Review: Written on the Dark, by Guy Gavriel Kay
Guy Gavriel Kay
354 pages
Release: May 27, 2025
ISBN 9780593953983
Publisher: Penguin Random House
A new novel in Guy Gavriel Kay’s shared world, Written on the Dark offers a lush and evocative story set in a France-like setting during the 100 Years War, and often references the stories in Sailing to Sarantium and others.
GGK is a well-known and much-beloved Canadian writer of fantasy fiction, having penned 17 novels, a collection of poetry, and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2014 for his contributions to the field of speculative fiction as an internationally celebrated author.
The marketing blurb:
Thierry Villar is a well-known—even notorious— tavern poet, familiar with the rogues and shadows of that world, but not at all with courts and power. He is an unlikely person, despite his quickness, to be caught up in the deadly contests of ambitious royals, assassins, and invading armies.
But he is indeed drawn into all these things on a savagely cold night in his beloved city of Orane. And so Thierry must use all the intelligence and charm he can muster as political struggles merge with a decades-long war to bring his country to the brink of destruction.
As he does, he meets his poetic equal in an aristocratic woman and is drawn to more than one unsettling person with a connection to the world beyond this one. He also crosses paths with an extraordinary young woman driven by voices within to try to heal the ailing king—and help his forces in war. A wide and varied set of people from all walks of life take their places in the rich tapestry of this story.
Over the years, I’ve read every single novel Kay has written, from the Fionavar Tapestry (my least favourite), what remains my heart-shattering favourite, Tigana, and through all the other remarkable and memorable tales he’s woven.
Written on the Dark offers up an alternate history during the time of the Battle of Agincourt of 1415, and for those who remain inspired by Henry V’s stunning victory on that field of battle, they may find themselves a bit at odds with the direction in which Kay takes that remarkable bit of history.
That aside, the characters with which Kay populates this new story are, as always, very real, very believable, saturated with emotion, purpose, and heroism albeit often reluctant. His ability to evoke all the sensory palette for his readers remains top of the game, a true story-teller’s art, with writing that is lush, precise, and deeply moving, without the blowsy, overblown use of prosetry.
Plot and tension move along extremely well, with nary a moment during which this reader felt compelled to go find something else to do. I wanted to simply sink into this damned good story, utterly enthralled, which for me was a refreshing reprieve from much of what’s occupied me this past six months. And try as I might, I can find no flaw with which to quibble, other than to say you’re going to need to find someplace comfortable to read this mesmerizing new novel from Guy Gavriel Kay.