The Tower - Softcover

Gallenzi, Alessandro

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1846883377 ISBN 13: 9781846883378

Publisher: Alma Books, 2014

Synopsis

Amman, Jordan. As an ambitious digitization project gathers pace in a vast building outside Amman, some unpublished writings by Giordano Bruno – flawed genius of the late Renaissance, renegade philosopher, occultist with a prodigious memory – disappear together with the Jesuit priest sent by the Vatican to study them.

When the priest is found dead and a series of mysterious threats ensues, it becomes clear that the stakes are high for all the parties openly or covertly involved. What dangerous ideas were contained in the stolen manuscripts? What was the ultimate secret that Bruno tried to hide from the Holy Inquisition, even as he was persecuted, imprisoned, tortured and finally burnt alive in Rome?

In this riveting, meticulously researched new novel, Alessandro Gallenzi draws on his experience as a publisher in the digital era and casts a light on the darker side of our modern technological world, while revealing how a well-kept secret can change the course of history for ever.

About this title

About the Author:

Alessandro Gallenzi is the founder of Hesperus Press, Alma Books and Alma Classics, and the successor of John Calder at the helm of Calder Publications. As well as being a literary publisher with fifteen years of experience, he is a translator, a poet, a playwright and a novelist. His collection of poetry Modern Bestiary - Ars Poetastrica was published in 2005 to critical acclaim. He lives in Richmond with his wife and two children.

Review:

“[Alessandro Gallenzi] has done much assiduous and scholarly research . . . He is the thinking person's Dan Brown” - The Tablet

“A brilliantly gripping, clever thriller.” - Sarah Broadhurst, Lovereading

“The author takes us through two exciting journeys; one during the late Renaissance as we follow Giordano Bruno's fall, and the other in the modern digital era, which will reveal what can become catastrophic in the wrong hands.” - Yorkshire Gazette

“At the heart of the book is a big, bold idea: the hallowing of free intellectual enquiry and contempt for the manipulation of knowledge.” - Richmond Magazine

“Gallenzi's passion really takes flight when it comes to Bruno -- and the book lifts off.” - The Independent

“Gallenzi combines his two narratives with engaging skill . . . this deft and enjoyable novel makes the case for intellectual freedom.” - The Scotsman

About this edition

• Publisher: Alma Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1846883377
• ISBN 13: 9781846883378
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 356