I have to admit the reason why I have requested the The Shadow Master, by Craig Cormick, in ARC is that I read so many things about it (namely: on Goodreads) that I got curious. A few of them are negative comments, with a virulence I found intriguing. Anybody capable of polarising that kind of attention deserves to be read. Why? Simple because the majority of contemporary books in this specific area – ie, speculative fiction – are too anodyne to engender strong reactions of any kind. Closing now (virtually speaking) the book, I have to say I’ve enjoyed the reading – even thought I do understand where all the criticism comes from.
The summary on back cover is the best introduction. “In a land riven with plague, inside the infamous Walled City, two families vie for control: the Medicis with their genius inventor Leonardo; the Lorraines with Galileo, the most brilliant alchemist of his generation. And when two star-crossed lovers, one from either house, threaten the status quo, a third, shadowy power – one that forever seems a step ahead of all of the familial warring – plots and schemes, and bides its time, ready for the moment to attack…Assassination; ancient, impossible machines; torture and infamy – just another typical day in paradise.”
The first and most obvious issue here regards the credibility of the whole story. People arguing on that are right – it’s not (credible or even plausible). But the point is that, historical (and correct) details nonetheless, this is a book of fantasy – not even, as some have said, an alternate history of Renaissance Italy. As such, it can’t be judged based on its references to Italian medieval and modern history. It is clear since the beginning: all the names are historical and yet Leonardo and Galileo belong to different ages. When Galileo was born in Pisa (1564), Leonardo was long dead in France (1519). The reference to the plague is even earlier; the Black Death was in 1348, fifty years before Cosimo de Medici. And the Lorraine-Guisa certainly existed as a family: they gave the Roman Curia at least three Cardinals in the XVI century. But their wars were not against the Medici, but French Huguenots, that they slaughtered in thousands during St Bartholomew’s day massacre. (And if we push the analysis a bit further, they were even on the same side of Caterina de Medici, mother of the French king that ordered it).
Finally, the star-crossed lovers. Many reviewers have mentioned Romeo and Juliet as main reference, thus (over-)abused. I have to dissent. The real reference here is, again, purely Italian (Shakespeare himself was not, no matter what many Italians like to believe) and it’s the most famous and classical novel of the Italian literature, Manzoni’s I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed, in English translation). The two protagonists are Renzo (short form for Lorenzo) and Lucia, like Lorenzo de Medici and Lucia Lorraine. In the original Italian story, Lucia is kidnapped – on request of the bad guy of the book – by somebody who, for his own troubled conscience, set her free afterwards disregarding his promise. His name? The same in both stories: the Nameless One. (In the Italian book, it’s L’Innominato).
There are other interesting sections in The Shadow Master. The basements with the horror chambers seem coming out straight from a tableau of Hieronymus Bosch (I couldn’t avoid thinking about Garden of Earthly Delights or The Last Judgement). The torture scenes are grisly and accurately portrayed. And the character of the Shadow Master himself is interesting enough to keep you reading on even if you don’t buy all the rest.
The Last Judgement
My sensation: the author has a good knowledge of Italian culture and history and he has put it all together, juxtaposed as in a Middle-Age canvas of a mythical world. I have the feeling this is going to go down better on people, like me, that know what the originals come from and can appreciate juggling with them. The others might just get utterly confused.
Suggestion: read it as a pure fantasy book, if you can’t spot the cultural references. And if you can, take it instead as a postmodern book. It will work certainly better, and some of its sections will gain in irony (wit and humour pervade the book, and this is another of its qualities). This is what I have done, and I have not been disappointed.
(Note: I received this book as an ARC from Angry Robot Books).