This is a novel by Lorina Stephens. Full disclosure: I am a member of SFCanada of which Lorina is also a member. I don’t really know, other than through SFCanada’s very interesting discussion list. Overall I found the novel to be an interesting journey through a land rife with political turmoil. Initially I was a little overwhelmed by a profusion of odd names, such as Prima Violina Pallavicini di Negli, Principessa Viviana Pontiaro ni Valerio, and Principe Aldo Valerio all in the third paragraph/first page of the novel. This is not an uncommon practice for fantasy novels and I quickly came to understood who the various characters were and what…