The Alchemist [Hardcover]

Paolo Bacigalupi (Author), J. K. Drummond (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2011

Magic has a price. But someone else will pay. Every time a spell is cast, a bit of bramble sprouts, sending up tangling vines, bloody thorns, and threatening a poisonous sleep. It sprouts in tilled fields and in neighbors' roof beams, thrusts up from between street cobbles, and bursts forth from sacks of powdered spice. A bit of magic, and bramble follows. A little at first, and then more--until whole cities are dragged down under tangling vines and empires lie dead, ruins choked by bramble forest. Monuments to people who loved magic too much.

In paired novellas, award-winning authors Tobias Buckell and Paolo Bacigalupi explore a shared world where magic is forbidden and its use is rewarded with the axe. A world of glittering memories and a desperate present, where everyone uses a little magic, and someone else always pays the price.

In the beleageured city of Khaim, a lone alchemist seeks a solution to a deadly threat. The bramble, a plant that feeds upon magic, now presses upon Khaim, nourished by the furtive spellcasting of its inhabitants and
threatening to strangle the city under poisonous vines. Driven by desperation and genius, the alchemist constructs a device that transcends magic, unlocking the mysteries of bramble s essential nature. But the power of his newly-built balanthast is even greater than he dreamed. Where he sought to save a city
and its people, the balanthast has the potential to save the world entire--if it doesn t destroy him and his family first.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The first foray into fantasy from Hugo winner Bacigalupi (The Windup Girl) is one of two novellas (the other by Tobias S. Buckell) set in a world where using magic has terrible consequences. Jeoz is a destitute alchemist living in Khaim, a city literally being strangled to death by bramble, a "wormy malevolence" that expands its thorny vines every time someone uses magic. The bramble's hairs are poisonous, and the forest of vines has already destroyed entire empires. The genius alchemist, obsessed with finding a way to destroy the bramble--and desperately motivated by his sickly six-year-old daughter--invents a device that he believes will rid the region of the thorny pestilence forever. But when he unveils his potentially realm-saving creation to Khaim's mayor, Jeoz realizes his benevolent work has darker applications. This bite-sized tale is charming, lyrically written, and thematically rich. (Jan.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Subterranean; Deluxe Hardcover Edition edition (January 31, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159606353X
• ISBN-13: 978-1596063532
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Paolo Bacigalupi is a Hugo and Nebula Award Winner, and a National Book Award Finalist. He is also a winner of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, the John W. Campbell Award, and a three-time winner of the Locus Award. His short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and High Country News. He lives in Western Colorado with his wife and son, where he is working on a new novel.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars February 1, 2011

By Katherine Hooper VINE™ VOICE

Format: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.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but expensive short story June 7, 2011

By Jem TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format: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).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Read - Fantastic! We hope for more... December 20, 2012

By miki 101 . Michaela

Format:Kindle Edition

...fro this world, Mr Bacigalupi!

Having read the The Windup Girl written by this author I was intrigued.
And this short story didn't disappoint me.

The history of the city of Khaim, about to be invaded of the inhabitants of Lesser Khaim, is also the story of him, the minor magician but also handyman and alchemist that only wants to stop the Bramble to progress.

Bramble - a plant that is feeded by the use of MAGIC.
The Elder Ones lived with magic - and condemned their world to a life always more and more constrained by that Bramble...

Jeoz the Alchemist has constructed a Balanthast - an apparatus able to burn the bramble and its evil roots.
But the Merry Mayor with the help of Scacz the Magician will find a wholly new use for this invention.
Our Alchemist will held prisoner, daughter and girlfried in the hands of the mighty ones. Until ...

Yes - that You will have to disvover ...

I enjoyed the story very much - together with the "twin story" The Executioness written by Tobias S. Buckell, placed on the same world and likewise a fantastic read!

Try something new sometimes - It's worth it...