Altai
Wu Ming
Sweeping historical novel of espionage, betrayal and identity
When Q was first published in
1999, it was an international sensation; returning to the same world of that
extraordinary novel Altai is a
captivating story of betrayal, beliefs and the clash of civilizations.
When a fire breaks out in the Arsenal of Venice in 1569,
everyone suspects Joseph Nasi, number-one enemy of the republic. But it is the
enigmatic Emmanuele De Zante, spy catcher and agent of the Venetian secret
service, who finds himself in jail accused of treason, having been betrayed by
his lover.
When De Zante is offered the chance to escape, he embarks
on an odyssey that takes him to Salonica, the Jerusalem of the Balkans, and
from there, all the way to the Sultan’s palace in Constantinople. Spiraling
through a series of deadly political games, De Zante’s voyage will test his
loyalty and force him to question even his own identity. Together, De Zante and
his companions head toward a conflict that threatens the very nature of
civilization.
A historical epic spanning a continent scarred by war, Altai went straight into the bestsellers
list when first published in Italy. It is a coruscating portrait of the divided
world—east meets west—in the sixteenth century,
where the great empires of the Republic of Venice and the Ottomans are on the
verge of an epoch-making conflict. In this dramatic landscape, the authors’
collective Wu Ming creates a powerful narrative of danger, identity, and
adventure.
Tagged as:
- romance 4
- europe 3
- southern europe 3
- italy 3
- city/urban 3
- historical 3
- historical fiction 3
- romantic love 2
- early modern era 2
- mystery 2
- crime 2
- war/big battles 2
- political 1
- literary fiction 1
- military, war & conflict 1
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- format - reader age
- book 1
- adult fiction 1