Ilario, A Story of the First History

Ilario, A Story of the First History is a series of two novels by Mary Gentle, set in an alternate history where Carthage has become a powerful medieval empire.

Synopsis

Set in the same alternate medieval world as Gentle's Ash: A Secret History sequence, Ilario, A Story of the First History is more limited in scope. The protagonist, Ilario, is an intersex person seeking to serve as apprentice to a master painter, a path that takes Ilario from Iberia to Carthage, Rome, Venice and Constantinople. Described as "part picaresque, part travelogue, part prose chanson de geste", the story serves to examine issues of gender, sexuality, and power.[1]

Reception

Roz Kaveney, reviewing The Lion's Eye for Time Out described the book as "action-packed, deeply intelligent novel a focus for intrigue, intellectual debate and a fair amount of polymorphous hot sexual action".[2] Strange Horizons found the book "something of a disappointment", with "precious few changes of tone".[1]

Ilario novels
  • Ilario: The Lion's Eye. London: Gollancz, 2006. ISBN 0-575-07661-5
  • Ilario: The Stone Golem. London: EOS, 2007. ISBN 978-0061344985
gollark: Repairing gives 1XP per cannon repaired, *but* costs 1 more snow.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: Also a bit ridiculous that they had to do that instead of just *having TJ09 fix the stupid things*.
gollark: "Fixed a bug where damaged weapons could still attack"? I seemed to be able to attack with damaged weapons earlier.
gollark: ... why does a SHORT ice wall cost MORE ice than a big one?

References
  1. Ilario: The Lion's Eye by Mary Gentle, Strange Horizons reviews, 6 March 2007
  2. Ilario: The Lion's Eye, Amazon.co.uk.


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