Song for Arbonne SPOILERS of a sort

[Carol]

zgirnius:
> Hee. The comment about music was almost certainly sarcasm, another
trait in common with Snape. Though I guess/interpret here, because 
the way this character is written shares something with the way Snape
is written. We hear a lot about him, we see him in scenes in which 
the narrator shares the POV of other characters, but never his. (I am
 indebted to my HP addiction and posters here, notably you, Carol, for
my ability to make this observation. I'd never thought in these terms
before coming here).

Carol:
Thanks, Zara. <blush> It's the English teacher in me coming out (just
like Snape giving Potions-related detentions and staying in his old
office when he's the DADA teacher rather than the Potions master).

zgirnius:
<snip>
> How to describe Kay? We really ought not to say more on the subject
of Urte. Kay gets shelved with fantasy, but his books usually do not>
include a lot of showy magic. <snip> And his books have a flavor of
being historical fiction, even though they are set in a fictional
world. <snip> The details about the roles of noblemen and how they
pass the time, and dress, and eat, and fight, and entertain one
another, have the feeling of being well-researched rather than made up
on the fly, and jive well with historical fiction I have read.

Carol:
Erm, unlike JKR, who thinks that a knight (or baronet or whatever Sir
Nicholas is intended to be) who died in 1492 would wear an Elizabethan
ruff and a Jacobean plumed hat (think "Three Musketeers" for the era,
but not the country)? Sorry, but clearly dates are "maths" as far as
our dear JKR is concerned.

zgirnius: 
> Kay was Christopher Tolkien's assistant in editing "The Silmarillion".

Carol:
Really? Impressive.
> 
zgirnius:
> Anyway, I would heartily second the recommendation (obviously, since
I'm the one who got Alla hooked).

Carol:
Well, I'm looking for something new to read, not so much for a
Snapelike character (I think he's sui generis) as for a book that will
sustain my interest and draw me in as the HP books have done.

Carol, avoiding the rest of this thread until some kind person informs
me that it's "safe" (I really don't like spoilers!)