The Pecci Chronicles: Confessions of a Corsair (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781734151305)

In THE PECCI CHRONICLES - CONFESSIONS OF A CORSAIR, p.m.pecci attempts to recreate a period in history when the Roman Church and the Caliphates of Islam, the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, the kingdoms of Northern Europe and the burgeoning Italian city-states, all vied for control of the secular world. Amid all the political turmoil, the merchant class advanced itself while the bishops and the nobles lost their power. Against this backdrop, pecci weaves a tale of one man's cunning and determination to become master of them all....but at what cost?

Giovanni is old and he is dying. Throughout his life he has played the game extremely well. He is rich and he is powerful. His business empire spans the western and eastern world. But he is running out of time. He has attained everything that he has ever wanted, yet he lacks that which is most desirable to him - his eternal salvation. As his life is coming to an end, he finds himself alone and full of remorse. His only companion, his faithful servant, Nikos, is all that is left to him. The rest of them are all gone - dead, or enemies, or indifferent to him. He sits alone in his tower, reflecting upon his life, knowing that Death is coming for him.

The voices and the visions which had deserted him for many years have returned and he does not like what they have shown him. His only hope is to make one last deal with the Holy Spirit for forgiveness and salvation. Thus, he begins the arduous task of chronicling his life's story, sharing with the world all the sins committed and mistakes made, and begging forgiveness from everyone he had wronged in his life. He is facing a race against time to complete his confession before he is delivered to his final judgement.

But Satan will not give up so easily.

Giovanni is a fictional member of the Pecci clan whose history begins in eleventh century Siena, and whose prominence is seen in that region through the sixteenth century. Their service to church and state was continuous through the 20th century, culminating with the election of the Pecci Pope Leo XIII, whose twenty-five-year reign ended in 1903.