"
Lord of Emperors" is the second part in the excellent
fantasy duology "
The Sarantine Mosaic" by
fantasy's Pride of
Canada,
Guy Gavriel Kay. The first half is "
Sailing To Sarantium".
Once again we follow the
mosaicist Crispin and a host of other characters in the city of
Sarantium, which is Kay's
fantasy equivalent of
Byzantium. Some new characters are introduced, most notably the Bassanid (
Arab) doctor Rustem. Like
Crispin, he arrives in the city to exercise his craft, but he also becomes entangled in the web of
political and personal rivalries. Rustem's son, Shaski, provides one of the closest links to Kay's previous novel "
The Lions of Al-Rassan".
"
Sailing to Sarantium" was already a brilliant effort, but in this
sequel the characters continue to flesh out and the plot becomes more and more complex. The conclusion of the
novel is very satisfying, and although the
epilogue, in my eyes, seems a bit rushed, this is still a brilliant effort by one of the best
fantasy writers on the scene today.