A Historical Fantasy duology by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay, consisting of:
- Sailing to Sarantium (1998)
- Lord of Emperors (2000)
Set in the same world as Kay's earlier novel The Lions of Al-Rassan and his later The Last Light of the Sun (and thus, by extension, in the same universe as The Fionavar Tapestry and Ysabel), but in a different time and place, "The Sarantine Mosaic" is the story of (or at least, the story surrounding) one Caius Crispus, a mosaicist dwelling in Varena, Batiara (which is in no way Ravenna, Italy). Dispirited by a plague that killed his wife and daughters, Crispin soon finds himself accepting a commission meant for his mentor that will take him to ByzantiumSarantium, as well as being given a secret mission by the imperilled queen of Batiaria meant only for the ears of Emperor Valerius II. Crispin's adventures overland will involve gods, armies, an incredible array of potential Femme Fatales, and lots of chariot-racing.
The duology is based on the history of the reign of the great Byzantine Roman Emperor Justinian I and his wife Theodora.
Tropes featured include:
- Altar Diplomacy: The proposition of Valerius II divorcing Aliana and marrying Gisel is mentioned numerous times throughout the first book; not only would marrying Gisel would give Valerius access to Batiara, but she would also be able to bear him an heir, whereas Aliana is thought to be infertile. It never comes to fruition, as Valerius is Happily Married to Aliana and refuses to put her aside. After Valerius is assassinated, Leontes ends up marrying Gisel instead. Furthermore, it's Valerius who was infertile, not Aliana, so Gisel wouldn't have borne him a child anyway.
- Alternate History: Played with. Sarantium is a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of the Byzantine Empire, and most of the main characters are explicitly based on real-life people (Valerius II and Aliana are Justinian and Theodora, and Leontes and Gisel are based on Belisarius and Amalasuntha, to a slightly lesser degree.) It starts to diverge from the historical record when Valerius II/Justinian is assassinated, and reads much like an alternate history book thereafter.
- Babies Ever After: The duology ends with Crispin and Aliana thinking about having a child.
- Bittersweet Ending: Valerius II is assassinated, forcing Aliana to go on the run to escape being killed herself. Leontes marries Gisel and becomes Emperor of Sarantium, and he has Crispin's mosaic destroyed after proclaiming it heretical. But Aliana and Crispin find a Second Love in each other, Crispin begins to work on a new mosaic, and the book ends with her asking him for dolphins again... and a child, as it turns out she isn't as infertile as assumed.
- Book Burning: Artwork that is considered heretical for one reason or another is destroyed, especially decorations in sanctuaries. At the beginning of the duology, the figure of Heledikos is already thought of as blasphemous by many clerics, and his association with dolphins makes Alixana's request of a dolphin mosaic for her chambers dangerous. By the end of the duology, Leontes has decreed that the depiction of Jad or any human being in a sanctuary is against the teachings of the faith, and subsequently has Crispin's mosaic destroyed.
- Chariot Race: A major subplot revolves around racers.
- The Chessmaster: Many characters play at this, Valerius II most of all. But even he can be surprised...
- Cruel Mercy: Leontes has Styliane blinded and imprisoned, but he decidedly doesn't have her executed, implicitly because he wants to come across as generous and merciful in the eyes of Jad. Styliane, for her part, would much prefer death, and Cripsin effectively performs a Mercy Kill by giving her a dagger with which to commit suicide.
- Demoted to Extra: Some characters who were fairly prominent in the first book don't get much play in the second.
- Eye Scream:
- Lecanus Daleinus was left blinded and hideously burned by the same Sarantine Fire that killed his father.
- Styliane is blinded as punishment for her role in the conspiracy that killed Valerius II.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture:
- Sarantium = Byzantium/ Eastern Rome
- Bassania = Sassanid Persia
- Batiara = Ostrogoth Italy
- Grey-and-Gray Morality: Some characters are less likeable than others, but it's hard to say that any of the major factions are totally in the wrong.
- Historical Fantasy: Essentially an Alternate History book about the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I, set in a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Eastern Rome.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Invoked by the Dalenoi conspiracy to kill Valerius II in the same way he killed their father, though he's actually dead before the Sarantine Fire is used, as it turns out.
- Low Fantasy: There's very little magic or even fantastical elements in this world, the morality is pretty grey, and the protagonist is just an ordinary dude swept up in relatively grounded events.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Most of the main characters are clearly based on various historical figures:
- Valerius I = Justin I
- Valerius II = Justinian I
- Aliana/Alixana = Theodora
- Leontes = Belisarius (with a bit of Heraclius for good measure)
- Styliane = Antonina
- Shirvan = Khosrow II Parvez
- Pertennius = Procopius
- Ashar ibn Ashar = The Prophet Mohammed
- Gisel = Amalasuntha
- Meaningful Rename: Aliana is Aliana when she's a courtesan, Alixana once she marries Valerius, and Aliana again after Valerius is assassinated. Valerius II's birth name was Petrus, which is something of Hayseed Name associated with his rural origins. note
- Not His Sled:
- Readers familiar with the history of the reign of Justinian I will note that things diverge markedly from the historical record about when Justinian/Valerius is assassinated, resulting in Belisarius/Leontes being proclaimed Emperor and not going to fight a war in Batiara/Italy. note
- Played with regarding Alixana's supposed sterility. Readers who are particularly familiar with Theodora's history may note that, although she never bore Justinian a child, she did have an illegitimate daughter by a former lover. Little is known about this daughter other than that she married and had children with a relative of the emperor Anastasius—even her name is unknown, as she's only ever recorded as Theodora's daughter or Theodora's grandson's mother. Therefore, she's often Adapted Out of works about Justinian's reign, and she accordingly has no fictional counterpart in the Sarantine Mosaic duology. But her existence proves that Theodora wasn't completely barren, and readers who know this might be less surprised by the Plot Twist that Theodora's counterpart Alixana isn't actually infertile, either.
- Psycho for Hire: Valerius II's former chief tax collector, the most efficient man to ever occupy the post, so long as you overlook his sadistic private activities.
- Rags to Riches: A consistent theme with Valerius I and II, who were born Trakesian peasants, and Alixana, an actress and courtesan who's said to have lived in a rat-infested hovel before her marriage. Their backstories mirror the real backstories of the emperors Justin and Justinian and the empress Theodora, respectively.
- Second Love: The duology could be described as Crispin sorting through the numerous candidates for this status. And, as it turns out, Alixana too.
- Serious Business: Chariot racing. Truth in Television, from the historical record.
- Shown Their Work: Guy Gavriel Kay clearly spent a lot of time reading up on mosaics and chariot racing.
- Signature Scent: Aliana has one. Crispin identifies her just by her scent when they're reunited at the end.
- Supporting Protagonist: Crispin is the closest thing to a main character, but he's often more an observer than anything else.
- Unwitting Pawn: Leontes is supposed to be this for the Dalenoi, but things don't quite go according to plan.
