The Fallen Blade
Book 1 of the Assassini
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- 3,99 €
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- 3,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
Venice, 1407. The city is at the height of its powers. In theory, Duke Marco commands, but Marco is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle rule in his stead. They seem all powerful, yet live in fear of assassins better than their own.
On the night their world changes, Marco's young cousin prays in the family chapel for deliverance from a forced marriage. It is her misfortune to be alone when Mamluk pirates break in to abduct her - an act that will ultimately trigger war.
Elsewhere Atilo, the Duke's chief assassin, cuts a man's throat. Hearing a noise, he turns back to find a boy drinking from the victim's wound. The speed with which the angel-faced boy dodges his dagger and scales a wall stuns Atilo. He knows then he must hunt him. Not to kill him, but because he's finally found what he thought was impossible - someone fit to be his apprentice.
Award-winning author Jon Courtenay Grimwood is a master storyteller. Here, he blends history, politics and dark fantasy in a compelling vision of an alternative Venice.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Grimwood shifts from alternate reality SF (End of the World Blues) to alternate history fantasy, exploring a Renaissance Venice in which witches, werewolves, and vampires get drawn into the inevitable court intrigues. When a raid on a Turkish ship frees a young vampire named Tycho, the vampire apprentices to Venetian assassin Atilo, ready to be employed as a weapon by the mother and uncle of Venice's impotent duke. Both politicians and supernatural entities engage in cruelty and nastiness that almost overwhelm the story; many of the scenes, such as murders of children and a forced impregnation, are not for the squeamish, but little is gratuitous. This grim tale will appeal to fans of political and historical fantasy as well as those who appreciate more traditional interpretations of vampires and werewolves.
