Stravaganza: City of Masks

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Summary: The most amazing book ever
Review: Belleza, a town of non existense to our world. However, as one small boy, (Lucien), soon finds out, there are ways of reaching it.

Arianna, a young, but determined lady. She has Lived in this non existent world all of her life, and so is surprised to learn, from her new friend, Lucien, that there is another, and that Lucien has the power to travel back and forth between the two.
When Lucien and Arianna get into trouble with the Di Chimici, a gang of thugs and assasinators, they must rebel in the hope that they are powerful enough to save Belleza, and the precious Duchessa from the Di Chimici grasp.

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Summary: This book is great
Review: I read this book about a week ago and I couldn't put it down. It is about a boy called Lucien and he's fighting cancer in our world and one day his father gives him a book and he falls asleep listening to his father describin Venice. When he wakes up he finds himself in Bellezza - similar to venice but in a parralell world in which our equivelent of Italy is called Talia. When he is in Bellezza he finds that his hair has grown back - it had fallen out from Chemotherapy - and that he was strong again. But theres danger from the start as he arrived here on the one day that you could be killed if you arent Belllezzan.
The Adventure, mystery, suspence and much more all start right from the first page and it totally grips you and sucks you in to their lives and everything that happens. The end is really sad and Stravaganza City of Stars - the second book is good too. Mary Hoffman is currently writing the third book in the series, which is called Stavaganza city of flowers - i think so you can all watch out for that.

READ THIS BOOK

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Summary: It is a great book!
Review: I really liked this book. It was a historical fiction meets science fiction. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for the other 2 to come out!

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Summary: The boy with no shadow
Review: Lucien. A boy suffering from cancer in one world, but a Scientist's apprentice in another...
... When Lucien's father finds a notebook, and gives it to his son, Lucies wakes to find himself in a world that he never knew existed. His adventures there include, meeting a high spirited Bellezan girl, saving the Duchessa from assasination, and getting thrown in the prison of Belezza. Together, he and his best friend, Arianna, fight for their freedom, and struggle together to find truth about Arianna's past.
The City of Masks is a brilliant read which will make you want to read over an over again, finally reaching a heck of an ending.

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Summary: Read This Book!
Review: Ok now this book may seem thick and hard to read but its not!Its a great story!It may become confusing if you don't read it right but as long as you read it thouroly then you should understand it perfectly.It may take a little while to read but it makes for a great right before bed book.I love to read it when its dark outside and all there is is the light on the book and it gets so exciting and you can't put it down.You will stay up into the early hours of the morning reading this one.Read this book you won't be disapointed!

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Summary: Stravaganza: Extravagantly Written
Review: Stravaganza: City of Masks, by Mary Hoffman, is a novel featuring fantasy, intrigue, romance and time-travel as it follows the adventures of a young boy named Lucien Mulholland and the captivating inhabitants of Bellezza.
In his 21st century home in London, Lucien must undergo chemotherapy treatment in order to overcome his ever-increasing brain tumor. His father gives him a notebook in which to write in when his throat is too sore to speak and when Lucien falls asleep clutching the book, he is transported or "stravagated" to another world, a world in which beauty and pleasure mesmerize the beholder, while danger and deception lurk precariously among the shadows.
Bellezza, comparable to a 16th century Venice, is a colourful city, rich with magic and political conspiracies and is the backdrop for this other world. When Lucien arrives in Bellezza he is as full of strength and life as he had been before cancer interrupted his lifestyle. But, there is danger from the very moment Lucien steps on to the island and he soon realizes that his life is in jeopardy. When he uncovers a plot to murder the Duchessa and overthrow Bellezza, both of his worlds get mixed up in the process and there is no turning back.
A suspenseful yet fun read, Stravaganza is a book that I would recommend to most teenagers, even young adults. As page after page flew by, I realized how real this strange world had become in my mind. Mary Hoffman describes Bellezza in such a wonderful, riveting way that it almost became natural to me to think of women walking down the streets wearing elaborate masks tied back with satin.
Although rather predictable, the well stated descriptions captured my attention and imagination and threw well rounded characters at my feet. The fact that this is the first part of a trilogy brings excitement to me and I am therefore encouraged to keep reading. A complex plot, an intriguing setting and characters overflowing with life make Stravaganza a book to be applauded.

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Summary: A wonderful, magical stravaganza for all ages
Review: STRAVAGANZA: CITY OF MASKS, by Mary Hoffman, is a the first book in a brand new fantasy series which has all the signs of someday being a favorite. Through Hoffman's writing the characters and setting come wonderfully to life, and the result is a story that readers will want to revisit many times over, simply to drink in the magic.

The story is spun around the character of Lucien Mulholland, a boy living in modern-day London of our world, where he is bedridden from being treated for brain cancer. When the chemotherapy makes his throat so sore that he cannot speak properly, Lucien's father brings him home a blank book with a beautifully marbled cover so that Lucien can write whatever he needs to say. However, when Lucien falls asleep with the book in the pocket of his pajamas, he wakes up to find himself in another world entirely. What's more, in this world it is as though he has never had cancer in his life.

In Bellezza, a Venice-like city state in the country of Talia, Lucien finds himself swept up in the political undercurrent of the city, who's people and mysterious Duchessa are working with all their might to keep free from the clutches of the Chimici family. Lucien is taken in by the "scientist" Rodolfo, who explains thta the book was a talisman made to help people like Lucien travel, or "stravagate" between the two worlds. Lucien's companion and guide in Belezza is the beautiful 15-year-old girl named Arianna, who will wind up playing a bigger role in the city's fate than one would imagine.

I myself had never even heard of this book up until my attention was caught by its flashy cover as it sat on one of the shelves at the local bookstore. Now, however, I look forward eagerly to the publication of book two so that I can revisit the world of Talia and stravagation, a world that has not yet left me after my first reading about it. I recommend this book to readers of all ages, for I think that this is one of the better books that has been published recently.

Enjoy!

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Summary: Read This Book!
Review: There has never been a better time to be a literary minded child that loves Venice. The all-encompassing success of German writer Cornelia Funke's "The Thief Lord" has certainly garnered the most attention, but a certain amount of credit should be handed to British writer Mary Hoffman as well. After all, she's the one responsible for "Stravaganza: City of Masks", the first in her Venetian minded "Stravaganza" series. A writer adept at evoking the most romantic and mysterious elements of Venice's past, she is slightly less than able at plot and moral aptitude. But with a package as beautiful as "City of Masks", it's doubtful the reader will really care.

Hoffman's premise is, initially at least, a shaky one. Lucien is a boy recovering from the chemotherapy that comes with his cancer treatments. He's fifteen years old and one day receives a gift from his father of a beautiful blank book with marbleized covers. Lucien falls asleep with the stories of Venice his father has told him, only to awake in a world that is like and unlike Venice itself. This is Bellezza, a canal based city ruled by a ruthless leader known to all as the Duchessa. Here Lucien (or, to the people here, Luciano) is free from disease. It seems the mysterious book he held is the answer to this mystery of stravagation (the means by which a person travels between two worlds). While he is in Bellezza, Lucien's other body remains in his own world in a kind of coma. In no time, the boy finds himself in the center of a political thriller involving the Duchessa, assassination attempts, masked balls, mirrored rooms, and a villainous family that will stop at nothing to gain power over the land.

As I said before, Hoffman has created her alternate land perfectly. Here, silver (rather than gold) is the metal of the most worth. Words are slightly different and what we would call magic in our land is considered science in theirs. There's a lot to love in this story as well. From the idea of using lace as a means of secret messages to a permanently masked ruler that will kill anyone who sees her face. But to be truthful, it was the Duchessa herself that was the biggest problem the book had. Hoffman works very hard to make it clear that the Duchessa is brilliant and beautiful but utterly ruthless. When we first meet her we know that she is, at least, a sexual predator. She chooses her gondoliers (here called mandoliers) from the handsomest young men in the city to be her lovers. For a moment it almost looks as if Lucien himself will be roped in as one of her many partners, though this idea is quickly averted by the author. Soon, however, it's clear that the Duchessa hasn't any problems at all with coercing the ones who love her into doing her bidding and that torture is a routine form of getting answers out of prisoners. The final straw, for me, was when the Duchessa knowingly leads a stupid if simple-minded girl to her death and then feel zippo remorse about the fact. The horrible thing is that the reader is supposed to be unequivocally on the Duchessa's side through all of this. Lucien thinks several times how happy he is to not be the Duchessa's enemy. I suppose this is supposed to be some sort of relief to the reader as well, but it just means that our hero has allied himself with a different kind of evil. If Hoffman acknowledged that the ruler of Bellezza was evil or twisted it wouldn't be so bad, but she stands firmly behind all the Duchessa's decisions. The Duchessa's closest equivalent in children's literature might be Mrs. Coulter from the "His Dark Materials" books by Philip Pullman. The difference being, of course, that Pullman had the guts to acknowledge that Mrs. Coulter was evil if also containing the capacity for change. Hoffman fails to make this concession and the book is weaker as a result.

Just the same, this is a fun read. Ignoring the Duchessa, all other plot points and moments in the story are enjoyable and lovingly rendered. I can say with certainty that you will look forward to reading the other books in this series after reading "City of Masks". And I give Hoffman points for including a note on the science of Stravagation at the back of the book. If nothing else, she is very adept at keeping her book free from loopholes or mistakes in the narration and storyline. Also, of the four websites Lucien explores in this book, one of them (VirtualVenice.com) does actually exist. I highly recommend it as well. From this book's beautiful cover design to its gorgeous descriptions and well-wrought characters, readers will be clamoring for more. They are certain to be pleased.

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Summary: A Whole New Fantasy Idea for All Ages- City of Masks
Review: This is a new and exciting fantasy book about a boy named Lucien living in England. He is coping with brain cancer and chemotherapy treatment. His father tells him stories about far away lands and cities. He gives him a book not knowing it is a talisman for stravangating, or travelling between worlds.
Whenever Lucien falls asleep holding it, he is transported to a parallel universe and city much like present day Venice called Belezza. He meets Arianna; a 15 year old girl who is looking for adventure.
Soon after a mysterious chain of events is set in place around the Duchessa and the city. Lucien (or Luciano in Belleza) gets wrapped up in a adventure he could never dream of in his cancerous body, but finds out that being a Stravangate is a dangerous and powerful thing.

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Summary: Pretty Decent
Review: This wasnt the most wonderful book I have ever read, but still worth my time. The books storyline was quite appealing but the book just didnt have that extra something to keep you interested the whole time. My advice is to read it, because many people find it appealing. If you want my advice for and awsome series of fantasy books, read the wind on fire Trilogy. Now those books rock.