Edale Lane

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

This book serves as the culmination of the main arc in the Night Flyer Trilogy. It brings various story lines together from as far back as the first book, Merchants of Milan. Still, the catchup is smoothly inserted into the action, making it possible for the new (or forgetful) reader to understand what’s going on without reading the previous two books first.

As usual, the characters were my favorite part. Madelena (Maddie) refused to be pushed to the side for her safety. Alessandro is open to changing his position based on new knowledge. Florentina (Fiore) is both restricted as a female and employee, and unrestricted thanks to her upbringing. Her choice to continue the Night Flyer’s protection of her city after fulfilling the revenge that set her on this path gives her an outlet as well. Fiore is my favorite of them, unsurprising when I consider her thirst for knowledge, penchant for puzzles, and her clever inventions. I enjoyed most of the characters, with the grand exception being the master villain, though not because he is any less well drawn. Even the assassins offered a bit of amusement at times.

Fiore’s inventor side seems in greater play with this book than the others. It might be a failing of my memory, but I loved seeing her come up with, work out, and then use different inventions in Chaos in Milan. I only remember the last step from the previous books for most cases.

I appreciated Maddie’s development in running the charity house. It isn’t all easy, but she’s making a difference while learning how slow change can be. We see more sides to her through this. Her work in the textiles house, though enough to earn her a full partnership, is more told than shown.

I have been afraid for Antonio, Alessandro’s oldest, since he left to join the French army. His development, and the portrayal of war and its effects, is powerful. He is also one catalyst for Alessandro’s growth.

Antonio and Benetto, the villain of the first book, have excellent character arcs. One finds maturity in the horrors of war and the other reclaims his humanity through humiliation.

The cast is quite large, though we already know most of the characters, but each offers something to enhance the explored themes, whether philosophy, love, or change. It’s odd in some ways how change of character is such a dominant theme in the series when change itself is a key component of the chaos philosophy they are trying to squash. Again, it offers a bigger perspective than even the characters see.

The romantic developments are also more in the forefront for this novel. Doubt no longer holds Maddie and Fiore apart, and the strength love and passion bring all the characters is shown on the page. The passion is closed door without detail, however, regardless of the couple involved. Alessandro’s love for his wife and Antonio’s determination to get home to Agnese add to the main love story. Even Benetto’s change of heart, seen in the previous book, grows as he remembers to value his loved ones over power.

Thanks to the manifesto recovered in the previous book, Chaos in Milan has more of the rival philosophies in play between those seeking order and those who want chaos to reign. I enjoyed seeing the different philosophies and how they governed these secret organizations. There’s something to be said for each position, if not for how the Shadow Guild went about it.

The main characters are not so willing to see all sides, nor can I blame them. Fiore, as the Night Flyer, has been facing direct attacks on the woman she loves after all. Still, I enjoyed the analysis of the Shadow Guild’s philosophy and how the main characters saw its flaws and contradictions.

I learned a lot of where Fiore, Maddie, and Alessandro stood from watching them puzzle out the manifesto and compare it to the Shadow Guild’s actions. Nor were the philosophies limited to the secret organizations as the characters were quick to share their opinions and reactions to the events.

Their progress through the manuscript seems a little slow, but then they haven’t been taught crypto puzzles by their older sister. I like how the steps they take, and the work to get there, appear on the page rather than behind the scenes. The seeds to support the narrative and what the main characters learn are present, allowing the reader to work the puzzles too, something I enjoy.

Gender politics are another point of fascination, showing how women of the early 1500s Italian states were active in more than just the home front and charities. The costs of beauty standards, and the belief in traditional marriage as safety and security come up in context of what women were actually doing versus expected to do. This offers a well-rounded sense of the period I appreciated.

The description is heavy for me in places, possibly even more than in the earlier books. At the same time, I already trust the author to give a good story. Also, the description became a fascinating guided art-and-style tour of the period at points. I never thought I’d consider this element part of my enjoyment, but there you have it.

Secrets have played a big part in the series, and this book is no different. Between attempting to discover the meeting place of the Shadow Guild and keeping Alessandro’s connections from Maddie, the theme behind controlling information, especially to protect loved ones, is still being explored. Some choices I appreciate, but others I understand and still think are the wrong ones. A nice way to explore a difficult concept in all its various twists.

Chaos in Milan offers a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, though with the possibility of additional books in the series. The various relationships have deepened, some characters mature while other change, and the description offers a tour of the period. Antonio brings the consequences of war to life even as the chaos manifesto praises conflict. All this without considering how they must track down the Shadow Guild to end the attempts on Maddie’s life. There is a lot of meat in this novel on many fronts whether you prefer plot, character, or philosophy. How these elements blend and support each other is well done. I have enjoyed the trilogy from start to finish.

P.S. I received this Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher in return for an honest review.… (más)

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

Secrets of Milan starts with Fiore and Maddie in a relationship crisis, with Maddie holding herself separate. This confused me for a short while because I’d thought their crisis over, but when Maddie quickly reveals the cause, it’s something new. Her concerns about Fiore putting herself in harm’s way when Maddie already grieved for her spouse are compelling and not the kind of fears easy to resolve.

We might learn why Maddie has withdrawn early, but this forms the bridging conflict, giving the pieces of the next mystery time to gather. Yes, we knew of the secret society by the end of the first book, but Maddie might not be the only target, nor does Fiore’s investigation go unnoticed.

The pursuit of the secret society consumes the entire book, offering a central plot which affects many aspects, including their relationship. I found it infected my own perspective, making me expect clues everywhere, much like Fiore does. I consider that a sign of how the text absorbed me.

However, this difficult search is not the only plot thread running. There’s a lot to keep the reader interested beyond tracking down the society by translating the ravings of a madman. Fiore’s position as tutor, Maddie’s work on the charity house, and even a bit of blackmail, exist within a rich tapestry. The series’ world has both social and economic aspects built on the firm grounding of known history.

This book goes further into the merchant guilds and the rules governing the different classes and genders. While accepted within their household, society frowns on the love between Maddie and Fiore both for their same gender and their difference in economic standing, adding another layer. Nor is this the only story occurring hidden from public view. Where Fiore had a singular focus in the first book, the Night Flyer cannot keep a simplistic view of her world forever.

One thread that could easily have become a distraction focuses on Benetto, the villain of the first book, and I worried he would return to that status. Instead, his path is much more complicated. Fiore gave him a second chance, but it’s not in his nature to see ruin as hope. I appreciated the depth in this thread and how Benetto had to struggle. The continuing shadow of the Night Flyer and his daughter’s unwavering love for Alessandro’s son, Antonio, kept this piece connected to the whole.

Antonio’s life as a soldier is laid out for the reader in all its contradictions. We rejoin him as part of the eager standard bearers struggling to train their first command. War is a lot of waiting and lack of conflict. This does not last long, though, and their introduction to the realities of war is daunting. The thread kept him in mind despite the distance and allowed us to see both sides of the second love story between him and Benetto’s daughter.

As with the first book, I enjoyed the interactions with the kids and experiencing Fiore’s teaching style. We are as much her pupils as the children whether for points of science or history. The book is still a little heavier on the description than I prefer, but whenever it dipped into these areas, I was enthralled. A good example of this is the technical description of how a harpsichord functions as a mechanized combination of string and percussion. Nor did I skim over the visits to places I have never seen with my own eyes, taking in the detail as though I were there with them.

There’s much more I would like to mention but can’t for fear of spoiling something. For a middle book, this is all but a standalone novel. The main crisis reaches a satisfying, and surprising, conclusion while still leaving more for the series to explore. The love story between Fiore and Maddie continues to develop with intimate but not detailed scenes. This book is an honest sequel to the first, extending what happened there in interesting and unexpected ways. I’d guessed some pieces but not the whole, making me a part of the journey rather than an observer.

P.S. I received this Advanced Reader Copy from the blog tour company Other Worlds Inc in return for an honest review.… (más)

Originally posted on Tales to Tide You Over

Book One of the Night Flyer Trilogy invites you into the lush world of 1502 Milan during the Italian Renaissance. Wealthy merchants had almost as much power as the ruler, and the rule of law did not apply to them. It begins a little slow with a prologue full of implication rather than action. That scene, though, sets the stage for Florentina’s dual life as the tutor of two bright children and a black-clad dagger of vengeance starting with the first chapter.

The characters are well rounded, their personalities revealed through interactions more than description. Don Benetto earns my hatred from the first scene, but many others made me care about them. Though the book really has one main character, Florentina or Fiore, there were many interesting and good people. These include Madelena, who wins Fiore’s heart; Maddie’s brother Alessandro; her children; and many others. Nor is Don Benetto alone in deserving contempt or worse. These characters and more gain control of the narrative for a scene or more, building their story within the greater one.

I knew I’d been drawn in fully when I commented how I didn’t want anything to happen to a secondary character. I have a soft spot for adults who encourage and treasure children, but Fiore and the leading secondary characters had more than that going for them. We get to see how they interact within their world and the choices they make as compared to others with less strength of character.

Nor is the world ignored in favor of fleshing out the characters. This book made me learn something of myself as I commented that the detailed description of clothing and furniture to set the scenes, while well written, might become overwhelming. Then we hit a passage about a Leonardo da Vinci mechanism, and I was fascinated. It’s clearly a matter of preference. However, the description is limited to when something new is introduced and never became too much.

This novel is a cross between a story of vengeance and one of love, but the two plots are intertwined with consequences and risks in both directions. I found the earlier lesbian references awkward, but once we learn Fiore has never acted on her inclination, the awkwardness becomes a matter of character depth, not weak narrative. The romance is a slow awakening, taking Fiore from inclination to love with no detailed open-door scenes.

In contrast, the vengeance plot brings us along to see each strategy and how it’s put into play with the aid of contraptions from her father and da Vinci himself. Her father had been da Vinci’s assistant, and she learned at his side. Fiore is almost a Renaissance Batman (a comment from my notes that made me laugh when I read the Batgirl reference in this morning’s interview) without wealth or freedom from employment to make things easy. Instead, she employs innovation and her understanding of the mechanical and combustive sciences.

The story offers a rich environment full of mystery and danger where law keeping has limited power and the rich are ruled only by their conscience. Precocious children, greed, and upstanding citizens trying to do good add to the mix. I enjoyed both sides of this story and was pleasantly surprised by several of the characters while others lived up to their presented natures. The story is not predictable so much as well seeded with characters who are either consistent or change because of something happening. This makes them, and the world, feel more tangible. The main plots both come to a satisfying end point, but hints and plans lead the reader to the next book in the series.

I have so many more notes, but I’ll stop here with one more comment: Reading Merchants of Milan reminded me of when I picked up Swordpoint by Ellen Kushner. I was looking for a different author and did it by accident, but the story and world sucked me in. Edale Lane does the same.

P.S. I received this Advanced Reader Copy as part of the Other Worlds Inc blog tour in return for an honest review.… (más)