Apr 06 2006
The Medici Guns
ISBN: none
DDC: 823.914
Author: Martin Woodhouse & Robert Ross
All day long, under a yellow and smoking Tuscan sky, the two huge guns vomitied fire.
The Medici Guns is set in the 1400’s in Italy, mostly centred on Florence, as you may have guessed by the title, and it focuses on a few months in the life of a 25 year old Leonardo da Vinci.
A lot of research has gone into producing this book, there are many extracts from Leonardo’s notebooks and it seems to be historically very accurate. Some people may think that means the story may be lacking, but it isn’t. This is a very easy read, with plenty to keep you entertained, whether you are interested in the development of the new type of cannon of the title, or simply the personalities of Renaissance Italy.
And it is also nice to come across a young Leonardo da Vinci, all too often we tend to see him as nothing but an old painter with a beard. This book shows how great an artist he was, as well as how much of a genius he must have been.
The characters are all entertaining, and many are quite likeable. Some are less likeable, but then again, assassins and murderers are rarely intended to by lovable.
Tags: 8 Stars, 823.914, C15th, cannon, de Medici family, historical fiction, Italy - Florence, Leonado da Vinci, Martin Woodhouse, Robert Ross, The Medici Guns, War