Under Heaven

Under Heaven
by Guy Gavriel Kay
Penguin, 2010. 567 pgs. Fantasy.

Shen Tai hears ghosts each night at Kuala Nor, site of the last great battle between his countrymen and the Tagurans. As a memorial to his father, Tai has come here to bury the bones of the dead, and to give their spirits peace. The Kitans on one side, and the Tagurans on the other, honor his work and bring him supplies, and it is the Tagurans who bring him news of an extraordinary gift: 250 Sardian horses from the White Jade Princess. Tai knows this extraordinary gift will either make his fortune or get him killed instantly and thus begins Kay's atmospheric, alternative Tang Dynasty epic replete with court intrigues, Kalin warriors, silent assassins, and a man made nearly undead by a frightening shaman. One thinks at the outset that this will be an adventure with horses, but the horses themselves barely figure into the plots to get them and the shifting relationships of family, the power struggles of the mandarins of the court, the loves won and lost, the unlikely friendships of memorable characters. In the end, Under Heaven is an historical, fantastical romance, the whole of which is much greater than the sum of its parts. If the reader can sit up and pay attention so as to keep the panoply of players straight, and overlook the author's wearying fixations on lovemaking and winebibbing, the story itself is rewarding and memorable, and the characters become very dear.