Customer Reviews

A Trio For Lute

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The three novels by R.A. MacAvoy that were issued in _Trio for Lute_ as an omnibus edition are _Daminao_, _Damiano's Lute_, and _Raphael_. I read each of these when they were first published in the early '80's, and they have remained my favorite books for two decades now. Ms. MacAvoy's writing is, well, _luminous_. Her descriptions of settings and landscape have that spare but beautiful quality that you see in the backgrounds of Gothic and Renaissance paintings. Her characters are real people (even the nonhuman ones,) and you become involved and engaged in what happens to them. I won't spoil one of the oddest and most unexpected twists of plot I've ever read by telling you what happens at the end of _Damiano's Lute_, but let's just say that few writers could pull it off. As you'll discover in _Raphael_, "Bertie" MacAvoy did it with astonishing grace. I read a lot of fantasy, and I can't say much of it could move me to tears. These books do. If you like he-man swashbuckling fantasy heroes, these aren't the books for you. But, if you like thoughtful, well-written books where the characters are more important than the magic and derring-do, try to find either the omnibus or the individual books. I believe all but three of her books are out-of-print, although those 3 (not the Damiano books, alas) are available now as both print and ebooks. I've seen Ms. MacAvoy's name on many fantasy fans' lists of favorite authors, yet many readers have never heard of her. She's a "lost" master who deserves to be better known.

This volume is an omnibus of R A Macavoy's gorgeous trilogy: Damiano, Damiano's Lute and Raphael.

Damiano is a renaissance witch (although a Christian - magic use is hereditary in his family, and he fears that he is automatically damned). He uses his powers to grant speech to his Dog Macchiato (Spot)and to call an angel, Raphael, who gives him music lessons on the lute. At least, that is how the story begins. War comes to his sleepy Italian town, and drives him out into the world, which is rather ill prepared for.

The story is written freshly and the characters are all real and well rounded out.

The Black Dragon (from "tea with the...") also makes a nice cameo appearance in the third part in his dragon form.

Plot, characters, setting -- she is a superb story-teller. I don't understand why RA MacAvoy isn't on more must-read lists. There's magic but it's good substantive stuff, not just showy nonsense and the characters (human and otherwise) come first.

Initially I read Damiano while traveling to Okinawa Japan. My minds eye envision the mountians where he lived, the Angel, Raphael's mastery of the Lute, and the triumph of Damiano desire to be more than just his father heir. This story stirred my soul and spirit. Saving more than just his home, Damiano resurrected my interet in reading

This triology is one of the freshest, most human and evocative historical fantasies I've ever read. MacAvoy does such a great job giving the reader insight into the late medieval mind, and her characters are so dimensional. Even Satan, in his stale realm, is a most realized entity. What a great spiritual/historic/magical work!!!! Even though it's been a few years since I've re-read it, it still haunts me.

I think the reason Roberta MacAvoy's Damiano novels are not better known is that they are so hard to classify. Is the Damiano trilogy collected in this volume ("Damiano," "Damiano's Lute" and "Raphael") an alternate history of a time when the pope was exiled in Avignon, and the Black Death and the condottiere made life miserable, brutish, and short for almost everyone else?

Is it the story of a witch who wanted to be a musician, and his little talking dog?

Is it the tale of a struggle between two brothers, who happen to be the Seraph, Raphael and Lucifer, Prince of Darkness?

MacAvoy has a way of bringing me into every scene, using precise language and memorable detail. If history is fair to fantasy authors, Damanio and his lute and his little, talking dog will outlast all of the overblown 'ologies' of Brooks, Goodkind, and Stephen King.