Customer Reviews

The Stars Dispose

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tomasso is twelve years old & his world, as an apprentice to his father the Chef of the House of Medici, is in the great kitchens of Renaissance Florence - where bastards roam & astrolgers rule; heirs plot & marriages are made. Caterina de' Medici's world is in the upstairs shadows, learning with her handmaid, Tomasso's sister, to survive long enough to attain her inheritance. Amid the layers of master & servant lies the world of the Occult - older than Christianity working its astonishing magic. Meanwhile plague & barbarians are knocking at the doors of the pretty Italian city.

I am in awe of this author's writing craft. She has the skill to sketch before you a great feast, a magnificent sculpture, a dazzling spot of magic & enchanting cats! I would disappear for hours into the worlds she has created, fed by her well chosen words, authentic details & breadth of view.

If you love historical fantasies with just the right balance of fact & fantasy as to make the read seamless, then this is a book for you. For my full review & eInterview with Michaela Roessner do visit my site [...].

Astra declinant, non necessitant.
The stars dispose, they do not compel.

A rich blend of history and authentic period detail with a touch of mysticism, The Stars Dispose tells the story of young Tommaso de Befanini, born into a Florentine family famed for its fine cooking. Tommaso, only 11 years of age, finds himself struggling with more than learning to properly carve a roast. The city of Florence is being torn asunder by warring factions, and the Befanini are employed by many of the important movers and shakers. This novel teems with famous characters - Michelangelo, Caterina de Medici, and Pope Clement, to name but a few. Roessner is a skillful writer, particular in her flair for description. Where this book falls short is in its plot, which is surprisingly slow and lumbering, ultimately leaving the reader hanging, a device that suggests plans for a sequel. Still, Stars is well worth reading for its atmosphere and winning characters. And if you like reading about fabulous feasts and recipes, open a bottle of your favorite vino, nibble some melone and prosciutto, and curl up with The Stars Dispose.

When I first read the back cover, I thought this was one of those books I would use to pass the time waiting for the bus, but which wouldn't hold my attention for long. To be honest, the appeal was in the size, not the content... I found that I could not put it down. It took me a little while to figure out who the little kitchen goddess is (I won't reveal the secret; besides, I suspect I was just slower than most on the uptake...) but I was certainly drawn into the family's lives. The relationship between Tomasso and Michaelangelo felt a little contrived, but it didn't bother me enough to detract from the appeal of the book. The atmosphere of the book seemed authentic and sometimes I could almost smell the stew bubbling away. (Now, I'm a sucker for any book that includes recipes, but that's not the only thing I liked...) When I was finished, I did not put THE STARS DISPOSE into my pile of finished paperbacks (the ones I'll be taking to the used book store to trade in on more paperbacks.) It's a keeper, so I can read it again and relive the magic.

this is one of my all time favorite books, the imagery is so vital to the story that,i still think of this book years after i have read it and its following story. i'm a chef and i delight in her mixing of the art world and the food realm with the magic of the times she writes about, the ice sculpture scene is still one of the most emotional things i have read. i think she unveiled what it must have been like to be michelangelo at that time and place with true passion,his and the authors!i would love to see this as a movie

For someone who is almost constantly lamenting the lack of detailed, meaty, satisfying books, this book was a real "find". The recipies and other food descriptions sent me into the kitchen with the desire to recreate some of them for myself. The descriptions of settings and characters are very detailed, and Roessner's unbelievable attention to detail regarding the history and other facets of time and place in no way overshadows her attention to character development. Even as a history major, I have never found the Renaissance to be my favorite setting for historical fiction, but this book won me over. My only complaint comes with the way the children in the book are portrayed. Through the entire book, I never once felt that the thoughts and words given to the young characters (most of whom were supposedly in the 8-12 year range) were "age-appropriate". Granted, children of that era were reared much differently from children of our own era, but every time one of them said or thought something, I was distracted by how very adult they sounded. But, if you can get past that, there was little else to distract from this magnificent narrative. I'm already on my library's waiting list for the sequel!

Renaissance Florence comes alive in this story of Tommaso de Befanini, apprentice sculptor and cook who is at the center of monumentous historical events, rubbing shoulders with the likes of young Catherine de Medici and Michelangelo. Tommaso is a pawn in a cosmic game his mother and Ruggiero are playing with sorcery and astrology against the forces of darkness. A cat and her litter of special kittens are integral to the magic and the plot, which I loved. However, I think a lot of readers will not, or will want a story with more action, or will be offended by the homosexual love story sub-plot.

I really liked this book although I agree with the reviewer here that it was hard to understand the motivations of the characters (like Gentile). Still, the story is interesting and the writing well done. It reminded me some of Ellen Kushner's work.

The Stars Dispose is an unusual historical fantasy. More attention seems to be placed in providing a rich description of the food rather than a system of magic. However, the plot is a slow seduction of the reader, giving view to just enough of the threat facing the characters that the reader is eager to turn the next page. A plethora of Italian names may be confusing, but a glossary at the back helps.

When I read the description of <<The Stars Dispose>>, I hoped I was getting a book along the lines of something by Ellen Kushner or Guy Gavriel Kay: historical or semi-historical fantasy with an interesting setting and a sophisticated plot.

Unfortunately, Roessner falls a little short. I'd give this 3 1/2 stars if I could, because <<The Stars Dispose>> has its good points: it's well-researched, a wide variety of historical actors interact on a lot of levels, and who wouldn't be interested in an alternate-universe version of Renaissance Florence? <<The Stars Dispose>> is a bit better than your average fantasy read.

Still, the plot meanders. Even worse (and several reviewers below have picked up on this), there's a bit too much fact packed into, or worked awkwardly into, what's supposed to be a work of fiction -- it's as if someone tried to turn a master's thesis into a novel. Most jarring of all, however, is Roessner's weakness when it comes to writing dialogue. Like a lot of fantasy authors, she mistakes stilted speech for sophisticated repartee. This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that several of the major characters are pre-teens. There aren't many college professors who talk the way Roessner's characters do, much less ten- or eleven-year-olds!

Most of the ingredients for a good novel are here (this is something of a pun, because food's quite important in <<The Stars Dispose>>, to the point that there are recipes in the back of the book). Maybe with more practice -- and especially with more natural dialogue -- Roessner will get better in future books at stirring those ingredients together.

I really liked this book. It had a whole host of things I like in novels: strong female characters, realistic relationships between people, a look at early pagan religions and how they filter through the lives of people even in the face of Christianity, and marvelous descriptions of Italian cooking!

I will concur with other reviewers that the extensive numbers of Italian family names made it hard to track certain characters and parts of the plot. But not excessively so, and it did not lessen my enjoyment of the book. And I loved the recipes at the very end, a charming touch. All in all, a good buy.