{"product_id":"the-eye-stone-9781609452650","title":"The Eye Stone","description":"In the twelfth century AD, Venice is little more than an agglomeration of small islands snatched from the muddy tides. The magnificent city-lagoon of Venice, the rich and powerful Serene Republic, is yet to be born. Here, in this northern backwater, a group of artisans have proven themselves to be unrivalled in an art form that produces works of such astounding beauty that many consider it mystical in nature and think its practitioners possessed of otherworldly gifts. They are glassmakers. Presciently aware of the power they wield and the role they will play in the Venice of the future, the Venetian glassmakers inhabit a world of esoteric practices and secret knowledge that they protect at all costs. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Into this world steps Edgardo D’Arduino, a cleric and a professional copyist. Edgardo’s eyesight has begun to waver—a curse for a man who makes his living copying sacred texts. But he has heard stories, perhaps legends, that in Venice, city of glassmakers, there exists a stone, the \u003ci\u003elapides ad legendum\u003c\/i\u003e, that can restore one’s sight. However, finding men who have knowledge of this wondrous stone proves almost impossible. After much searching, Edgardo meets a mysterious man who offers him a deal: he will lead him to the makers of the \u003ci\u003elapides ad legendum\u003c\/i\u003e in exchange for Edgardo’s stealing a secret Arabic scientific text that is kept in the abbey where Edgardo lodges. When a series of horrific crimes shakes the cloistered world of the glassmakers, Edgardo realizes that there is much more at stake than his faltering eyesight.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Equal parts \u003ci\u003eThe Name of the Rose\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Da Vinci Code\u003c\/i\u003e, Roberto Tiraboschi’s English-language debut is a gripping historical thriller and a magnificent recreation of Venice in the Middle Ages.","brand":"Roberto Tiraboschi","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42960560226422,"sku":"9781609452650","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0671\/1374\/6550\/files\/CoreSourceHub_d43523e5-b00d-4074-8d4c-cce5bbcfb9fa.jpg?v=1767810692","url":"https:\/\/ingramacademic.com\/products\/the-eye-stone-9781609452650","provider":"Ingram Academic \u0026 Professional","version":"1.0","type":"link"}