Harder to do these in chunks now

The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Kay
I loved this guys other book so ding dang much I went and tried to find the beginning, the first one in this shared symbiotic world of 16th-ish century betterEurope. If Earth and Sky was Adriatic merchant city-states and intimate humanities, this book was Moorish Spain and the impact of the Reconquista.

God damn this author doesn't half-ass anything. I should have realized doing two of these back to back would drain me significantly.

It was noticeable, the age difference of this version of Kay than the 16-years-older author I read beforehand. Subtle but there. It seems unbelievably pretentious for me to say 'less mature' but I am unable to find a better turn of phrase.
Everything I said about this guy (Guy) remains true. This is a masterful work of adapted historical fantasy. The characters are human, real, complex. Appropriate. Radical. Gripping?
Tragic. Shakespearean, at times, in its asking of emotional investment and mercilessly wielding the knife for dramatic gain.
More than anything I was reminded of Romance of the Three Kingdoms - mix history with fable with fantasy elements. Turn the drudgery into storytelling. Make people larger than life. Tell a truly tremendous story.
The world is equally fascinating in 10th century Andalusia as it was in the Adriatic coast. Educational! Heartbreaking, and unpleasant, as it always is when you dive into the real horrors people tend to get up to when you mix religion and warfare and culture and power.
Satisfying! A surprisingly excellent rivalry, a well done love triangle? A massive stable of full, growing, vibrant characters. I would kill to see this made into a show. It may be impossible, which is one of the truest signs of a uniquely good book.