I have finished the first book in the stravaganza series, City of Masks, by Mary Hoffman. In the book, Lucien Mulholland, a teenager in London, is transported overnight to the world of Talia. Talia is a version of Renaissance Italy, but there are strange differences, like how silver is valued instead of gold, and how when it’s day in Talia, it is night in our world. He learns to stravagate, the art of going through time, from his world to Talia, while he meets some strange new people including a girl who dresses like a guy, an elegant duchessa, an Elizabethan chemist, one of the powerful di Chimici family’s cousins, and a reformed assassin. But which of these people will protect him from danger, and which ones will put him in the line of fire?
Some crazy things are happening in Talia. First, Lucien thinks he is being followed by someone. Through the streets when he’s exploring with Arianna, and when he’s with his instructor, Rodolfo, there is that eerie feeling of being watched. It is revealed that Silvia, the Duchessa of Bellezza, has had someone follow him and Arianna, but which one this person is after, we don’t know. But this is not the only one following Lucien or his friends. A dirty spy named Enrico has been paid by Rinaldo di Chimici to follow Luciano, his Talian name, Arianna and the Duchessa.
It all comes to extremes when the Duchessa has an attempt on her life. While a ceremony is taking place, the Duchessa wisely chose her maid to be her decoy while she was in a Gondola below on the canal. But someone found out that this duchessa was not herself, but a duplicate. This assassin held a dagger to the real Duchessa’s throat, but seemed like he couldn’t do it. Good thing Luciano had just come up from a dive in the canal to find this assassination attempt. He sopped the assassin with the help of the gondolier, Marco.
The duchessa rewards Luciano, but since he can’t take it back to his world, he leaves it in Talia before he stravagates back. Speaking of his own world, things are not settling well there either. Another doctors’ appointment is coming up, and Lucien is worried his cancer, yes cancer, will come back stronger. He seems to be so much stronger in Talia then in his world, but ever since his first stravagation, he has seemed more alive in both. He no longer has to work hard just to finish a sandwich, or swallow his food. He is strong enough to take a trip to Italy with his parents, to see the equivalent of his beloved Talia. But, this high can’t last for long.
The ending of this book is pretty crazy. I felt so sad for the things Lucien had to go through, and the fact that it doesn’t quite end well. But it’s alright for him. He gained his family, and maybe another along the way. It seems that during his Talian escapades, he got very close with Arianna, who has a huge turnout herself. She goes from being an island girl to an important role in Bellezzan politics. It doesn’t fare so well with the old Duchessa, or Rinaldo, or Luciano for that matter. But it ends up pretty good by the end, and I have no doubt that it will simply get better. This is a good book, and a pleasing start to what I think will be a fantastic series. There are five books in the series so far, but more can always be added. So if you’re up for a long challenge, like reading Doctor Dethridges’ old English, than you should read this series.
RED’S ALL STAR REVIEW: This book gets a solid 3 out of 5 stars. It didn’t have a ton of action, but it was so fascinating with the theme of renaissance Italy. This one’s a keeper.
MASS APPEAL: This book is good for anyone. Guys, girls, adults even; anyone who’s interested in medieval Italy should definitely give this a try.
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