Abandoned and alone, the fosterling Ilario grows up as the King's Freak, surrounded by all the pomp, intrigue, and danger of the Iberian court. Fleeing a failed treacherous attack, Ilario crosses the sea to Carthage, where the mysterious Penitence shrouds the sky in darkness. There, a strange and awful destiny awaits the would-be painter, one that spans continents and kingdoms.
'We are so often a disappointment to the parents who abandon us . . . ' Ilario is born hermaphrodite, a true genetic chimera. Found abandoned on the steps of a chapel of the Green Christ, in one of the minor Iberian kingdoms, on a freezing snowy night, Ilario is fostered by Federico, an impoverished Iberian noble, who plans to gift Ilario to the king, hoping to gain favour at court. At the age of 15, Ilario joins King Roderigo as the King's Freak, but while learning the ways of the court, Illario has another lesson to study: abondonment and betrayal. For Rosamunda, Ilario's birth mother, has arrived - and the secret of Ilario's shameful birth must be kept hidden, lest the resulting scandal ruin Rosamunda's husband, Videric, the king's most powerful advisor. When Ilario is freed by the king, he/she is summoned by Rosamunda. And when her attempt to murder her child fails, Rosamunda whispers 'Run . . . ' And Ilario does . . . across the Mediterranean, to Carthage.
On a raid in the Sunni hotbed of the Al Anbar province during the most violent and chaotic phase of the war on terror, Lieutenant Ilario Pantano shot and killed two Iraqi insurgents. Months later, one of his own men disputed Pantano's self-defense claim in the Al Anbar shootings. Pantano was relieved of his command and charged with premeditated murder, a crime punishable by death. This is Pantano's gripping story in his own words -- the story of a patriot who left behind his wife and children to fight for their future; the harrowing account of a military hearing that sparked a national "Defend the Defenders" campaign; and the inspiring choices of an unconventional warrior who continues to call on his fellow Americans to stand strong in the face of our enemies.
Sant' Ilario is an absorbing story depicting the impact of social change on an Italian family during the late 1800s. Set mostly in Rome, it tells the fascinating tale of Sant' Ilario, A Lady of Rome, and Giovanni Saracinesca. The novel presents an interesting picture of the period, describing the spiritual and economic concerns of the aristocracy at a time when its power and position were under attack from the emerging forces of modernity.
Described as “a major achievement for any writer” and having “the potential to become one of the seminal works of our time”, Ilario Colli’s bold first work, In Art as in Life ventures into territory few modern culture theorists dare to cover. Learned yet imminently accessible, In Art as in Life delights with its sumptuous language and its profound ideas. Its effortless navigation through 1,700 years of literature, music and the visual arts leads the reader to a startling conclusion: the contemporary Postmodern aesthetic, like the moral relativism that spawned it, is not – as it’s often claimed to be – a sign of a robust, self-confident creative culture, but rather the primary artistic symptom of a metaphysically ailing civilisation; one still recovering from the demise of moral absolutism and still struggling to find meaning in its wake. What people have said about In Art as in Life: “In Art as in Life would represent a major achievement for any writer. It contains numerous ideas of genuine originality, the likes of which we rarely come across. I believe it will prove a real contribution to the wider understanding of our culture.” - Robert Gibbs, former publisher, Limelight Magazine "An outstanding achievement for a young academic...possessing a superbly crafted argument.” - Dr. David Symons, Professor, University of Western Australia School of Music “...conceptually original and profound, and exquisitely well written.” - Dr. Victoria Rogers, Professor, Edith Cowan University
The dramatic conclusion to Ilario: The Lion's Eye! Fleeing a surprise treacherous murder attempt, the former King's Freak and would-be painter Ilario has run to Carthage, the city-state under perpetual darkness, in search of freedom. But strange plots are afoot, and a tenuous, complicated alliance with a bookseller-turned-spy will lead Ilario from the shrouded land into tense negotiations and intrigues in seductive, mercurial Venice, from a fraught return to Iberia to a final confrontation with family . . . and destiny.
