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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4.5 stars, February 1, 2011
This review is from: The Alchemist (Hardcover)
I've reviewed both The Alchemist by Paolo Bacigalupi and The Executioness by Tobias Buckell here since they are being published together as novellas set in the same world. The audio version contains both stories. Please note that these are short novels.
Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell offering linked fantasy novellas that take place in a shared world? What could be more promising?
In this shared world, the use of magic causes the growth of bramble, a fast-growing, pervasive, and deadly plant that has taken over cities, making them uninhabitable. Crews of workers must fight back the bramble daily, burning it and collecting its seeds. Magic is forbidden and those who are found using it are executed, yet some citizens are willing to risk their lives if a bit of magic might help them. Who cares if a patch of bramble sprouts in a stranger's garden if a magic spell might heal their only child?
The Alchemist is about a metal and glass worker who has given up all of his riches and is building an instrument which he hopes will destroy the bramble, restore his fortune, and give him the license to use magic to cure his daughter's wasting cough. When he presents his invention to the city government, things start to go wrong.
I liked Bacigalupi's characters -- the focused scientist who's so task-oriented that he misses important social cues and the strong woman whose support is crucial but mostly goes unnoticed -- and I enjoyed the laboratory setting because it reminded me of my own frustrating days at "the bench." It was intriguing to explore the idea that small and secret lawbreaking, even for a good cause, can accumulate to destroy a nation or, as one of Bacigalupi's characters says: "If we grant individual mercies, we commit collective suicide." That got me thinking of all sorts of current political, economic, and social parallels.
With The Executioness, Tobias Buckell becomes the hero of middle-aged mothers everywhere. Since I'm now one of those, I loved this story about a mom who loses her family and finds herself. Tana is a desperate woman who just does what any mother would do in the same circumstances. It's hard for me to imagine becoming a hero, but Tana's story is completely believable and after hearing it, now I wonder if maybe I could be...
I can highly recommend The Alchemist and The Executioness to fantasy lovers of all ages. I wish they had been longer.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but expensive short story, June 7, 2011
This review is from: The Alchemist (Hardcover)
After finishing this short story, my first thought was "this would have made a fantastic novel"! As it is, it made for an enjoyable read, but one not worth the price of admission. Subterranean Press issued two companion novels, this and The Executioness, set in the same fantasy world. Each hardcover of about 96 pages is $20 retail. That is way too much for what you get. Why not combine them in one hardcover?
Magic has a price; whenever it is used, a bit of deadly bramble pops up somewhere. Eventually, bramble brought down an entire empire and is creeping upon those few cities left. This story had an interesting undertone about personal and collective responsibility. Jeoz is one of those people who uses a bit of magic, only to stop his daughter's terrible illness. Other people surely have their own important reasons for using a bit of magic. But, those bits are destroying their society. Quite a moral dilemma. When Jeoz develops a machine that destroys bramble, he expects the leaders of his city to reward and praise him. He couldn't be more wrong.
Though I enjoyed this story, I think the idea was short-changed. Time is rushed and the ending is fade-to-black without knowing the future of the characters, let alone their world. This would have made a brilliant novel and I hope the author considers expanding it someday. It is definitely worth reading, and I will read the companion story. But, I recommend borrowing it from the library if you can find it, or get the audible version which is only $9.95 for BOTH stories ( The Alchemist and the Executioness).
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written, interesting, April 18, 2011
This review is from: The Alchemist (Hardcover)
Well-written and interesting book notable for beautiful prose and evocative descriptions. Enjoyable to read, and worth reading. The style reminded me a bit of The Etched City at times. It's long sentences and baroque vocabulary mirror the winding brambles of the city.
The characters for me lacked a certain depth; the sickly daughter in peril seemed cliched; even the alchemist struck me as sanctimonious.
The book design was extremely impressive, with the typography and graphic design complementing the pace of the plot. Although executed skillfully, I felt that pictures were at times at odds with the book's descriptions; for example, I felt the daughter would have looked more brambled-covered and in direr straits than she appeared in the picture.
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