A boy’s dream drives River of Stars
Ancient Chinese rebellion is the setting for Guy Gavriel Kay’s 12th work of historical fantasy
River of Stars Guy Gavriel Kay Viking Canada $26.95
Guy Gavriel Kay is one of Canada’s most accomplished novelists with 12 books spanning a three-decade-long career. You will find his novels in the fantasy section at your favourite bookstore, but that label is not entirely correct. A more apt description would be “historical fantasy.” Consider it halfway between traditional fantasy like The Lord of the Rings, which involves a world completely distinct from our own, and historical fiction, where authors strive for verisimilitude within their chosen historical period and win favour from their readers for the level of historical accuracy they achieve.
Kay’s method, however, is to create his own imaginary version of a specific time and place in our history. His first such effort, Tigana (1990), took 15th-century Italy as its inspiration, and since then he has tackled medieval France (1992’s A Song for Arbonne), Spain under Islamic rule (1995’s The Lions of Al-Rassan), the Byzantine Empire (a two-book series entitled The Sarantine Mosaic made up of 1999’s Sailing to Sarantium and 2000’s Lord of Emperors), and the Viking invasion of England a millennium ago (2006’s The Last Light of the Sun).
River of Stars is his second novel set in Kitai, which is his spin on China. His 2010 novel, Under Heaven, roughly paralleled the An Lushan Rebellion of 755-763 AD. This conflict devastated China and effectively ended the Tang Dynasty, which, at its height, was “one of the most glittering and sophisticated civilizations that ever existed anywhere, any time,” as Kay put it when I interviewed him in 2010.
Kay’s new novel opens 300 years after the events of Under Heaven. The devastating An Li rebellion resulted in a staggering 40 million deaths because of fighting, famine and disease. Kitai is a shadow of what it once was: a strong and vibrant culture with a potent military and sophisticated aristocracy.
“No western treasures flowed to Kitai now, to the trading cities or the court of Hanjin. No legendary green-eyed, yellow-haired dancing girls bringing seductive music. …
“This Twelfth Dynasty of Kitai under their radiant and glorious emperor did not rule and define the known world. Not any more.”
Following the rebellion, so-called “barbarians” from the north, called the Xiaolu, breached the Long Wall and took control of the Fourteen Prefectures above the Golden River, demanding annual tributes in silk and silver in exchange for not attempting to conquer more. Kitai’s imperial court disparages military accomplishments because of what a strong military did to the once great empire.
“They grew the nails on the little fingers of their left hands to show the world how much they disdained such things, and they kept the army commanders firmly under their thumbs. They chose military leaders from their own cultured ranks.”
But one 15-year-old boy from a remote western village has an unlikely dream of regaining honour and glory for Kitai. Ren Daiyan has spent the past two years training with bamboo swords and a bow given to him by a departing teacher who saw something special in him. Admittedly, his ambition to be “one of the great men of his day” is extremely unlikely in a culture that puts far more value on the jinshi, or civil service tests, than an ability to fight — especially since the only teacher in his village is now gone.
All that changes when Daiyan finds himself an unlikely member of an honour guard accompanying a magistrate to investigate a crime in a nearby village. When bandits waylay their party on the road, he reacts instinctively, and kills all seven. Changed forever, his destiny seemingly mapped out, he walks into the woods where he spends the next few years mastering the warrior’s craft among the bandits. He returns years later as the honourable leader of men he has picked from the bandits to help him restore Kitai’s lost glory. His determination to “never forget our rivers and mountains lost” seems to be undeniable.
Paralleling his story is that of Lin Shan, who has been educated by her father as only males are in her era — when most women do not even learn to read and write, she is a gifted calligrapher and songwriter. Her father, a respected scholar on the fringe of the imperial court, wisely arranges a marriage for her with an ideal partner who will not be intimidated by her rare talents, a man who is more interested in searching out and unearthing archeological treasures from Kitai’s gloried past. But when her path crosses Ren Daiyan’s, the two are drawn together irrevocably.
Spoiler alert: Normally, I try not to reveal too much in book reviews, but in this case, the only way I can make my main point about this book is to discuss its ending. So if you really don’t want to know what happens, skip to the final paragraph.
Daiyan quickly rises through the ranks to become commander of a large force as war approaches from the north. Although his cutting-edge tactics lead to great victories where defeat seems inevitable, he does not control the entire army, and ultimately, he is betrayed just when victory seems within his reach.
River of Stars exhibits all of Guy Gavriel Kay’s many strengths as a writer: characterization, plotting, dialogue, poetry, the intricacies of the imperial court, and exciting battle scenes — all of these aspects will keep you immersed through 600-plus pages. In the end, however, I found this book disappointing. The protagonist’s failure to succeed was part of the reason, but even though Under Heaven also ended with military failure, the main character there had more control throughout, and that book seemed more complete and successful, with something bigger and more important being stated. Here, it feels like the various parts, although interesting by themselves, just don’t add up to anything greater.
In any case, Kay’s fans will probably not be too disappointed with River of Stars, and I guarantee you I will be excited in a few years when he returns with his 13th novel.