The Lions of Al-Rassan

The Lions of Al-Rassan is a 1995 fantasy novel by Guy Gavriel Kay. Its world is based off the Spanish Reconquista.

The story begins with murder. King Almalik of Cartada, the largest of the three Asharite kingdoms in Al-Rassan, has a number of his enemies slain in one afternoon. The Kindath physician, Jehane bet Ishak, inadvertedly keeps one of her patients from the execution, and is forced to flee. The assassin Ammar ibn Khairan knocks off Almalik at the behest of the king's son, and is exiled. Meanwhile, in the Jaddite-controlled north, Captain Rodrigo Belmonte, the man used to collect tribute from the southern kingdoms, is ordered south to quell a feud with his rival Garcia de Rada, and to do reconnaissance on the Asharite kingdoms in preparation for war.

The three meet in the city of Ragosa and soon become good friends. In the service of the Ragosian king, they fight thieves, hired killers, and religious fanatics. A Love Triangle begins to develop between Jehane and the two men. However, the shadow of war hangs heavy over them, and they know that soon they may see each other on opposite ends of the battlefield...

There have been rumours of a film adaptation, which have as yet come to nothing.


 * Bittersweet Ending
 * Cold-Blooded Torture: Ishak ben Yonannon, Jehane's father, had his eyes and tongue cut out for saving the life of the king's concubine; that is, in order to properly save her during childbirth, he had to see her naked. His eyes were taken for having seen her naked; his tongue, so he would never describe her beauty to others. Note that this was the king's way of showing mercy - had he given in to the priests' demands, Ishak would have been killed.
 * Crystal Dragon Jesus: The Asharites are Muslims, the Jaddites are Christians, and the Kindath are Jews.
 * Cue the Sun
 * Deadly Decadent Court
 * Dirty Coward: Garcia.
 * Distant Finale
 * Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The world is an analogue to Medieval Spain.
 * Foregone Conclusion
 * Frontier Doctor
 * Grey and Gray Morality
 * Heroic Sacrifice:.
 * While not happening "on screen", Ishak ben Yonannon can arguingly count. See the Cold-Blooded Torture example above, and take into account that (as we learn later in the book).
 * Historical Fantasy
 * Holier Than Thou
 * My Country, Right or Wrong
 * Nakama
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Rodrigo Belmonte is based on El Cid.
 * Perfect Poison:
 * Throw Away City: Sorenica.
 * Triang Relations: Jehane, Ammar and Rodrigo. Type 3.
 * It's really more like Type 10. Type 8 is also implied.
 * Two Lines, No Waiting
 * What a Senseless Waste of Human Life
 * Vestigial Empire: Al-Rassan, which has fallen far from its height.
 * Vestigial Empire: Al-Rassan, which has fallen far from its height.