A Song for Arbonne, by Guy Gavriel Kay: **7/8

This is a solid fantasy novel by one of the genre's best craftsmen. I hadn't read any fantasy in a while prior to this book (a year), and that had been when I read through Kay's Summer Tree series and Tigana, both of which I liked better than this book. At the time, I didn't have any friends reading fantasy, so no new recommendations were coming my way. Also, I wasn't really a big-time internet guy yet, so I couldn't find out about new novels online. So when I needed a good escapist fantasy experience, I went straight to Kay, and picked up this book because it was the only one of his at the store that I hadn't yet read. Of his books, Tigana is the only one for me that is completely transcendent as a masterwork, and I like the Summer Tree series better than this because it's richer and longer. But Kay is a master crafstman whose books I have consistently enjoyed, and A Song for Arbonne is no exception.

The land of Arbonne was a fun one to hang around in for a while, with kings and mistrels and damsels and battles, though I generally like my fantasy experiences to be grander in scope. Kay's prose is enjoyable as always, though, and his imaginary worlds always have a unique flavor among fantasy novelists; there's a hint of Oriental cultures in his books - like Asian-fusion cuisine or something. For me, he is the sushi of fantasy novelists - even if just a mediocre sushi restaurant, sushi is still damn good. Plus, you know what you're going to get, and it will be easy to enjoy. For fans of Kay, this is a fine novel, and one that reads quickly and enjoyably, with his standard good characters and rich atmosphere. For readers new to Kay's work, I would recommend starting with Tigana.
(summer 1999)

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