The Fallen Blade: Act One of the Assassini

by Jon Courtenay Grimwood

Overview

In the depths of night, customs officers board a galley in a harbor and overpower its guards. In the hold they find oil and silver, and a naked boy chained to the bulkhead. Stunningly beautiful but half-starved, the boy has no name. The officers break the boy's chains to rescue him, but he escapes.

Venice is at the height of its power. Duke Marco commands the seas, taxes his colonies, and, like every duke before him, fears assassins better than his own. In a side chapel, Marco's thirteen-year old cousin prays for deliverance from her forced marriage. It is her bad fortune to be there when Moorish pirates break in to steal a chalice, but it is the Moors' good fortune -- they kidnap her and demand ransom from the Duke.

As day dawns, Atilo, the Duke's chief assassin, prepares to kill the man who let in the pirates. Having cut the traitor's throat, he turns back, having heard a noise, and finds a stranger crouched over the dying man, drinking blood from the wound. The speed with which the boy dodges a dagger and scales a pillar stuns Atilo. And the assassin knows he has to find the boy. Not to kill him though -- because he's finally found what he thought he would never find.

Someone fit to be his apprentice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316123396
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	01/27/2011
Series:	The Assassini , #1
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	701,365
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jon Courtenay Grimwood was born in Malta and christened in the upturned bell of a ship. He grew up in the Far East, Britain and Scandinavia. Apart from writing novels he works for magazines and newspapers. For five years he wrote a monthly review column for the Guardian.

JCG's novels Felaheen and End of the World Blues, won the BSFA Award for Best Novel. He has been shortlisted twice for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award, the August Derleth Award (UK), John W Campbell Memorial Award (US), among other awards.

He is married to the journalist and novelist Sam Baker, currently editor-in-chief of Red. They divide their time between London and Winchester.

Editorial Reviews

Grimwood shifts from alternate reality SF (End of the World Blues) to alternate history fantasy, exploring a Renaissance Venice in which witches, werewolves, and vampires get drawn into the inevitable court intrigues. When a raid on a Turkish ship frees a young vampire named Tycho, the vampire apprentices to Venetian assassin Atilo, ready to be employed as a weapon by the mother and uncle of Venice's impotent duke. Both politicians and supernatural entities engage in cruelty and nastiness that almost overwhelm the story; many of the scenes, such as murders of children and a forced impregnation, are not for the squeamish, but little is gratuitous. This grim tale will appeal to fans of political and historical fantasy as well as those who appreciate more traditional interpretations of vampires and werewolves. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Lady Giulietta di Millioni, the teenaged cousin of the duke of Venice, attempts to flee her enforced marriage to King Janus of Cyprus, a man rumored to be cruel and interested only in acquiring an heir. Preventing her escape is Atilo il Mauros, the Moor who has protected her since her childhood and who leads the Assassini, Venice's elite group of enforcers. Her fate, however, and the fate of the city lie in the hands of a young man who stalks the streets at night—and who is said to exist on blood. The author of "The Arabesk Trilogy" (Pashazade; Effendi; Felaheen) turns to historical fantasy in this tale of politics, love, and the supernatural. In his capable hands, 15th-century Venice springs to life, along with a varied cast of nobles, pirates, and supernatural creatures. VERDICT This well-written book should appeal to fans of both period fantasy and vampire fiction.

Library Journal