Damiano's Lute

Locus Award nominee 1985.

"I found Damiano's Lute very absorbing. The author's ability to bring to vivid life the general background of this period of history, and yet interweave it with the type of fantasy which was actually accepted in that day of positive faith is truly amazing. I really found this book to be more compelling than the first. The scenes of the Black Death – dreadful as they were – come through as if taken from eyewitness accounts. This is fantasy at its highest point. Ms. MacAvoy's talent is a strong, flowing one." – Andre Norton

This novel is a sequel toDamiano. Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Italian Renaissance this alternate history takes place in a world where real faith-based magic exists. Our hero is Damiano Dalstrego. He is a wizard's son, an alchemist and the heir to dark magics. Shattered by the demonic fury of his dark powers, Damiano Delstrego has forsaken his magical heritage to live as a mortal man.

Accompanied only by the guidance of the Archanagel Raphael, the chidings of a brash young rogue, and the memory of a beautiful pagan witch, Damiano journeys across a plague-ridden French countryside in search of peace. But the Father of Lies reaches out once again to grasp him. And to avert the hellish destiny awaiting him, Damiano must challenge the greatest forces of darkness, armed only with the power of his love and the music of his lute. The final volume of this story is Raphael.