City of Magic

April 15, 2022
Rumors of a new kind of magic draw young Fabrizio and his aging master, Mangus, to Renaissance Venice in this follow-up to Murder at Midnight (2009). Fabrizio and Master Mangus are dispatched by the king of their town of Pergamontio, who has heard of a mysterious new way of making money, explained in a book by Franciscan friar Luca Pacioli. Superstitious Fabrizio discovers a world of seemingly magical wonders as he shepherds the increasingly sick and feeble Mangus through the cosmopolitan city of canals. They are pursued, for no evident reason aside from drumming up tension, by the king's tax collector and an equally sinister confederate. Fabrizio quickly falls in with Bianca, a fellow orphan who serves as a local guide and who has an Egyptian gondolier (the one character with a speaking part who doesn't present as White) on call for transportation. She even turns out to be trained in the new magic, otherwise known as double-entry bookkeeping. Some chases, captures, escapes, and nighttime boat rides provide at least a framework of a plot, but along with providing no real rationale for the bad guys' pursuit, they offer Mangus no active role beyond prisoner in need of rescue and barely sketch in the distinctive setting. The author seems chiefly interested in introducing readers to Pacioli, a real historical figure, before finishing off with a happy ending...for the good guys, at least. Despite the manufactured suspense, this may draw middle-grade students of accounting history to the series. (author's note) (Adventure. 10-12)

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Starred review from May 15, 2022
Grades 4-6 *Starred Review* Fabrizio is a kind but naive lad and a devoted servant of Mangus the Magician, who lives in an Italian kingdom in 1492. When King Claudio orders elderly Mangus to travel to Venice and procure a book explaining a secret of acquiring wealth (Claudio's misunderstanding of double-entry bookkeeping), Mangus must go. Thirteen-year-old Fabrizio accompanies him and, when his frail master falls ill, takes charge. During the journey, the boy thoughtlessly shares information with strangers, endangering their mission and their lives. In Venice, Mangus is immediately imprisoned. Befriending a local girl and a friar, Fabrizio attempts to complete his master's quest, despite mortal danger from a rival in Claudio's court as well as Venetian authorities. In this companion book to Avi's Midnight Magic and Murder at Midnight (2009), he transports readers to a series of vividly realized Italian Renaissance settings and continues the adventures of Fabrizio, a flawed but lovable character who means well, frequently acts on impulse, and stubbornly clings to his hope that Mangus can perform magic, despite the "magician's" protests that he cannot. The novel's pace is quick, and tension is often high, particularly during the chase scenes. Readers who have followed Fabrizio's perilous journey will find the story's ending completely satisfying.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Avi is a pillar of kid's historical fiction, and this companion to a beloved series is sure to attract his stalwart fans.

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