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The Malice of Fortune

3.22 of 5 stars 3.22 · rating details · 602 ratings · 173 reviews

Against a teeming canvas of Borgia politics, Niccolò Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci come together to unmask an enigmaticserial killer, as we learn the secret history behind one of the most controversial works in the western canon, The Prince...
When Pope Alexander dispatches a Vatican courtesan, Damiata, to the remote fortress city of Imola to learn the truth behind the...more

Hardcover, 399 pages

Published September 11th 2012 by Doubleday (first published January 1st 2012)

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Mar 22, 2013 Linda (Miss Greedybooks) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery-suspense

Fantastic cast of characters, Borgias, da Vinci, Machiavelli - now I must get "The Prince" out of storage and read it - "Machiavellian - today is arguably the most misunderstood and dangerously misused adjective in the popular lexicon".

I did not know about much of the history of "Malice", but what I watched on HBO's "The Borgias" so interesting! I have read some Borgia books, but why did I not know "The Prince" was modeled on Duke Valentino - Cesare Borgia?

Must.Find.Out.More.

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Sep 07, 2012 Doubleday Books rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, favorites

“With its vivid, well-defined array of characters, The Malice of Fortune captures the glorious and gritty details of Renaissance Italy in a propulsive story. Ennis has achieved a great accomplishment, historical fiction that places us right into the characters' present.” —Matthew Pearl, author of The Monster of Florence and The Technologists

“The Malice of Fortune is more than a thriller--it's a tender love story, a grim exploration of the nature of human evil, and an immersive tour of Renaissan...more
“With its vivid, well-defined array of characters, The Malice of Fortune captures the glorious and gritty details of Renaissance Italy in a propulsive story. Ennis has achieved a great accomplishment, historical fiction that places us right into the characters' present.” —Matthew Pearl, author of The Monster of Florence and The Technologists

“The Malice of Fortune is more than a thriller--it's a tender love story, a grim exploration of the nature of human evil, and an immersive tour of Renaissance Italy as courageous, perceptive young Niccolo Machiavelli fights for his life against ruthless Borgia factions. A novel written with gusto, panache, and intellectual rigor.” —Lyndsay Faye, author of Gods of Gotham and Dust and Shadows

"A true masterpiece... Michael Ennis has poured the knowledge and wisdom of many lifetimes into the exquisite form of a mystery so dark, so labyrinthine. The Malice of Fortune is stunning, terrifying, and utterly mesmerizing. I can honestly say I never fully appreciated the genius of Machiavelli, or the savagery of the Borgias, until now." —Ann eFortier, author of Juliet

“Michael Ennis bring the Renaissance alive in this tour-de-force: The Malice of Fortune dishes out a simmering stew, thick with chicanery, bloodshed, dastardly deeds, code-breaking, puzzle-solving, and a cast of characters that includes Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, Cesare Borgia—and Damiata, the real-life courtesan whose brassiness, brains, and beauty dazzle even her employer and nemesis: the Pope.” —Katherine Neville, author of The Eight and The Fire

“For readers who've been waiting all these years for the next The Name of the Rose—here it is. Michael Ennis brings a scholar’s mind and a writer’s heart to this beautifully crafted work of Renaissance intrigue that has a rare quality of feeling ancient and modern at the same time. A powerful thinking-man’s thriller.” —Glenn Cooper, author of Library of the Dead and Book of Souls

“This is a fascinating novel, filled with extraordinary, well-realized historical characters and a plot that is engrossing and wickedly clever. The Malice of Fortune is an excellent, beautifully researched, and well-written novel that has a fine, fine sense of place. It captured my attention up front and kept me turning the pages to the very end." —Douglas Preston, co-author of The Monster of Florence
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May 15, 2013 Dorothy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wonderful, thoughtful and thought provoking history-mystery. An enigma wrapped in a conundrum (or vice versa) this book is a study of human nature, power, ambition, curiosity and political philosophy interwoven among and within a murder(s) mystery. It is helpful to have a familiarity with late 15th/early 16th century Italian and papal history. If all you know about it you learned from the sensationalistic and historically bogus Borgias on Showtime this book may add another dimension to the chara...more

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Dec 31, 2012 drey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, fiction-historical, mystery-suspense-and-thriller

Michael Ennis’ The Malice of Fortune is a dark mystery revolving around the Roman Catholic Pope Alexander’s son, Duke Valentino. Its main voices are those of Damiata, a courtesan whose life is wrapped up with the Borgias, and Niccolo Machiavelli, sent to Valentino’s court to protect the interests of Florence, albeit without any authority to negotiate.

The background of political intrigue and the potential of war add tension to the story, and the murders leave a gruesome undertone. What shines thr...more

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May 18, 2013 Barbd rated it 3 of 5 stars

I recently read a non-fiction title (The Artist, The Philsopher and The Warrior by Paul Strathern) about Da Vinci, Machiavelli, & Cesare Borgia coming together. Borgia is the less well known now, but he was the most important(and most feared) mover and shaker at that time. He wanted Da Vinci's services as a military engineer and he used Machiavelli's diplomatic portfolio and connections to obtain Da Vinci's cooperation. Machiavelli hoped to forestall or circumvent an attack by Borgia on his...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Virginia rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, historical-fiction, set-in-italy, post-2010

I don’t usually 'do' serial-killer fiction or films; they don’t appeal to me and I especially don’t like the cliché of the Lecter-style brainiac killer trying to torment those investigating him with convoluted intellectual constructs. I had to read this one, though, since it is set in precisely the same period as a novel I have just written and uses some of same historical characters and tracks some of the same events—it was completely impossible to resist the temptation to see what someone else...more I don’t usually 'do' serial-killer fiction or films; they don’t appeal to me and I especially don’t like the cliché of the Lecter-style brainiac killer trying to torment those investigating him with convoluted intellectual constructs. I had to read this one, though, since it is set in precisely the same period as a novel I have just written and uses some of same historical characters and tracks some of the same events—it was completely impossible to resist the temptation to see what someone else would make of the same material.

My verdict: there are some OK things about this novel. It’s a fairly speedy read and for the most part well paced. I skipped a few pages of rather contrived quasi-philosophical musings, but otherwise found it held my attention reasonably well. The plot is tortuous, and there’s a lot of melodrama and implausibility, but probably no more than is usual in the genre. A fair amount of research has gone into it, and the political history covered—abstracting from the fantasy serial killer plot—is accurate in broad lines. It’s also not too badly written, and has some quite vivid descriptive passages.

On the negative side … the novel has certain intellectual pretensions, but they’re carried through in a rather half-baked way and only serve to slow the narrative down. It’s a great idea in theory to have Machiavelli as history’s first forensic profiler, but I can’t imagine readers are going to get much out of his wafflings about human evil and its causes. Also, despite its complexity, the plot doesn’t function extraordinarily well on the ‘who done it’ level (and I’m generally fairly useless at guessing these things). Once you have eliminated the figures being set up as the obvious suspects throughout—who clearly can’t possibly be guilty by definition—there’s a distinct lack of alternative suspects.

The main flaw of the book, though, seemed to lie in its characterization. The invented (or virtually invented) character of the courtesan Damiata seemed fine to me, and, like a lot of other people who have written reviews, I enjoyed the section in her voice more than that in Machiavelli’s. Machiavelli didn’t work nearly so well, to my mind, and the second half of the book suffers as a result (even before it goes off the rails entirely at the end). It’s a very vanilla characterization of someone who was in reality not only a very brilliant and original thinker, but also distinctive in his personality and voice to the point of eccentricity. I didn’t hear Machiavelli’s voice here at all. I kept being reminded, reading the novel, of Machiavelli’s words in the prologue to his comedy, 'Clizia', to the effect that the three types of language that make us laugh are foolish language, offensive language, and amorous language. He’d have laughed his head off at some of the amorous language he is given here. And he’s always weeping! I just don’t see Machiavelli as much of a weeper.

So, reasonably enjoyable and fine for a journey or something, but no more. The author seems keen to suggest in his afterword that his fictional thesis here may have a certain historical validity, but I can’t see Italian Renaissance history being rewritten on the basis of this novel any time soon. ¬
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Mar 21, 2013 Robin Carter rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Review

There is a Tag line on the front of this book that goes "A Simmering stew, thick with chicanery, Bloodshed, code breaking and Puzzle solving."

This is about as accurate a review as you will probably find.

For me the book was not my normal fare, there was not a lot to love about any of the characters, even though we saw the story through the eyes of first Damiata and then Niccolo. Whilst the story was at times tragic, at others horrific and bloody with the murders committed by the killer. The...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

I almost gave this a 1, but then again, I finished it. The story has great possibilities: Damiata, a courtesan and mistress to the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander (a Borgia) teams up with Niccolo Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci to identify the murderer of Juan of Gandia (said illegitimate son). The first third of the book, told in Damiata's voice, is pretty compelling - lots of sex and violence, but she's good at heart, so a sympathetic character with an interesting back story. Then she dec...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Coleen Dailey rated it 5 of 5 stars

I listened to this book read by Adrian Paul ( of the tv series Highlander) and Carlotta Montamari. She was Damiata, a courtesan who was the mistress of Juan Borgia, Duke of Gandi and Cesar Borgia's brother. She also briefly was the mistress and Cesar and Niccolo Machiavelli. Adrian Paul read the parts from Niccolo. This book focuses on Machiavelli's observations of Cesar that were later included in The Prince. Also in this book was Leonardo Da Vinci - during the time he worked for Cesar. It cove...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Deborah Gray rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was immediately captivated by the premise that this was a narrative based entirely on actual events of the late 1400s and early 1500s, with historical figures portrayed just as they were documented, but woven within a story that provided context, dimension and emotional texture. I was intrigued by the focus on Leonardo di Vinci in his engineering and scientific roles, and the far more compassionate and engaging portrait of Niccolo Macchiavelli than his distorted reputation.

The story was told...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Pam rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought, as I read this book that it was interesting and ok but I find as I enter it here is was, indeed, more than that. In early Sept I read. 'The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior: The Intersecting Lives of Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the World They Shaped'...Picking up The Malice of Fortune I didn't quite realize how SPECIFICALLY these two books - one history and very well-presented and this novel - and very emotive and atmospheric - were not just the same people but...THE...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Jon rated it 2 of 5 stars

I had very high hopes for this book--set in early 16th century Italy, based with careful attention to detail on actual events, and involving Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci as detectives (!) solving a murder. A fascinating preface, a good map, a list of dramatis personae, and a recognition that despite the religious orthodoxy of the time, the popular belief was that that bitch the goddess Fortuna, not God, ran human affairs. What's not to like? But I gave up after about 70 pages. The story was...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Barbara Burd rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those who enjoy historical fiction

Recommended to Barbara by: NetGalley

This is an interesting book rich in history as Ennis weaves together the lives of Niccollo Macchiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Duke Valentino and a mysterious woman named Damiata. Constructing a story about how Macchiavellia came to write The Prince formed the basis of Ennis' premise. While something of a fantasy, the book is well-researched as Ennis portrays the contrasting cultures that exist during the brutal regime of the Borgias and then established characters that symbolize these cultures. Th...more

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Dec 13, 2012 David rated it 1 of 5 stars

Annoying is the best way I can sum up my characterization of this book based on how I felt when I was reading it: annoyed. I won't add to the reviews already posted that gave it one or two stars, but I will say that this is one of the VERY few books I have ever abandoned mid-read (I quit on page 100 or so) and i will echo the sentiments already expressed in many of these reviews: The constant intrusion of Italian words with no definition and often not definable based on context clues. We get it,...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Jason Golomb rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: renaissance, mystery, historical-fiction, thriller, italy, rome, florence

Michael Ennis has woven an elaborate Renaissance tapestry with his novel "Malice of Fortune". He's embedded a good old-fashioned murder mystery within a tale of corrupt priests and mercilessly unrepentant Italian warlords, who live in a world struggling to actualize and accept that science and religion can coexist.

Two-thirds of the tale is written from the perspective of Niccolo Machiavelli as he details his activities in trailing Cesare Borgia on behalf of his Florentine government, while Borg...more Michael Ennis has woven an elaborate Renaissance tapestry with his novel "Malice of Fortune". He's embedded a good old-fashioned murder mystery within a tale of corrupt priests and mercilessly unrepentant Italian warlords, who live in a world struggling to actualize and accept that science and religion can coexist.

Two-thirds of the tale is written from the perspective of Niccolo Machiavelli as he details his activities in trailing Cesare Borgia on behalf of his Florentine government, while Borgia conquers eastern Italy and battles his on-again off-again allied mercenaries. The other third is written from the viewpoint of a courtesan, Damiata, who finds she and her son caught up in the mystery of who murdered Cesare’s brother, and Pope Alexander VI’s son, Juan Borgia.

Damiata and Niccolo find themselves in mortal danger as Ennis slowly unravels a multi-threaded string of ongoing murders, connected to the death of Juan, while being inextricably linked to the political machinations of the Pope, Cesare and the mercenaries. Leonardo DaVinci plays a small but critical role as a high functioning savant that provides an anchor-point for Ennis’ discussions around the role of science during the High Renaissance. The interwoven plots, and pseudo scientifically based processing of clues reads like a combination of CSI, Silence of the Lambs and The Godfather.

This story has every opportunity to be great. The writing vividly recreates an early 16th century Italy ruled by the Borgias, and contains such all-world personalities like Niccolo Machiavelli and Leonardo DaVinci. Ennis' book, though, just misses - primarily from his presentation of disjointed, rushed, and simply befuddling clues. A clue to the disconnectedness of the plot points perhaps resides within Ennis' acknowledgements, where he thanks what appears to me to be too many editors involved in the project.

Ennis' themes cover love, fate and science.

Fate takes the form in the goddess Fortuna, a driving force in all of the main characters in the book. With Fortuna such an all-pervading entity in their lives, Leonardo provides an enlightened perspective. "We have been given the means to hold in our hands the entre orb of the earth. We need only measure it in order to posses it. But we need not turn this new world of ours over to Fortune, chaos, and war." DaVinci reflects on the world that's at a tipping point where science is starting to equal religion and battle superstition. Leonardo, of course, was at the forefront of that change at the height of the Renaissance.

Niccolo plays the role of a modern FBI profiler, working to understand the seemingly horrific nature of the perpetrator of what becomes a significant series of murders reaching beyond the Juan Borgia. So while Leonardo has his science of mathematics and measurement, Niccolo has his science of the mind and the nature of man. He looks to histories' greatest psychotics to understand the underlying perspectives and motivations of this serial killer. DaVinci and Nicollo don’t agree on the best ways to pursue and identify the killer, but the combination of each discipline leads the reader down a satisfying path.

In reality, Niccolo Machiavelli used Cesare Borgia campaigns during the early 16th century as his basis for “The Prince”. Armed with that knowledge, I found the development of Nicollo and Ceasre’s characters to be quite enlightening.

The book is good, but not great. The time period is fascinating, and the specific characters around which with the plot orbits are all based on historical characters. If this era is of interest, I definitely recommend the read.

I received this book through the Amazon Vine program.(less)

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Jul 23, 2012 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Michael Ennis has done something amazing: using actual letters and writings of Niccolo Macchiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci and even the Borgias, he's built a brilliant murder mystery peoplede with names from the pages of history.

Told in two first-person voices, "The Malice of Fortune" details Pope Alexander XI (Rodrigo Borgia)'s attempts to discover the murderer of his beloved son Juan. The first narrator, Madonna Damiata, is the dead man's mistress. As not much is known about this woman except her...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Patty rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book begins when Pope Alexander VI is at the height of his power politically but we find him emotionally devastated at the murder of his favored son, Juan, Duke of Gandia. Juan was heading out to visit his courtesan, Damiata when he was ambushed and killed. Damiata disappeared that night after seeing the dead body of her love. His second son, Cesare, the Duke of Valentinos is now in charge of his armies and is conquering Italy in his name. Cesare is a brilliant military man but he is evil pe...more The book begins when Pope Alexander VI is at the height of his power politically but we find him emotionally devastated at the murder of his favored son, Juan, Duke of Gandia. Juan was heading out to visit his courtesan, Damiata when he was ambushed and killed. Damiata disappeared that night after seeing the dead body of her love. His second son, Cesare, the Duke of Valentinos is now in charge of his armies and is conquering Italy in his name. Cesare is a brilliant military man but he is evil personified.

This book was a fascinating read; it brought together five fascinating characters. Three of them real, one a creation from bits of history and one is a goddess if you will - Fortune. Niccolo Machiavelli, Leonardo DaVinci and Cesare Borgia are three of the more remembered men of the Renaissance they come together in this novel with a thinking man's courtesan named Damiata to see what Fortune has in store for all of them. For Fortune plays as large a role as any of the flesh and blood characters. Any one with knowledge of the history of the time knows exactly what happens to Cesare Borgia. Leonardo DaVinci is remembered for his art and his engineering that was so far ahead of his time. Machiavelli has left us with his writings and his name has entered the lexicon as someone who looks to deceive.

It takes a writer with a strong knowledge of history and an imagination for dialog to write a novel that keeps a knowing reader turning the pages. This is a favorite period in history for me and I'm familiar with the characters and how it all ended yet I still felt a sense of suspense. The writing is dark and mysterious if uneven at times. The first third of the book is written from Damiata's point of view, the last two thirds from Machiavelli's. There was not much difference in the style. Mr. Ennis does set a scene well and his writing was the kind that brought into time and place so that I felt drawn into the conversations and felt as if I were a participant instead of an onlooker. I love books that do that.

The conversations between the two great men, Leonardo and Machiavelli were at times thought provoking and inane which I suppose can be said for all of us. It's a book I will keep for a second read; I suspect I will appreciate it more with foreknowledge of the ending, although the big reveal did not come as a surprise.
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Sep 20, 2012 Joseph rated it 2 of 5 stars

With a Masters in Political Science I spent quite a bit of time reading Machiavelli. I found him brilliant and brutally honest. I think it was Fahrenheit who said something to the effect of: Machiavelli does not tell us how rulers should rule, but rather how the actually rule. I liked Machiavelli (who also wrote plays besides writing the Prince). I was really excited about this book. However....

The Machiavelli in this book reminded me more of Socrates in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventurer than...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Krystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, thriller, historical, romance

A well-researched historical "thriller" starring Niccolo Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci, the story tries to explain the origins of Machiavelli's The Prince through the campaigns of Duke Valentino in the winter of 1502. I put thriller in quotes because while the mystery that moves the story forward is intriguing, it never moves quickly as I always associate with a thriller. A thriller is a book I can't read fast enough, a book I devour in order to get to the next clue. Ennis requires more pati...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Viridian5 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

In Michael Ennis' The Malice of Fortune, Pope Alexander dispatches a former Vatican courtesan, Damiata, to unmask an enigmatic serial killer who might have also killed his beloved son, Juan, years before. He knows she'll be diligent because he's holding her young son hostage. Her investigation of the crimes leads her to an obscure Florentine diplomat, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Valentino’s (Cesare Borgia's) eccentric military engineer, Leonardo da Vinci, who in their differing methods are doing th...more In Michael Ennis' The Malice of Fortune, Pope Alexander dispatches a former Vatican courtesan, Damiata, to unmask an enigmatic serial killer who might have also killed his beloved son, Juan, years before. He knows she'll be diligent because he's holding her young son hostage. Her investigation of the crimes leads her to an obscure Florentine diplomat, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Valentino’s (Cesare Borgia's) eccentric military engineer, Leonardo da Vinci, who in their differing methods are doing the same. She suspects the killer is one of the brutal condottierri, a powerful cabal of mercenary warlords, but Valentino is considering signing a treaty with them, which would put her and her investigation in peril. Meanwhile, the body parts and mysteries keep piling up....

Damiata narrates the beginning of the book in correspondence she hopes will get to her son, and I was invested in her story: her fears, the family she made, her accounts of the CSI: Renaissance investigations being done by Machiavelli and da Vinci, her impressions of da Vinci's work and work space. Unfortunately for me, Michael Ennis is more interested in Niccolò Machiavelli and how the events here led to him writing The Prince, and I found his section of the book less compelling. He's rather over the top, especially in his descriptions of Damiata and his feelings for her, and a lot of his part of the book involves the possibility of Damiata being fridged or having betrayed him. I rarely got the feeling of anything really threatening him the way I did of Damiata. Sometimes I really got tired of how many times I had to hear about his studies of historical figures, and how it's so often the same things being repeated.

Ennis made Machiavelli boring. That's... some kind of achievement.

Machiavelli as history's first forensic profiler is amusing, the cast of characters is vivid, and I love how thoroughly Ennis brings old Italy to life. The Malice of Fortune is an engaging and sometimes thought-provoking read, but the shadow of the story I would have preferred it to be hangs over the disappointing Machiavelli section.(less)

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Oct 03, 2012 Phogbound rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Because I love historical fiction (and, no, not the bodice rippers!), the reviews on this book were spot on for me. A woman is forced by the Pope (a Borgia) to find the killer of his favorite son, Juan. To motivate her, her son is taken under the "protection" of Pope Alexander. Somehow, the mutilated remains of prostitutes scattered around are an important to the killer. To assist her, she enlists the aid of Nicollo Machiavelli and Leonardo di Vinci. Leonardo's forensics skills and Machiavelli's...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Cynthia rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2012

This isn't a horrible; in fact the premise caught my attention. It has many famous characters such as Cesare Borgia (Rodrigo, the pope's middle son, who was a cardinal and after his brother, Juan, was killed Cesare was released from the church as he'd been wanting to be and took over Juan's duties as head of Rodrigo's army), Niccolo Machaivelli, and Leonardo Da Vinci. I hated the characterization Da Vinci, making him into almost a caricature of what some people consider homosexual behavior. That...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Ed rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1-star, 2012, italy, new-author-to-me, read-on-kindle

This review proves the adage "never say never." I never thought I would give a 1-star review.

First, I respect authors and feel that the only thing more difficult than getting a book published is *writing* a book (something I wish I could do, but can not. So forgive me from throwing stones from my glass house). Second, in a rare instance of personal self-esteem, I feel I am pretty darn good at picking out books. We are given far too little time on this planet to read all the books one would want...more This review proves the adage "never say never." I never thought I would give a 1-star review.

First, I respect authors and feel that the only thing more difficult than getting a book published is *writing* a book (something I wish I could do, but can not. So forgive me from throwing stones from my glass house). Second, in a rare instance of personal self-esteem, I feel I am pretty darn good at picking out books. We are given far too little time on this planet to read all the books one would want, so I just don't pick out many clunkers. Lastly, I am stubborn. With regularity, I contemplated abandoning this book. If you are looking for a redeeming feature in this review, it is that read the whole thing!

So why the heck did I read it in the first place? I love Italy. If somehow I stumbled into financial independence, I'd quite likely have a flat in Florence and you'd never hear from me again (Well, you probably would, what else would I have to do but read books and write espresso or chianti-fueled Goodreads reviews?!). Next, I love the Showtime series The Borgias, so much so that a while back I wished that there was a historical fiction novel about them. And voila (or should I say Prego!), here comes The Malice of Fortune, a novel that not features the Borgias but pairs them up with their even more renowned Italian contemporaries, Niccolò Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci. Sounds like a slam dunk, right!?!

Well, I should have been wary when the marketing blitz for the book (including right here on Goodreads) which made it sound like the new Da Vinci Code and/or Italian Renaissance CSI (or NCIS?). I will plead guilty as charged at turning up my nose at the Dan Brown book(s) and acroynmed TV police procedural shows, but I fear I may even be insulting those two crowd favorites by making this comparison here. And besides, I can't quite figure out if LL Cool J would play da Vinci or Machiavelli??!

The generic mash-up of words that make up the book's title should have been another tip-off. Fortune (or Fortuna) is mentioned so frequently, I should have made a drinking game out of it. And more often than not it was done in such a melodramatic manner, that I created my own ominous theme music in my head after its every mention. Fortuna! Da da da dummmmm!

While this book has claims of being historical fiction (I refuse to virtually shelved it there), it struck me more as casting historical figures into a fairly cheesy serial-killer story. There is historical "substance" in it, but one never gets the sense of knowing or learning about any of these historical figures. At its finest, historical fiction is a rich tapestry, where this resembled more of a cartoon. And while I am sure The Borgias on Showtime takes it fair share of historical liberties and does at times have a "guilty pleasure" feel to it, it is always fascinating, well-executed and entertaining. But alas, none of those adjectives are springing forth from my fingers as I type this, though the Author's Notes at the back were pretty interesting.

But what ultimately solidified this first ever 1-star rating was looking at my recent 2-star books and feeling that I clearly enjoyed them more and/or they had more (in some cases, *much* more) literary merit. I still feel kind of bad, but if I have one 1-star book for every 208 books I log here on Goodreads, I'll take it! Congrats to those of you who enjoyed this, but I confess I am quite bewildered.(less)

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Jul 31, 2012 J.R. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

A brilliantly conceived stew of murder, mystery and conniving.

Michael Ennis has woven a complex plot featuring some of history’s most intriguing characters in one of the more interesting periods of times and given them a complex puzzle to solve.

Ennis transports us to Renaissance Italy shortly after the murder of Juan, Duke of Gandia, favorite son of the manipulative Pope Alexander VI. Receiving an important clue, the pontiff holds Giovanni, the child of Juan and his mistress, Damiata, hostage....more

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Jan 23, 2013 Anthony Pacifico rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was really looking forward to reading this historical novel. It is set in Renaissance Italy, late 1500s and early 1600s, and features such real life figures as Leonardo Da Vinci, Machiavelli and the Borgias. According to the author, all the events he describes actually happened, what he added were the motivations of the main characters.

In this novel, Pope Alexander selects a Vatican courtesan, Damiata, to determine who murdered his beloved, illegitimate son, Juan. The Pope uses her son, Giovan...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Jessica Strider rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical

Pros: good mystery, afterward explaining what's true and where he took liberties, lots of detail

Cons:

Damiata, once lover of Juan, Duke of Gandia, and mother of his illegitimate child, is accused by Pope Alexander VI (the duke's father) of aiding in his murder. In order to clear her name and reclaim her son she must uncover the true murderers. She is sent to Imola, where a recent string of murders has uncovered an amulet belonging to Juan and where the Pope's first born son, Cesare Borgia, Duke...more Pros: good mystery, afterward explaining what's true and where he took liberties, lots of detail

Cons:

Damiata, once lover of Juan, Duke of Gandia, and mother of his illegitimate child, is accused by Pope Alexander VI (the duke's father) of aiding in his murder. In order to clear her name and reclaim her son she must uncover the true murderers. She is sent to Imola, where a recent string of murders has uncovered an amulet belonging to Juan and where the Pope's first born son, Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois, is brokering a peace with the condottieri (mercenery fighters) Damiata is certain killed her lover.

Meanwhile, Imola is also home to the Florentine secretary Nicolo Machiavelli, who fears that Cesare's peace with the condottieri will mean the destruction of his beloved Florence. Joining forces with Damiata and Cesare's engineer general, Leonardo da Vinci, Machiavelli tries to solve the murders and make his study of human nature, that eventually lead to the writing of The Prince.

Ennis does a fantastic job of blending known history with his murder mystery. He makes certain assumptions regarding events and characterizations based on primary sources (which he discusses briefly in an afterward to the book so the reader has a better idea of what's true and what he fabricated for the novel).

The first part of the book is told by Damiata, with the rest by Machiavelli. As the characters get closer to discovering the identity of the murderer, Ennis manages to maintain a spirit of uncertainty, making it hard to guess who the real culpret is. This is helped by the number of likely suspects being investigated and the difficulty in performing the investigation.

There is a lot of good detail regarding the characters and the setting, especially with regards to Machiavelli's beliefs on human nature. There are also a few illustrations in the novel, showing scientific principles important to the plot and diagrams drawn by da Vinci.

I'd recommend this to fans of Umberto Eco (particularly The Name of the Rose) and Karen Maitland's Company of Liars.(less)

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Sep 28, 2012 Snuggles with Rainbows rated it 2 of 5 stars

Recommended to Snuggles with Rainbows by: hmmmm...

Shelves: awful, dazed-and-confused, waste-of-my-time

I saw this book featured on Goodreads a couple weeks ago and it caught my eye. Reading just a few lines of the cover, I was hooked. I read a couple of pages the moment I got the book and I couldn’t get enough.

At first it was exciting…that died quickly. By like page 45-50 ish…I just started losing patience with the book. Maybe it’s just me and I didn’t get along with the book. Or there were some serious issues with it. Here are most of them:

1.Enough with the constant Italian!

Please everybody,...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Claire rated it 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this book. I really, really did.

It's about Machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci finding out who killed Juan Borgia. What an awesome plot idea. But for the first part of the book the main character is a courtesan who becomes quickly the love interest for Machiavelli. There are parts where I have to skip because I don't want to read Machiavelli talking about her beauty or wondering if her love for him is real.

I would have stopped reading halfway through the book but love interest kee...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Carrie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: slog

I wanted to like this book. But it just wasn't happening.

Others have mentioned some of the problems: the Italian being interspersed was overused and therefore felt pretentious and Machiavelli came across as a love-sick puppy, not someone astute enough to survive Renaissance-era politics.

I disliked the narrator switch. Although it ultimately made sense in context of the book the switch itself was jarring. The greater sin was that she was far more interesting a narrator than Machiavelli was. Takin...more

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May 14, 2013 Martina marked it as to-read

Shelves: historical, international, mystery-crime, thinking-list

I just started listening to this in the car. I LOVE it! There is an introductory part and then the first section begins with Damiata, a woman's voice with a strong Italian accent. Luscious. Set in the time of a Borgia Pope and the work of da Vinci and Machiavelli, so far it's wondrous. Damiata was thought to be involved in the murder of Juan Borgia, Duke of Gandia, the Pope's favorite son, and she is initially asked to travel to Imola in search of answers involving Juan's death.
The second part...more

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“Where war goes on without end, all men are inevitably corrupted by its brutality -- and the worst horrors are visited upon the most innocent.” — 2 people liked it

“Nevertheless I would be a hypocrite not to anticipate that the good intentions I brought to The Prince will also be the root of some other man's evil, if only because the way to the house of the Devil is the same for the good man and the bad - and the journey just as necessary for them both. The times change, but the nature of men does not.” — 1 person liked it

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