ADVENTURES IN AN OTHER-WORLDLY
NEW-AGE VENICE
it is the year 1537. The great winged Lion stares over a Venice where magic thrives. The rich Venetian Republic is a bastion of independence and tolerance. Perhaps for that reason, it is also corrupt, and rotten with intrigue.
But for the young brothers Marco and Benito Valdosta, vagabond and thief, Venice is simply-home. They have no idea that they stand at the center of the city's coming struggle for its very life. They know nothing of the powerful forces moving in the background. They have barely heard of Chernobog, demonlord of the North, who is shifting his pawns to attack Venice in order to cut into the underbelly of the Holy Roman Empire. All Marco and Benito know is that they're hungry and in dangerous company: Katerina the smuggler, Caesare the sell-sword, Montagnard assassins, church inquisitors, militant Knights of the Holy Trinity, Dottore Marina the Strega mage . . . and Maria. Maria might be an honest canaler, but she had the hottest temper a boy could find.
Yet among the dark waters of the canals lurk far worse dangers than a hot-tempered girl. Chernobog has set a monster loose to wreak havoc on the city. Magic, murder and evil are all at work to pull Venice down. Fanatical monks seek to root out true witchcraft with fire and sword. Steel-clad Teutonic knights, wealth traders, church dignitaries and great Princes fight and plot for control of the jewel of the Mediterranean.
And somehow all of these, from thieves to mages to princes, must gather around Marco and his brother Benito, under the shadow of the great winged lion of Venice.
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Product ReviewExcellent characterisation and world building, very well plotted and holds ones attention from start to finish. The three books in the series all go together seamlessly. To be recommended.
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Product ReviewInteresting alternate history with wonderful well developed characters. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
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Product ReviewGood plot and characters. But the authors should stayed away from throwing in that real Italian flavor given that all their puns were English. Enough familiarity with the real history for a parallel universe plot. But pretty obvious that someone wrote off a casual vacation as in an depth research trip into the actual culture and language.
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Product ReviewI've always enjoyed swords and sorcery set in Medieval Italy; this book does a great job with that, and has a tightly woven society of characters to boot.
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