Title : The Acchiapparatti
Author: Francesco Barbi
Genre: fantasy Low
Year: 2009
Publisher: Baldini Castoldi Dalai
Pages: 466
Plot
Gheshik undertaker is a hunchback who lives in Tilos and have a great passion for antique books. Precisely because of this feature ends up getting into trouble with a local squire and takes refuge with Zechariah acchiapparatti profession. Zechariah is crazy but apparently hides a kind heart and special skills, such as know the arcane language. Thanks to his knowledge Gheshik can decipher the book of a necromancer and discovers he has the key to unlocking the mystery contained in the pages of the manuscript. Part way along with his friend and prostitute at a time of Giloc Isolde, the city known for the death sentences carried out by the Reaper, a horrible monster who lives to kill and who escapes from his prison causing panic to the countryside. But as they proceed on the journey, facing all kinds of trouble because of his propensity for theft and imprudence, Gheshik realizes that the secret contained in the book of the witch-Ar Gular is more powerful and terrible than dare to imagine . While the origin of the demon described in the book becomes clear through the research of Melzo, Gheshik realizes that it can not control the creature evoked by the magician and that appears to contain the spirit. The daemon must be killed, but to die to expel their human side. And the only human being able to get in touch with being it is Gheshik.
Comment
Acchiapparatti The book is truly amazing. Certainly classified as Low fantasy, because the fantasy element affects only the story of the demon and the magician is able to mix all the ingredients of the classic fantasy to create something unique and original. There is a company of heroes, there's the look, there is a bloodthirsty monster, but there are no stereotypes. Gheshik is smart and ruthless, gets into trouble for his morbid curiosity and thirst for knowledge, Zechariah is a winner because of its extreme simplicity and behave really bad to bad. In the sense that the robbers are real bandits are a group for convenience only and do not make too much trouble to steal and kill, as well as Gamara the bounty hunter has the typical character grumpy and cynical of his craft. Yet you can never talk bad all round. That's the beauty of the novel. The characters are victims of cruelty and violence and are aware of being in the same boat, so that in the end it shows bits of humanity and good heart. The two main characters, Gheshik and Zachary, are grotesque, tragicomic, embroiled in absurd situations that have not chosen deliberately and who do not know how to get out. And the more they believe they have control, the worse their condition. The only drawback of the characters is the monster of Giloc, whose work is described through the eyes of families attacked. It learns from its history Melzo and feels his strong desire for freedom, expressed by the raw violence, but there is never a true immersion into his psychology. Would have been nice and charming "think" through the mind of a bloodthirsty monster that embodies nothing but the worst human instincts, proving certainly no worse than its master Ar-Gular and those who have to create it.
The most obvious flaws lie in the writing. It's not bad, Barbi know the techniques of writing and makes it a good use, especially that of the show and not tell. Although sometimes exaggerates, engaging in long infodump troublesome (for example the story of Gheshik and the piece where the bounty hunter reflects on weapons to use), the main scenes are described with due attention. The style is flat and with some typical expression, as in the description of the woods in the moonlight, but it is smooth and fits well with the atmosphere, "the funny" in history. Giving a final decision, I feel like comparing this novel to a bittersweet tale Boccaccio.
rating
8 - Very Good
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