Customer Reviews

Tracing the Shadow (Alchymist's Legacy)

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The inquisitors have nearly eliminated the magi, but in doing so, they've created powerful enemies and paid a high price. Apprentice alchymist Rieuk is tempted by the spirits of the void, then blackmailed into becoming an agent for the unregulated magi. Jagu loses his friend to a soul stealer, and vows to join the fight against the magi--setting aside both his musical talent and swearing a vow of celibacy. Klervie, daughter of an alchymist, becomes homeless and orphaned when the inquisition sweeps up her father--but manages to keep a magical book containing a spirit with goals of its own. Each, seeking justice, salvation for their friends, or simple survival, becomes caught up in a greater adventure--an adventure they can see only a part of, and that sets them at odds with one another.

Klervie (later Celestine) is only six at the beginning of the story, and a large part of the novel consists of her growing up in a convent where she learns to sing. Gifted with exceptional talent by the spirit within her book, Celestine eventually is invited to the capital where she works with, and falls in love with, the nation's foremost composer. With this story serving as the main narrative thread, the wars, assassinations and political intrigues become undertones, largely hidden, but giving the novel structure.

Author Sara Ash does an intriguing job making Rieuk and Celestine both sympathetic. Although Rieuk is forced to commit horrible crimes, he does so under duress, and honestly tries to prevent the worst from happening (unfortunately, he's often frustrated in these attempts). Ash hints at some coming problems between Celestine and the spirit within her book--the spirit wants to protect Celestine, but she has her own agenda, an agenda that might not be compatible with Celestine's ambitions. Jagu remains a bit of an enigma, in love with Celestine, capable but not really passionate about his music, and uncertain about his calling as a soldier and warrior of the faith.

A lot of TRACING THE SHADOW reads like an introduction, setting up characters that will be fully developed in later volumes. Some of the emotions (Celestine's great love for Henri, Rieuk's passion for Imri) seem manipulated rather than justified by the events. Still, after a somewhat rough beginning, I found myself hooked on the story and compelled to see the adventure through.

Tracing the Shadow (2006) is the first fantasy novel in the Alchymist's Legacy series. It is set in the same milieu as the Tears of Artamon series and includes some of the same characters and events. Still, it shows different viewpoints and other events during that period.

In this novel, Ruaud de Lamvaux is a Captain of Guerriers in the Francian Commanderie. He is bloody and exhausted from the final assault on the fabled citadel of Ondhessar, but he has his men raise the standard from the highest tower to show that the Commanderie is here to stay.

Lieutenant Konan finds one of the Erihirrans still alive. He asks permission to put the man out of his misery, but Ruaud stays his hand. They give the young warrior some water and he curses them for taking the fortress. Then he dies.

Konan discovers some kind of tribal marking on the corpse. Every body has the same marking on the left hand and the forehead. It appears to be the letter "A" in Old Enhirran script. Maybe it stands for Azilia, the Eternal Singer.

A trespasser enters the citadel and steals a jewel from the hand of the statue within the shrine to Saint Azilia. He is seen fleeing the shrine with the aethyr crystal and pursued by the Guerriers. But he reaches his craft and flies away from the pursuers.

Rieuk Mordiern is the apprentice of Magister Kaspar Linnaius. In his master's absence, Rieuk is cleaning the laboratory. He is intrigued by the Vox Aethyr being developed by his master and Herve de Maunoir, another achemist. He studies the quartz crystals in a tray by the device and notes a trace of resonance in the stones.

Alois Visant is the new Inquisitor for the Commanderie. He suspects the College of Thaumaturgy of being mages after learning of the flying craft of Magister Linnaius. With orders from the King, he leads a raid on the College.

Klervie is the child of Herve and Maela de Maunoir. She witnesses the escape of an aethyrial spirit from a crystal and its recapture within a book. Later she carries the book as she and her mother are turned out of their house by the Inquisition.

Jagu is a student in the Seminary of Saint Argantel. He is also a dedicated and talented organist. One day he meets Henri de Joyeuse and receives a promise of sponsorship at the conservatoire of music in Lutece.

In this story, Rieuk is soundly chastised and almost expelled for his rash experiments with the Vox Aethyr. He is away from the College retrieving new parts for the device when the Inquisition conducts its raid. He flees in the company of an Enhirran mage.

Rieuk is trained as a mage by an order in Enhirre. He learns many things and enjoys his time with mage Imri. Then he is ordered to assassinate Francian personages and begins to wonder whether he has been damned by his association with mages.

Magister Linnaius also avoids the Inquisitors. He flees to Tielen and becomes the Court Artificier for Prince Eugene. Yet he is still wanted by the Commanderie for magery; they hope to bring him to trial and then execute him by auto-de-fe.

Ruaud rescues Klervie from the streets of Lutece and persuades the Abbess of the Convent of Saint Azilia to take her into the orphanage. Upon her acceptance, Klervie is given a new name: Celestine. On her first day at the convent, she begins her training as a singer in the Skylark choir.

Ruaud also becomes the tutor and protector of the second son of the Francian king. He finds himself opposed to the intrigues of the queen and Grand Maistre Donatien of the Commanderie.

This tale brings Ruaud, Celestine and Jagu together in a secret group within the Commanderie. They defend Francia from enemies both foreign and domestic. Celestine and Jagu travel together as singer and accompanist to perform their tasks.

These adventures parallel the story in the previous trilogy, yet have very little overlap in the characters and plot. This story seems to be more interesting than the previous works, but that may be due to the familiarity of the milieu. Yet it could mean that the author has improved her writing skills.

Recommended for Ash fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic magic, similar societies, and a touch of romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

A series of events affecting kingdoms and individuals and god-like beings fall into place when the kingdom of Francia invades Enhirre and captures an ancient fortress that is sacred to Azilis, or Saint Azilia to the Francians. Captain Ruaud de Lanvaux, young and devoted officer of the Francian Commanderie is there when King Gobain's Alchemist, Linnaius, sneaks in to steal a crystal held by the statue of St. Azilia for the alchemical Vox Aethyria he's developing. Magister Linnaius's crystal is brought back to the College of Thaumaturgy at Karantec in Francia where alchemists hope the success of the Vox Aethyria, able to send and hear voices over distances, will ingratiate them with the King. Rieuk, Linnaius's much put-upon apprentice, has a way with crystals and thinks he can make the mysterious crystal work in the Vox Aethyria--unfortunately there is a strong spirit trapped in the crystal that he releases but cannot control. A young teacher at the college, Herve de Manoir, steps in and binds the spirit in a grimoire--a book given, in disguise, to his young daughter when the Inquisition comes to arrest everyone at the College. Only Linnaius escapes--to the Court of Francia's enemies in Tielen--who embrace the technology of the Vox Aethyria, and Rieuk the apprentice who was out on an errand and eventually falls into the company of a mysterious mage from Enhirre who promises to teach him how to use his powers.

The spirit of Azilis is with the young daughter of the collegian who was taken and burned to death by the Inquisition... Much of the story concerns her plight as her mother dies, leaving her to the streets, only to be rescued by the young Captain Ruaud and taken to a convent to be raised. And there's another main character, the young Jagu, who encounters the mage Rieuk at a seminary, where he is also rescued by Captain Ruaud.

There is a large cast of characters, but Celestine, Jagu, the Captain Ruaud and Rieuk are the main ones, with Riuek and his hidden mages pitted against the Francians. It's a bit disconcerting since Rieuk is not an unsympathetic character, so it's hard to know who to root for or against. The various lives of the characters are intriguing and varied--much of it focused on the young Celestine's convent upbringing and singing life, and Jagu's adventures at the seminary and beyond. Rieuk's bonding with the Shadowhawk was fascinating. I only put down the book once and read it nearly straight through. I'll be looking forward to the sequel.

Lots of really exciting and amazing things go on in this book but the dialogue and character development is so insipid it makes it hard to continue reading. Maybe she needs a co-author to flesh things out. I picked up the book because a blurb on the cover compared it to George R.R. Martin. (Maybe his very early stuff, but not his Fire and Ice series) He's gotten much better, let's hope Ms. Ash does too since the story is worth much better dialog and character development. Flat and sometimes just plain silly.

"Tracing the Shadow" is the first book of Alchymist's Legacy, a prequel/sequel to Sarah Ash's Tears of Artamon trilogy. This first book relates the back story of the Tears trilogy's enigmatic Francian antagonists Celestine de Joyeuse and Jagu de Rustephan while introducing a new story arc that concludes in the second book "Flight into Darkness" and ties into the events detailed in the Tears trilogy.

Tracing the Shadow begins years before the events of the Tears of Artamon trilogy with Kaspar Linnaius' frustrated young apprentice, Rieuk Mordiern. Unbeknownst to Rieuk, he is no mere alchymist but an elemental mage, part of an ancient succession of individuals with magic in their blood. Able to bend the forces of nature to his will, the inexperienced young magus accidentally releases the aethyrial spirit trapped within a stolen crystal and sets a series of tragic events into motion that rob little Celestine of her family, strip the young Jagu of his innocence, and divest Rieuk of his freedom and the love of his life. Thus begins a saga of revenge that spans nearly two decades, pitting all three main characters against one another: magic against magic and faith against long-buried fact.

I first read Tracing the Shadow when it was released in 2008 and recently returned to reread the novel. It's a book that only gets better over time. Rieuk steals the show, transforming from a petulant teenager into a verifiable villain before the reader's eyes. His evolution is one of the highlights of the book, and it's truly a delicious experience delving into those darkest parts of the human psyche with him. Ash has written a wonderfully complex, character-driven fantasy novel with a lush, brooding atmosphere and a strong sense of time and place.

Tracing the Shadow is essential for fans of the Tears of Artamon trilogy and is worth your attention. Just don't forget to conclude Alchemyst's Legacy with the second and final volume Flight into Darkness (Alchymist's Legacy).

This book took a little time to get into. There is a whole lot of side stories at the beginning, and it takes a bit to sort them all out, but once the story comes together it is magical. I am looking forward to reading the next book.

I was a big fan of the "Tears of Artamon" trilogy and really looked forward to this book. I think I liked the tears of aratmon slightly better, but this is still a very good book. Well worth the read.

The Kingdom of Francia's chief Inquisitor Alois Visant accuses the College of Thaumaturgy of practicing magic, a punishment by death for those violating the taboo. The entire College is massacred on the pyres except for King Gobain's "alchymist" Linnaius and his apprentice Rieuk Mordiern, who up to this moment disdained his prime duty of housekeeping but now misses the safety of it. Both understand the need for extreme caution if they are to avoid joining their former colleagues.

Rieuk joins the magic underground. However, to his shock he learns that the mage leader of this secret group Arkhan plans to use him as an expendable pawn to force Francia out of its neighboring kingdom Ondhessar. Though unsure how in some way Arkhan needs to use the lad to steal the four Angelstone crystals. At the same time that Rieuk is in deep trouble, Linnaius flees Francia to another neighbor Tielen taking with him the Vox Aethyria that transmit sound over distances and a Guerrier patrolling the streets disobeys orders by rescuing an urchin, who happens to be the daughter of one of the purged mages.

Located in the Tears of Artamon realm, the first book of the Alchymist's Legacy is an interesting fantasy tale that is an introductory set up of the existing world order and the key players preparing to perform on the Sarah Ash universe stage. Still, fans of Ms. Ash will enjoy this opening gamut as the great fantasist provides a complex somewhat convoluted society in which the various stars seem headed towards an incredible major confrontation; just be patient everything is in place for what looks like a fabulous finish.

Harriet Klausner

The review by "Avid Reader" pretty much covered it. Boring characters, boring dialogue. The dark parts don't show any real knowledge or experience of the gritty parts of life. The characters are flat. At the same time, despite not being particularly gritty, the story also isn't particularly cheery. There's nothing to root for, no big Heroes to look to. The fantasy retreads the worn old fantasy tropes without injecting any sort of new life into them.