The Lions of Al-Rassan

infobox Book |
name = The Lions of Al-Rassan
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Guy Gavriel Kay
cover_artist = Mel Odom
country = USA
language = English
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genre = Historical novel
publisher = Harper Prism
release_date = May 1995
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 510
isbn = 0061052175
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Lions of Al-Rassan" is a work of historical fantasy by Guy Gavriel Kay. It is set in a peninsula of the same world in which "The Sarantine Mosaic" and "The Last Light of the Sun" are set, and is based upon Moorish Spain. The novel concentrates on the relationships between the three peoples: the Kindath (based on the Jews), the Asharites (based on the Muslims), and the Jaddites (based on the Christians). (The actual religions of the Kindath, Asharites, and Jaddites, as described in the novel, bear no relation to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.)

The three protagonists in the novel are from each of these three races and religions: Jehane bet Ishak, a Kindath physician in Fezana; Rodrigo Belmonte, a Jaddite captain of a company of cavalry (based on El Cid); and Ammar ibn Khairan, an Asharite poet, mercenary, and advisor to King Almalik of Cartada (loosely based on ibn Ammar).

Plot summary

Like most of Kay's novels, this contains a large amount of political intrigue and religious strife. The peninsula of Al-Rassan is split between Jaddite and Asharite kingdoms.

When Asharite King Almalik betrays Ammar, Ammar joins forces with the king's heir and assassinates the father. The new king then exiles Ammar from Cartada. Elsewhere, Jehane unwittingly prevents one of her patients, a merchant, from being executed by the King. By giving the merchant shelter when the danger is revealed, she puts her life in danger. As a result, she flees Cartada for her life. Also happening at that time, Jaddite commander Rodrigo Belmonte and his company have come to Al-Rassan for their parias gold - regular tribute given to the Jaddite kingdoms. The three are brought together in the court of Ragosa, where Ammar and Rodrigo are hired as mercenaries, and where Jehane is hired as a physician. They form a close connection which forms the heart of the story. Jehane becomes the focus of the attentions of the two men, with a love triangle of sorts forming and becoming more convoluted by the fact that Belmonte is already happily married.

The admiration of the two men for each other is obvious, as they are the 'best' each nation has to offer. However, their eventual conflict becomes inevitable and the two meet on the battlefield at the head of each opposing armies. They duel, and the story concludes with an afterword set some years in the future, which reveals firstly that the Jaddite kingdoms have recaptured Al-Rassan (mirroring the Reconquista) and eventually the identity of the victor of the duel.

Film adaptation

It was announced in January 2005 that the novel is set to be adapted into a movie with a screenplay by Vera Blasi and directed by Edward Zwick. The release date is tentatively set for 2008. [ [http://www.darkhorizons.com/news05/050120b.php Dark Horizons: Zwick Gets Fed To "The Lions"] ]

An intern serving under Ed Zwick has stated that the video may actually be just in the process of being investigated, and may not yet be in development.

Awards

*Kay won the 2005 award from the Israeli Society for Science Fiction and Fantasy, for The Lions of Al-Rassan.

References

* [http://www.brightweavings.com/books/lions.htm The Lions of Al-Rassan at Guy Gavriel Kay's Authorized Website.]