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A review by cupiscent
City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire by Roger Crowley
4.0
I've always been interested in Venetian settings, mostly because I enjoy twisty politics, and Italian city-states, and Venice in particular, are great for that sort of thing. But I'm pretty sure I added this one to my TBR after getting a glimpse of the oddities of Venice in [b:Virgins of Venice: Broken Vows and Cloistered Lives in the Renaissance Convent|401948|Virgins of Venice Broken Vows and Cloistered Lives in the Renaissance Convent|Mary Laven|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442942887l/401948._SY75_.jpg|391352] and wanting to see more beyond the cloister wall (somewhat in keeping with the theme of that book). I'm so glad I did, because I hadn't realised just how odd Venice was in a feudal/medieval-Europe sense. Not feudal at all, for starters, and far more a commune and a trading concern than a traditional imperial power (and yet, acting in similar ways). In any case, this was fascinating, and full of both broad views of sweeping systems, and individual bits of stirring and heartbreaking action.
It was also great fun to play "spot the inspiration points", for KJ Parker, and for Terry Pratchett (Ankh-Morpork is very Venetian, even though it's not actually at all what people would usually use the descriptor "Venetian" to denote), and I was so busy with those points that I turned a page and ran straight into an entire Guy Gavriel Kay plot, and then spent a long time laughing at myself.
It was also great fun to play "spot the inspiration points", for KJ Parker, and for Terry Pratchett (Ankh-Morpork is very Venetian, even though it's not actually at all what people would usually use the descriptor "Venetian" to denote), and I was so busy with those points that I turned a page and ran straight into an entire Guy Gavriel Kay plot, and then spent a long time laughing at myself.