Voice Of The Falconer: A Novel Of Renaissance Italy

From international bestselling author David Blixt (The Master Of Verona, What Girls Are Good For), a thrilling novel of Renaissance intrigue!

Italy, 1325. Eight years after the tumultuous events of The Master Of Verona, Pietro Alighieri is living in exile in Ravenna, grieving the loss of his famous poetic father by studying law. Secretly, Pietro is also raising Cesco, bastard heir to Verona's prince, the magnificent Cangrande della Scala. When word of Cangrande's sudden death reaches their sleepy seaside town, Pietro must abandon his studies to race north before rivals can usurp Cesco's rightful place on Verona's throne.

But young Cesco refuses to be anyone's pawn. Headstrong, willful, and devious, he defies even the stars, risking his life to display his mercurial wit to the city he's meant to rule. Meanwhile, far behind the scenes, a mastermind pulls the strings, moving all the players towards a bloody finale. 

Born from Shakespeare's Italian plays, the poetry of Dante, and the events of history, Voice Of The Falconer explores the danger, deceit, and deviltry of early Renaissance Italy, and the terrible choices one must make just to stay alive. Filled with swashbuckling adventure and unrequited love, this epic journey recalls the best of Bernard Cornwell, Sharon Kay Penman, and Dorothy Dunnett.

'New readers, beware! Once you start reading one of David's books, real life comes to a screeching halt until you finish it.' - Sharon Kay Penman, The Sunne In Splendour