If you loved A Game of Thrones, try...
Now a hit television show, George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy saga began with the novel A Game of Thrones in 1996. In the 20 years since, Martin has released four additional instalments of the series. He's working on a sixth book, which he cryptically says will be ready "on whatever day I happen to finish."
To bide the time until The Winds of Winter's release, Ing Wong-Ward has come up with an excellent Canadian fantasy novel for Martin fans. If you loved A Game of Thrones, try Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay.
On what makes Game of Thrones a compelling read
It's like going down this rabbit hole where all of a sudden you've entered this world that seems very familiar to medieval Europe, but clearly is different in the sense that there are dragons and other supernatural beings. The behaviour of the human beings of this realm is not that different from us. Our base natures are close to the surface and all it takes is a shove off the rope in the game for power and suddenly all hell breaks loose.
I think the books are as popular as they are because it is such an immersive experience. George R.R. Martin is an incredible storyteller. He's called the J.R.R. Tolkien of the modern era of America, and I think that's a fair nickname. I can't imagine the level of thinking he must have to do to create cultures, languages, histories for various sects of people. In order to do all that, you have to know our own history and twist it a bit, know about language and consult with linguistic experts, talk to people about the kind of clothing that people would have worn in different climates. It's an extremely detailed and rich world.
Why you should read Sailing to Sarantium
This is a book that is similar to A Game of Thrones in that it takes you into a world that's very similar to ours. In fact, this is set in the sixth century during the Byzantine Empire. The tale centres around an ordinary person, a fellow named Caius "Crispin" Crispus, who is the empire's greatest mosaic maker. The guy's been suffering from depression because his wife and two daughters have died from the plague. He's forced to travel to Sarantium after his old friend Martinian is ordered to make a new mosaic to celebrate the regime of the new emperor. Martinian, being a crafty guy, says "No, I'm not the guy you want. This is the guy you want!" and basically fakes his identity, which is vaguely Shakespearean. Next thing you know, Crispin is on a long horseback ride to Sarantium from his home and meets some questionable characters. He has an encounter with a mechanical bird, which is possessed by the soul of a woman who guides him on his journey. The world feels very familiar, but is obviously quite different because there are supernatural things happening.
In much the same way that George R.R. Martin requires a great deal of imagination, thought and research to create the world he did, Guy Gavriel Kay did very much the same thing, where he took something that exists in our culture and re-imagined it, reconfigured it, thinking about what it would look like in a more fantastical form.
Ing Wong-Ward's comments have been edited and condensed.