Immortal (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: medici palazzo, Luca Bastardo, Ser Piero, Moshe Sforno (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In an age of wonderous beauty and terrible secrets,
one man searches for his destiny...

In the majestic heart of Florence, a beautiful golden-haired boy is abandoned and subjected to cruelty beyond words. But Luca Bastardo is anything but an ordinary boy. Across two centuries of passion and intrigue, Luca will discover an astonishing gift—one that will lead him to embrace the ancient mysteries of alchemy and healing and to become a trusted confidant to the powerful Medicis…even as he faces persecution from a sadistic cabal determined to wrest his secrets for themselves.

But as the Black Death and the Inquisition wreak havoc on his beloved city, Luca’s survival lies in the quest to solve two riddles. One is the enigma of his parents and his ageless beauty. The other is a choice between immortality and the only chance to find his one true love. As Luca journeys through the heights of the Renaissance, befriends Giotto and Leonardo Da Vinci—140 years apart—and pursues the most closely guarded secrets of religious faith and science for the answers to his own burning questions, his remarkable search will not only change him…but will change the course of history.

About the Author

Traci L. Slatton is a graduate of Yale and Columbia, and she also attended the Barbara Brennan School of Healing. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, sculptor Sabin Howard, whose classical figures and love for Renaissance Italy inspired her to write a novel set during that time period. Immortal is her first novel.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Delta (January 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385339747
• ISBN-13: 978-0385339742
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #235,656 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive Historical Fantasy, March 21, 2008

By	Kevin Joseph (McLean, VA United States) - See all my reviews

Traci Slatton's first novel, Immortal, is an impressive piece of historical fiction, with an intriguing fantastical bent. Growing up as an orphan on the streets of fourteenth-century Florence, Luca Bastardo realizes that he's different from ordinary boys. Blessed with extraordinary physical perfection, startling regenerative abilities, and a glacially-slow biological clock, Luca struggles in vain to track down information about his lost parents and a lineage that seems to be linked to the mysterious Cathars.

Betrayed by a friend, Luca is sold to a cruel brothel owner, forcing him to endure years of abuse and degradation. Only when Florence is decimated by the Black Death, decades later, does Luca manage to escape his bondage and turn his fortunes around. Luca's enjoyment of his newfound wealth and comfortable lifestyle is tempered, however, by a vivid prophesy in which he's forced to choose between immortality and the true love of a woman. As he cultivates friendships and alliances with various Renaissance figures like Leonardo da Vinci and the Medicis, seeks to master the secrets of alchemy, and searches for his soul mate, Luca's agelessness attracts the attention of sadistic persecutors at a time when the Renaissance is giving way to the Inquisition.

As one might expect in an epic spanning nearly two centuries that's brimming with authentic historical detail, Immortal has a density and pacing that requires patience and perseverance on the reader's part. The writing, while somewhat workmanlike, melodramatic, and overly-reliant on dialogue tags and explanation points to convey emotion, is precise and well-edited. I'm eager to see what this talented author will be able to accomplish once she sheds some of these conventional constraints and unleashes her full artistic talent.

-Kevin Joseph (as reviewed for TCM reviews)

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Classic Novel, February 27, 2008

By	Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty (Port Orford, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I read quite a few popular new novels during the course of a year, but I generally don't write reviews of them. Now and then, however, a novel comes along that really impresses me and, indeed, I think may well become a classic piece of literature. "Immortal" by Traci L. Slatton, a first-class historical novel, is just such a work. It satisfies many of the criteria that I think a true classic must meet such as a great theme (or themes), deals with important human values, has memorable characters, has the potential to speak across time, and is written in fine prose. Whether or not this book becomes a genuine literary classic, of course, will depend on whether it is read by the generations to come. It does, in my opinion, have that potential.

The setting, for me, couldn't be better: the city of Florence and its environs during the Italian Renaissance. This is a period of history that I continue to study with particular interest. Combining a fictional protagonist, Luca Bastardo ("Luca the bastard"), with actual historical personalities, such as Giotto di Bondone, Leonardo da Vinci, the Medicis, and so forth, along with actual historical events such as the Inquisition and the terrible medieval plague, can be fraught with danger since all too often it results in a story with a mono-dimensional protagonist, shallow historical characters, a superficial plot, and a less than profound background against which the action plays. Fortunately, that is not the case in this story; Slatton has done her research.

The major themes in this delightful book are Luca's search for who he is, where he came from, and what his destiny is. These are the major themes of any truly "classical" work of literature. But that is not all that Slatton brings to this work. Virtually all of the perennial problems with which humanity suffers and the very fundamental questions which we all ask ourselves at some point in our lives play a part in this beautiful story.

I think the reader will find this a hard book to put aside. I know I did. It is not often that a literary work of this type can be described as a page-turner. Furthermore, I don't think any serious reader will come away from the reading without being profoundly affected. And, maybe, that more than anything, makes this story a potential future classic. Highly, highly recommended.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing book!!!!!!!, January 31, 2008

By	Surya Reader "Jess" - See all my reviews

This is one of the best books I have ever read, of any time period, by any author! From start to finish, I couldn't put this book down. And for anyone looking for something deeper than your run-of-the-mill cheap, popular thrill - Immortal is definitely for you. This novel, set in 13th century Florence, follows the unnaturally long life of Luca Bastardo, an extraordinary man searching for love and the meaning of life. Luca is not your typical hero. He lives through the most horrible, depraved of sins and goes on to pave his winding path through the exciting worlds of art and alchemy, war and power, the most uplifting love and the agonizing pain of death. Along the way, he makes friends with many famed artists and political figures of the Renaissance. Let me emphasize though that you do NOT need a background in Art History to love this book! Slatton brings one of the most exciting periods of history to life and it stands completely on its own. No one could have created a better depiction of this time. Slatton does an impeccable job of merging a fascinating story with real historical events. And you'll fall in love with each and every character on the way!

This book takes a unique and interesting approach to historical fiction, one I haven't seen carried out with such artistic skill since Richard Powell's "Whom the Gods would Destroy," and that is placing a fictional character in a fantastical yet historically accurate world. Luca, by virtue of his long life, gets to meet and know some of the major figures of the Italian Renaissance, including Giotto, Boticelli, Lorenzo and Cosimo di Medici, and the great Leonardo da Vinci himself. Slatton creates such wonderful, true-to-life characters from these art history icons. I couldn't believe how much I, as the reader, felt for them, completely entrapped in their trials and tribulations. How strongly I loved the young, passionate and deeply intellectual Leonardo! How strongly I hated the brutal and severe Savonarola! And of course there is Luca's inveterate enemy in the Silvano family, but I'll leave that to you all to read...

"Immortal," like all great books, raises a few philosophical questions to the reader and explores them throughout the progression of the novel. Who, or what, is God? If God is all, how do we reconcile the "good" aspects of God with the "bad" ones? Is love the ultimate goal of any life? Luca lives through quite a few wars and participates in many battles over the course of his lifetime. We see Florence go through various ups and downs through his eyes, and we are left with the ultimate paradox between the "grand scheme" and the "individual experience." Is history about the big events, or is it merely the sum of more meaningful, personal experiences? In war, are unnecessary deaths sacrifices for the greater good, or should we take a more humanist approach and do whatever we can to minimize casualties and 'keep the peace?' You can see, this may be a historical fiction novel, but it's very relevant to our world today.

Highly well-written, richly detailed, yet completely readable; filled with history and still a complete page turner, "Immortal" is a must read for, well, everyone! Highly recommended!

-Jessie from CA