Immortal: Traci L. Slatton

Luca Bastardo knows only life on the streets of Florence when he is taken by the cruel Bernardo Silvano to become a slave in his whorehouse. Luca soon learns that he is much much more then ordinary boys when he sees that he doesn’t age as other boys do. Continually taunted by Silvano about a mysterious heritage that would cause the Church of Rome to pay a hefty sum for him, Luca knows he must learn all he can about the parents who lost him in Florence and the secret that keeps him young and healthy, even when so many begin dying around him from the Black Death.

Luca's only clues about his parents are remembered bits from an old priest who believes that they might have been Cathars, that heretical sect that the Church wiped out so many years before. Locked in the whorehouse under the sadistic Silvano, Luca has little means of tracking down the information he needs. He knows only that he must find the courage to do the unthinkable and then he will be able to begin his search. His choices will lead to unlikely allies among the hated Jews of Florence and a turning onto the path of alchemy but they will also make him a decades-long enemy in the Silvano family. As he slowly matures into manhood Luca will fight a battle with God and man, attempting to discover why he has been cursed, and blessed, to live this unnatural life. As with many things, the light of God is sometimes only visible in the darkest hour, as Luca will have to learn form himself.

This first time outing for author Traci Slatton is pure genius and a pleasure to read. Her blending of alchemy, philosophy, and history into a readable story is nothing short of amazing and her attention to detail is certainly commendable. It becomes harder these days for me to find a book that I can't put down but this was easily one of them. Luca was a character that one could feel for and breathe with, and though his situation was unlikely, his pain can be understood on a basic human level. I hope to see more such offerings from Ms. Slatton in the future.
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Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Delta (January 29, 2008)
ISBN-13: 978-0385339742
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