The Walls of Lucca

Martellino Series, Book 1

By: Steve Physioc

Narrated by: Steve Physioc

An award-winning tale of love, life, and forgiveness in World War I Italy.

Gold medal winner of the 2019 Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest (Fiction - Inspirational).

When Franco, a weary Italian soldier who’s seen some of the worst of World War I, stumbles onto the Martellino vineyard, he’s looking for work - not love. But he finds that and much more with Isabella, the feisty young woman who works there.

Franco pours himself into the vineyard, trying to create a wine that will save it from financial ruin and rescue him from his dark memories of war. But it’s not easy when Mussolini's evil shadow continues to loom over all of Italy. It’s even harder when Susanna, the vineyard’s matriarch, invites that shadow to the vineyard with her involvement in Fascist politics - and one very sinister political operative.

Influenced by the teachings of A Course in Miracles, The Walls of Lucca is historical fiction that shows listeners the power of love and forgiveness in the face of evil. Compelling, colorful characters populate an authentic, inspiring story of friendship, faith, love, and loss in a tumultuous time in European history.

Winner of the 2019 Reader Views Historical Fiction Award.

Winner of the 2019 Tyler R. Tichelaar Award for Best Historical Fiction.

©2018 Steve Physioc (P)2021 Steve Physioc

Critic reviews

“An absorbing, well-researched saga.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“The Walls of Lucca is a tender, suspenseful and touching story sure to please fans of romance, political stories, and historical novels.” (BlueInk Review)

Great story

I can see this turning into a Netflix or Prime Video series. Can’t wait to get book 2.

Good story, terrible narrator

I enjoyed the story--but it sounds like a fourth grader narrating. Is it the writer reading? Yikes.
Why -oh why -do writers insist on narrating their creations?
This guy is absolutely laughable...and his pronunciations of Italian words! Egads!

Terrible narration!

The story and characters were interesting, though one-dimensional, the narration was awful. The author had no command of even the simplest Italian words. They were mangled beyond recognition. I found it insulting that someone would write a novel about a country and culture then afford not a glimpse into the appreciation of the language by not providing correct pronunciation. Someone should have advised him to hire a narrator that has some knowledge of the language and can provide the story with a semblance of authenticity. This is the reason why I won't buy the sequel. This novel already hurt my ears.

Wish I could get my money back

Terrible. Unoriginal story. Absolutely terrible narration. Worse than your worst high school history teacher. The author/narrator doesn’t have even the slightest clue of the Italian language.
I can’t finish it and certainly won’t buy the next one.