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The Astrologer's Portrait
Prince Harold has fallen in love with a portrait, which he much prefers to his real bride-to-be. However, the portrait may be a hundred years old, and only the greatest sorcerer in the land can verify her existence. Unfortunately, Turold the Magnificent is currently on trial for maliciously impersonating a person of quality and despoiling her family history. Harold gets him off on the condition that they locate his lady love before his wedding to Sonya, who vows to kill him on their wedding night. Along with his faithless Russian servant, Dimitri, the three steal off to locate the true identity of the sitter—only to confront a curse much older than the portrait. To dispel the curse the prince must lead a revolution, fall in love with his wife, and release the centuries-old hands of Einhard the Black, who are eagerly awaiting their latest victim.
298 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
5 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Grasso
26 books37 followersEnglish professor at a small regional university in Oklahoma, with a PhD in British Literature from Miami University. Teach classes in British Literature (esp. Shakespeare to 18th c.), the Humanities, writing, science fiction & fantasy, and comics. Have written 5 novels in-between grading, raising two boys, and rescuing dozens of stray cats from the wilds of Ada, Oklahoma. :)
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 23, 2015
In a genre replete with “more of the same” types of stories, it’s quite refreshing to find a well-written piece of work that’s truly enjoyable in many aspects. It’s quite evident that the author draws from several influences and manages to create something so enigmatic and intriguing.
The prose is so good, so fluid, that I think it would translate well in other media (graphic novels, motion picture). The interaction between Prince Harold, Turold, and Dimitri is superbly done and created some of the most memorable and hilarious moments in the story.
The graphical depiction is vivid that I’m transported back in time, willingly suspending my disbelief. It’s just a fantastic tale of love, magic, and revenge.
The prose is so good, so fluid, that I think it would translate well in other media (graphic novels, motion picture). The interaction between Prince Harold, Turold, and Dimitri is superbly done and created some of the most memorable and hilarious moments in the story.
The graphical depiction is vivid that I’m transported back in time, willingly suspending my disbelief. It’s just a fantastic tale of love, magic, and revenge.
March 26, 2017
Once upon a time, there was a prince known far and wide for his flippant behavior and flirtation. One day though, the prince sets eyes on a portrait, and falls in love with its subject. Despite his recent betrothal and all other obstacles, he decides to begin a journey after the women in the painting, taking company in his Russian servant and the greatest sorcerer of the land. Curses, rebellion, and old evils soon follow in his wake.
The Astrologer’s Portrait is a novel first and foremost, but you could almosg call it a ‘fairytale’ and the label would still apply. There is something aged, genuine, and warm about this story. Like the kind of books you read during childhood, full of strange spells, old ghosts, proud queens, and horrors trapped in boxes.
While reading, I noticed the plot moved in a different manner than I had seen recently- not in a bad way, but in a unique, almost symphonic sort of light. The build of the very novel is almost musical, growing and glowing with every movement. We are guided through Prince Harold’s adventures by way of multiple characters, and each section of the story seems to give way to its own tone, whether adventurous, humorous, harrowing, or romantic. Bits of history, Italian culture, and art blend in with fantasy, adding a certain realness that grounds the novel, as well as a subtle nod or two to its inspiration.
The characters are the lifeblood of this story, coloring each scene with their own voice and bringing complex, differing motives that entangle the plot with drama and intrigue. Turold, in particular, steals the show with his witty, wry dialogue and curious insight to the larger magical world inside the story. He remains one of my favorites. Still, every one of Portait’s characters are lovable and interesting, demanding future adventures with their existence (and the way the novel ends, as well).
Reading this was so breezy, so entertaining, and my only wish by the end was that it had gone on longer. Grasso brings something dynamic and colorful with each of his novels, and The Astrologer’s Portrait is no exception. Delightful, detailed, and full of wonderment, it actually might be my favorite of his books so far. Bring on a sequel!
The Astrologer’s Portrait is a novel first and foremost, but you could almosg call it a ‘fairytale’ and the label would still apply. There is something aged, genuine, and warm about this story. Like the kind of books you read during childhood, full of strange spells, old ghosts, proud queens, and horrors trapped in boxes.
While reading, I noticed the plot moved in a different manner than I had seen recently- not in a bad way, but in a unique, almost symphonic sort of light. The build of the very novel is almost musical, growing and glowing with every movement. We are guided through Prince Harold’s adventures by way of multiple characters, and each section of the story seems to give way to its own tone, whether adventurous, humorous, harrowing, or romantic. Bits of history, Italian culture, and art blend in with fantasy, adding a certain realness that grounds the novel, as well as a subtle nod or two to its inspiration.
The characters are the lifeblood of this story, coloring each scene with their own voice and bringing complex, differing motives that entangle the plot with drama and intrigue. Turold, in particular, steals the show with his witty, wry dialogue and curious insight to the larger magical world inside the story. He remains one of my favorites. Still, every one of Portait’s characters are lovable and interesting, demanding future adventures with their existence (and the way the novel ends, as well).
Reading this was so breezy, so entertaining, and my only wish by the end was that it had gone on longer. Grasso brings something dynamic and colorful with each of his novels, and The Astrologer’s Portrait is no exception. Delightful, detailed, and full of wonderment, it actually might be my favorite of his books so far. Bring on a sequel!
March 9, 2016
I was introduced to Joshua Grasso and his writing through our campaigns in Kindle Scout in late 2015. I enjoyed his excerpt of *Shakebags and Co.* and was eager to read this work he spent years bringing to life.
Grasso’s labor of love is evident throughout this work: his Shakespearean touch in parallel romances with confused identities and the Dickensian episodic adventures all interweaving to resolve in the end. But the way he deals with the fantasy elements is particularly interesting. Magic manifests in mostly mechanical ways, and that’s a good thing—magic conveys invisibility or speeds up travel (wouldn’t that be nice?!), or carries messages and curses through time and across barriers of life and death. The technological magic stays within bounds so that it is manageable by a clever magician, or a curse resolved with the proper action to assuage the passions of the one who set the curse in motion. The effect is, finally, a “can do” attitude that buoys the story with optimism and confidence. We can be pretty sure it will work out in the end, and the guy(s) will get the girl(s).
Prince Harold has a reputation as a rake and his mother Queen Astrid the usual complexities of such mothers—determination to see to her duties, a bit of corruption in keeping with her son’s alleged corruption, and money worries. They battle for the throne, but it’s not so easy to choose sides. Grasso quickly establishes Harold as a loveable naif who is actually innocent enough to fall credibly in love with the image in a portrait, and to set out with the help of loyal compatriots to find her. But Queen Mom does seem more competent, and she’s more nuanced than the usual Wicked Queen. However, the author does not fully develop the possibilities with her, and I kept finding myself wondering whether she was being revealed as okay after all or deceptively only seeming so. Does she really want the best for her son and the kingdom or does she use that motivation as a cover for her own purposes?
Such a large work is difficult to manage in all its parts, and I sometimes felt the episodes arrived at random, providing opportunity for Grasso to include a fascinating idea that might or might not fit well into the whole of the story. But I developed affection for these episodes—for example the account of a man in a coach visiting a family grave and getting a message there that explains in itself how curses and messages come through time, without that episode really furthering the plot at a crucial time. A gorgeous dream sequence early in the work captured my imagination, and the scene in the catacombs and underground tombs near the end provides one of my favorite passages:
“Mysterious figures peered into their torches as if desperate for the warmth of life. Sonya couldn’t resist touching the hands of an ancient woman frozen devoutly in prayer. They were smooth and cold. She looked into the woman’s eyes, which rather than looking upward were cast down . . . in submission or bitter disappointment? To die as a tomb effigy seemed the cruelest fate; better by far to be destroyed and erased from history to become something else. Life was painful enough without having to rehearse the same tired role throughout the ages.” (Loc 4603, Ch 42)
But while these characters explore, the Queen is meanwhile making a speech high above them, one that will go on for a while yet and was running even before they started the twenty-minute process to uncover the passage door to lead to the catacombs. That was some speech! Similar logistical problems crop up from time to time, and the unpredictable episodes (more could be done with the bookseller, e.g.) sometimes left me feeling dragged along through the narrative instead of “riding the wave” to follow the story arc.
Much ties together in the conclusion, and a delightful hint at further adventures leaves us expectant. A few loose ends remain, and a sense of feeling not quite satisfied at the development of some characters (Belinda is fully rounded, but her foil, Olivia, could use more visibility early on, and we lose Dimitri along the way, when a “true identity” for him has been hinted at a few times). More physical description of the two couples would help us envision their interaction—I’m fascinated that Turold’s lady love is not put off by his stature, e.g.
Despite these flaws, this is a rich, satisfying romp through a comfortingly familiar kind of fantasy world—one with manageable magic, good-hearted folk, and a sense of Happily Ever After. I look forward to reading more of Joshua Grasso’s worlds.
Grasso’s labor of love is evident throughout this work: his Shakespearean touch in parallel romances with confused identities and the Dickensian episodic adventures all interweaving to resolve in the end. But the way he deals with the fantasy elements is particularly interesting. Magic manifests in mostly mechanical ways, and that’s a good thing—magic conveys invisibility or speeds up travel (wouldn’t that be nice?!), or carries messages and curses through time and across barriers of life and death. The technological magic stays within bounds so that it is manageable by a clever magician, or a curse resolved with the proper action to assuage the passions of the one who set the curse in motion. The effect is, finally, a “can do” attitude that buoys the story with optimism and confidence. We can be pretty sure it will work out in the end, and the guy(s) will get the girl(s).
Prince Harold has a reputation as a rake and his mother Queen Astrid the usual complexities of such mothers—determination to see to her duties, a bit of corruption in keeping with her son’s alleged corruption, and money worries. They battle for the throne, but it’s not so easy to choose sides. Grasso quickly establishes Harold as a loveable naif who is actually innocent enough to fall credibly in love with the image in a portrait, and to set out with the help of loyal compatriots to find her. But Queen Mom does seem more competent, and she’s more nuanced than the usual Wicked Queen. However, the author does not fully develop the possibilities with her, and I kept finding myself wondering whether she was being revealed as okay after all or deceptively only seeming so. Does she really want the best for her son and the kingdom or does she use that motivation as a cover for her own purposes?
Such a large work is difficult to manage in all its parts, and I sometimes felt the episodes arrived at random, providing opportunity for Grasso to include a fascinating idea that might or might not fit well into the whole of the story. But I developed affection for these episodes—for example the account of a man in a coach visiting a family grave and getting a message there that explains in itself how curses and messages come through time, without that episode really furthering the plot at a crucial time. A gorgeous dream sequence early in the work captured my imagination, and the scene in the catacombs and underground tombs near the end provides one of my favorite passages:
“Mysterious figures peered into their torches as if desperate for the warmth of life. Sonya couldn’t resist touching the hands of an ancient woman frozen devoutly in prayer. They were smooth and cold. She looked into the woman’s eyes, which rather than looking upward were cast down . . . in submission or bitter disappointment? To die as a tomb effigy seemed the cruelest fate; better by far to be destroyed and erased from history to become something else. Life was painful enough without having to rehearse the same tired role throughout the ages.” (Loc 4603, Ch 42)
But while these characters explore, the Queen is meanwhile making a speech high above them, one that will go on for a while yet and was running even before they started the twenty-minute process to uncover the passage door to lead to the catacombs. That was some speech! Similar logistical problems crop up from time to time, and the unpredictable episodes (more could be done with the bookseller, e.g.) sometimes left me feeling dragged along through the narrative instead of “riding the wave” to follow the story arc.
Much ties together in the conclusion, and a delightful hint at further adventures leaves us expectant. A few loose ends remain, and a sense of feeling not quite satisfied at the development of some characters (Belinda is fully rounded, but her foil, Olivia, could use more visibility early on, and we lose Dimitri along the way, when a “true identity” for him has been hinted at a few times). More physical description of the two couples would help us envision their interaction—I’m fascinated that Turold’s lady love is not put off by his stature, e.g.
Despite these flaws, this is a rich, satisfying romp through a comfortingly familiar kind of fantasy world—one with manageable magic, good-hearted folk, and a sense of Happily Ever After. I look forward to reading more of Joshua Grasso’s worlds.
May 30, 2015
I was taken by this story from the get go, it is written in such a charming way with a wonderful dash of humor that instantly I became at one with the kingdom and its subjects.
Little did I realise that this fantasy tale was actually entertwined with a fascinating love story.
When Prince Harold the dashing playboy, forever the flimsy bachelor who has zero interest in his claim to the thrown finally falls in love he falls hard... For a stunning portrait. The lady in the portrait is like no other and worth searching the ends of the earth for... So it seems.
Add a magician, an arranged marriage and a plot to overthrow the queen and you have a fantastical journey accompanying a love story for the ages. Well worth the read and my fave read this year.
Little did I realise that this fantasy tale was actually entertwined with a fascinating love story.
When Prince Harold the dashing playboy, forever the flimsy bachelor who has zero interest in his claim to the thrown finally falls in love he falls hard... For a stunning portrait. The lady in the portrait is like no other and worth searching the ends of the earth for... So it seems.
Add a magician, an arranged marriage and a plot to overthrow the queen and you have a fantastical journey accompanying a love story for the ages. Well worth the read and my fave read this year.
January 12, 2016
What an amazing read! It's humor is a lot like Oscar Wilde. Very smart and witty. It isn't just a comedy, it has lots of very thought out layers.
The queen wants her son, Prince Harold, married off and settled down. He instead falls in love with a painting, and then quite oddly with his betrothed. Being pig headed he still goes off on a wild goose chase for the painting girl.
Only the painting girl adds so many layers to this plot. She helps him find his way back, along with helping herself along the way.
There are plots against the queen, long dead ghosts cursing people, magic spells, and love.
This book should defiantly be a movie. It would be amazing. It could also work well as a play. It is so good! Read it!
The queen wants her son, Prince Harold, married off and settled down. He instead falls in love with a painting, and then quite oddly with his betrothed. Being pig headed he still goes off on a wild goose chase for the painting girl.
Only the painting girl adds so many layers to this plot. She helps him find his way back, along with helping herself along the way.
There are plots against the queen, long dead ghosts cursing people, magic spells, and love.
This book should defiantly be a movie. It would be amazing. It could also work well as a play. It is so good! Read it!
November 28, 2014
I thought it was a marvelous story and extremely well written. I was not surprised at all to learn that Joshua Grasso is a Literature professor; it shows with his elegant use of language.
November 28, 2016
I originally read the first handful of chapters of this book online several months ago. Having procured an e-book copy of it through a friend, I was pleased to find that I remembered the details rather well--nearly having forgotten I'd read some of it in the first place.
Now, to get down to the skinny: The Astrologer's Portrait was imaginative, interesting, and often times humorous. The characters were distinct from one another, and I felt Prince Harold and his Queen mother in particular underwent the most change from beginning to end--though this isn't to say none of the other characters grew as the story unfolded; just that with those two, the changes were more prominent.
What starts out as a burning desire to meet the woman in the portrait Prince Harold bought at an auction becomes a tumble down the rabbit-hole (figuratively speaking) into a much deeper world of insidious plots, sorcery, and discovery that could shake the very foundations of everything the prince and his companions have ever known. The story is told in a clear, fluid tone of voice, with excellent dialogue and pivotal plot twists and turns.
My only pet-peeve would be the number of typos I found throughout--but given the quality of the writing itself, these slip-ups were easy enough to forgive.
A compelling read, and one I would recommend to most anyone.
Now, to get down to the skinny: The Astrologer's Portrait was imaginative, interesting, and often times humorous. The characters were distinct from one another, and I felt Prince Harold and his Queen mother in particular underwent the most change from beginning to end--though this isn't to say none of the other characters grew as the story unfolded; just that with those two, the changes were more prominent.
What starts out as a burning desire to meet the woman in the portrait Prince Harold bought at an auction becomes a tumble down the rabbit-hole (figuratively speaking) into a much deeper world of insidious plots, sorcery, and discovery that could shake the very foundations of everything the prince and his companions have ever known. The story is told in a clear, fluid tone of voice, with excellent dialogue and pivotal plot twists and turns.
My only pet-peeve would be the number of typos I found throughout--but given the quality of the writing itself, these slip-ups were easy enough to forgive.
A compelling read, and one I would recommend to most anyone.
November 1, 2016
At first the premise of The Astrologer's Portrait seems simplistic: a prince sees the portrait of a beautiful woman, falls in love and sets out to find her... but soon enough this impression proves wrong as the reader is sent on a most delicious and funny romp full of magic and romance. The plot is fast-paced and full of kinks and turns, the characters are warm and inviting and the ending is deliciously optimistic.
This was the first novel by Joshua Grasso I've ever read, and I'm glad I've given it a chance. I will now move on to read The Winged Turban.
This was the first novel by Joshua Grasso I've ever read, and I'm glad I've given it a chance. I will now move on to read The Winged Turban.
August 2, 2020
Fantastic! The premise was really interesting, and the characters were enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews