Fantasy: “The hand of the innocent”, second novel by Gabriella Ronza

Gabriella Ronza’s fantasy saga, «Cronache dall’Antico Continente», returns with its second volume: “The Hand of the Innocent”. The author, originally from Campania, was in fact born in Marcianise and lived her adolescence in the Agro-Aversa area, she revitalizes the Italian fantasy scene, however leveraging on archetypes already encountered elsewhere: the narrated events are set in a world in which the four elements (air, water, earth and fire) they influence action and the hearts of men and a curse can change the fate of the future.

The plot: loves and “political” tensions

The first volume has a title “Lux’s Curse” and serves as an introduction to the tensions between the northern states (Rogus, realm of fire, and Kora, of earth) and the southern ones (Marinia, realm of water, and Arha, of air). The second, however, deepens those tensions never forgetting the heart of the entire narrative: the terrible curse cast by Mother Nature at the beginning of time, to punish sloth and make her creatures less idle. At the expense of the two protagonists who live a heartbreaking story of love and death. In the hands of Ronza, current events are mythicized and the myth becomes flesh and blood. The author, who is also a journalist, teacher and cultural communicator, says she would like readers to feel refreshed after a long journey and feel like they’ve “come home”.