1. I don't think it diverges too much from a mainland European (or whatever) standpoint, at least not that we can tell (unless I am forgetting something, after Mosaic and before Lions about all we know is that the Asharites arose, conquered most of the Empire, and spread along the north coast of the Africa-analogue and established Al-Rassan. We just don't know any details of what else went on, except in the far north (I'm not sure exactly how much the events in Last Light diverge from history, but in any case they're not much affected by Sarantium).
The main diversions before we get to Lions are likely in the history of the Asharites. While Kay doesn't say much about them, from what little he does say I get the impression that the details of what went on in the homelands and surrounding areas is probably not to much like the actual history of Islam (no mention of a parallel to the Shi'a/Sunni split, for example - there are obviously major regional attitudinal differences, but that's not the same thing
( ... )
Last Light is my least favorite of Kay's books (well, of his pseudo-historicals, I don't care for Fionavar), but I think it is worth reading. I also think it has identifiable flaws, but I can't say more without being spoilerish.
(Kay's next book will not be a pseudo-historical, interestingly enough.)
I like Gisel well enough, but to me she does fade into the background compared to Alixana, Shirin, etc. It's not her fault.
I think this was probably in response to someone's comment, but, well, I think it's not an unreasonable reaction to a fantasy so very closely identified with a particular piece of history, at least with the reader expectation, as I said, that it would stay connected to history. It depends on what you're reading for.
See, I really liked The Lions of Al-Rassan and I hated the first Sarantine book so much I had a hard time finishing it. I sure didn't buy the next one. GGK laid on the most ham-handed foreshadowing I've seen in awhile, and I didn't like any of the characters enough to put up with it.
But I never thought about any of his books having a shared history, so now I have to reread a couple of them and think about that. Thanks!
Apparently a character introduced in _Lord of Emperors_ is explicitly supposed to be an ancestor of some character in _Al-Rassan_; I don't remember the second book well enough to say who. I also don't know enough about the history of the analogue to _Arbonne_ to know if it fits.
(I mean, there's the two moons and there's a reference in _Lord of Emperors_ to wedding the sea with a ring, but I don't really regard that as enough to tie all the non-Fionavar books together. Maybe they are, but it's not obvious to me, at least not at this stage of my memory.)
Lions and Mosaic and Last Light all definitely take place in the same world. I think it's pretty clear the others don't (even though I haven't seen Kay's statement to that effect). While they have some elements in common, the countries are entirely different, so for them to be in the same world they'd have to be on different continents with no contact - which is possible, but then we'd have to explain having three Italy-analogues (the Palm, Batiara, and, um, thingy - the collection of city-states east of Arbonne), two France-analogues (Gorhaut/Arbonne and Ferrieres), etc.
Also, I think the moons might be different colors - they are white and blue in the Sarantine world, but I vaguely recall they are white and green in at least one of the other books.
I think Kay has expressly said somewhere that Arbonne doesn't take place in the same world as Sarantium. Ditto for Tigana. I'd have to find the reference.
ROT13 for spoilers:
Nf sbe gur naprfgbe, vg'f gur thl sebz Ongrevn (fc?) jub raqf hc zbivat gb Rfcrenan, naq fcrpvsvpnyyl, uvf fba, jub unf gung jrveq cflpuvp novyvgl.
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Thanks.
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The main diversions before we get to Lions are likely in the history of the Asharites. While Kay doesn't say much about them, from what little he does say I get the impression that the details of what went on in the homelands and surrounding areas is probably not to much like the actual history of Islam (no mention of a parallel to the Shi'a/Sunni split, for example - there are obviously major regional attitudinal differences, but that's not the same thing ( ... )
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2. Yes, I dropped a negative in revisions. Sorry.
I personally like Gisel, but I have a soft spot for her because she sent Crispin the materials for the end mosaic.
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(Kay's next book will not be a pseudo-historical, interestingly enough.)
I like Gisel well enough, but to me she does fade into the background compared to Alixana, Shirin, etc. It's not her fault.
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But I never thought about any of his books having a shared history, so now I have to reread a couple of them and think about that. Thanks!
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(I mean, there's the two moons and there's a reference in _Lord of Emperors_ to wedding the sea with a ring, but I don't really regard that as enough to tie all the non-Fionavar books together. Maybe they are, but it's not obvious to me, at least not at this stage of my memory.)
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Also, I think the moons might be different colors - they are white and blue in the Sarantine world, but I vaguely recall they are white and green in at least one of the other books.
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ROT13 for spoilers:
Nf sbe gur naprfgbe, vg'f gur thl sebz Ongrevn (fc?) jub raqf hc zbivat gb Rfcrenan, naq fcrpvsvpnyyl, uvf fba, jub unf gung jrveq cflpuvp novyvgl.
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Yes, that ROT13 is what I was referring to.
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