Customer Reviews

Secrets of the Alchemist Dar (A Treasure's Trove)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I received my copy of Secrets of the Alchemist Dar in the mail two days ago, and let me sum up by saying this: Michael Stadther has done it again.

The old characters Zac, Ana, and Pook are back in this sequel to the orginal bestseller "A Treasure's Trove", along with a couple of new characters in the world of the Great Forest, including a loveable newborn Doth (veterans of the series will know that a Doth is a cross between a dog and a moth). I won't give away the name of the new Doth here, you will just have to read it to find out!

Like the original story, The Alchemist Dar is a classic children's tale of fairies, heroes, and mythical creatures, and an epic battle of good versus evil. Any parent with young children should buy this book, and I guarantee they will spend hours reading it with their children again and again. Every illustration in The Alchemist Dar is a small gem, and the story is as good as the original. As a bonus, there is even a sort of "book within a book": namely the book of Light/Dark spells at the end that contains many mysteries waiting to be discovered.

And as if all that isn't enough, The Alchemist Dar has another thing in common with the original: a real-life hunt for real world treasure! And the hunt is even bigger and better than before. In the original, clues led to twelve jewelled creatures; in the Alchemist Dar, clues will lead readers to one hundred exquisite rings designed by a world class jeweller, with one ring appraised at one million US dollars, containing a red diamond, one of the rarest gems on earth. So even if you don't have children, if you like an intellectual challenge, you will enjoy spending hours with this book trying to unlock the secrets of the rings.

I recommend getting the entire set of companion books to go along with the Alchemist Dar, as each one contains special additional clues that assist with the hunt, though they are not required to solve any of the puzzles within the main book.

First, let me start off with the positive. Since I had read, and participated in, Mr. Stadther first hunt, A T T, I was very exicted for this second book to come out. It has proven exceedingly difficult. If for nothing else than to show you how a man could hide an elusive code, burried within this book, I would recommend this book.

Anyone who is considering purchasing this boook on or after 1/27/08, should know the following:
A) This book has been unsolved, in any fashion, by the ten thousand people who have attempted to solve the puzzles for over a year, which is, in my opinion, an impressive feat.
B) The legal status of this "hunt" is unknown at this moment.
-Anyone considering purchasing this book at this moment for prizes,
should know that this hunt may be closed at a moments notice.
-Simon and Schuster, thru counsel, have commenced bankruptcy
proceedings against the author, and may close down the "hunt"
momentairly.
Please seek the websites related to the hunt for further information.

Secrets of the Alchemist Dar - A Brief Review

The book can only be found in the children's section of the most well-known book store chains. Why would anyone hope to sell a book there? Well, Secrets is such a book. Secrets is not just a fantasy, it is also a treasure hunt, filled with imagery, and hints that invite even more images. If you have ever enjoyed tales, this book promises and delivers a unique tale, filled with reminders of flash lighted faces stories told at campfires, at home, and with wonder.

The author dedicates his book to anyone who reads it with a child. The illustrations range from the seemingly crude to the sublime, mystery and wonder. Is it a classic tale retold? Maybe, Maybe not. The story begins with a dance, and ends with something else. Oh no, I won't give that secret away (it might be a solve). If you go to the website dedicated to this hunt, you will hear that often enough, and you will meet people as interesting as the characters in this book. But be careful some of them might be alchemists or worse.

Alchemy, the very word invokes images of menace. Laboratories where vile things like pollution of the environment for greed takes place by villains of every sort. And a challenge, the author makes you part of the story, and you accept. Teachers are invited to investigate the educational possibilities presented.

Biology, physics, mathematics, probability, social responsibility, jurisprudence, archeology, geography, astronomy, history, and research - its all there, and more. Exploring the possibilities. Did the author succeed with this? In my view, yes.

Parents would welcome the opportunity to share this adventure with their children. Age appropriate? Thousands of adults have read and enjoyed this book, not just once, but many times. The book however is not for adults, it is fundamentally a child's story, a tale told to awaken the imagination, the first place reading begins. Then, it reaches in to stir curiosity, and awaken possibilities. Then seemingly out of the blue, critical thinking based upon observation, hypothesis and reasoning starts to take root.

So many details in this book, the sky's the limit as to where all the clues may be hidden. I bought this book for my kids to challenge their imagination, but it would be a challenge for any adult. This book is beautifully written and illustrated as just a story book/ face value/ even if not used as a treasure map!

To begin, I have to say, the story itself does not interest me that much, the characters being overly simplistic and largely cliched. The puzzles on the otherhand are wildly devious, with an intricacy, that would put Will Shortz (NY Times Puzzle editor) to shame.

Sadly, I cannot see myself (nor would I ever), reading, or using this book again once the hunt is "completed."

For this reason, parents, despite the 'easy reading' in the story, if your kids want anything out of the book, be prepared to invest long hours working with them.

Still, as a 17 year old 'Trover' (term for fans of Stradthers work.), I tend to work on the puzzles alone, and I may refer to the story with help for some solves that only work 'in context' (Some of the books secrets are found in story), I cannot find any lasting appeal in the story beyond the hunt. So while it is largely worthwhile to pick up for the hunt alone, once, the hunt is over, the only hope of sales, is for those dedicated 'trovers' who do it for the fun, rather than the reward. And while I experience/appreciate this feeling, if you're going to be a 'treasure hunter' why look for treasure long since taken?

This book has been a lot of fun for my entire family. We haven't come close to figuring out one location, but it's fun to try. And the art work is just superb.

For those of you who stumbled upon this review by accident (and don't actually know what this book is), let me explain. This is a book of clues to actual locations that contain actual gems. The gems are very valuable. This is the second book in which the author has hidden gems and used the book as a sort of "treasure map."

The books is hours of entertaining fun. And for the very ambitious -- it could be quite profitable!

The story was nice and the artwork was absolutely breathtaking. Michael Stradther has an amazing imagination. Some of the secrets in the book can be discovered fairly easily if you get creative, but the main code is tough. It's easy to understand why we've been given a couple of years to figure it out!

The author, Michael Stadther, is sheerly brilliant. He's made a dream-come-true treasure hunt from a story that touches the heart and gives us hope. This is the second book in the series (the first being "A Treasure's Trove). I've read and re-read both of them while working on the treaure hunt and I have not tired of the story.

This is an amazing, ingenious, creative way to bring families together. THANK YOU, Mr. Stadther!

Myssi/ Ohio

My eight year old daughter was hanging on every word of this story. Its a fairy tale romantic story combined with lots of spell casting and oddly named characters. Neither of us have a clue on how to solve the real mysteries of the real rings that the readers can actually hunt for and find--but we are going to try to figure it out.

I bought the audio book and really liked it. My grandchildren usually are too rambunctious in the car, especially if the trip is very far. They are 10 and 11 years old. We put this audio book in during our trip from CA to WA and they were mesmerized. That made it worth it's weight in gold. Karla Armitage