
A City of Poets and Dreamers, Liars and Cheats...
Tommaso Cellini, celebrated ruler of Cadenza, is dead, and the city mourns. For Carlo Mazzoni, an aspiring poet, it was the day of his arrival in the City of Words and the end of his dreams to walk side-by-side with the great man, two artists together.
For Vittoria - known to all but a handful as the famed ink maid Hypatia - the death of a ruler is less troubling than her sadness and inability to write. Without it, her admirers will leave her, and with it her livelihood.
With its ruler dead, the city plunges into turmoil amid rumours of war with its rival Venice. Surrounded by murder, intrigue, revenge and revolution, they must rely on new friends and sinister acquaintances to find their paths to freedom.
Publisher: Rebellion
ISBN: 9781786185006
Weight: 663 g
Dimensions: 220 x 141 x 34 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
"A gorgeous, immersive triumph of Renaissance-flavored worldbuilding" -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
* Publishers Weekly *"[A] delicate study of the demise of society" -- SciFiNow
* SciFiNow *"Memorable" -- SFX Magazine
* SFX Magazine *"The zest and wit that Beckerlegge infuses into his fantastical Decameron is marvelous" -- Locus
* Locus *"This is a fabulous book" -- The Historical Novels Review, Editor's Choice
* The Historical Novels Review *You may also be interested in...
“not a fantasy but still good”
Anyone who loves reading, books or poetry will love the world created by Tom Beckerlegge in The Carnival of Ash. Cadenza is a city where its leaders are chosen for their skills as a poet and duels are fought with... More

“Not the book you're probably expecting...”
Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I was hoping for something in the vein of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell but in all honesty it’s more like The Name of the Rose. It is... More
“Alternative history with a great premise but which doesn’t manage to gel”
It’s the first half of the 16th century.
Cadenza is an Italian city state ruled by the famed Artifex, Tommaso Cellini (a leader known as much for the brutality of his rule as the beauty of his poetry), the city is...
More
Please sign in to write a review
Sign In / Register
Sign In
Download the Waterstones App
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?