A Brightness Long Ago
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A Brightness Long Ago
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Narrated by:
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Mr Simon Vance
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By:
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Guy Gavriel Kay
About this listen
Internationally best-selling author Guy Gavriel Kay's latest work is set in a world evoking early Renaissance Italy, with an extraordinary cast of characters.
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, 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.
Danio's fate changed the moment he recognised Adria Ripoli as she entered the count's chambers one night - intending to kill. Born to power, Adria had chosen a life of danger - and freedom - instead.
Other vivid figures share the story: a healer determined to defy her expected lot; a charming, frivolous son of immense wealth; a religious leader more decadent than devout; and, affecting these lives and many more, two mercenary commanders, whose rivalry puts a world in the balance.
A Brightness Long Ago offers both compelling drama and deeply moving reflections on the nature of memory, the choices we make in life, and the role played by the turning of Fortune's wheel.
©2019 Guy Gavriel Kay (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
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- Narrated by: Berny Clark
- Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 549
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 495
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 497
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.
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1 out of 5 stars
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- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 18 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 243
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 209
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 210
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.
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- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 180
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 151
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5 out of 5 stars
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By: Guy Gavriel Kay
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- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 520
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 442
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 440
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3 out of 5 stars
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Kay is a great writer, but there's a pattern...
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By: Guy Gavriel Kay
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- By: Guy Gavriel Kay
- Narrated by: Euan Morton
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Critic reviews
Praise for Guy Gavriel Kay: "The greatest living author of epic fantasy." (Brandon Sanderson)
"Contemporary fiction's finest fantasist." (Tor.com)
"One of the (if not the) premiere fantasists of our time." (The Financial Times)
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What listeners say about A Brightness Long Ago
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lia
- 06-14-19
Beautiful story, wonderfully read by Simon Vance
It may not be Guy Gavriel Kays best book, bit I dit love it. I listened it before I read id. What made the experience truly wonderful was the way it was read by Simon Vance. Het is a true storyteller.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- GlennC
- 08-07-22
A wonderful experience
Guy Gavriel Kay writes wonderful books and this audio book by Simon Vance enhances the experience. As usual I went through so many emotions listening to the story and the lives of the characters. No spoilers but one character who I loved was Adria Ripoli, how wonderful it would be to meet someone like her in real life.
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