Recommended Reading: Young Adult Fiction

I've been reading a lot of books set in Renaissance Italy. Dungeons and Dragons has a famous appendix of recommended reading: this is the beginning of a similar list for Tirenia! Here's the first group: a series of excellent books for younger readers that are great inspiration for players and Dungeon Masters alike! As I find more recommendations, I'll update this list.

The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones

Anything by Diana Wynne Jones is always worth reading on principle! But this story is particularly relevant for us, set in an alternative world where magic is commonplace. It's part of a series, but no prior knowledge is required, and tells a Romeo and Juliet inspired tale of feuding wizard families. Diana Wynne Jones is always superb at making magic feel unique, alive and quirky. The Italian setting is also very well realised. While not set in the Renaissance, there is a lot to recommend this book!




The Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman

One of my players recommended this series to me, and I was not disappointed. Talia is a fantasy version of Renaissance Italy mysteriously to modern day England, and the Stravaganza are those who are able to cross between worlds. Each book is set in a different city of Talia, and highlights an important part of that world. The intrigues of the villainous de Chemici family are also great inspiration for a Dragon Princes campaign.





The Rebel Genius series by Michael Dante DiMartino

When I found out that one of the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender was writing a series set in a fantastic Italian Renaissance, I knew I had to check it out. This is the best portrayal of bards in Tirenia I can imagine. In this world, art is outlawed, because it's a source of magical powers. Anyone with a genius (a bardic familiar, in D&D terms) is sentenced to imprisonment or death. Giacomo learns the magical power of geometry and uses it to fight back against this tyrannical regime.

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