REVIEW | Livio GAMBARINI: Eternal War, Gli eserciti dei santi (Armies of Saints)

review of the english edition below

Eterna War: l'esercito dei santi di Livio Gambarini
Rating: ★★★½☆
Editore Acheron Books
ISBN 9788899216245
B00YRHWAF0
Pagine  185
Prezzo € 4.00 ebook
€ 12.50 paperback
Uscita 15 giugno 2015
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Eternal War: L’esercito dei santi
Livio Gambarini

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Firenze, tredicesimo secolo. La guerra tra Guelfi e Ghibellini distrugge intere famiglie. Tutta la Toscana è sconvolta, ma le due fazioni non sanno che la loro guerra è solo il pallido riflesso di uno scontro che dura da secoli tra i misteriosi abitanti delle lande dello Spirito.
Con ogni mezzo a sua disposizione, Kabal, spirito guida della famiglia Cavalcanti, trama per non soccombere e conquistare il potere. Ha un asso nella manica: il suo nuovo capofamiglia umano, il guerriero e poeta Guido Cavalcanti. Per salvare la sua città e coronare il suo sogno d’amore, Guido dovrà inseguire il sogno di una pace impossibile, e in questo lo aiuterà un giovane e timidissimo poeta, di nome Dante Alighieri…
Guerra, tradimenti, intrighi e magia in perfetto equilibrio tra la ricostruzione storica e il fascino di ciò che si cela dietro le quinte dell’umanità. “The Eternal War – Gli Eserciti dei santi” è la risposta fantasy a “House of Cards”, con la cornice fiorentina della Divina Commedia.

review
Eternal War è stata una sincera sorpresa per me. simbolo giglio firenzeNon mi avventuro spesso nel fantasy puro per adulti, quello italiano ancor meno. Ma c’è molto da apprezzare in questo romanzo a partire dalla bellissima copertina, passando alla cura del testo e infine alla storia stessa. In questo caso, insomma, la perdita sarebbe stata tutta mia.
Gambarini mescola perfettamente ambientazioni e avvenimenti della storia italiana con un mondo parallelo fatto di spiriti guida… che di angelico non hanno assolutamente nulla. Sono anzi arrampicatori, approfittatori, meschini, guerraioli. Come se le caratteristiche terrene che li avevano contraddistinti in vita non solo non si fossero dissolte in morte, diventando superficiali ed inutili nel piano superiore che siamo abituati ad immaginare, ma si siano invece intensificate e convogliate verso una precisa direzione. L’unica missione di questi spiriti è infatti perseguire gli interessi della propria famiglia, usando ogni mezzo a propria disposizione, fisico o metafisico che sia. O almeno questo è ciò che persegue Kabal, Ancestrarca della famiglia Cavalcanti, che ormai da secoli plotta e manovra i capofamiglia per i propri scopi, solitamente (ma non principalmente) rivolti a garantire prosperità e crescita sociale della casata Cavalcanti, nella Firenze dei Guelfi e Ghibellini.
eternal-war-guido-kabalIl romanzo parte proprio con la battaglia di Montaperti dove, nonostante l’inferiorità numerica, i Ghibellini strappano un’inaspettata vittoria su Firenze e i Guelfi. Sconfitta che costringe questi ultimi alla fuga dalla bellissima città. Kabal e la sua fazione non capiscono come i Santi (o Patroni) Ghibellini, che fino a non molto tempo prima avevano la stessa forza dei loro, siano ora divenuti così potenti da permettere ad un gruppo così ridotto, e mal posizionato sul terreno di battaglia, di vincerli. Gli Ancestrarchi partono così per un viaggio che li vedrà a Roma, alla ricerca del più potente protettore fra tutti. Uno che permetta loro di riprendere il giusto posto e onore a Firenze.
Eternal War pur seguendo una linea temporale di diversi anni, così da permettere al lettore di seguire gli avvenimenti storici della Firenze dell’epoca, è incentrato principalmete su Kabal e -indirettamente- su Guido, l’ultimo capofamiglia dei Cavalcanti, che l’Ancestrarca ha “cresciuto e coltivato” per essere il più forte ed intelligente che la famiglia abbia mai avuto. Lungo la storia incontreranno Dante Alighieri, anch’esso anima unica come Guido, così come altri personaggi realmente esistiti. Sono convinta, concluso Eternal War, che la storia sia solo l’inizio di un’avventura ancora più grande e spero che l’autore abbia intenzione di raccontarla.

Eterna War: Armies of Saints by Livio Gambarini

English Edition | Acheron Books | 184 pages | $ 4.23

Eternal War: Armies of Saints by Livio Gambarini
In 13th century Florence, the war between the Guelphs and Ghibellines is destroying entire families. Every corner of Tuscany has been drawn into the conflict, but little do the two sides realise their war is but a pale reflection of a battle between the mysterious inhabitants of the spirit world, lasting a thousand years.
The spirit that guides the Cavalcanti family, Kabal, uses every any means at his disposal to make sure his family is not torn to shreds and eventually comes out on top. The true ace up his sleeve is the new head of his family, the warrior and poet Guido Cavalcanti. Guido is driven to seek an impossible peace as he strives to save his city and marry the girl he loves. He is helped by a young, exceptionally shy poet known as Dante Alighieri…
It is a story of war, betrayal, intrigue and magic that is woven skilfully together to create a wondrous combination of historical accuracy and the fantastic world that lies behind human endeavour. “The Eternal War – Armies of Saints” is an innovative historical fantasy set against the backdrop of the Florence of the Divine Comedy. It has already conquered Italy and now, with the English translation, it is set to take the world.

review
Eternal War was a real surprise. I don’t often venture into pure fantasy for adults and -I’m sorry to say- even less if it’s Italian fantasy. However, there is much to appreciate in this novel. From the beautiful cover, through the good editing (I’ll talk about Acheron Books in a separate post because the publisher of this novel deserves mention on its own) and finally to the story itself, I had a very good time reading this book. If I hadn’t had the opportunity to read Eternal War, the loss would have all been mine.
Gambarini perfectly blends Italian history (its places and customs) with a parallel world of spirit guides… that have absolutely nothing angelic in them. They are ancestors of the prominent Florence families and are indeed social climbers, petty, warmonger. As if the earthly characteristics that had marked them in life not only had not dissolved in death, becoming superficial and useless in the afterlife we usually imagine, but instead are intensified and channeled in a specific direction. The sole mission of these spirits is, in fact, to pursue the family’s interests using every means at their disposal, be it physical or metaphysical. Or at least this is what Kabal, the Cavalcanti’s family spirit, hase done for centuries, plotting and maneuvering the heads of the family with the purpose to ensure them prosperity and family social growth in the Florence of the Guelfs and Ghibellines.
The novel starts with the Montaperti battle where, despite the numerical inferiority, the Ghibellines snatch an unexpected victory over Florence and the Guelphs. A defeat that forces the Guelphs to flee from the beautiful city. Kabal and his faction don’t understand how Ghibellines’ Saints (or Patrons) who, until not long before, had the same strength as their own have now become so powerful as to allow for such a small group, and poorly positioned on the battleground, to overcome them. Therefore, the Ancestrarchi (as the family spirits are called) decide to leave for a trip that will see them in Rome, in search of the most powerful protector of all. One that will allow them to take their place in Florence back.
Eternal War while following a timeline of several years (to better allow the reader to follow the historical events of Florence at the time) is centered mainly on Kabal and, indirectly, on Guido story. Guido is the last head of the Cavalcanti family and Kabal has “brought up and groomed him” to be the most strong and intelligent the family has ever had. During their adventure they will meet Dante Alighieri, which is an unique soul like Guido, as well as other characters who really existed. I am convinced, once finished Eternal War, that the story is just the beginning of an adventure even bigger and I hope the author will continue to write it.

REVIEW | M.R. CAREY: The Girl with All the Gifts

La ragazza che sapeva troppo M.R. Carey
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Editore Newton Compton
ISBN 9788854177819
B00VB3YZDS
Pagine 384
Prezzo 9.90 8.40 hardcover
4.99 0.99 ebook
Uscita 27 marzo 2015
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La ragazza che sapeva troppo
M.R. Carey

Melanie, dieci anni e un quoziente intellettivo altissimo, ogni mattina aspetta paziente nella stanza dove vive chiusa a chiave che la vengano a prendere per portarla a fare lezione. Ma non è una gita di piacere, gli incaricati la legano a una sedia a rotelle mentre il sergente Parks la tiene di mira con una pistola carica.  Per leggere altro della trama.

review

La ragazza che sapeva troppo è un romanzo difficile sotto molti aspetti. Non perche sia scritto male, questo no, ma perchè è difficile da leggere, da accettare, da portare a termine. E’ una lotta per il lettore tanto quanto per i personaggi. Mi sento in conflitto pensandoci e dovendone parlare. Mi è piaciuto? Si e no. È quel classico romanzo che ha tanti aspetti positivi: le relazioni tra personaggi, l’idea di base, i personaggi stessi, la tensione, l’orrore. Ma ha anche cose che a me sarebbe piaciuto venissero gestite diversamente, tra tutte l’estrema lentezza di buona parte della storia. Lo consiglierei? Non lo so davvero. Dipende molto se amate romanzi sugli zombie, ma che non sono d’azione tipo Resident Evil. Se vi piacciono le quest alla cui fine c’è una soluzione parziale. Se amate i finali agrodolci. Se volete un’interpretazione originale, basata su motivazioni scientifiche e decisamente possibiliste (si dice?) di come si è arrivati ad un mondo post-apocalittico dove la razza umana è stata praticamente decimata ed è alle soglie dell’estinzione, ma in cui uno spiraglio di speranza rimane sempre (anche se diverso da quello che si potrebbe pensare). Se volete scene raccapriccianti più per l’etica dietro cui si muovono le scelte dei personaggi che non tanto per loro stesse (anche se pure in quel caso…vabbè). La ragazza che sapeva troppo fa sentire molto al lettore… sfortunatamente anche la noia di trascinare i personaggi in un viaggio attraverso un mondo che ormai è desolato e desolante. In cui gli unici incontri sono con zombie senza coscienza che, una volta che ti hanno puntato, non ti lasciano più andare finchè l’uno dei due non soccombe oltre ai pochi animaletti che ancora resistono ma a cui l’autore immancabilmente fa fare una brutta fine. Ok, una cosa mi è venuta in mente giusto ora, scrivendo degli animali. Loro non sono infettati dal virus come gli umani. Forse perché vengono mangiati interamente? Forse per altri motivi. Comunque sia, non ci sono animali zombie e sinceramente la cosa è un po’ strana visto come lavora il virus. Il lettore vive le vicissitudini assieme a personaggi a malapena sopportabili, tra fatiche e sconfitte continue. Come dicevo è un romanzo duro e difficile. Che non lascia scampo e, usando un termine inglese, non “inzucchera” (sugarcoat) nulla. Anzi è nudo, crudo e crudele come la natura umana e Madre Natura stessa.

19827903

Orbit | 9780356500157
£ 8.99 | Amazon

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS
M.R. Carey

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her “our little genius.”
Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. Read more about the plot.

review
The Girl With All the Gifts is a difficult novel for many aspetcs. Not because it is poorly written, no, but because it is difficult to read, to accept, to finish. It is a constant struggle for the reader as much as for the characters. I feel conflicted thinking of it and having to speak about it. Did I like it? Yes and no. It is the classic novel that has many positive aspects: the relationship between the MC, the basic idea, the characters themselves, the tension, the horror. But it has things that I would have liked handled differently, firts of all the extreme slowness of the majority of the story. Would I recommend it? I do not know really. It depends if you love zombie novels that are not action packed like Resident Evil. If you like a partial solution at the end and a bittersweet ending. If you want an original zombie book where the author has based the reasons of how we arrived at a post-apocalyptic world, with the human race virtually decimated and on the threshold of extinction, on scientific and realistic events. In which one glimmer of hope remains, although different from what you might think. If you want gruesome scenes more because of the ethics behind the characters’s choices and not truly for themselves (although even in that case… well), this is for you. The Girl With All the Gifts makes the reader feel many feelings… unfortunately even the boredom of dragging the characters on a journey through a world that is desolate and bleak. Where the only encounters are with zombies that have only one thing in their mind… to eat you and satisfy the urge of the virus that inhabits them. There are few animals in this world but the author invariably makes them die. Just now it came to my mind that this is a bit strange. The animal were not infected. Why not? In the way the virus worked probably they should have been. Anyway. The reader has to live with characters that are barely bearable, between hardships and continuous defeats. As I said before this is an hard and difficult novel. It leaves no way out and it never sugarcoat things. It is tough, raw and cruel as the human nature and Mother Nature as well.

REVIEW | Jennifer Foehner WELLS: Fluency (Confluence #1)

Fulency by Jennifer Foehner Wells is an interesting sci-fi that tells a very realistic scenario
of what could happen if a ship was discovered around Earth space…

Fluency (Confluence #1) by Jennifer Foehner Wells
Rating: ★★★½☆
READ an EXCERPT HERE
Editore Blue Bedlam Books
ISBN 9780990479819
B00L3U9OCG
Pagine 376
Prezzo € 12.48 paperback
€ 4.49 kindle
Uscita 25th june 2014
Acquista Amazon | MondadoriStore
Recensioni Goodreads

Fluency
Jennifer Foehner Wells

Confluence #1

NASA discovered the alien ship lurking in the asteroid belt in the 1960s. They kept the Target under intense surveillance for decades, letting the public believe they were exploring the solar system, while they worked feverishly to refine the technology needed to reach it.
The ship itself remained silent, drifting.
Dr. Jane Holloway is content documenting nearly-extinct languages and had never contemplated becoming an astronaut. But when NASA recruits her to join a team of military scientists for an expedition to the Target, it’s an adventure she can’t refuse.
The ship isn’t vacant, as they presumed.
A disembodied voice rumbles inside Jane’s head, “You are home.”
Jane fights the growing doubts of her colleagues as she attempts to decipher what the alien wants from her. As the derelict ship devolves into chaos and the crew gets cut off from their escape route, Jane must decide if she can trust the alien’s help to survive.

review

An interesting sci-fi that tells a very realistic scenario of what could happen if a ship was discovered around Earth space. In this book the author has recreated the mood of many sci-fi movies, fortunately without using the panic card where humans go on a rampage of fear. Instead she went with the adventurous feel of an exploratory group of people in a first contact mission. Yeah, obviously the government as its own ideas considering that they are sending a goup of people on an unknown “dead” alien ship…they are not prepared for what can happen once on board, even if the majority is military trained. They can only think about different possibilities and make plans accordingly… translated? a plan B is always a good idea. Still, as you can imagine, it doesn’t take much for things to get complicated.
The MCs are the truly interesting and original part of the book. Dr. Jane Holloway is a linguist who can learn quickly new languages and because of that is asked to join the expedition. The author doesn’t really explain how Jane’s abilieties came to be but it’s also true that in the world there are many things that can’t be explained (I don’t know if I like this but it’s a fact). I liked quite a lot the mental relationship between her and the alien creature. It’s a link that grows slowly but steadily during the book and makes possible for the reader to know Jane’s mind (and not only her actions) and the alien as well. However I have to say my favourite part was at the end, where the true adventure is starting. Infact, the rest of the story was a bit too slow…things seemed to go nowhere for a while. Now we have to wait for the next book in the series to discover if the promise of a great adventure in the space will come to fruition.

REVIEW | Naomi NOVIK: Uprooted

Finally my review of Uprooted, a book written by Naomi Novik and published in may 2015 by Penguin Random House. Uprooted is a fantasy that takes its root from fairytales and spins a tale of magic and love.

Review Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Rating: ★★★★½
READ an EXCERPT HERE
Editore Penguin Random House
ISBN 9780804179034
B00KUQIU7O
Pagine 448
Prezzo $ 25.00 hardback
$ 12.99 kindle
Uscita 19th may 2015
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Recensioni Goodreads

Uprooted
Naomi Novik

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

Review Uprooted by Naomi Novik

He was a thing of books and alembics to me, library and laboratory.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik has that particular feel of an old tale told in front of the fireplace, surrounded by a warm, old and comfy blanket, with a cup of tea or chocolate at hand. It makes you imagine  a tale of adventures, foe, great feat and, maybe, an everlasting love. I don’t like to spoiler things for anyone and with this book it can happen easily. Thus I will not tell anything too specific about the story, you can already decide if it is intriguing or not by reading the plot and the excerpt. I will tell you only this…. Uprooted gave me all of what I listed above and even more. I’m sorry to be so late in speaking of this book because it was one of the best of 2015 for me but it’s not always so simple to put my thoughts on words after reading a book I liked so much.
It starts with a premise non truly original but then takes unespected turns because of the story behind. A story that the author keeps firmly secret till the end, when all is finally clear to the reader. Therefore it’s all revealed by degrees so as to truly appreciate the world Novik has invented. It was this author’s skill that made me appreciate the book more…it’s not really common to find an author that can keep the reader oblivious for the majority of a story, much less for an entire book! And we can’t forget about the MCs! Both the female and male MC are truly inspired. The opposite one of the other. Him, the Dragon. A gruff, rude, sophisticated, sociopathic know-it-all (yeah, I know but he is such a character XD). Her, the peasant. A common, ignorant, wild, unkempt young thing. It is obvious that the clash of wills soon makes any kind of fear Agnieszka could have ever felt pass quickly.
Before this book, I hadn’t read anything of this author but it’s sure now that she has gained a new follower.