desperation that brings him face-to-face with a past he’s been trying to leave behind...In the Anglcyn lands of King Aeldred, the shrewd king, battling inner demons all the while, shores up his defenses with alliances and diplomacy - and with swords and arrows. Meanwhile his exceptional, unpredictable sons and daughters give shape to their own desires when battle comes and darkness falls in the spirit wood...
-
-
Not your typical Viking saga :)
- By Sterling Sweeney on 07-19-22
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
A Song for Arbonne
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The lands of Arbonne and Gorhaut are on the verge of an all-consuming conflict. When a devious high priest of Gorhaut seizes the opportunity to wage a holy war against residents of Arbonne, an epic clash between the two cultures ensues.
-
-
Beautiful, moving, full of suspence and adventure
- By Efrat Kotzer Hassid on 07-22-20
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Sailing to Sarantium
- Book One of the Sarantine Mosaic
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Berny Clark
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Crispin is a mosaicist, a layer of bright tiles. Still grieving for the family he lost to the plaque, he lives only for his arcane craft. But an imperial summons from Valerius the Trakesian to Sarantium, the most magnificent place in the world, is difficult to resist. In a world half-wild and tangled with magic, a journey to Sarantium means a walk into destiny. Bearing with him a deadly secret and a Queen's seductive promise, guarded only by his own wits and a talisman from an alchemist's treasury, Crispin sets out for the fabled city. Along the way he will encounter a great beast.
-
-
Can't give a fair rating
- By Alyssa B. Goss on 10-16-15
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Tigana
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eight of the nine Palm provinces of the Peninsula have been overcome by warrior sorcerers Brandin and Alberico. But the sorcerers don't know that a small band of survivors is plotting their removal. With tensions mounting, the sorcerers become increasingly at odds as each decides where his own path - and that of the land - should truly lie.
-
-
A little self-indulgent
- By Diana M. on 05-31-20
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Will of the Many
- Hierarchy, Book 1
- By: James Islington
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 28 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Catenan Republic—the Hierarchy—may rule the world now, but they do not know everything. I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilized society in allowing my strength, my drive, and my focus—what they call Will—to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.
-
-
I don’t know what the other reviews are on about
- By Chase on 06-24-23
By: James Islington
-
The Dragonbone Chair
- Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Book One
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 33 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A war fueled by the dark powers of sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard—for Prester John, the High King, slayer of the dread dragon Shurakai, lies dying. And with his death, an ancient evil will at last be unleashed, as the Storm King, undead ruler of the elvishlike Siti, seeks to regain his lost realm through a pact with one of human royal blood. Then, driven by spell-inspired jealousy and hate, prince will fight prince, while around them the very land begins to die.
-
-
A Work of art
- By Andre on 10-22-16
By: Tad Williams
-
City of Last Chances
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 19 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse. What will be the spark that lights the conflagration? Despite the city's refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood–that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.
-
-
Occupied Paris during WW2 In Fantasy World?
- By caleb on 06-19-23
-
A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor]
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it tells the story of a family threatened by the terrible events of the past. Doctor Manette was wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years without trial by the aristocratic authorities.
-
-
it's the singer not the song*
- By Maynard on 11-09-13
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Grace of Kings
- The Dandelion Dynasty
- By: Ken Liu
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 21 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of friends after a series of adventures fighting against vast conscripted armies, silk-draped airships, and shapeshifting gods.
-
-
Unfortunately cannot recommend
- By Eric on 05-21-16
By: Ken Liu
-
Cage of Souls
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 23 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The sun is bloated, diseased, dying perhaps. Beneath its baneful light, Shadrapar, last of all cities, harbours fewer than 100,000 human souls. Built on the ruins of countless civilisations, Shadrapar is a museum, a midden, an asylum, a prison on a world that is ever more alien to humanity. Bearing witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new is Stefan Advani: rebel, outlaw, prisoner, survivor.
-
-
Slow Start, Strong Finish
- By Jacob McCollum on 05-01-23
-
A Gentleman in Moscow
- A Novel
- By: Amor Towles
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.
-
-
A Reprieve Amidst Ugly News, Relentless Negativity
- By Cathy Lindhorst on 08-27-17
By: Amor Towles
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Richard Armitage
- Length: 36 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between his work on the 2014 Audible Audiobook of the Year, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: A Novel, and his performance of Classic Love Poems, narrator Richard Armitage ( The Hobbit, Hannibal) has quickly become a listener favorite. Now, in this defining performance of Charles Dickens' classic David Copperfield, Armitage lends his unique voice and interpretation, truly inhabiting each character and bringing real energy to the life of one of Dickens' most famous characters.
-
-
A PERFECT narration of an English classic!
- By Wayne on 09-03-17
By: Charles Dickens
Critic reviews
"Kay has the uncanny ability to depict the grand sweep of historical events through the eyes of those living through them...What’s even more amazing is how through his careful rendering of character and environments we are drawn into this history...River of Stars is an exceptional piece of work.” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
“From whatever angle you approach it, River of Stars is a major accomplishment, the work of a master novelist in full command of his subject. It deserves the largest possible audience.” (The Washington Post)
Related to this topic
-
Children of Earth and Sky
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request - and possibly to do more - and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor's wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.
-
-
Deep Echoes of the Sarantine Mosaic
- By Sarah on 05-13-16
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Lions of Al-Rassan
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan - poet, diplomat, soldier - until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever.
-
-
Lots of drama
- By KH on 10-12-12
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Russka
- The Novel of Russia
- By: Edward Rutherfurd
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 39 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Russka is the story of four families who are divided by ethnicity but united in shaping the destiny of Russia. From a single riverside village situated at one of the country’s geographic crossroads, Russia’s Slav peasant origins are influenced by the Greco-Iranian, Khazar, Jewish, and Mongol invasions. Unified by this one place, the many cultures blend to form a rich and varied tapestry. Rutherfurd’s grand saga is as multifaceted as Russia itself.
-
-
Wonderful Historical Novel
- By Angelyn S. Furst on 10-22-12
-
Funeral Games
- A Novel of Alexander the Great
- By: Mary Renault
- Narrated by: Roger May
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-three, leaving behind an empire that stretched from Greece and Egypt to India.After Alexander's death in 323 B.C. his only direct heirs were two unborn sons and a simpleton half-brother. Every long-simmering faction exploded into the vacuum of power. Wives, distant relatives and generals all vied for the loyalty of the increasingly undisciplined Macedonian army. Most failed and were killed in the attempt.
-
-
Postmortem of an Empire and the Dream that United
- By James on 02-26-15
By: Mary Renault
-
A Shadow in Summer
- Long Price Quartet, Book 1
- By: Daniel Abraham
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The powerful city-state of Saraykeht is a bastion of peace and culture, a major center of commerce and trade. Its economy depends on the power of the captive spirit Seedless, an and at bound to the poet-sorcerer Heshai for life. Enter the Galts, an empire committed to laying waste to all lands with their ferocious army. Saraykeht has always been too strong for the Galts to attack, but now they see an opportunity.
-
-
REALLY Hard to Rate!
- By Trip Williams on 04-27-15
By: Daniel Abraham
-
Oath of Fealty
- Paladin's Legacy, Book 1
- By: Elizabeth Moon
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter follows her dream of becoming a hero out of legend by running away to join the army. Military life and warfare aren't anything like she imagined - yet she holds to both her duty and her dreams. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold tell of her rise to become the paladin who saves a kingdom. In this new trilogy, Paks's former comrades in Duke Phelan's Company assume new roles and the story turns to follow their adventures.
-
-
More Moon Magic
- By James on 04-20-10
By: Elizabeth Moon
-
Children of Earth and Sky
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request - and possibly to do more - and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor's wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.
-
-
Deep Echoes of the Sarantine Mosaic
- By Sarah on 05-13-16
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Lions of Al-Rassan
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan - poet, diplomat, soldier - until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever.
-
-
Lots of drama
- By KH on 10-12-12
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Russka
- The Novel of Russia
- By: Edward Rutherfurd
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 39 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Russka is the story of four families who are divided by ethnicity but united in shaping the destiny of Russia. From a single riverside village situated at one of the country’s geographic crossroads, Russia’s Slav peasant origins are influenced by the Greco-Iranian, Khazar, Jewish, and Mongol invasions. Unified by this one place, the many cultures blend to form a rich and varied tapestry. Rutherfurd’s grand saga is as multifaceted as Russia itself.
-
-
Wonderful Historical Novel
- By Angelyn S. Furst on 10-22-12
-
Funeral Games
- A Novel of Alexander the Great
- By: Mary Renault
- Narrated by: Roger May
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-three, leaving behind an empire that stretched from Greece and Egypt to India.After Alexander's death in 323 B.C. his only direct heirs were two unborn sons and a simpleton half-brother. Every long-simmering faction exploded into the vacuum of power. Wives, distant relatives and generals all vied for the loyalty of the increasingly undisciplined Macedonian army. Most failed and were killed in the attempt.
-
-
Postmortem of an Empire and the Dream that United
- By James on 02-26-15
By: Mary Renault
-
A Shadow in Summer
- Long Price Quartet, Book 1
- By: Daniel Abraham
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The powerful city-state of Saraykeht is a bastion of peace and culture, a major center of commerce and trade. Its economy depends on the power of the captive spirit Seedless, an and at bound to the poet-sorcerer Heshai for life. Enter the Galts, an empire committed to laying waste to all lands with their ferocious army. Saraykeht has always been too strong for the Galts to attack, but now they see an opportunity.
-
-
REALLY Hard to Rate!
- By Trip Williams on 04-27-15
By: Daniel Abraham
-
Oath of Fealty
- Paladin's Legacy, Book 1
- By: Elizabeth Moon
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter follows her dream of becoming a hero out of legend by running away to join the army. Military life and warfare aren't anything like she imagined - yet she holds to both her duty and her dreams. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold tell of her rise to become the paladin who saves a kingdom. In this new trilogy, Paks's former comrades in Duke Phelan's Company assume new roles and the story turns to follow their adventures.
-
-
More Moon Magic
- By James on 04-20-10
By: Elizabeth Moon
-
Lavinia
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Highly acclaimed author Ursula K. Le Guin lends a resonant voice to a pivotal yet often overlooked character of Vergil's The Aeneid. Born into peace and freedom, Lavinia is stunned to learn that she will be the cause of a great war - or so the prophecies and omens claim. Her fate is sealed, however, when she meets a man from Troy.
-
-
Fascinatingly well written
- By Kennet on 03-11-09
-
Fire from Heaven
- A Novel of Alexander the Great
- By: Mary Renault
- Narrated by: Roger May
- Length: 18 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander's beauty, strength and defiance were apparent from birth, but his boyhood honed those gifts into the makings of a king. His mother, Olympias, and his father, King Philip of Macedon, fought each other for their son's loyalty, teaching Alexander politics and vengeance from the cradle. His love for the youth Hephaistion taught him trust, while Aristotle's tutoring provoked his mind and Homer's Iliad fuelled his aspirations.
-
-
Renewed Pleasure
- By James on 01-28-15
By: Mary Renault
-
Magdalen Rising
- The Beginning
- By: Elizabeth Cunningham
- Narrated by: Heather O'Neill
- Length: 16 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Magdalen and Jesus, brimming with youthful charm and arrogance, find each other and fall in love, forging a bond that is stronger than death. Their pleasure is overshadowed by a brilliant but unbalanced druid who knows a perilous secret about Maeve's past. The prequel to The Passion of Mary Magdalen.
-
-
The Story as Maeve meant you to hear it!
- By Elizabeth Cunningham on 07-27-15
-
The Ruby in Her Navel
- By: Barry Unsworth
- Narrated by: Andrew Sachs
- Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thurstan, a young Norman and would-be Knight at the Court of King Roger in Palermo, has been in love since boyhood with Lady Alicia, now returned a widow from the Holy Land. Thurstan soon finds himself caught in a tangle of plots.
-
-
A Well-Earned Five Stars for this Gem
- By Ilana on 12-11-14
By: Barry Unsworth
-
The Skystone
- Camulod Chronicles, Book 1
- By: Jack Whyte
- Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everyone knows the story-how Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, how Camelot came to be, and about the power struggles that ultimately destroyed Arthur's dreams. But what of the time before Arthur and the forces that created him?
-
-
Fascinating new series
- By Jim R. Whitt Jr. on 08-27-13
By: Jack Whyte
-
The Songs of the Kings
- By: Barry Unsworth
- Narrated by: Andrew Sachs
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A thoroughly modern tale of politics, spin-doctoring, and media manipulation. As the harsh wind holds the Greek fleet trapped in the straits at Aulis, frustration and political impotence turn into a desire for the blood of a young and innocent woman - blood that will appease the gods and allow the troops to set sail. And when Iphigeneia, Agamemnon's beloved daughter, is brought to the coast under false pretences, it looks as if the ships will soon be on their way.
-
-
The politics of power haven't changed.
- By susan on 12-06-12
By: Barry Unsworth
-
The Dark Mirror
- Bridei Trilogy #1
- By: Juliet Marillier
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 24 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One bitter Midwinter's Eve, everything changes when Bridei finds a child on their doorstep - a child abandoned by the Fair Folk. It is the height of ill fortune to have truck with the Fair Folk, and all in the area counsel the babe's death. But Bridei sees an old and precious magic at work and, heedless of the danger, fights to save the child. Broichan is wary but relents, for Bridei must grow to be his own man and make his own decisions.
-
-
disappointing
- By Binia on 11-18-08
By: Juliet Marillier
-
The Memoirs of Mary, Queen of Scots
- By: Carolly Erickson
- Narrated by: Rebekah Germain
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born Queen of Scotland, married as a young girl to the invalid young King of France, Mary took the reins of the unruly kingdom of Scotland as a young widow and fought to keep her throne. A second marriage to her handsome but dissolute cousin Lord Darnley ended in murder and scandal, while a third marriage to the dashing, commanding Lord Bothwell, the love of her life, gave her joy but widened the scandal and surrounded her with enduring ill repute.
-
-
Fiction being the key word
- By Bonnie-Ann B on 09-25-09
By: Carolly Erickson
-
Battle of Kings
- By: M. K. Hume
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the town of Segontium a wild storm washes a fugitive ashore. He brutally rapes the granddaughter of the ruler of the Deceangli tribe, leaving her to bear his son, Myrddion Merlinus (Merlin). Spurned as a demon seed, the child is raised by his grandmother and, as soon as he turns nine, he is apprenticed to a skilled alchemist who hones the boy’s remarkable gift of prophecy. Meanwhile, the High King of the Britons, Vortigern, is rebuilding the ancient fortress at Dinas Emrys.
-
-
Underrated book author and narrator!
- By Zachary on 04-15-22
By: M. K. Hume
-
Shaman's Crossing, Book One of the Soldier Son Trilogy
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hugo and Nebula Award finalist Robin Hobb crafts intricate fantasy tales featuring larger-than-life characters and exotic landscapes. Nevare Burvelle survives the King’s Cavalla Academy—where nepotism and corruption reign—to become a soldier in the Gernian king’s army. As he and his fellow soldiers are thrust onto the front lines of the king’s brutal territorial expansion campaign, they struggle against the Plainspeople—forest-dwellers who possess a powerful magic long dismissed by the Gernians.
-
-
Sometimes Magic Isn't A Good Thing
- By Therese M. Woolley on 10-18-13
By: Robin Hobb
-
The Tiger's Daughter
- By: K Arsenault Rivera
- Narrated by: Caroline McLaughlin
- Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Hokkaran Empire has conquered every land within their bold reach - but failed to notice a lurking darkness festering within the people. Now their border walls begin to crumble, and villages fall to demons swarming out of the forests. Away on the silver steppes, the remaining tribes of nomadic Qorin retreat and protect their own, having bartered a treaty with the empire, exchanging inheritance through the dynasties. It is up to two young warriors, raised together across borders since their prophesied birth, to save the world from the encroaching demons.
-
-
Writing format that didn't work for this book
- By kara-karina on 02-24-18
-
Black Wolves
- By: Kate Elliott
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 28 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He lost his honor long ago. Captain Kellas was lauded as the king's most faithful servant until the day he failed in his duty. Dismissed from service, his elite regiment disbanded, he left the royal palace and took up another life. Now a battle brews within the palace that threatens to reveal deadly secrets and spill over into open war. The king needs a loyal soldier to protect him. Can a disgraced man ever be trusted?"
-
-
Very engaging. Can't wait for book 2
- By Claudia Alderman on 01-15-16
By: Kate Elliott
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Under Heaven
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under Heaven takes listeners to Tang dynasty China, where the son of an honored general has received an unheard of gift: 250 Sardian horses. But this is a prize men would, and will, kill for.
-
-
One of my favorite by my favorite historical fantasy author
- By KBergin on 10-03-20
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Sailing to Sarantium
- Book One of the Sarantine Mosaic
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Berny Clark
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Crispin is a mosaicist, a layer of bright tiles. Still grieving for the family he lost to the plaque, he lives only for his arcane craft. But an imperial summons from Valerius the Trakesian to Sarantium, the most magnificent place in the world, is difficult to resist. In a world half-wild and tangled with magic, a journey to Sarantium means a walk into destiny. Bearing with him a deadly secret and a Queen's seductive promise, guarded only by his own wits and a talisman from an alchemist's treasury, Crispin sets out for the fabled city. Along the way he will encounter a great beast.
-
-
Can't give a fair rating
- By Alyssa B. Goss on 10-16-15
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
All the Seas of the World
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Excellent from beginning to end
- By L. Williams on 07-06-22
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
A Brightness Long Ago
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count - and soon learned why that man was known as the Beast.
-
-
Another Masterpiece from Mr. Kay
- By Craig Cassar on 06-01-19
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Children of Earth and Sky
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request - and possibly to do more - and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor's wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.
-
-
Deep Echoes of the Sarantine Mosaic
- By Sarah on 05-13-16
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Lions of Al-Rassan
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan - poet, diplomat, soldier - until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever.
-
-
Lots of drama
- By KH on 10-12-12
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Under Heaven
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Under Heaven takes listeners to Tang dynasty China, where the son of an honored general has received an unheard of gift: 250 Sardian horses. But this is a prize men would, and will, kill for.
-
-
One of my favorite by my favorite historical fantasy author
- By KBergin on 10-03-20
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Sailing to Sarantium
- Book One of the Sarantine Mosaic
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Berny Clark
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Crispin is a mosaicist, a layer of bright tiles. Still grieving for the family he lost to the plaque, he lives only for his arcane craft. But an imperial summons from Valerius the Trakesian to Sarantium, the most magnificent place in the world, is difficult to resist. In a world half-wild and tangled with magic, a journey to Sarantium means a walk into destiny. Bearing with him a deadly secret and a Queen's seductive promise, guarded only by his own wits and a talisman from an alchemist's treasury, Crispin sets out for the fabled city. Along the way he will encounter a great beast.
-
-
Can't give a fair rating
- By Alyssa B. Goss on 10-16-15
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
All the Seas of the World
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Excellent from beginning to end
- By L. Williams on 07-06-22
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
A Brightness Long Ago
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a chamber overlooking the nighttime waterways of a maritime city, a man looks back on his youth and the people who shaped his life. Danio Cerra's intelligence won him entry to a renowned school even though he was only the son of a tailor. He took service at the court of a ruling count - and soon learned why that man was known as the Beast.
-
-
Another Masterpiece from Mr. Kay
- By Craig Cassar on 06-01-19
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Children of Earth and Sky
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request - and possibly to do more - and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor's wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.
-
-
Deep Echoes of the Sarantine Mosaic
- By Sarah on 05-13-16
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Lions of Al-Rassan
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 19 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan - poet, diplomat, soldier - until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever.
-
-
Lots of drama
- By KH on 10-12-12
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Last Light of the Sun
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 17 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bern Thorkellson, punished for his father’s sins, denied his heritage and home, commits an act of vengeance and desperation that brings him face-to-face with a past he’s been trying to leave behind...In the Anglcyn lands of King Aeldred, the shrewd king, battling inner demons all the while, shores up his defenses with alliances and diplomacy - and with swords and arrows. Meanwhile his exceptional, unpredictable sons and daughters give shape to their own desires when battle comes and darkness falls in the spirit wood...
-
-
Not your typical Viking saga :)
- By Sterling Sweeney on 07-19-22
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
The Summer Tree
- Fionavar Tapestry, Book 1
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two-time Aurora Award-winning author Guy Gavriel Kay has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award three times. In the first book of his Fionavar Tapestry series, five college students meet a wizard who takes them to the heart of the first of all worlds - a place called Fionavar. The students soon discover that they have been pre-ordained as part of the pattern called the Fionavar Tapestry - and if they don't fulfill their destinies, the world will suffer devastating consequences.
-
-
My favorite trilogy.
- By NZDreamin on 02-10-21
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
A Song for Arbonne
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The lands of Arbonne and Gorhaut are on the verge of an all-consuming conflict. When a devious high priest of Gorhaut seizes the opportunity to wage a holy war against residents of Arbonne, an epic clash between the two cultures ensues.
-
-
Beautiful, moving, full of suspence and adventure
- By Efrat Kotzer Hassid on 07-22-20
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Tigana
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eight of the nine Palm provinces of the Peninsula have been overcome by warrior sorcerers Brandin and Alberico. But the sorcerers don't know that a small band of survivors is plotting their removal. With tensions mounting, the sorcerers become increasingly at odds as each decides where his own path - and that of the land - should truly lie.
-
-
A little self-indulgent
- By Diana M. on 05-31-20
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Written on the Dark
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Length: 18 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the internationally bestselling author of Tigana, All the Seas of the World, and A Brightness Long Ago comes a sweeping new novel of love and war that brilliantly evokes the drama and turbulence of medieval France.
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
-
Ysabel
- A Novel
- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ysabel is a contemporary fantasy that centers on the Saint-Sauveur Cathedral of Aix-en-Provence, where a 15-year-old boy accompanies his father on a photo shoot. Befriending a whip-smart American girl and confronting a knife-wielding maniac, the boy finds that the ancient site shimmers with mysteries of fantastical design.
-
-
Beautiful YA
- By Amazon Customer on 08-24-24
By: Guy Gavriel Kay
What listeners say about River of Stars
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Christine Dowd "CD"
- 12-02-21
River of Stars
River of Stars is beautifully written and profoundly lyrical. Guy Kay seamlessly weaves history and fantasy in this story which takes place in a long ago empire torn by war. Kay develops memorable characters that come vividly to life on the page. His prose is elegant, poetic, powerful. His plot twists and turns surprise always. Finally, through the beauty of his writing, the intriguing plot structure, he makes you question and think.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 05-16-13
Familiarity does not breed contempt.
What did you love best about River of Stars?
Kay is one of those writers who is extremely deliberate. Call it meta-writing, but there is so much more to his novels than what is on the page. When he repeats himself, it's not because he's run out of words nor because he's not paying attention, it's for a purpose, whether one realizes it while reading or not.
What was one of the most memorable moments of River of Stars?
Every victory of a main character is unexpected, although not because of surprise, but rather that the reader knows that Kay has no problem keeping his characters from "winning." At least, not storybook success, anyway. Oft times it is a spiritual or historical success, not what one would find from a typical narrative. Most fantasy stories are comedies, either ending with a return to the green world or a wedding. Kay does tragedy the way tragedy should be done, wherein it is only when one thinks back upon the original goals of the characters does one realize that they have failed. Failed is the wrong word. Descended? Found a different goal amidst adversity? Anywho, Kay's tragedies are more Shakespearean than sad, and more immersive than escapist. You can get lost in his writing, but not so much in the world he has created but instead within the hearts and minds of his characters. It's not all touchy-feely, though, and there's plenty of blood and guts to remind the reader of the fragility of the human body as well as the timelessness of the human soul.
Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Yes. Comparable.
If you could take any character from River of Stars out to dinner, who would it be and why?
The Fox Woman, for obvious reasons.
Any additional comments?
Kay does royal court politics like nobody else. If there's one thing that's hard to believe, it's the idea that one extremely-intelligent character could be oblivious to the machinations of another extremely-intelligent character. Hard, but not impossible. Kay does a great job of explaining motivation from both the characters' point-of-view as well as from that of outside observers.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- William Simkiss
- 01-11-22
Such an amazing story!
I never cease to wonder at the richness of Guy Kay’s writing, his tales of court intrigue, the beauty of real lives. And the glory of my favourite narrator doing his books. Simon Vance is the best at bringing out the subtleties of Kay’s books. A take set in ancient alt-China, to allow him as always to have his take on the story, to let it go where he wants to take it. Along the way, you learn the culture and customs of the day, the morals and virtues, pleasures and vices. The history of the State and the Army, and the tensions between. You interact with the Spirit world, and its effect on the natural world. All with a natural grace and smoothness that seems effortless.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Reviews by L
- 06-11-15
A master at his craft
What made the experience of listening to River of Stars the most enjoyable?
Simon Vance's unique take on characters.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Ren Daiyan, obviously. Well-developed, three-dimensional, complex... everything for a thinking person to chew over when reading this novel.
What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?
Virtually everything. He's absolutely on of the best narrators out there.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No, my emotions never wavered too much from amusement and satisfaction with Kay's prose.
Any additional comments?
Guy Kay is a master of fantasy masquerading as historical fiction, and "River of Stars" does not seem him break his streak of wonderful books.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 08-06-18
Beautiful epic
I loved this epic story of a tumultuous time in China's history. I couldn't wait to listen to how the story unfolded! As far as I can tell, most of the major events in the book are true to history, with some fantasy elements thrown in. The characters are interesting, and Simon Vance's narration is wonderful as always.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Allan H. Langille
- 07-27-19
Guy Gavriel Kay + Simon Vance = 5 STARS [ALWAYS]
This 400 year sequel to UNDER HEAVEN is actually worthy of 6 STARS, as I found it the slightly more entertaining of two, likely due to it's superior military component which was a tad lax in the first iteration.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andrew
- 09-01-13
Great Listen
This was an interesting story and very enlightening, the author creates a portal into China's Southern Song Dynasty, making the book a must read for any history buffs interested in this time period.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- KBergin
- 05-02-21
Another marvel
Guy Gavriel Kay is my favorite historical fantasy author, and this beautiful novel only adds to my reverence of his talents. Beautiful worldbuilding, meticulous plotting, and stunning characterizations are the complement one comes to expect from his books.
In River of Stars, he has created a rich tapestry encompassing two very different empires at war. It’s a brutal tale in many ways, filled with the elegant and cruel machinations of an advanced Chinese court culture that is willing to do anything to support its imperial caste and a, one could say, more honest, northern tribal “barbarian” culture, bloodthirsty and without any respect for what they see as a decadent, effete enemy.
Kay has also given the reader two of my favorite heroes—one a female poet, the other a nonpareil warrior and poet—both Chinese, whose unlikely love story thrills the spirit and breaks the heart. But they are only the central pair in a huge cast of deeply human and deeply drawn characters.
Read this book and be in awe.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robin
- 01-04-14
Poetic but disconnected
Kay is one of my favorite authors and his poetic style is good for audio. However, there were some odd things about this book. The hero is seen in a certain role and suddenly he appears in a different one with very little or no explanation and this happens several times. There's an incident in his youth that makes him what he is and that is never shown and only alluded to very generally. On the other hand some scenes and conversations are repeated several times, so that Character A & B converse, later Character A remembers it, then Character B remembers it in the same words, and so on. Simon Vance does a good job but it is hard to keep straight all the Chinese names and families without any list or family tree to refer to. I think this wouldn't be the best introduction to this author unless you really are interested in Chinese history. The amount of fantasy is very small and could be explained away, it's really more of an alternative history
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- M. Walter Raymond
- 09-07-16
yet another great Kay story
yet another great Kay story yet another great Kay story yet another great Kay storyyet another great Kay story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!