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Hidden Cities #3
The Chamber of Ten
From two masters of dark fantasy comes a chilling tale of magic and possession, set in—and beneath—fabulous Venice, a city slowly being swallowed by the very waters that have made it one of the wonders of the world.
Geena Hodge is an American archaeologist working to salvage Venice’s past from the encroaching Adriatic Sea. When she and her lover, Nico, discover the lost library of Petrarch under the Piazza San Marco, they rejoice not only at the historical significance of the find but at the opportunity to bring worldwide attention—and much-needed funding—to their endeavors.
But that find soon leads to another, a room buried more deeply the fabled Chamber of Ten , where centuries ago the secret rulers of Venice, in their quest for absolute power, met to plot betrayals and murders. After entering the Chamber, Geena and Nico are thrust into the midst of an ancient feud, a deadly battle of wills and black magic that threatens to poison the city’s future with the evils of its past.
Geena Hodge is an American archaeologist working to salvage Venice’s past from the encroaching Adriatic Sea. When she and her lover, Nico, discover the lost library of Petrarch under the Piazza San Marco, they rejoice not only at the historical significance of the find but at the opportunity to bring worldwide attention—and much-needed funding—to their endeavors.
But that find soon leads to another, a room buried more deeply the fabled Chamber of Ten , where centuries ago the secret rulers of Venice, in their quest for absolute power, met to plot betrayals and murders. After entering the Chamber, Geena and Nico are thrust into the midst of an ancient feud, a deadly battle of wills and black magic that threatens to poison the city’s future with the evils of its past.
369 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
5 people are currently reading
339 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Golden
799 books2,973 followersCHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of such novels as Road of Bones, Ararat, Snowblind, Of Saints and Shadows, and Red Hands. With Mike Mignola, he is the co-creator of the Outerverse comic book universe, including such series as Baltimore, Joe Golem: Occult Detective, and Lady Baltimore. As an editor, he has worked on the short story anthologies Seize the Night, Dark Cities, and The New Dead, among others, and he has also written and co-written comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden co-hosts the podcast Defenders Dialogue with horror author Brian Keene. In 2015 he founded the popular Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His work has been nominated for the British Fantasy Award, the Eisner Award, and multiple Shirley Jackson Awards. For the Bram Stoker Awards, Golden has been nominated ten times in eight different categories. His original novels have been published in more than fifteen languages in countries around the world. Please visit him at www.christophergolden.com
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October 31, 2017Did not finish.
Just found it too slow and too dull. I found Geena annoying and Nico a prat, and as they are the two main characters, that makes reading the book a hard slog.
Just found it too slow and too dull. I found Geena annoying and Nico a prat, and as they are the two main characters, that makes reading the book a hard slog.
December 28, 2018
Geena Hodge is an archeologist working in Venice. While working her team finds what is thought to be the lost library of Petrarch. As exploring the room they find another room that is hidden and way below the water level. It is a complete mystery as to why both rooms are still dry until Nico, Geena’s boyfriend, breaks an urn. At that moment the rooms flood then Nico starts acting strange. It seems that Nico has become possessed by a powerful magician from hundreds of years ago.
What follows is a story from present time and the battle of the Group of Ten in the 15 and 16 century. I loved the history and the back and forth in the story. I felt for Nico as he tried to fight for control of his mind with the magician. I really liked this mystery and though this was a great story.
But I have to say that Geena seemed to push my buttons and acted like a silly school girl with a crush instead of the professional archeologist with a BBC documentary being filmed of her. Her behavior really drew the story down. Although it is still good I am sad to admit that I didn’t like it as much as the first two books in the series. I really hope The Shadow Men is better.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
What follows is a story from present time and the battle of the Group of Ten in the 15 and 16 century. I loved the history and the back and forth in the story. I felt for Nico as he tried to fight for control of his mind with the magician. I really liked this mystery and though this was a great story.
But I have to say that Geena seemed to push my buttons and acted like a silly school girl with a crush instead of the professional archeologist with a BBC documentary being filmed of her. Her behavior really drew the story down. Although it is still good I am sad to admit that I didn’t like it as much as the first two books in the series. I really hope The Shadow Men is better.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
June 28, 2017
There's a certain sameness about this book. Feels too much like the other hidden city novels. Venice stuff feels like echoes of the Shadow series of books too
January 14, 2018
Not quite as good as the others in the series
June 7, 2020
This was fascinating!
15th century magician in a body of a 21st century archaeologist. When magic meets archaeological thriller.
15th century magician in a body of a 21st century archaeologist. When magic meets archaeological thriller.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
June 7, 2021
This is number three of a 4 book set. Each book focuses on a different city. This one is set in Venice, now and in the past.
A brilliant read, highly recommend this set!
A brilliant read, highly recommend this set!
May 23, 2013
I wanted to like this book, and I really tried to like this book. Unfortunately, I didn't like this book. In fact, I didn't like it so much that I couldn't force myself to finish it.
The premise sounded interesting - a story inside a story, present day archeologist Geena is working on cataloguing a major find in Venice - Petrarch's lost library. When she and her team, one of whom is also her lover, Nico, unexpectedly find another room under the library, which is already under sea-level, but miraculously undamaged or even touched by water, they start to explore it. But when Nico finds what appears to be an urn and then drops it, water pours in, destroying what hasn't already been moved above ground, and trapping Nico under the water.
Nico begins to act strangely, and then takes off. It is then that we start to find out about the centuries old battle among ancient Venice's Group of Ten, the men who helped the Doge rule. We discover that Nico has been possessed by the spirit of one of these long ago men, who happens to have been a powerful magician, and who has an agenda that won't stop just because he's been dead for several hundred years Note: this isn't a spoiler, because this is presented early in the book and represents a key part of the succeeding plot.
I had a couple of issues with this story. First we're told that there is a "special" bond between Geena and Nico, that allows the two of them to feel each others feelings, thoughts and emotions, and to always feel where and how the other is. While I read all kinds of paranormal fiction and have a pretty high tolerance for magical, mystical and types of unexplainable things, including connections between people that go beyond the norm, the thing between Geena and Nico came across as contrived, melodramatic, and, frankly, just ridiculously unbelieveable. It irritated me everytime this came up, and distracted me from the story.
I also had a hard time accepting that Geena - supposedly a scientific person and a scholar, could so easily fall into acting like a heroine from a Harlequin Romance novel. She immediately and almost without a thought takes off after Nico when he goes awol, ignoring her professional responsibilities - which include a BBC film crew making a documentary of her project that could make or break her career - and completely losing touch with reality in her obssession with what's happened to Nico.
The only part that I could partially get into was what was happening to Nico - being possessed by the ancient Venetian magician guy. I really wanted to hear more about that aspect, both in the present with Nico battling to keep control of his own mind and body, and the past story of what went on among the Group of Ten that eventually led not only to murder, but to an agenda that transcended centuries into the present.
The problem was that there was minimal detail about the past events, and way too much Geena haring around venice acting hysterical, at least in the 160 pages I managed to wade through. At that point I realized I was really disliking the whole thing and forcing myself to keep going, at which point I decided to stop throwing good time after bad, and give up on this book. For something billed as a "thriller" it was anything but. To me, this was just a big disappointment.
The premise sounded interesting - a story inside a story, present day archeologist Geena is working on cataloguing a major find in Venice - Petrarch's lost library. When she and her team, one of whom is also her lover, Nico, unexpectedly find another room under the library, which is already under sea-level, but miraculously undamaged or even touched by water, they start to explore it. But when Nico finds what appears to be an urn and then drops it, water pours in, destroying what hasn't already been moved above ground, and trapping Nico under the water.
Nico begins to act strangely, and then takes off. It is then that we start to find out about the centuries old battle among ancient Venice's Group of Ten, the men who helped the Doge rule. We discover that Nico has been possessed by the spirit of one of these long ago men, who happens to have been a powerful magician, and who has an agenda that won't stop just because he's been dead for several hundred years Note: this isn't a spoiler, because this is presented early in the book and represents a key part of the succeeding plot.
I had a couple of issues with this story. First we're told that there is a "special" bond between Geena and Nico, that allows the two of them to feel each others feelings, thoughts and emotions, and to always feel where and how the other is. While I read all kinds of paranormal fiction and have a pretty high tolerance for magical, mystical and types of unexplainable things, including connections between people that go beyond the norm, the thing between Geena and Nico came across as contrived, melodramatic, and, frankly, just ridiculously unbelieveable. It irritated me everytime this came up, and distracted me from the story.
I also had a hard time accepting that Geena - supposedly a scientific person and a scholar, could so easily fall into acting like a heroine from a Harlequin Romance novel. She immediately and almost without a thought takes off after Nico when he goes awol, ignoring her professional responsibilities - which include a BBC film crew making a documentary of her project that could make or break her career - and completely losing touch with reality in her obssession with what's happened to Nico.
The only part that I could partially get into was what was happening to Nico - being possessed by the ancient Venetian magician guy. I really wanted to hear more about that aspect, both in the present with Nico battling to keep control of his own mind and body, and the past story of what went on among the Group of Ten that eventually led not only to murder, but to an agenda that transcended centuries into the present.
The problem was that there was minimal detail about the past events, and way too much Geena haring around venice acting hysterical, at least in the 160 pages I managed to wade through. At that point I realized I was really disliking the whole thing and forcing myself to keep going, at which point I decided to stop throwing good time after bad, and give up on this book. For something billed as a "thriller" it was anything but. To me, this was just a big disappointment.
October 10, 2014
A great third effort in the "Hidden Cities" series. This installment takes place in Venice. The story is told from the point of view of a couple, Geena and Nico. They are both archaeologists working for a local University, and are working together on a project Geena is heading. The project is the discovery of a hidden vault under the library filled with old books. From centuries ago. Geena believes it to be the mysterious lost library of Petrach.
As they are exploring the underground room, the find a door to an even lower room. They can't understand how they can be so far below the water level of Venice's famous canals, and yet have no water leaking into either room. All of the books have been preserved in a pristine fashion. There isn't even a hint of damp. As the team progresses down into the lower chamber to explore their newest find, they notice that the new chamber is quite strange. It has three obelisks in the center of the room, they look like pillars but are not supporting the ceiling. There are ten markers spaced evenly in a circle around the room. The door and all the markers all bear the legend: "X". And on a shelf in the wall, a jar... or is it an urn?
Nico has some sort of natural inclination towards psychic powers, and he can project speech, thoughts, and emotions into Geena's mind. Likewise, he can feel her thoughts and emotions that she attempts to project towards him. Unfortunately, while they are exploring the chamber, something terrible happens that none of them can quite explain at the time, nor even when they re-watch footage that had been filmed at the time. This is the start of a mystery that Nico is dragged into, and because of their close mental connection, Geena along with him.
The mystery centers around Venice in the 15th and 16th centuries, and several characters from that time and their power struggles. The story is action-packed, fast paced, intelligent and keeps you guessing as Geena and Nico try to figure out what is happening to them and why. I couldn't put this book down, and finished reading it the same day I started. Highly recommended, along with the previous books in this series!
As they are exploring the underground room, the find a door to an even lower room. They can't understand how they can be so far below the water level of Venice's famous canals, and yet have no water leaking into either room. All of the books have been preserved in a pristine fashion. There isn't even a hint of damp. As the team progresses down into the lower chamber to explore their newest find, they notice that the new chamber is quite strange. It has three obelisks in the center of the room, they look like pillars but are not supporting the ceiling. There are ten markers spaced evenly in a circle around the room. The door and all the markers all bear the legend: "X". And on a shelf in the wall, a jar... or is it an urn?
Nico has some sort of natural inclination towards psychic powers, and he can project speech, thoughts, and emotions into Geena's mind. Likewise, he can feel her thoughts and emotions that she attempts to project towards him. Unfortunately, while they are exploring the chamber, something terrible happens that none of them can quite explain at the time, nor even when they re-watch footage that had been filmed at the time. This is the start of a mystery that Nico is dragged into, and because of their close mental connection, Geena along with him.
The mystery centers around Venice in the 15th and 16th centuries, and several characters from that time and their power struggles. The story is action-packed, fast paced, intelligent and keeps you guessing as Geena and Nico try to figure out what is happening to them and why. I couldn't put this book down, and finished reading it the same day I started. Highly recommended, along with the previous books in this series!
October 3, 2011
Decent enough if you can stick it out but you’ll need a lot of patience. Overall, if you’re a fan of James Rollins works, this would probably fall into the same category but it’s not as action-packed nor as well written (not that Rollins' work qualifies as "high art" either).
It wasn't until I started the book that I found out it's third in a series. The tricky part here is that the two main characters, Geena & Nico, have a telepathic bond which took some getting used to. To the characters and readers already familiar with the series, this is old news. But for new readers it takes some time to absorb.
The main problem I saw was that nothing really moving occurs until the halfway mark in the book. The authors wasted way too much space with the Geena-and-Nico-are-secret-lovers-but-almost-everyone-knows shtick. It was beyond tiring. And, maybe it's just me, but the whole "possessed by an ancient spirit" deal seems trite. I mean, name a show dealing with science fiction or fantasy that hasn’t had this as a plot device. That’s not to say that it should be stricken from literature but most of us are familiar with the concept so you don’t need to treat it like we’ve never heard of it. The first half of the book dealt too much with the aforementioned (not)secret romance and “oh so this is how it feels to be possessed” interior monologue.
However about halfway into the book, as I’m just getting to the point where I’m considering quitting, the story starts to pick up: a little more action, some neat historical tie-ins (e.g. the Oracle stuff was inventive), less handwringing from Geena (“Oh, I guess they know Nico & I are sleeping together”), etc. There still seemed to be too many pointless interludes and the climax was kind of hokey. I think the authors did make a genuine effort to convey the atmosphere of Venice without letting it overpower the story.
I guess I would recommend the book with a “give it a try” but caution anyone that if you’re looking for a high action thriller, you’re going to have to wait until the middle before the pace picks up.
It wasn't until I started the book that I found out it's third in a series. The tricky part here is that the two main characters, Geena & Nico, have a telepathic bond which took some getting used to. To the characters and readers already familiar with the series, this is old news. But for new readers it takes some time to absorb.
The main problem I saw was that nothing really moving occurs until the halfway mark in the book. The authors wasted way too much space with the Geena-and-Nico-are-secret-lovers-but-almost-everyone-knows shtick. It was beyond tiring. And, maybe it's just me, but the whole "possessed by an ancient spirit" deal seems trite. I mean, name a show dealing with science fiction or fantasy that hasn’t had this as a plot device. That’s not to say that it should be stricken from literature but most of us are familiar with the concept so you don’t need to treat it like we’ve never heard of it. The first half of the book dealt too much with the aforementioned (not)secret romance and “oh so this is how it feels to be possessed” interior monologue.
However about halfway into the book, as I’m just getting to the point where I’m considering quitting, the story starts to pick up: a little more action, some neat historical tie-ins (e.g. the Oracle stuff was inventive), less handwringing from Geena (“Oh, I guess they know Nico & I are sleeping together”), etc. There still seemed to be too many pointless interludes and the climax was kind of hokey. I think the authors did make a genuine effort to convey the atmosphere of Venice without letting it overpower the story.
I guess I would recommend the book with a “give it a try” but caution anyone that if you’re looking for a high action thriller, you’re going to have to wait until the middle before the pace picks up.
March 12, 2015
The Chamber of Ten, by Chrisopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, is the third in their series of Hidden Cities, following Mind the Gap, set in a "hidden" London and The Map of Moments, about New Orleans. The new novel brings the reader to Venice, an ancient city with ancient secrets. Geena is an American archeologist and professor, who has had the great good fortune to uncover the hidden library of Petrarch, and she and her team are slowly excavating the texts found there. Her student and lover Nico has a unique ability to read her thoughts and feelings and to convey his to her - a form of telepathy particular to him. It is he who uncovers a chamber underneath Petrarch's library, which contains strange obelisks and an urn, the shattering of which causes Nico to be possessed by the spirit of a magician who lived in Venice some 600 years earlier. Volpe has remained in a kind of undead state for all this time because in his role as the Oracle of Venice, it is up to him to protect the Most Serene City from the evil of three of its long-banished Doges. But those Doges too have become magicians and, since they have managed to not die in 600 years, they've had plenty of time to gain strength and knowledge in their quest to reclaim Venice for themselves....This is part horror story, part fantasy, part suspense and part historical travelogue of one of the world's most unique - and endangered - cities. Golden and Lebbon work well together, blending their authorial voices such that I can never tell who has written what in this series. Might be a little gruesome for some, but otherwise a most enjoyable read, and recommended.
May 10, 2012
It's hard to imagine a book about Venice, ancient hidden libraries AND the supernatural that is boring enough to put down after a hundred pages but these authors manage it. The two protagonists don't stop mewling enough to get interesting. The lead female is wimpy, her boyfriend moronic and other than briefly glancing on "hey guyz we discovered a roomful of old books LOL" there isn't enough history to keep anyone interested for long. Fans of well researched mysteries will be let down by the lack of meat in this book. This book starts off full of potential but quickly misses its mark, and I cannot get that hour back in my life.
May 7, 2015
This was the third "Hidden Cities" book, following ones about London and New Orleans. This one is set in Venice, and while it tells an interesting story it didn't hold my interest quite as well as the first two. I thought there was some lag in the middle sections with some unnecessary running around that didn't take us anywhere. The descriptions of the city were interesting, and the characters sympathetic and likable; I'm sure those who have a pronounced interest in Venice would enjoy it thoroughly.
April 10, 2013
I was intrigued when I first picked it up and continued to be enthralled by the way it was written and how the story was developed. But the ending was a little disappointing. It went by too quickly and I felt dissatisfied because there could have been a little more than what was written. It's the only reason why I don't give it 4 stars. Other than that, I enjoyed how it was written and the plotline itself was magnificent!
August 5, 2012
This pair of authors never disappoints. Fast paced, creepy, good puzzle to solve. I enjoyed this one, but it seemed more mainstream than their usual gritty scariness. Four out of five for these two and this enjoyably creepy story.
September 27, 2010
The Chamber of Ten snaps along with magical shock and awe. Grab a beverage, a beach chair and enjoy the macabre machinations.
January 21, 2011
Also a great book, this time it's set in Venice, and the Hidden places beneath.
January 20, 2012
Compeling story, if implasible, but it kept my interest!
September 26, 2012
Interesting concept. Not at all what I expected, but it was very good! Set in modern day, with an archeological group, throw in historical figures a little dark magic, and you've got a good read!
January 24, 2014
Lacked a bit in comparison to the last book. The characterization didn't seem quite as well done and it was more predictable but still it wasn't bad.
October 16, 2015
I should have paid more attention to the cover. There are a lot of "magic" and supernatural powers in this book. Not quite what I was looking for.
June 1, 2011
ok mystery book. nothing spectacular
December 6, 2013
Reading again! Great take on Venice and black magic!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews