With a new introduction by the acclaimed bestselling author, this is the spectacular deluxe tenth-anniversary edition of a fantasy classic--the sweeping tale of sorcery, magic, politics, war, love, betrayal, and survival...

"A richly sensuous fantasy world, full of evocative history, religions, folklore, local customs, and a magical rites...a bravura performance, nearly impossible to put down."-- Kirkus Reviews

"Kay's brilliant and complex portrayal of good and evil, high and low, will draw readers to this consuming epic."-- Publishers Weekly

"A brilliant single-volume epic fantasy, rich in intrigue and subtlety. Memorable characters and cultures add depth to a gracefully plotted story."-- Library Journal

"Massively satisfying...startlingly new." -- Toronto Star

"The heir to Tolkien's tradition."-- Booklist

"One of the best fantasy novels I have read."-- Anne McCaffrey

All that you held most dear you will put by and leave behind you; and this is the arrow the longbow of your exile first lets fly.

You will come to know how bitter as salt and stone is the bread of others, how hard the way that goes up and down stairs that never are your own.

Dante, The Paradiso What can a flame remember? If it remembers a little less than is necessary, it goes out; if it remembers a little more than is necessary, it goes out. If only it could teach us, while it burns, to remember correctly.

George Seferis, "Stratis the Sailor Describes a Man”