One of the great things about having met a book deadline is that one can then (for at least a few hours) put one’s feet up and relax with a good book—a story, what’s more, written by someone other than oneself!

In my 1 May post on the Supernatural Underground I talked about ‘comfort reads’: returning to those books that are like old friends. Returning to an author you have liked before, although with a new book, can be a similar process—you hope for that “old friend” feeling of a writing style that you love; the familiar magic of a tale well told. Guy Gavriel Kay has been one of those authors for me for some time now—I love the poetry and High Romantic style of his Fionavar trilogy (The Summer Tree; The Wandering Fire; The Longest Road) and his first standalone, Tigana, is probably one of my favourite books. I also very much enjoyed A Song for Arbonne and The Lions of Al-Rassan. Some of his more recent works have disappointed me a little, however, so it was with some trepidation that I treated myself to a very nice trade paperback edition of his latest novel, Under Heaven.

Firstly, I loved the cover, and although one may not judge a book by its cover, one that ‘speaks’ to you and draws you in is always a great help! And I liked the blurb a lot:

“Honour is Beyond Measure

But It’s Price May Be An Empire …

For two years Shen Tai has mourned his celebrated father and lived like a hermit beyond the borders of the Kitan Empire. There, by a mountain lake, the bones of the soldiers killed in great battles between the Kitai and the Tagurans lie unburied and their wailing ghosts strike terror into the living.

… (Now) … Tai will be given two hundred and fifty Sardian horses by the Tagurans, legendary steeds from the far west, as a reward for his courage and piety … to give a man even one of the famed Sardians is to honour him greatly; to give him so many 1s a reward which would overwhelm an emperor, and could be Tai’s death warrant.”

I am about halfway through currently and I am very happy to say that I am really enjoying the read—this is definitely Guy Gavriel Kay at his best: rich storytelling, subtleties of plot and great characterization. And for those of you who like a little bit of romance with your epic adventuring and game of kingdoms, there is at least one very nice one here to be enjoyed.

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Helen Rickerby is a fellow Tuesday Poem Blog poet and My Iron Spine (Headworx) is her second collection of poetry. As those of you who follow my Tuesday Poem postings are probably aware by now, I am a huge admirer of Helen’s work and so had been meaning to buy My Iron Spine for ages. Recently I did just that and am finally starting to read it—and so far, I have to say, I love every poem I’ve read (I am about a 1/3 of the way through.)  Why? Well as a poet myself, I believe that Helen’s structure is very strong and her poems have emotional resonance as well as a great deal of wry humour. Definitely “I like” territory for the Lowe gal.