Thomas Quinn Books : The Book

This first book of The Venetians trilogy begins as a Venetian fleet plows though stormy November seas. They are bound for Constantinople, with reinforcements to help defend the fabled city against an impending siege by the Ottoman Turks, led by their ruthless sultan, Muhammed II. Suddenly, an age-old bitter conflict flares between two rich and powerful Venetian nobles threatening to undermine their mission. One is ruthless and brave naval Captain Giovanni Soranzo who thirsts for revenge as he wages a vendetta against Antonio Ziani, a proud volunteer marine officer.

It is 1452, and though Italy is reveling in the glories of the Renaissance, Venice will soon be dragged into an epic war for survival against the more powerful Turks. Now these two patricians, both patriots, must temper their actions toward each other with their loyalty to their beloved republic. Fighting one another when they can, fighting together when they must, Ziani and Soranzo seek to defend their personal honor as they risk their lives to keep Venice free, preserving their hard-won empire.

Much more than a war story, this is a tale of Venice, when she was the greatest city on Earth and the world's only republic, and of her people, whose fortunes and very lives were dependent on her success. Admired, envied, hated and feared but with her vast wealth and vaunted navy, always respected. She is La Serenissima, The Serene Republic of Venice, and this is her story.

In The Lion of St. Mark, the landscape was rife with deep-seeded rivalry between the Ziani and Soranzo families — a long history of hatred and strife that passed from one generation to the next. In the end, the brave Giovanni Soranzo and the proud Antonio Ziani set aside their personal vendettas in order to save their beloved city of Venice from attack by the Ottoman Turks.

But the truce could not endure. And though Venice has remained free from the invasion, she continues to be threatened by the Turks, ambitious Italian city-states, the papacy, and France. Danger once again looms on the horizon.

In these perilous times, new members of the Ziani and Soranzo families continue to wage a bitter and violent campaign of retribution against one another. The truce that Giovanni and Antonio had made together proves fleeting as their sons resume the passionate feud with even greater malice.

Told against the backdrop of historical events — the continuing war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire, The Ferrara War that exploded the Italian Peninsula and the constant intrigues of the powerful papacy — the Ziani and Soranzo families cope with love, loss, kidnapping, murder, war and peace. As invading forces creep ever closer, Venice and her leading families fight for survival and thirst for revenge.