This third volume in Monaldi & Sorti's 'Atto Melani' series of historical novels is set (mainly) in Vienna in 1711 and considers the death of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I from smallpox just as a strange delegation from the Ottoman empire has arrived for secret discussions. Was the Emperor's death natural or more sinister? Why has Atto Melani suddenly appeared in Vienna after so many years and why are the students helping him to understand what is happening being bumped off, one by one?

As always, Monaldi & Sorti wrap a thriller of the first order inside a dense, rich, almost overpowering historical text. The authors have worked hard to extract every ounce of research from the most esoteric sources for their book and have ensured that all that work appears on the page. The scope here is enormous: political history of the Empire, family history of Emperor Joseph and his closest associates, daily life in Vienna and innumerable dalliances in the byways of Viennese culture and history. There are so many trees so lovingly described here that it is easy to lose sight, or at least interest, in the forest.

For some, historical murder fiction is all about the destination, the who and how and why of the crimes. Here the focus is very definitely on the journey itself and some might view the thriller mechanics involved as crude to say the least. In my view, it is the immersion in the historical world that makes this novel so addictive and memorable. ( )

ATTENZIONE! QUESTA RECENSIONE CONTIENE ANTICIPAZIONI SULLA TRAMA!!!
Come sempre Monaldi & Sorti affascinano i loro lettori! Anche questa volta, come in Imprimatur e Secretum, l'attenzione degli autori si concentra su un fatto storico dalle circostanze poco chiare, nella fattispecie la morte dell'imperatore asburgico Giuseppe I (e non solo la sua), nel fiore degli anni, per una micidiale forma di vaiolo emorragico (peraltro mai registrata prima. Interessantissime le spiegazioni sulla pratica dell’inoculazione nelle note finali). Il romanzo trascina di peso il lettore nella Vienna asburgica del 1711, descrivendo gli usi, i costumi e la società dell’epoca, con dovizia di dettagli gustossissimi e con l’ausilio di articoli e immagini tratti dalle gazzette di allora (a titolo d’esempio, si narra di una nave volante a forma di uccello proveniente dal Portogallo, con tanto di incisione d’epoca). Insomma, Veritas è a mio modo di vedere un romanzo assolutamente eccezionale, forse ancora migliore dei precedenti. Vi sono colpi di scena e situazioni assolutamente incredibili, brutali assassinii e un finale in cui si svelano gli ultimi giorni dell’Umanità (leggere il libro per capire!) … in cui la speranza squarcia le tenebre di un comune destino assai cupo. Preziose anche le note finali e la completissima bibliografia (350 opere !!!) nonché un pratico rinvio tramite scansione del codice QR alla musica di cui si parla nel libro (ottima trovata!!). ( )

This was the authors’ third novel involving Abbot Atto Melani. It deals with political machinations in Europe in the early 1700s. The main action of the novel is centred in Vienna but the story involves wars and alliances reaching across Europe and into Asia.

Monaldi and Sorti have written an historical novel with messages for today. The actions of states are exposed to be driven by the money lenders who finance world leaders and their exploits. It is easy to see parallels between actions in the 17th & 18th centuries and the recent economic debacle that has rocked world economies and is continuing to hinder economic recovery.

The book also raises questions about who really controls the world and whether or not events in the world unfold as a natural consequence of government actions or if there is a hidden group influencing individual countries and power blocks to achieve its own global objectives.

I enjoy Monaldi and Sorti’s novels but this one had some flaws in my opinion. In the early stages of the novel there was a lot of recapping the actions of the previous two novels. I felt this was a bit heavy handed and the book suffered for it.

The previous two novels lulled me into a wonderful state of relaxation with the descriptions of gardens and buildings. In this novel I found myself tiring of the descriptions and starting to skip paragraphs. I have a suspicion that this could be partly due to the translation. A different translator was used for this novel and there is a possibility that this affected the style of the book ever so slightly. It could also have been the origin of some of the basic grammatical errors I stumbled across regularly.

Despite the flaws mentioned I enjoyed the novel and, as always, was happy to have gaps in my knowledge of history sketched in for me.

One thing I particularly like in this novel is how the authors have continued to demonstrate their dislike of the media, newspapers in particular (and let’s face it, there were not many other forms of media available in the early 18th century).

“They are nothing but machines, these newspapers, which feed upon the life of men. The life that these machines devour is naturally no more than it can be in such an age, an age of machines; production that is stupid on the one hand, and mad on the other, inevitably, and both bearing the stamp of vulgarity.” ( )

In the third volume of the historical series, Atto and our short hero meets again this time in Vienna. Of course it's not a simple meeting, they are once again in the middle of an international conspiracy. Although lack the 'reality' of the previous ones (flying ship WTF?) still a great book. ( )

Tof boek ! ( )