Rating: 
Summary: Richly crafted
Review: I read "Lord of Emperors" in two days. I thoroughly enjoyed "Sailing to Sarantium" and gave it five stars without hesitation; I think its sequel surpassed it in many ways. The novel is not only concerned with many of the old friends from the first one (Caius Crispus the mosaicist, Scortius the charioteer, the imperial couple Valerius and Alixana) but also introduces us to new characters (the physican Rustem and his family) and gives us more information about lives that had previously only been glimpsed (Kyros the cook's apprentice, Pardos the mosaicist, Shirin the dancer, the family of the senator Plautus Bonosus). As in all of his books, Kay is able to paint a richly detailed picture of each of his characters, even those that don't figure importantly into the story. The plot, as in the first book, is full of scandal, secrets, politics, and emotions running wild. I never found the plot twists to be predictable, yet they never seemed arbitrary or unreal (a trap that too many authors fall into when they try not to be predictable). And for action fans - the chariot racing is simply stunning! This duology takes place in the same world as Kay's earlier novel "Lions of Al-Rassan". Although it is chronologically earlier, I would recommend reading the books in the order that they were published. There are several points (particularly near the end) that foreshadow the way the world is to become, that will only be appreciated by those who have already read "Lions" (also a fantastic book and highly recommended). Events in this novel do not always turn out the way that the reader's sense of justice would want them to, which is what makes Kay's writing so real. All of the main characters have "sailed to Sarantium" - they've embarked on life-altering adventures and come through irrevocably changed. Read "Sailing to Sarantium", and then read "Lord of Emperors". Kay provides a new interpretation of our own world's history that is worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful conclusion of "The Sarantine Mosaic"
Review: This novel is the second part in "The Sarantine Mosaic" and follows "Sailing To Sarantium". Once again we follow the mosaicist Crispin and a host of other characters in the city of Sarantium, which is Kay's fantasy equivalent of Byzantium. Some new characters are introduced, most notably the Bassanid (Arab) doctor Rustem. Like Crispin, he arrives in the city to exercise his craft, but he also becomes entangled in the web of political and personal rivalries. Rustem's son, Shaski, provides one of the closest links to Kay's previous novels "The Lions of Al-Rassan". I enjoyed this novel even more than its already brilliant predecessor. The characters continue to flesh out. The plot becomes more and more complex. The conclusion of the novel is very satisfying, although the epilogue, in my eyes, seems a bit rushed. All in all, this is another brilliant effort by one of the best fantasy writers on the scene today. If you're new to Guy Gavriel Kay and you enjoy fantasy, buy Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, and the novels mentioned in this review immediately!
Rating:
Summary: Sarantine Mosaic, Real or Imagined?
Review: If your type of fantasy is filled with swords and sorcery, non-stop action, and vivacious babes in see-through nighties, Sarantine mosaic is NOT for you. (Although there are a number of beautiful women in varying stages of undress.) Both Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors are more "literary" than your typical fantasy novel. Kay gives his characters well-formed personalities and doesn't shy away from moral or philosophical dilemmas they find themselves in. The Sarantine Mosaic reads more like Historical Fiction than fantasy. Kay's world is an imaginative alternative to the Eastern Roman Empire. It works well by replacing actual history with similar fantasy constructs. However, these constructs are usually different enough to avoid confusion. I disagree with the editorial review that claims this is a small story. It is a huge story. It is the story of Emperors and Kings and how history hinges on minor events and characters. Don't let the seemingly minor importance of the characters fool you, this is a big story. I would recommend Kay's books to any intelligent fantasy reader. They may not be non-stop action, but the pacing is quick and the suspense draws ever further into the mosaic Kay has created. Read the books together, as one Novel.
Rating:
Summary: Even Better than Sailing to Sarantium
Review: The second book of the Sarantine Mosaic was even better than the first. It is packed with action and suspense and the court intrigue gets...well, Byzantine. Of course the second book doesn't have the handicaps of the first; when you pick up "Lord of Emperors" up you already know all of the characters that were introduced in "Sailing to Sarantium" and can thus concentrate on the story instead of trying to remember who all of the people are. It is unusual in fantasy written by a man that the female characters should be so strong and multi-faceted, but Kay's the kind of author whom you can rely on to deliver interesting new things in each successive book. Read this book (after Book 1, of course) for a demonstration of original storytelling, beautiful writing, and suspense that'll have you holding your breath as you turn each page.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best, but worth reading..
Review: I was so excited to get this book...I have read everything by Kay so far and I love his work. I think he really goes well beyond being on of the best Fantasy writers...he's is one of the best writers out there, period. That said, I was somewhat disappointed with Lord of the Emperors. I thought that the first book, Sailing to Sarantium was a beautifully written , very subtle book. It had a real grasp of the characters: Crispin, of a difficult man and his passion for his art were depicted with great sensitivity and perception. You really could almost imagine what it felt like to be a mosaicist in Byzantium..it was so well written. In this sequel, I thought that many of the great tensions and stories set up by the first book were left somewhat unresolved (or should I say, not resolved to my satisfaction..).... Crispin is just all over the map, more political but somehow less believable...he has lost a lot of his depth as a character. The old man and his magical creatures play a wierd tangental role that is never fully explained. The pagan god, such a powerful image in the first book is mentioned in passing, but abandoned. The love affair blossoming between Crispin and the former slave also fizzles. Not the stuff that made Lions of Al Rassan so compelling. Much of the passion is lost. Frankly, one of the biggest disappointments were the women characters, who were pretty rigid, almost robotic (this from a writer who has written some of the absolute best female characters ever: sexy, smart and really engaging). One of the things that makes Kay's other novels so amazing is tha you find yourself caring deeply about the characters and their relationships to each other. Here, characters are introduced then abruptly discarded. People sleep together, but there is rarely a deepening of their love (with the exception of the Emperor and his Dancer, who have an amazing relationship...but again this is mostly explored in the first book). I know it is strange that despite all of these apparent criticisms, that I still think it is worth reading...but, I mean, how can you not? Kay is such an amazing writer and the first book was so good that I can't imagine that people who read it would NOT read the second one. I have to admit that if there were a third, I'd buy it right away. Go figure.
Rating:
Summary: A glory of sadness
Review: This truly is my favorite fantasy book, and the only one I've read that actually revealed *more* complexities and twists I hadn't previously noticed on rereading. It's hard to categorize, but "intense" would be a very good word. Description, action, emotion- almost everything about this book is intense, and sometimes hard to take. 'Lord of Emperors' opens immediately after the end of 'Sailing to Sarantium,' and doesn't spend all that much time explaining what's come before, so it would be a good idea not to read this one if you haven't read the first. (To take one example, there's one important unresolved question about the end of 'Sailing' that isn't mentioned at all until the middle of 'Lord,' and then only in passing). However, it does start out following the adventures of a new character, Rustem the physician, who is called to heal the King of Kings of a poisoned arrow, so this might cushion the shock a little. After Rustem, we return to the mosaicist's apprentice, Pardos, who has become upset with the slaughter in his home country and determined to follow Crispin to Sarantium. He stops along the way to repair a falling mosaic. This seems a minor detail at the time, but it becomes one of the few things that lessen the book's sadness at the end. And then the book sweeps into the story of the main characters- Crispin, Valerius II, the Empress Alixana, the charioteer Scortius, the dancer Shirin, Styliane Daleina- and doesn't stop. Kay proves here his mastery of constructing a complete world, one where the smallest of details both matter and highlight the landscape like the tiles of a mosaic. Words spoken at night in a bedchamber prove horribly prophetic a few hundred pages later. A young man's impulsive temper winds up getting not only him but a number of other people in trouble, with highly unpredictable results. And the two main events of the book, an intrigue that finally comes to fruition and a chariot race, take place right next to each other, meaning that the reader has no leisure to catch his breath; he's swept right along with everyone in the book, who can only react, and try to react in the proper way with incomplete knowledge. The ending of the book, though not as action-filled as the middle, does not yield on the intensity, though now the emotion is sadness in all its glory. Certain characters have failed in their attempts to achieve their goals, and the consequences of those failures are heartwrenching- especially when measured against the joy that others have achieved. Even though I had read the book before, on my latest rereading I found myself still caught by surprise at how much I grieved. And yet that thread of joy runs through the book, too, making the grief more poignant and providing a contrast that barely allows the reader's emotions to settle. The last scene of the book is- difficult. Depending on how you wanted to see a certain character end up, you may not like it. I happened to like it because it fit in with my vision for the character. But it does pull a double-punch, first with intense sadness for all that has been lost, and then showing the exaltation of what still remains. And that's all I can really say about it. In its own way, 'Lord of Emperors' echoes the sadness of Tolkien's Elves and their fading lands- but here the sadness is for the loss of mortal things, and of mortal lives, and not because of a Dark Lord but because of human emotions. In a way, this makes it even closer to the human heart, and the tears are as beautiful as laughter.
Rating:
Summary: 4.5 stars-- well-researched and graceful historical fantasy
Review: Kay's style has evolved significantly since the Fionavar Tapestry, and that evolution is evident in _Lord of Emperors_. I'd had some minor quarrels with the craft in the earlier books, and those are almost entirely gone after reading this. Unlike some other Kay fans, I found that I preferred this book to _Sailing to Sarantium_. The first book felt too much like a preface to me-- _Lord of Emperors_ feels more complete. I liked the introduction of the new characters and I didn't mind that the focus was a little bit less on Crispin. Some things possibly worth knowing before you buy this book: 1.
This is historical fantasy much more than a typical fantasy novel. Don't expect the magic to be central as it was in the Fionavar novels. Don't expect to see much magic at all, in fact. The book has more in common with _Prince of Foxes_ than it does with _Lord of the Rings_. 2.
The first book in the Mosaic was more about the characters. _Lord of Emperors_ is more about the game of thrones. If Crispin was the major reason you loved the first book, you may have some trouble with the second. I read an interview with Kay where he discusses the importance of research and talks about the details he employs subliminally reaching out to his audience. It's a good description of the effect. The most superb thing about the Sarantine Mosaic is the level of detail-- there are scenes that are still brightly sketched in my mind even a week after finishing reading. My one real quarrel is that I felt as though there were too many characters that I started to care about and lost track of during this second book. Even granted that this was more about the politics than the people, it still felt to me as though it could have been (should have been?) longer in order to accomodate a little bit more in the way of character arc.
Rating:
Summary: A sweeping work
Review: After reading The Sarantine Mosaic books for what may have been the 5th time, I feel that I truly must write a review. One should't tackle the books separately, the work best read in quick succession. Although I found Sailing to Sarantium a bit frustrating at first due to its complexities and the number of characters so quickly introduced, I was quickly swept into the vast and deeply moving story. Rereading the books is a must, as deeper complexities appear with each reading. While I have read and enjoyed all of Guy Gavriel Kay's books, this series remains far and away my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: A Decent Sequel
Review: "Lord of Emperors" is very different from what I expected it to be. The most disappointing facet of this sequel is that it focuses less on my two favorite characters, while the political intrigues in the city of Sarantium take center stage. While reading "Sailing to Sarantium", I thought that Crispin and Kasia were two of the most mesmerizing characters that I had ever seen in a fantasy novel. They both return in the sequel, but not very much attention gets paid to them. We do see a lot of the minor characters from "Sailing to Sarantium", including Scortius, Crescens, and Alixana. They spend much of the novel playing musical beds, while the Emperor and his enemies scheme for power, but I never really made the same emotional connections with any characters that I did in the original. I'm not saying that "Lord of Emperors" is a bad book. It's quite entertaining with many worthwhile scenes, including another dramatic chariot race and a huge surprise that sets up a beautiful ending. Kay's writing easily matches the high level that we've come to expect from him; his handling of dialogue, description, and emotion is exquisite. However, I feel that he could have done a better job of controlling the plot and of keeping it focused on the central characters.
Rating:
Summary: brilliant
Review: i admit that i have not read the fionovar tapestry series, but i have read the other Guy Gavriel Kay novels (Lions of Al-Rassan was my favorite until i read this) and have always been a big fan of his, but i was amazed at this book. i had some trouble getting into "sailing to Sarantium" althought once i did it was well worth it. but "lord of emperors" was nothing if not brilliant. Kay seamlessly weaves a wonderful and historical setting with his fascinating and mostly realistic intricacies of a royal court. but it is his characters that make the book - by the middle of the book i found myself gripping the cover in anticipation and i literally read from 10 o'clock at night until 2. the chariot race towards the end was pure excitement, and done with genius, considering i could visualize the entire sequence without difficulty - no easy feat. i smiled through tears at the end of the novel - the ending is both happy and tragic simultaneously, and decidedly resolved. hooray for "lord of emperors"!
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