Sailing to Sarantium cover art

Sailing to Sarantium

Book One of the Sarantine Mosaic

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Sailing to Sarantium

By: Guy Gavriel Kay
Narrated by: Berny Clark
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About this listen

Crispin is a mosaicist, a layer of bright tiles. Still grieving for the family he lost to the plaque, he lives only for his arcane craft. But an imperial summons from Valerius the Trakesian to Sarantium, the most magnificent place in the world, is difficult to resist.

In a world half-wild and tangled with magic, a journey to Sarantium means a walk into destiny. Bearing with him a deadly secret and a Queen's seductive promise, guarded only by his own wits and a talisman from an alchemist's treasury, Crispin sets out for the fabled city. Along the way he will encounter a great beast from the mythic past, and in robbing the zubir of its prize, he wins a woman's devotion and a man's loyalty - and loses a gift he didn't know he had until it was gone.

Once in this city ruled by intrigue and violence, he must find his own source of power. Struggling to deal with the dangers and seductive lures of the men and woman around him, Crispin does discover it, in a most unusual place - high on the scaffolding of the greatest work of art ever imagined....

©1998 Guy Gavriel Kay (P)2012 Audible, Inc. Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Historical Thriller & Suspense Fiction City

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All stars
Most relevant  

Where does Sailing to Sarantium rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Certainly in the top ten at this moment.

What does Berny Clark bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The wry and dry humour really came through on the audible version of this book. I don't think I would have picked up on this if reading the actual book.

Any additional comments?

This book would have been a fabulous five but I didn't realise that it was the first of a series so was caught short at the end. It was an unexpected bonus that this was set in the same world as the LOAR. The detailed world building and the character development is just remarkable. The side characters of the birds and the soldier were great additions. One of the best things about Mr Kay's books is that the protagonists are mature been-there-done-that type of people. Highly recommended

Remarkable world-building

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Having read some of the other reviews complaining about the American accent, I nearly stop lissening at the begining but as I persevere a bit longer, the story took off in a most unspected way! I could not stop lissening! A great imaginative story. Thanks.

Unstoppable

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I’d paid for it, so persevered - but the narrator was truly awful. Such monotone, and really hard to ‘hear’ when he’d moved on to a new section or different character perspective (you know - those gaps between paragraphs? Pause and change tone/pace! Please!).
So sad, given that it’s such a fantastic book, read many years ago, and revisited on audiobook.

Brilliant book. Terrible narrator

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The narration is just terrible. There is no attempt to differentiate voices and the downward tone at the end of every sentence just makes the whole thing sound like a funeral dirge. I actually can’t listen to this any more and will buy the book instead as the story arc has potential.

Terrible narration. I Just can’t be bothered

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I only listened to 1 hour. I have enjoyed Guy Gavriels books but I found this one started out too political. I am not interested in politics in the real world...so not my cup of tea, especially when I saw it was part of a series of 5 books.

too political

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I have been waiting for ages to see some Guy Gavriel Kay on Audible UK. He's a wonderful author and his books are full of intelligence, character, depth, action, heartfelt emotion, verve and commitment. What a shame the narrator couldn't convey any of these qualities!

Every sentence drones on, as flat and monotonous as a metronome. Frustratingly, there are signs of life when he delivers some of the dialogue between characters, but this just makes it more agonisingly disappointing when he drops back into description. The director of this audiobook production failed abysmally.

I had to stop listening after less than an hour. What a waste of my monthly credit!

Such a disappointment...

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I love Guy Gavriel Kay, but this narrator drones on and makes me want to sleep :( Terrible voice, horrible accent. I deeply regret not listening to a sample first.

Wish I had not purchased this book.

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