From Publishers Weekly
Scotsman McAuley (Philip A. Dick Award-winning Four Hundred Billion Stars; Red Dust) has written an ambitious, often brilliant novel of alternate history. Renaissance Florence provides the richly portrayed historical backdrop. But, in McAuley's evocation, the city's skies are tainted by industrial waste from foundries and manufactories; its monumental buildings are designed and fiercely watched over by the Great Engineer, whose identity readers will easily deduce as that of Leonardo da Vinci. In this alternate Florence, a division has arisen between artisans and artists, with the former?those who work with their hands?holding more prestige than the creative artists. The protagonist is Pasquale, an apprentice painter determined to create a true image of an angel. He meets Niccolo Machiavegli, who lost his foreign policy position under the Republic rule and is now a journalist and political commentator on a broadsheet offering gossip and scandal. As the two become involved in investigating a string of murders, including the death of Raphael (Florence's most honored artist since Michelangelo fell from grace when he failed to complete the Sistine Chapel ceiling), Pasquale and Machiavegli uncover conspiracy after conspiracy, including the "demonology" of the followers of prophet-orator Savonarola and the obligatory "Spanish conspiracy." McAuley adroitly ties all these events together in a complex plot. His most noteworthy accomplishment is that Machiavegli sounds Machiavellian even in ordinary conversation. Indeed, the only moments that give a reader pause are those that seem more anachronistic than they probably truly are?Pasquale turns out erotic paintings called "stiffeners"; a corpsemaster wishes for "sloppy seconds." McAuley's spectacularly realized chiaroscuro world is a highly entertaining tour de force. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Although they were, respectively, a universe-spanning space opera and a dark depiction of the last days of human colonization of Mars, McAuley's Eternal Light (1993) and Red Dust often strained science fiction conventions. Now, McAuley leaves sf altogether, producing a vividly imagined, historically meticulous murder mystery set during the Renaissance. Just before an auspicious papal visit to Florence, a fierce argument breaks out between a local apprentice to Leonardo da Vinci and an assistant of the notorious Florentine painter, Raphael. When the assistant is found murdered in a locked tower, famed essayist Niccolo{•}Machiavegli [sic] accompanies Pasquale, a novice artisan, on the detective trail. As suspects proliferate, including, among others, the great Michelangelo and Raphael himself, Machiavegli and Pasquale uncover Florence's darker secrets. McAuley makes excellent use of period scenery, celebrities, and art history to create an absorbing suspense vehicle. May the novel's release under Morrow's sf imprint, AvoNova, not mislead readers in search of a first-rate murder mystery. Carl Hays

ANNOTATION

On the eve of the Medici Pope's visit, an assassin has struck down an assistant to Raphael. It is a crime that draws an artist named Pasquale and the brilliant, alcoholic investigative reporter Niccolo Machiaveglia into the deepest shadows of their gray, steam-driven city--where there are fouler deaths to follow. Targeted ads. HC: AvoNova.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Renaissance has both blessed and cursed the great Florentine Republic - ushering in a glorious new age of artistic and scientific achievement...while drowning the powerful Mediterranean city/state in polluted rain and the filthy, tainted air that spews from its foundries and manufactories. This is the world Pasquale must diligently explore in search of an angelic vision that will enable him to create his masterpiece - a world far more frightening than he ever imagined. An assassin has struck down an assistant of Florence's most renowned personage, the immortal Raphael, on the eve of a much-anticipated visit by the Medici Pope Leo. Recognizing a golden opportunity to earn a florin or two, Pasquale offers his services as an illustrator to a local broadsheet - accompanying the brilliant, alcoholic investigative reporter Niccolo Machiavegli into the deepest shadows of their gray, steam-driven city. But there are fouler deaths to follow - and grave conspiracies breeding like rats beyond the roar of great engines and the hiss of acetylene street lamps. Intrigues of witchcraft, war, photography and flight are waiting to entrap the world-weary journalist and his unwitting aide. And it is in the high, solitary tower of the enigmatic hermit known as the Great Engineer where Pasquale must seek his destiny - to soar heavenward with the angels...or descend into Hell.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Scotsman McAuley (Philip A. Dick Award-winning Four Hundred Billion Stars; Red Dust) has written an ambitious, often brilliant novel of alternate history. Renaissance Florence provides the richly portrayed historical backdrop. But, in McAuley's evocation, the city's skies are tainted by industrial waste from foundries and manufactories; its monumental buildings are designed and fiercely watched over by the Great Engineer, whose identity readers will easily deduce as that of Leonardo da Vinci. In this alternate Florence, a division has arisen between artisans and artists, with the former-those who work with their hands-holding more prestige than the creative artists. The protagonist is Pasquale, an apprentice painter determined to create a true image of an angel. He meets Niccol Machiavegli, who lost his foreign policy position under the Republic rule and is now a journalist and political commentator on a broadsheet offering gossip and scandal. As the two become involved in investigating a string of murders, including the death of Raphael (Florence's most honored artist since Michelangelo fell from grace when he failed to complete the Sistine Chapel ceiling), Pasquale and Machiavegli uncover conspiracy after conspiracy, including the ``demonology'' of the followers of prophet-orator Savonarola and the obligatory ``Spanish conspiracy.'' McAuley adroitly ties all these events together in a complex plot. His most noteworthy accomplishment is that Machiavegli sounds Machiavellian even in ordinary conversation. Indeed, the only moments that give a reader pause are those that seem more anachronistic than they probably truly are-Pasquale turns out erotic paintings called ``stiffeners''; a corpsemaster wishes for ``sloppy seconds.'' McAuley's spectacularly realized chiaroscuro world is a highly entertaining tour de force. (June)

BookList - Carl Hays