About this item
Highlights
- "Richly reminiscent of Umberto Eco, the headlong pace of this dark fantasy--combining elements of mystery, historical fiction, horror and the splinter genre clockpunk--will let readers swallow the entrancing story in a single gulp.
- Author(s): Pablo de Santis
- 160 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Mystery & Detective
Description
About the Book
The acclaimed author of "The Paris Enigma" is back with new novel, this one set during the height of the 18th century's Enlightenment, in pre-revolution France, where the skilled, yet fading, craft of a renowned calligrapher is at the heart of a breathless steampunk mystery.Book Synopsis
"Richly reminiscent of Umberto Eco, the headlong pace of this dark fantasy--combining elements of mystery, historical fiction, horror and the splinter genre clockpunk--will let readers swallow the entrancing story in a single gulp." --Kirkus Reviews
Pablo DeSantis, the internationally acclaimed author of The Paris Enigma, is back with a wonderfully inventive, deliciously sinister thriller set in the chaos and opulence of 18th century Paris, where the malevolent remnants of the Dark Ages battle the progressive elements of the modern age. Anyone wondering where to turn after Neal Stephenson's Anathem and The Baroque Cycle or Matthew Pearl's The Dante Club will thrill for the exquisite language and deep intrigue of Pablo De Santis' Voltaire's Calligrapher.
From the Back Cover
Dalessius is twenty when he comes to work for one of the Enlightenment's most famous minds, the author and philosopher Voltaire. As the great man's calligrapher, Dalessius becomes witness to many wonders--and finds himself in the middle of a secret battle between the malevolent remnants of the all-but-dead Dark Ages and the progressive elements of the modernage. The calligrapher's role in this shadowy conflict will carry him to many perilous places-- through the gates of sinister castles and to the doors of a bizarre bordello; toward life-and death confrontations with inventive henchmen, ingenious mechanical execution devices, poisonous fish, and murderous automatons. As the conspiracy to halt the Enlightenment's astonishing progress intensifies, young Dalessius's courage--as well as Voltaire's unique cunning and wit--are put to the ultimate test as they strive to ensure the survival of the future.
Review Quotes
"While the prose is richly reminiscent of Umberto Eco, the headlong pace of this dark fantasy--combining elements of mystery, historical fiction, horror and the splinter genre clockpunk--will let readers swallow the entrancing story in a single gulp." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Those who believe that calligraphy is a sedentary art have not yet read Voltaire's Calligrapher, Pablo De Santis' wonderful novel. De Santis has written a historical thriller that isn't the usual guided tour of the past...His narrative is deliciously and admirably sinister." -- La Nación Revista, Buenos Aires
"Voltaire's Calligrapher reminds us of Alexander Dumas' novels because it never underestimates the reader's intelligence." -- La Voz del Interior, Córdoba