The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

Jehane bet Ishak, a woman who’s ahead of her time, is the stubborn but brilliant daughter of a famous physician.

The notorious Rodrigo Belmonte - King Ramiro’s best commander - is the most feared soldier in the region. The infamous Ammar ibn Khairan - King Almalik’s soldier, advisor, assassin, and poet - is known as the man who assassinated the last Khalif of al-Rassan. The Lions of Al-Rassan is the story of a few of these people, how they worked for (and sometimes against) the rulers they pledged to serve, and how they brought about the rise and fall of nations. Each of these rulers is ambitions and clever, but none of them has been able to acquire his position without the help of others - crafty advisors, brave army commanders, brilliantly inventive doctors, devoted wives and children - and sometimes the same people who have served them well are the same ones who may later cause their downfall.

In the turbulent region that used to be the stable empire of Al-Rassan, petty kings vie for power. Hauntingly evocative of medieval Spain, The Lions of Al-Rassan is both a brilliant adventure and a deeply compelling story of love, divided loyalties, and what happens to men and women when hardening beliefs begin to remake - or destroy - a world. Sharing their interwoven fate - and increasingly torn by her feelings - is Jehane, the accomplished court physician, whose own skills play an increasing role as Al-Rassan is swept to the brink of holy war, and beyond. In the dangerous lands of Al-Rassan, these two men from different worlds meet and serve - for a time - the same master. Meanwhile, in the north, the conquered Jaddites' most celebrated - and feared - military leader, Rodrigo Belmonte, driven into exile, leads his mercenary company south. King Almalik of Cartada is on the ascendancy, aided always by his friend and advisor, the notorious Ammar ibn Khairan - poet, diplomat, soldier - until a summer afternoon of savage brutality changes their relationship forever. The Asharite empire has splintered into decadent city-states led by warring petty kings. The ruling Asharites of Al-Rassan have come from the desert sands, but over centuries, seduced by the sensuous pleasures of their new land, their stern piety has eroded.

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay