Mortification Scale: 1 Tomato Face
- 1 TF for being shelved in the SciFi section
- an excellent account of Viking, Anglo-Saxon and Welsh history as it might have been
- great research on Celtic mythology
- a fairly good story
A young Viking boy steals a horse that had been dedicated to the funeral pyre of the governor of his island. This leads him to become a member of a band of Viking mercenaries. Another boy goes on a cattle raid with his brother, cousin, and a few friends. This leads to his brother's death and his involvement with the politics of the day. 20 years in the past, another boy hides in the marshes, battling both fever and Viking invaders, until he succeeds in defeating the invaders and reclaiming his kingdom.
Set in the same world as the Byzantine Mosaic and the Lions of al-Rassan, The Last Light of the Sun is set in the barbaric North among the Vikings, the Welsh, and the Anglo-Saxons. It is another epic story involving about 8 main characters with opposing cultures, histories, and goals. This is also one of the more fantasy oriented of Kay's books. Here there are fairies, and ghosts and a great Celtic beast of the forest that reminded me of Michelle West's Hunter Duology.
I didn't like this book as much as the Lions of al-Rassan (which I LOVED), but it was a good book with a great deal of careful research. I'd recommend it!
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