What do you think?
Rate this book
Damiano #1-3
The Damiano Trilogy: Damiano, Damiano's Lute, and Raphael
An alternate-history fantasy of faith and wizardry set during the Italian Renaissance from the author of Tea with the Black Dragon.
Discover three novels of magic--light and dark--from a winner of the John W. Campbell and Philip K. Dick awards.
In Damiano, our hero is Damiano Dalstrego, a wizard's son, an alchemist, and the heir to dark magics. But he is also an innocent, a young scholar and musician befriended by the Archangel Raphael, who instructs him in the lute. To save his beloved city from war, Damiano leaves his cloistered life and sets out on a pilgrimage, seeking the aid of a powerful sorceress as he walks the narrow path between light and shadow, accompanied only by his talking dog. But his road is filled with betrayal, disillusionment, and death . . .
In Damiano's Lute, shattered by the demonic fury of his dark powers, Damiano has forsaken his magical heritage to live as a mortal man. With the guidance of the Archangel Raphael, the chidings of a brash young rogue, and the memory of a beautiful pagan witch, he journeys across a plague-ridden French countryside in search of peace. But the Father of Lies reaches out once again . . .
In Raphael, weakened by his contact with mortals, the Archangel Raphael falls prey to Lucifer, who strips him of his angelic powers. Sold in the Moorish slave markets, confused and humbled by his sudden humanity, Raphael finds his only solace in the friendship of a Berber woman--and the spiritual guardianship of his former pupil Damiano Delstrego.
Now available in one volume, this epic of demons, dragons, romance, and heroic adventure is a saga you will never forget.
Discover three novels of magic--light and dark--from a winner of the John W. Campbell and Philip K. Dick awards.
In Damiano, our hero is Damiano Dalstrego, a wizard's son, an alchemist, and the heir to dark magics. But he is also an innocent, a young scholar and musician befriended by the Archangel Raphael, who instructs him in the lute. To save his beloved city from war, Damiano leaves his cloistered life and sets out on a pilgrimage, seeking the aid of a powerful sorceress as he walks the narrow path between light and shadow, accompanied only by his talking dog. But his road is filled with betrayal, disillusionment, and death . . .
In Damiano's Lute, shattered by the demonic fury of his dark powers, Damiano has forsaken his magical heritage to live as a mortal man. With the guidance of the Archangel Raphael, the chidings of a brash young rogue, and the memory of a beautiful pagan witch, he journeys across a plague-ridden French countryside in search of peace. But the Father of Lies reaches out once again . . .
In Raphael, weakened by his contact with mortals, the Archangel Raphael falls prey to Lucifer, who strips him of his angelic powers. Sold in the Moorish slave markets, confused and humbled by his sudden humanity, Raphael finds his only solace in the friendship of a Berber woman--and the spiritual guardianship of his former pupil Damiano Delstrego.
Now available in one volume, this epic of demons, dragons, romance, and heroic adventure is a saga you will never forget.
833 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1988
97 people are currently reading
293 people want to read
About the author
R.A. MacAvoy
18 books201 followersRoberta Ann (R. A.) MacAvoy is a fantasy and science fiction author in the United States. Several of her books draw on Celtic or Taoist themes. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1984. R. A. MacAvoy was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Francis and Helen MacAvoy. She attended Case Western Reserve University and received a B.A. in 1971. She worked from 1975 to 1978 as an assistant to the financial aid officer of Columbia College of Columbia University and from 1978 to 1982 as a computer programmer at SRI International before turning to full-time writing in 1982. She married Ronald Allen Cain in 1978.
R.A.MacAvoy was diagnosed with dystonia following the publication of her Lens series. She now has this disorder manageable and has returned to writing. (see http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/non...)
R.A.MacAvoy was diagnosed with dystonia following the publication of her Lens series. She now has this disorder manageable and has returned to writing. (see http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/non...)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 14, 2013
In for a penny, well then . . . in for a pound! A bound trilogy is a great way to gain an introduction to R. A MacAvoy's work.
She loves playing with language like her musicians play their lutes, their ouds, their chitars, like her archangels, witches and Berber slaves sing. In the last few pages of Raphael, the final book in the trilogy, her description of one particular musician's music-making struck me as an apt description of her writing style. She writes, "[He] played. His left hand spread like a spider on the broad lute neck. His right hand bounced. He played seconds against one another. He ended lines on the seventh chord. He played melodies that chased each other impudently in and out of a music where structure threatened to dissolve momentarily into chaos. The lute sounded like a guitar, like a harp . . . though their was virtuosity . . . , it was not mere show, for the technique worked in the service of feeling, in a music with much soul and a very playful rhythm."
Indeed! She can be very playful. Macchiata is talking dog in the first book, who I didn't take to readily. But MacAvoy's writing is such that when Macchiata met with a . . . shall we say life-changing experience, I was quite taken aback. I think, though, after the magnificent black dragon, my favorite four-legged creature is Festilligambe, the arrogant and ever so discriminating gelding.
She can be very serious, as she explores what it means to be loyal, to have empathy for other beings, others who one may have to offer great sacrifice. As well, she can play with the dissonance of a very real historical landscape erupting with magic.
And indeed, great magic and mighty spiritual events transpire in medieval Mediterranean city states, provinces and ports. It is a landscape periodically ravaged by the plague. And in this historically accurate world, the reader is treated to a wild tale . . . Lucifer in his lost Paradise, baits those he has dominion over. Loyalty, betrayal, corruption, and healing all come into play in this saga. I couldn't get enough of Saara, the Fennish witch, where all the Saami are born witches and her power to sing magic. Wise, loyal, full of love, and great passion, she unleashes forces of great change. And with MaAvoy, change has consequences, whether wrought by mistake or intent.
In the end, it's MacAvoy's love of language that kept me turning the pages.
She loves playing with language like her musicians play their lutes, their ouds, their chitars, like her archangels, witches and Berber slaves sing. In the last few pages of Raphael, the final book in the trilogy, her description of one particular musician's music-making struck me as an apt description of her writing style. She writes, "[He] played. His left hand spread like a spider on the broad lute neck. His right hand bounced. He played seconds against one another. He ended lines on the seventh chord. He played melodies that chased each other impudently in and out of a music where structure threatened to dissolve momentarily into chaos. The lute sounded like a guitar, like a harp . . . though their was virtuosity . . . , it was not mere show, for the technique worked in the service of feeling, in a music with much soul and a very playful rhythm."
Indeed! She can be very playful. Macchiata is talking dog in the first book, who I didn't take to readily. But MacAvoy's writing is such that when Macchiata met with a . . . shall we say life-changing experience, I was quite taken aback. I think, though, after the magnificent black dragon, my favorite four-legged creature is Festilligambe, the arrogant and ever so discriminating gelding.
She can be very serious, as she explores what it means to be loyal, to have empathy for other beings, others who one may have to offer great sacrifice. As well, she can play with the dissonance of a very real historical landscape erupting with magic.
And indeed, great magic and mighty spiritual events transpire in medieval Mediterranean city states, provinces and ports. It is a landscape periodically ravaged by the plague. And in this historically accurate world, the reader is treated to a wild tale . . . Lucifer in his lost Paradise, baits those he has dominion over. Loyalty, betrayal, corruption, and healing all come into play in this saga. I couldn't get enough of Saara, the Fennish witch, where all the Saami are born witches and her power to sing magic. Wise, loyal, full of love, and great passion, she unleashes forces of great change. And with MaAvoy, change has consequences, whether wrought by mistake or intent.
In the end, it's MacAvoy's love of language that kept me turning the pages.
December 1, 2017
Read in 1989 - pre-Goodreads
One of my all time favorite books. I love this book. I've actually skimmed some passages since 1989. It was a fantasy novel I could get into. I loved the archangel Raphael and the boy, Lute. And the witch Saara. And the dog. It gets a little weird at the end becuase I think the author pulled characters from another book.
I often wish I could stumble across another gem like this. I had picked it up at the local Waldens (wow, that dates me!) and I've still got it in my basement.
One of my all time favorite books. I love this book. I've actually skimmed some passages since 1989. It was a fantasy novel I could get into. I loved the archangel Raphael and the boy, Lute. And the witch Saara. And the dog. It gets a little weird at the end becuase I think the author pulled characters from another book.
I often wish I could stumble across another gem like this. I had picked it up at the local Waldens (wow, that dates me!) and I've still got it in my basement.
August 26, 2013
A very unique story. I must say that what I was expecting the story to be was not at all what it was. I found Damiano to be a most intriguing character and his quest to do what is right was very admirable, though I did not always agree with his methods. You don't see a whole of writers exploring moral complexity anymore. Yet MacAvoy has managed to create a somewhat morally complicated character who is worth the read in and of himself. A great read and one that I am happy to recommend to others.
August 25, 2017
I made it through two chapters before I was too bored to care. Not my cuppa
August 3, 2018
Wonderful
Love of good music is a gift for all. Three stories of luteists is just right. Magic is lovely, but music is better.
Love of good music is a gift for all. Three stories of luteists is just right. Magic is lovely, but music is better.
June 8, 2022
A very interesting trilogy with a surprising ending in the third book. I'll read more MacAvoy.
Want to Read
April 30, 2014Recommended by justin
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews