Ariosto Author:Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Yarbro does a masterful job juxtaposing the real-world life of the poet Ariosto against the imaginary, alt-history world of his imagination, the subject of his epic poems. It alternates between two stories. The "reality" sections are about court intrigue in the Florentine palace of the Medici as seen through the eyes of the court poet.... more » The "fantasy" sections are imagined by the poet and contain standard fare in which an Italian nobleman with a flying horse aids another country that is under siege. Yarbro's prose is more detailed and alive in the history sections. The fantasy portions set up the basis for a confrontation between good and evil that is anti-climatic especially when compared to the usual histrionics one finds at the end of even modest fantasy efforts. This is a fair historical novel, a weak fantasy novelette, and an unlikely combination of the two.« less