The book is filled to the brim with interesting characters. Sibille is a “poetess”, quite untalented but also quite persistent, interested in nature and preoccupied with cultivating what she calls her Superior Self. Offspring of a difficult father who never hesitated to treat her bad, her greatest bane are her (supposedly huge, as everyone wonders about them) feet. Her aunt Pauline is one of my favorite characters in the book: wise in her own way, learned, with an incredibly sharp tongue and afraid of nothing (not even the ghosts swarming her home). Speaking of sharp tongue, Menander himself should perhaps be mentioned here, although he is by no means a match for the aunt. Another interesting character is Nostradamus himself, a grumpy old man that nevertheless never hesitates to put himself in the job of good (although he does complain a lot :P ). There was only one character I didn’t find as interesting as the rest, and a pretty important too: Nicholas Montvert, the banker’s son and Sibille’s love interest. Oh well, to be honest the rest of the cast quite makes up for it; I would have preferred perhaps a wittier main hero but on the whole it doesn’t detract much from the overall interestingness.

Besides the characters I have very much enjoyed the book due to its twists and turns — one very rarely knows what will happen next (and rest assured that plenty of things do happen). Add to that historical characters, prophecies, ghosts, spirits and love potions and you will probably start to get an image about the story depicted between the covers.

It is perhaps interesting to notice that, while the overall tone is mostly funny and flighty, there are some really serious issues “underneath it all”, the most important of them being, over and over again, the truth contained into that old saying “Be careful what you wish for”. The Night of St. Bartholomew is also hinted at, as are the hardships and tough times awaiting France in the next decades. Not to mention the very end of the world is obliquely discussed at one particular time.

In the end, a quote representing the Secret(s) of Happiness according to Nostradamus:

“The first secret is to find an excellent life partner. The second, is to take up a profession of interest, and the third is to do good wherever you find the opportunity presents itself.”

What I liked most: While the whole book was filled with elements I found enjoyable, the one thing that impressed me the most is the very title: “The Master of All Desires” sounds so … encompassing to me. Perhaps the fact that I am not a native English speaker helped my seeing it so, but to me the word “desire” evokes also a hidden component, and a powerful one too. Like something you’ve always wanted so much you never even dare tell people about it (I know that this is not the actual sense of the word but this is what it makes me think of). As such, the idea of a “master of all desires”, someone who can grant one all his/her deepest wants, is… well, let’s just say I do understand why everyone who hears of it wants to have it :)

What I liked least: I actually loved this book on the whole. Not even the fact that certain liberties were taken when dealing with real historical figures has actually bothered me (it seemed very carefully done).

Recommend it to? Anyone, because I found it quite a fast and interesting read, with some fun bits sprinkled in too. Doubly recommended to historical fiction fans :)

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