- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Llumina Press (16 Mar 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1932560645
- ISBN-13: 978-1932560640
- Product Dimensions: 24 x 15.8 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,191,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Mirror of Diana
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More About the Author
Product Description
Lou Stanek, Ph.D., author of So You Want to Write a Novel
"Gripping...a hold-your-breath page-turner...Will appeal to a wide audience...A tale you won't forget!"
Rosario D'Agato, President of Association Dianae Lacus
"A compelling novel...Historically accurate...gives us all a new faith in the future of mankind...Bravissimo!"
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
He stepped out of the car, lit a cigarette, and looked up at the Alban hills. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
He stepped out of the car, lit a cigarette, and looked up at the Alban hills. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I look for three things in a novel. First, I want to enjoy an absorbing plot; second, I want to learn something; and third, I want to meet characters who are so real I care about them. "The Mirror of Diana" fulfills all my criteria, and then some.
In a literary universe where so many plots are recycled, the plot of "The Mirror of Diana" is refreshingly original - for example, a German World War II officer is the hero, and the little-remembered but greatest archaeological disaster of the Second World War is the centerpiece. The officer, Klaus, has a love of the classics and a disgust in all things Nazi, but in 1943 he finds himself heading an artillery unit for the Fuehrer's army in Italy. But his love of antiquities leads him to the fabulous ships of the emperor Caligula. He forms a friendship with Paolo, the museum's curator, whose daughter, Rosanna, he rescues from rape by drunken German soldiers. Rosanna is beautiful, and despite everyone's better judgment, she and Klaus fall in love. The disastrous consequences of this love and of Klaus's steadfastness to his ideals make for palm-sweating reading in the second half of the book, when he battles not only with his odious Nazi commander, but also with his internal conflict of love versus duty.
As for learning something, the novel is based on an actual event - the mysterious burning of the ships of Caligula as the German army retreated from Rome. The author weaves into the story some fascinating history about these huge floating palaces, about the German occupation of Italy, and about the 2500-year-old Temple of Diana and its bizarre legends (which, by the way, inspired "The Golden Bough").
The characters in "The Mirror of Diana" are vividly alive: the idealistic but vacillating Klaus; the archaeologically-gifted but superstitious Rosanna; Paolo, Rosanna's head-in-the-clouds father; and Maria, her long-suffering but hard-boiled mother. Supporting cast include Gunther, Klaus's sergeant, who can make anything happen by winning at cards, and Gianni, the ragged but dauntless ragamuffin who is Klaus and Rosanna's go-between. And under the urbane exterior of Dressler, the SS commander, glow the burning coals of unspeakable villainy. And, of course, there are the magnificent but doomed 2000-year-old ships.
This is a beautiful book and I give it my highest recommendation. Well done, A.R. Homer!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
17 reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
19 Aug 2004
Format:Paperback
TO ALL THE TREASURE LOST IN WAR reads the dedication of The Mirror of Diana, a novel that has as its centerpiece a major, yet little-remembered, archaeological disaster of World War II: the mysterious burning of the monumental ships of the Emperor Caligula as the German army retreated from Rome. But I found in this book much more than fascinating archaeological background. I discovered a novel as touching as it is exciting.
Klaus Schmidt, a crack artillery officer but also a lover of antiquities, visits the ancient ships of Caligula, housed in a museum south of Rome. Paolo, the ship museum's curator, overcomes his dread of his German visitor and discovers a kindred spirit in Klaus, who is bewitched by the ships. The two develop a warm friendship, although Paolo's dread returns as his daughter, Rosanna, and Klaus are inexorably drawn to each other. Klaus and Rosanna's deepening love leads to complications that worsen exponentially as the pages fly by.
Writing in clean and elegant prose, A.R. Homer evokes a vivid image of wartime Italy and draws the reader into the thoughts and feelings of the characters, breathing life into them all. The idealistic Klaus often vacillates and broods while Rosanna, although brave and determined, displays the immaturity of youth. There are also Paolo, with his head-in-the-clouds obsession for the safety of the ships, Maria, his unsentimental and survival-focused wife, Gianni, the street-smart and ever-hungry urchin, wise beyond his years, and Gunther, Klaus's savvy sergeant, who longs to be back on the farm in Bavaria. But Dressler, the SS commander with whom Klaus locks horns, made my stomach lurch every time he appeared on the scene.
This fascinating and well-researched book will appeal to a wide audience. In addition to those interested in World War II and ancient history and legends, The Mirror of Diana is a novel for all who love pulsating historical fiction. The breathtaking plot twists and the relentless suspense will hold the reader in thrall, and the poignant story of the star-crossed lovers will touch the heart of everyone. I give The Mirror of Diana my highest recommendation.
Klaus Schmidt, a crack artillery officer but also a lover of antiquities, visits the ancient ships of Caligula, housed in a museum south of Rome. Paolo, the ship museum's curator, overcomes his dread of his German visitor and discovers a kindred spirit in Klaus, who is bewitched by the ships. The two develop a warm friendship, although Paolo's dread returns as his daughter, Rosanna, and Klaus are inexorably drawn to each other. Klaus and Rosanna's deepening love leads to complications that worsen exponentially as the pages fly by.
Writing in clean and elegant prose, A.R. Homer evokes a vivid image of wartime Italy and draws the reader into the thoughts and feelings of the characters, breathing life into them all. The idealistic Klaus often vacillates and broods while Rosanna, although brave and determined, displays the immaturity of youth. There are also Paolo, with his head-in-the-clouds obsession for the safety of the ships, Maria, his unsentimental and survival-focused wife, Gianni, the street-smart and ever-hungry urchin, wise beyond his years, and Gunther, Klaus's savvy sergeant, who longs to be back on the farm in Bavaria. But Dressler, the SS commander with whom Klaus locks horns, made my stomach lurch every time he appeared on the scene.
This fascinating and well-researched book will appeal to a wide audience. In addition to those interested in World War II and ancient history and legends, The Mirror of Diana is a novel for all who love pulsating historical fiction. The breathtaking plot twists and the relentless suspense will hold the reader in thrall, and the poignant story of the star-crossed lovers will touch the heart of everyone. I give The Mirror of Diana my highest recommendation.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
The Mirror of Diana
18 Aug 2004
Format:Hardcover
What a wonderful story -- I fell in love with Klaus and Paolo and Rosanna from the minute I "met" them. The story kept me mesmerized and I couldn't wait to begin reading again every evening, which is the highest compliment I could ever pay an author. The compelling prose causes the reader to become involved and care deeply about the characters. The story line is magnificant -- especially the way mythology is weaved into the plot -- along with the drama of the main characters, we are swept up into the world of gods and goddesses. As I reached the end, I reluctantly closed the book, and found myself longing for more!! I eagerly await Tony Homer's next novel!! Much congratulations to Tony Homer for his spectacular first novel.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
An intriguing, well-constructed novel
18 July 2004
Format:Paperback
I'll skip the plot synopsis of `The Mirror of Diana', as it has already been covered by other reviewers. But I just finished this book and found the plot of this novel refreshingly straightforward. Not that it's lacking in suspense - there's a lot of surprise in this book; in fact, most of the novel's chapters end with a cliffhanger that makes you keep breaking your resolution to "read only one more chapter before going to bed." The difference is that `The Mirror of Diana' has no gerrymandered plot configurations used by some authors who didn't quite know where they were headed but who felt the need to add some pizzazz, but leave loose ends dangling at the end of the book - you know, the ones that always leave you with a sort of literary indigestion.
But this book is a feast - a fascinating and beautiful tale told with the eloquent simplicity of a competent and confident author. I enjoyed this book immensely. You should read it.
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