Evoking Alfred the Great

I'm deeply absorbed in a novel for the first time in over a year. It's Guy Gavriel Kay's latest historical fantasy, The Last Light of the Sun (2004), based on Viking invasions of England and Wales during the 9th Century. Everything—places, personages, mythologies—is slightly altered, with connections made to the lands of previous novels: Arbonne (Provence), Al-Rassan (Spain) and Sarantium (Byzantium). Kay likes to weave a tapestry of many characters and story threads, third person omniscience in the extreme. It feels contrived, knowing the intimate thoughts of so many people, literally dozens, but this is fiction, of course. He has achieved greater subtlety here than in the Sarantium books. His writing has always been entertaining, though never as moving, perhaps, as in the Fionavar trilogy, which was not based on a real place. I notice Kay helped Christopher Tolkien edit The Silmarillion (Fionavar might be based on Middle-earth, if that counts as a real place). Also, he has an authorized website, Bright Weavings, including a blog about his next novel. Worth exploring.

Driving back from Lindsay Monday afternoon, I saw this field. Don't know how I missed noticing it on the way over.

I'm headed the same direction this afternoon, picking the girls up and continuing to the cottage to visit my parents. Everyone in Canada have a great long weekend, the rest of you a great weekend. Brenna and I will be back here Monday night.