Voltaire's Calligrapher
A Novel
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Richly reminiscent of Umberto Eco, the headlong pace of this dark fantasy—combining elements of mystery, historical fiction, horror and the splinter genre clockpunk—will let readers swallow the entrancing story in a single gulp.” —Kirkus Reviews
Pablo DeSantis, the internationally acclaimed author of The Paris Enigma, is back with a wonderfully inventive, deliciously sinister thriller set in the chaos and opulence of 18th century Paris, where the malevolent remnants of the Dark Ages battle the progressive elements of the modern age. Anyone wondering where to turn after Neal Stephenson’s Anathem and The Baroque Cycle or Matthew Pearl’s The Dante Club will thrill for the exquisite language and deep intrigue of Pablo De Santis’ Voltaire’s Calligrapher.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 18th-century France, this brief, rambling novel from Argentine author De Santis will disappoint those expecting another sparkler like his 2008 mystery, The Paris Enigma. At age 20, Dalessius, who's trained as a calligrapher, travels to Ferney, near the Swiss border, where the philosopher Voltaire hires him as a file clerk. The job is a second chance for the young man, who substituted a blank page for the verdict sheet in a capital case, a stunt that prevented a murderer's execution. Voltaire dispatches Dalessius to Toulouse to prepare documents needed for the execution of a man convicted of the crime of hanging his son, who was on the verge of converting from Calvinism to Catholicism. While the author provides social insights into Enlightenment-era France, the murky plot developments make for a less than gripping read.
