About:
Sicilian Avengers: Book Two by Luigi Natoli is a historical fiction about the Beati Paoli, a secret society of masked avengers in the Kingdom of Sicily. These books are considered to be Italian classics.
- 464 pages
- Publisher : Radius Book Group
- Language: English
- ISBN-10 : 1635769469
My rating for Sicilian Avengers: Book Two – 4
Buy Sicilian Avengers: Book Two or Books One & Two (eBook) from Amazon.com*
More books by Luigi Natoli *
More books translated by Stephen Riggio*
Thoughts:
Sicilian Avengers: Book Two by Luigi Natoli continues from where Book One left off. Our hero, Blasco de Castiglione is now a professional soldier, in love with Violante, a beautiful nun-to-be, and with the beautiful widow Donna Gabriella who has captured his heart. The parallels between him and Dumas’ famous Musketeer, D’Artagnan, became more pronounced as I kept reading.
As Umberto Eco noted in the afterward accompanying the two-volume eBook, this is not a historical novel but a popular novel Mr. Eco goes on to thoroughly distinguish the two genres and I certainly agree. A pet peeve of mine is when authors write a story that takes place in the past, and call it “historical fiction”, which disappoints amateur history buffs life myself and takes away from the enjoyment of the novel.
Stephen Riggio did a masterful job translating this book, an Italian classic I understand, keeping the literary elegance of it. The streets of Palermo come alive, and his footnote allows non-Italians to embrace Natoli’s world.
I did feel that this novel was too long, but it’s still a good, and exciting read. As a “popular” novel it describes a world that, most likely, never existed but we all wish it did. While there is still adventure, the theme is, of course, love.
A gripping fantasy of love and honor, with some twists and turns to keep the story going. Both books were very immersive and reading them back-to-back was tiring, but pleasurable nonetheless.
Synopsis:
Blasco de Castiglione discovers his true identity as the bastard son of a duke, but he is still true to the Beati Paoli and the common people. He is, however, the rightful heir to his father’s title and lands, but fighting for his birthright might endanger the people he protects.
Blasco comes to the rescue of his niece, Violante, when the Beati Paoli kidnaps her to punish the duke and she, promptly, falls in love with him.
Buy Sicilian Avengers: Book Two or Books One & Two (eBook) from Amazon.com*
More books by Luigi Natoli *
More books translated by Stephen Riggio*
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I got this book for free
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account, the money is usually spent on books
No Comments