In River of Stars, international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay weaves a dazzling tale of lives destined to intertwine amidst the turbulent backdrop of an empire in decline, inspired by China's Song Dynasty.

Ren Daiyan was just a boy when he took the lives of seven men while guarding an imperial magistrate of Kitai--a moment that changed his life forever. Lin Shan is the daughter of a scholar, his beloved only child. Educated as if she'd been a son, she finds herself living a life suspended between two worlds. But when her father's life is endangered by the savage politics of the day, Shan must act in ways no woman ever has. With bitter court factions vying for control as dramatic events unfold on the northern steppe, the balance of power in the world shifts, leading both of them, and their world, towards a destiny no one could have foretold.

GUY GAVRIEL KAY is an international bestselling author. He has been awarded the International Goliardos Prize for his work in the literature of the fantastic, is a two-time winner of the Aurora Award, and won the 2008 World Fantasy Award for Ysabel, a #1 bestseller in Canada. His works have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. Visit his Canadian website at www.guygavrielkay.ca and his authorized international website at www.brightweavings.com.

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"A novel of destiny, and the role of individuals within the march of history, it is touched with magic and graced with a keen humanity."--The Globe and Mail

"Picture Game of Thrones in China."--Salon.com

"A major accomplishment, the work of a master novelist in full command of his subject."--The Washington Post

"Hauntingly written, River of Stars is ... a work to savour."--Sunday Times

"One of Kay's richest creations to date."--Huffington Post