06340cam a2200493 4500 235002395 TxAuBib 20140806120000.0 ||||||s2012||||||||||||||||||||||||und|u 9780385536325 0385536321 B007MGTOCU Amazon 1c9e26ba-0cc0-47d6-a80a-85873124b3bc OverDrive (Reserve ID) 216283 843754 OverDrive (Product ID) TxAuBib Ennis, Michael. The Malice of Fortune [Libby eBook]. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2012. Format: OverDrive Adobe EPUB eBook, Filesize: 3663kB. Format: OverDrive OverDrive Read. Format: OverDrive Kindle Book. HTML:Against a teeming canvas of Borgia politics, Niccolò Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci come together to unmask an enigmatic serial killer, as we learn the secret history behind one of the most controversial works in the western canon, The Prince... When Pope Alexander dispatches a Vatican courtesan, Damiata, to the remote fortress city of Imola to learn the truth behind the murder of Juan, his most beloved illegitimate son, she cannot fail, for the scheming Borgia pope holds her own young son hostage. Once there, Damiata becomes a pawn in the political intrigues of the pope's surviving son, the charismatic Duke Valentino, whose own life is threatened by the condottieri, a powerful cabal of mercenary warlords. Damiata suspects that the killer she seeks is one of the brutal condottierri, and as the murders multiply, her quest grows more urgent. She enlists the help of an obscure Florentine diplomat, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Valentino's eccentric military engineer, Leonardo da Vinci, who together must struggle to decipher the killer's taunting riddles: Leonardo with his groundbreaking "science of observation" and Machiavelli with his new "science of men." Traveling across an Italy torn apart by war, they will enter a labyrinth of ancient superstition and erotic obsession to discover at its center a new face of evil--and a truth that will shake the foundations of western civilization.. HTML:"Intricate... rewarding... The Malice of Fortune is reminiscent of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose in that the intrigue is rich and is inextricably entwined in its world. Amid these walls of power the reader no more loses sight of the danger of the game than of the need to solve the puzzle. The novel works not just because it is a finely wrought history but because the characters are of their time while transcending it.". HTML:Robin Vidimos, The Denver Post. HTML:"The Malice of Fortune is more than a thriller--it's a tender love story, a grim exploration of the nature of human evil, and an immersive tour of Renaissance Italy as courageous, perceptive young Niccolo Machiavelli fights for his life against ruthless Borgia factions. A novel written with gusto, panache, and intellectual rigor.". HTML:Lyndsay Faye, author of Gods of Gotham and. HTML:"With its vivid, well-defined array of characters, The Malice of Fortune captures the glorious and gritty details of Renaissance Italy in a propulsive story. Ennis has achieved a great accomplishment, historical fiction that places us right into the characters' present.". HTML:Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club and The Technologists. "Ennis bring[s] multiple layers of authenticity to his epic novel. It's a heady mix of "The Da Vinci Code," Borgia politics and "The Silence of the Lambs." Think of it as CSI: Italy circa 1502, with Machiavelli as a detective and psychological profiler and da Vinci as history's first forensic pathologist.". HTML:Christian DuChateau, CNN. "A novel that ranks among the best with the Italian Renaissance setting.... The narrative brims with minor details that convey authenticity and authority over the material.... Ennis brings the characters alive with impassioned dialogue.". HTML:David Hendricks, San Antonio Express. HTML:"Epic... This is a dense narrative, permeated by the sights, sounds and smells of Renaissance Italy, and one that can stand shoulder to shoulder with Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose, with which it is sure to be compared.". HTML:Kirkus (starred review.) "A hefty novel about the politics of 16th-century Italy [that] reads like a pulpy mystery... A thrilling whodunit--and a pretty good primer on da Vinci's 'science of observation' as well as Machiavelli's 'science of man.'". HTML:Melissa Maerz, Entertainment Weekly. "An intricate murder mystery and political thriller [with] a heartrending love story... Like the best historical fiction, the novel transports the reader entirely elsewhere.". HTML:Laura Pearson, Time Out Chicago. "Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolo Machiavelli join their considerable forces in this teeming historical thriller... They make an exceptional team.". HTML:Sheryl Connelly, New York Daily News. "Absorbing and intelligent... Fans of superior historical mystery writers such as Steven Saylor and Laura Jo Rowland will be enthralled.". HTML:Publishers Weekly (boxed, starred review.) "Ennis is an uncommonly graceful writer and a conscientious researcher... his story zips along, a pleasure.". HTML:Charles Finch, USA Today. Historical Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. Fiction. Media Type: eBook. Importer Version: 2014-01-08.01 Import Date: 2015-08-06 14:05:11. http://nh.lib.overdrive.com/ContentDetails.htm?ID=1c9e26ba-0cc0-47d6-a80a-85873124b3bc https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=1C9E26BA-0CC0-47D6-A80A-85873124B3BC&.epub-sample.overdrive.com Excerpt (Adobe EPUB eBook) https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=1C9E26BA-0CC0-47D6-A80A-85873124B3BC&.epub-sample.overdrive.com Excerpt (Kindle Book) https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=1C9E26BA-0CC0-47D6-A80A-85873124B3BC&.epub-sample.overdrive.com Excerpt (OverDrive Read)