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2012 Book Review #17: Prince of Foxes
Title: Prince of Foxes
Author: Samuel Shellabarger
Genre: Historical fiction (Renaissance Italy)
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: A captain of Borgia's falls in love and has a change of heart. It will take all of his political wits and military skills to protect them both from Borgia's wrath.
Thoughts: An old-fashioned adventure story, this book features a Marty Stu who may be implausibly gifted, but is vastly entertaining to watch. Andrea Orsini can do absolutely anything--paint, sing, duel, command a military force, seduce anyone, brawl, even negotiate politics with the Borgia Pope and his conquering son.
He starts as a cynical captain/politician with an assassin sidekick who may be even more fun to watch than he is. There are faked miracles, possibly real miracles, saints, politics, romance, intrigue, sieges, attempted assasinations, and a little torture thrown in for variety. The ending is a bit hokey, yet somehow deeply satisfying. This is not a particularly cynical book--rather, it acknowledges cynicism and embraces higher virtues nonetheless. It's refreshing in an old-fashioned way.
Camilla, the love interest, is slightly grating in that she was written in 1947 and it does show. But overall, she holds her own well, even if the fact that she's intelligent and has a sense of humor is repeatedly described as "boyish". Poor Lucrezia Borgia does not do nearly as well, portrayed as a shallow dolt, and her femme fatale cousin Angela gets off nearly as poorly. But if you're willing to deal with an attitude towards women that's both dated yet slightly anachronistic, Camilla at least has some agency and wit.
While I did really enjoy this book, I need to offer one very strong warning. As mentioned, it was written several decades ago, about the Renaissance. The racism is absolutely appalling. It's not a major part of the story, thank goodness. But there's a black child slave who rolls his eyes, flashes white teeth, speaks with a dreadful accent, is handed off between characters with less consideration than one would give a horse, is dressed up and trotted around like a doll, and is threatened with spankings in an epilogue whose timeline would require him to be an adult. He's indolent, stupid, spoiled, chubby, and treated as a toy. Also, there's an unfortunate midget who gets similar treatment, although she's at least credited with an adult intelligence even if she's literally treated as a plaything. If you can skim over these bits, realizing that it's an unfortunate historical legacy that mars an otherwise entertaining story, then brace yourself and read away. But if the very thought sets your teeth on edge and it would destroy the story for you (and I would not in the slightest blame anyone who couldn't get over it), do your blood pressure a favor and skip this one.
Author: Samuel Shellabarger
Genre: Historical fiction (Renaissance Italy)
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: A captain of Borgia's falls in love and has a change of heart. It will take all of his political wits and military skills to protect them both from Borgia's wrath.
Thoughts: An old-fashioned adventure story, this book features a Marty Stu who may be implausibly gifted, but is vastly entertaining to watch. Andrea Orsini can do absolutely anything--paint, sing, duel, command a military force, seduce anyone, brawl, even negotiate politics with the Borgia Pope and his conquering son.
He starts as a cynical captain/politician with an assassin sidekick who may be even more fun to watch than he is. There are faked miracles, possibly real miracles, saints, politics, romance, intrigue, sieges, attempted assasinations, and a little torture thrown in for variety. The ending is a bit hokey, yet somehow deeply satisfying. This is not a particularly cynical book--rather, it acknowledges cynicism and embraces higher virtues nonetheless. It's refreshing in an old-fashioned way.
Camilla, the love interest, is slightly grating in that she was written in 1947 and it does show. But overall, she holds her own well, even if the fact that she's intelligent and has a sense of humor is repeatedly described as "boyish". Poor Lucrezia Borgia does not do nearly as well, portrayed as a shallow dolt, and her femme fatale cousin Angela gets off nearly as poorly. But if you're willing to deal with an attitude towards women that's both dated yet slightly anachronistic, Camilla at least has some agency and wit.
While I did really enjoy this book, I need to offer one very strong warning. As mentioned, it was written several decades ago, about the Renaissance. The racism is absolutely appalling. It's not a major part of the story, thank goodness. But there's a black child slave who rolls his eyes, flashes white teeth, speaks with a dreadful accent, is handed off between characters with less consideration than one would give a horse, is dressed up and trotted around like a doll, and is threatened with spankings in an epilogue whose timeline would require him to be an adult. He's indolent, stupid, spoiled, chubby, and treated as a toy. Also, there's an unfortunate midget who gets similar treatment, although she's at least credited with an adult intelligence even if she's literally treated as a plaything. If you can skim over these bits, realizing that it's an unfortunate historical legacy that mars an otherwise entertaining story, then brace yourself and read away. But if the very thought sets your teeth on edge and it would destroy the story for you (and I would not in the slightest blame anyone who couldn't get over it), do your blood pressure a favor and skip this one.