A defining feature of fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay’s novels is his tendency to set them in fictional locales that resemble real places, rather than wholly fabricated fantasy worlds such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. For example, “A Song for Arbonne” is set in an analogue of medieval Provence, France, and “The Sarantine Mosaic” takes place in a version of sixth-century Byzantium with a fantastical twist. In his epic 1990 novel “Tigana,” set in a world resembling Renaissance Italy, a group of rebels conspire to overthrow occupying forces and reclaim their homeland. While walking the winding darkened hallways of an ancient castle, Devin, one of the novel’s protagonists, remembers something he had once been told: “There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk.” It’s a reminder to journey on even when the path seems lost — and that other ways are sure to open up to us as long as we keep the faith.