Jon Courtenay Grimwood

Aside from Grimwood’s penchant for borrowing motifs from other genres, the author’s previous novels, including his acclaimed End of the World Blues (2007), mostly bear the imprint of sf. Yet here Grimwood confidently steps into fantasy territory in this first volume of an ambitious trilogy featuring an alternate renaissance Venice populated by corrupt monarchs, a secret army of assassins, and a bewitching side cast of werewolves and vampires. This version of early-fifteenth-century Venice is ruled by the descendants of Marco Polo, specifically Alonzo, the uncle of the bona fide but incapacitated Duke, who rules with Machiavellian intrigue in the face of his Byzantine and Ottoman enemies. After Alonzo’s scheme to marry off the Duke’s cousin Giulietta leads to her kidnapping, Alonzo sends his lead assassin, Atilo, on her trail. When Atilo fortuitously crosses paths with a young vampire, Tycho, he quickly recruits the boy as a very difficult but useful apprentice. Grimwood’s well-seasoned skill with storytelling and dialogue makes this opening installment of the series both delightfully colorful and compellingly readable.