Publishers Weekly
A miniature model of a winged horse (another talisman of the Stravaganti, a brotherhood of scientists who use talismans to travel between time periods) sends 15-year-old equestrian Georgia to a 16th-century version of Tuscany. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-This second volume of the trilogy continues the story begun in City of Masks (Bloomsbury, 2002). Georgia, a 15-year-old with a hateful older stepbrother, finds herself transported to 16th-century Talia (Italy), when she goes to sleep holding a little winged horse figure she bought in an antique shop. She awakes in a barn where a coveted, rare winged horse has just been born. She quickly finds herself involved in the intrigues and conflicts between rival families and the preparation for the Stellata, the annual horse race among the competitive elite families. The di Chimici family is seeking to extend its power and control and sees the race as another step in reaching that goal. At the same time, its patriarch is devastated by an accident that left his youngest son, Falco, crippled. When Falco, dismayed at his now limited future, meets Georgia and learns that she can travel across time and place, he resolves to stravagate permanently to her time, where modern medicine may be able to give him a normal life. Georgia eventually helps him to get to England, but his transition to life there seems somewhat contrived and too neatly resolved. The book climaxes with the horse race and Falco's death in his own time when he becomes a modern-day boy. The concept of stravagation is appealing and is used well to create an adventure tale that takes readers back into the 16th century with all its drama. Fans of the first book will find the sequel equally appealing.-Jane G. Connor, South Carolina State Library, Columbia Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
This second exploration of the dimension of the "stravagantes" sets their wider political intrigues in a more intimate personal context. London teen Georgia affects a punk bravado in the face of unpopularity, an abusive stepbrother, and the recent death of Lucien, her secret crush. But Lucien has actually "stravagated" to a fantastic parallel Renaissance Italy; Georgia discovers she shares this power, landing in Remora (an analog of our Siena), and allying herself to one of the factions in the city's annual horse race. She also finds Lucien neck-deep in the maneuverings linking the race to the struggle against the powerful Chemici (i.e., Medici) clan. Toss in a handsome jockey, a crippled Chemici prince, espionage, political betrothals, kidnapping, and a miraculous winged horse, and there is almost too much plot; but Hoffman keeps a tight control on the various conflicts as they climax spectacularly at the race. The background is so rich with fascinating tidbits that the characters can nearly become lost, but Georgia remains appealing, realistically flawed yet likable and determined. A fine read on its own, and a compelling entry in an addictive series. (Fantasy. 11+)
