From Publishers Weekly
Based on the troubadour culture that rose in Provence during the High Middle Ages, this panoramic, absorbing novel beautifully creates an alternate version of the medieval world. As in Tigana , it is a world with two moons. The matriarchal, cultured land of Arbonne is rent by a feud between its two most powerful dukes, the noble troubador Bertran de Talair and Urte de Miraval, over long-dead Aelis, lover of one, wife of the other and once heir to the country's throne. To the north lies militaristic Gorhaut, whose inhabitants worship the militant god Corannos and are ruled by corrupt, womanizing King Ademar. His chief advisor, the high priest of Corannos, is bent on wiping out the worship of a female deity, whose followers live to the south. Into this cauldron of brewing disaster comes the mysterious Gorhaut mercenary Blaise, who takes service with Bertran and averts an attempt on his life. The revelation of Blaise's lineage and a claim for sanctuary by his sister-in-law set the stage for a brutal clash between the two cultures. Intertwined is the tale of a young woman troubadour whose role suggests the sweep of the drama to come. Kay creates a vivid world of love and music, magic and death in a realm that resembles ours but is just different enough to enrich the fantasy genre. 25,000 first printing; major ad/promo. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
The author of The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy-hailed by Andre Norton as "one of the very best...since Tolkien"-returns with a critically acclaimed fantasy of two endlessly opposed kingdoms: one ruled by men, the other by women.

About the Author
Guy Gavriel Kay is the author of Lord of Emperors, Sailing to Sarantium, The Lions of Al-Rasan, Tigana, and The Fionavar Tapestry (The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire, The Darkest Road). He was retained by J.R.R. Tolkien's estate to work with Christopher Tolkien in the reconstruction of the posthumously published Tolkien work, The Silmarillion. He has also written for numerous Canadian television programs.

ANNOTATION

Facing their darkest hour, the people of Arbonne must band together to save their country and themselves from invaders. This dazzling new fantasy from the author of Tigana is a novel of adventure and romance which draws its ambience and inspiration from medieval Provence.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A song for Arbonne is one of those rare novels that creates an entire world of its own, one which enfolds and enthralls us so strongly that we close its pages with a pang of regret. It is the finest novel so far from Guy Gavriel Kay, who has received international acclaim for his Fionavar Tapestry trilogy and the epic Tigana. The novel draws its ambience and inspiration from the sensuous culture of medieval Provence - the land of the troubadours and the courts of love. Arbonne is a sun-blessed country of vineyards and olive trees, and the home of a passionate, goddess-centered culture. To the north is Gorhaut, a dour Kingdom of warriors led by a cruel, misogynistic lord who sees Arbonne as ripe for the taking. One man is caught between the two: Blaise, a rough-hewn northern mercenary who serves, bemusedly, in the courts of the south. When the invaders sweep down from the mountains, the men and women of Arbonne face their darkest hour: They find the power of love and poetry tested against the might of fire and sword. And Blaise discovers that the fate of courtly Arbonne may lie in his rugged hands. This is a dazzling imaginary history peopled with a vibrant array of characters, from the sardonic Blaise to the haughty queen of the Court of Love, to a beautiful minstrel girl whose life is forever changed by a chance encounter in a tavern. In the richness and complexity of its setting, A Song for Arbonne calls to mind The Name of the Rose; in its passion and romance, The Mists of Avalon and in its pace and sweep, such classic adventures as Ivanhoe or The Three Musketeers. This is storytelling at its very best, a novel to be savored and passed on with pleasure to one's fellow readers.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Based on the troubadour culture that rose in Provence during the High Middle Ages, this panoramic, absorbing novel beautifully creates an alternate version of the medieval world. As in Tigana , it is a world with two moons. The matriarchal, cultured land of Arbonne is rent by a feud between its two most powerful dukes, the noble troubador Bertran de Talair and Urte de Miraval, over long-dead Aelis, lover of one, wife of the other and once heir to the country's throne. To the north lies militaristic Gorhaut, whose inhabitants worship the militant god Corannos and are ruled by corrupt, womanizing King Ademar. His chief advisor, the high priest of Corannos, is bent on wiping out the worship of a female deity, whose followers live to the south. Into this cauldron of brewing disaster comes the mysterious Gorhaut mercenary Blaise, who takes service with Bertran and averts an attempt on his life. The revelation of Blaise's lineage and a claim for sanctuary by his sister-in-law set the stage for a brutal clash between the two cultures. Intertwined is the tale of a young woman troubadour whose role suggests the sweep of the drama to come. Kay creates a vivid world of love and music, magic and death in a realm that resembles ours but is just different enough to enrich the fantasy genre. 25,000 first printing; major ad/promo. (Jan.)

Kirkus Reviews

Kay's latest is very much in the vein of his well-received Tigana (1990): an exhilarating epic fantasy based loosely on medieval history. Tigana was an imaginary kingdom analogous to Italy; Arbonne bears a similar resemblance to 12th-century Provence. But Kay is less interested in re-creating history than in playing the changes on the epic themes of love, war, and destiny. So rather than in medieval Europe, we find ourselves in a world with two moons, where a dualistic pagan religion takes the place of Christianity. Much of the time, we see Arbonne through the eyes of Blaise, an expatriate mercenary captain in the employ of Bertran, one of the most powerful lords of Arbonne—a man equally adept at war, music, and the art of seduction. As it turns out, Blaise is also a man with a complex past and a high destiny in his native Gorhaut, Arbonne's traditional enemy. There's a full quota of heroic action here—Kay has a rare ability to rise to the occasion for a set-piece battle. But as the duality of Arbonne's religion indicates in its balance of male and female gods, the women characters play an equally central role—from the Countess who rules the rival warlords of Arbonne, to the blind high-priestess, to the pregnant northern noblewoman who precipitates a war by fleeing south, to a young woman in the process of becoming one of the great troubadours of Arbonne. Meanwhile, music is a major theme throughout here, while Kay spins all the threads into a powerful tale of great events in a richly drawn magical kingdom. Complex and compelling: one of the most impressive fantasies in a long time.