The second installment in Quinn's planned Venetians trilogy (after The Lion of St. Mark
) chronicles the continuing adventures of two leading Venetian families of the Renaissance: the Zianis and the Soranzos. Patriarchs Antonio Ziani and Giovanni Soranzo thought that the generations-old feud between their aristocratic clans was finally ending, but Soranzo's adopted son Enrico “had learned to hate the Zianis” and refuses to relent. Enrico especially hates Antonio's son Constantine, who had won fame fighting the Turks. So when the beautiful Maria Mocenigo—daughter of a high-ranking senator—rejects Enrico for Constantine, Enrico hires a greedy assassin to kill his rival. Meanwhile, the Venetians negotiate a peace treaty with the Turks only to be attacked by a league of Italian states unhappy with the terms of the Venetian treaty. “Exhausted” and “vulnerable,” the Venetians gamble on a risky naval attack that brings the Zianis and Soranzos, at once allies and rivals, into the climactic battle. Quinn's research shows in his grasp of historical detail and local color, but the pacing is uneven, the characters are parchment thin, and the plot contains few surprises. (Dec.)
