Lady With An Alien: An Encounter with Leonardo da Vinci
Based on the idea that Da Vinci’s painting Lady with an Ermine could have extraordinary inspirations, the latest title from Mike Resnick, one of the world’s most honored science fiction authors, is entrancing. His first book for young adults is a time-traveling peek into the art and mind of the greatest Renaissance man of all time. During a vacation from 2523 AD, Mario Ravelli befriends Leonardo da Vinci and experiences a look into the mind of a genius. As the story of how Mario’s pet influences the famed painting progresses, readers are drawn into an earthy portrait of Renaissance Italy.
Novels in the publisher’s Art Encounters series are intended for young adults, but this offering is so intriguing that adults will find this book well worth picking up. Mario and da Vinci are both brilliantly fleshed out, and the descriptions of Italian life are fantastic: readers can almost smell the candles burning in Da Vinci’s workshop! Readers are compelled to keep turning the pages, if only to find out if Mario accidentally spills the beans about the future and causes catastrophic changes in history.
