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sarahs_bookish_life's review against another edition
5.0
Alchemy:a story of perfect murder is the authors first novel though he has written many screenplays.
The very first chapter in this book had me squirming in my seat due to the content. The story for me is a mixture of horror/thriller and courtroom drama. The story alternates between the trial of Jacob a painter and Alchemist and to events that have lead up to the trial.
The story is set close to the end of the 19th century and a round the same time that Jack the Ripper was alive. I don't really read many stories that are set this far back but I loved the darkness that surrounded the whole story. Even the trial chapters, not being a big fan of legal thrillers, fascinated me. The author for me has got the balance of the trial and the lead up spot on as it works really well.
Quite disturbing in places, Alchemy, literally grabs you from the very first chapter. There are even a few twists especially towards the end. The only character that really stood out to me was Jacob himself. He is a very troubled soul and is very easily mislead. Overall the characters are all believable in their roles and for the timing that the story is set.
The story brought visions of Frankenstein and Jack the Ripper himself to my mind, so I think any fans of these will especially like this book.
Many thanks to the author for allowing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, I certainly look forward to reading more of his work.
The very first chapter in this book had me squirming in my seat due to the content. The story for me is a mixture of horror/thriller and courtroom drama. The story alternates between the trial of Jacob a painter and Alchemist and to events that have lead up to the trial.
The story is set close to the end of the 19th century and a round the same time that Jack the Ripper was alive. I don't really read many stories that are set this far back but I loved the darkness that surrounded the whole story. Even the trial chapters, not being a big fan of legal thrillers, fascinated me. The author for me has got the balance of the trial and the lead up spot on as it works really well.
Quite disturbing in places, Alchemy, literally grabs you from the very first chapter. There are even a few twists especially towards the end. The only character that really stood out to me was Jacob himself. He is a very troubled soul and is very easily mislead. Overall the characters are all believable in their roles and for the timing that the story is set.
The story brought visions of Frankenstein and Jack the Ripper himself to my mind, so I think any fans of these will especially like this book.
Many thanks to the author for allowing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, I certainly look forward to reading more of his work.
vesper1931's review
2.0
In Victorian England a talented scientist and painter, Jacob Silver, believes he has found the recipe for immortality as described in an old book entitled Alchemy. But are the murders that are happening have any connection to his quest.
a NetGalley free book.
a NetGalley free book.
jackielaw's review
3.0
Alchemy, by Chris James, tells the tale of Jacob Silver, an orphaned child prodigy who is set the task of translating the recipe for an ancient potion promising the consumer immortality. Jacob’s story unfolds around his trial for the gruesome murder of a handful of women in Victorian London. It mixes scientific discovery with hints of the supernatural to weave a macabre tale.
Jacob is the son of a Jewish apothecary, raised in the family shop at Blackfriars on the banks of the Thames. Although he is a precocious and highly intelligent boy, his interest is in art rather than science. He admires the work of Leonardo da Vinci and is moved when his father takes him to view the Mona Lisa, on loan at the National Gallery, the day after his fifteenth birthday.
On his birthday an elderly gentleman had called unexpectedly at their home, presenting Jacob with the gift of an ancient book. The boy is delighted when he discovers sketches inside, apparently drawn by da Vinci. The book contains details of all manner of potions promising cures for ailments of the body and mind. It bears the title ‘Alchemy’.
Events unfold and Jacob is left orphaned. He is offered a scholarship at a school for the wealthy where he is granted individual tuition due to his advanced abilities. Science lessons take place in catacombs beneath the main school building, his tutor the man who presented him with his book. This professor is eager that Jacob should learn everything within its pages that he may unravel the mystery of a particular potion, written in a language or code that neither of them recognise, which promises resurrection and eternal life.
Jacob’s time at the school comes to an abrupt end when experimental medicines he provides for his peers have untoward side effects. He is sent away in disgrace, leaving the girl he has fallen in love with, Emily, unwell and disturbed.
Returning to the family shop in London he begins painting in order to earn money. He befriends poor women who will become the victims in the murder trial being narrated alongside the story of his life.
This brilliant young man, a talented artist, becomes addicted to drinks he concocts to fuel his creativity. Blighted by the drugs, and by the demands of the art buying public for erotica and then violence, his mind becomes skewed. When the professor reappears Jacob submits to his request to attempt to unravel the mysteries of the elixir of life.
I found the story far fetched but it was written with aplomb. The author name drops a great deal, which I found off-putting, but it did not overly detract. The erotic elements did not appeal, but the grim descriptions of boarding school, of life for the poor in London, and the concoction of the final potion, were impressively brutal and chilling.
Undercurrents throughout leave the reader unsure what in Jacob’s life is as he narrates. The denouement was satisfying, tying up the varied threads whilst allowing scope for a planned sequel. Despite reservations, which mainly centred around credibility, I was sufficiently drawn in to wish to read what happens next. What more need a book offer than that its reader remain eager to turn the next page.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the author.
Jacob is the son of a Jewish apothecary, raised in the family shop at Blackfriars on the banks of the Thames. Although he is a precocious and highly intelligent boy, his interest is in art rather than science. He admires the work of Leonardo da Vinci and is moved when his father takes him to view the Mona Lisa, on loan at the National Gallery, the day after his fifteenth birthday.
On his birthday an elderly gentleman had called unexpectedly at their home, presenting Jacob with the gift of an ancient book. The boy is delighted when he discovers sketches inside, apparently drawn by da Vinci. The book contains details of all manner of potions promising cures for ailments of the body and mind. It bears the title ‘Alchemy’.
Events unfold and Jacob is left orphaned. He is offered a scholarship at a school for the wealthy where he is granted individual tuition due to his advanced abilities. Science lessons take place in catacombs beneath the main school building, his tutor the man who presented him with his book. This professor is eager that Jacob should learn everything within its pages that he may unravel the mystery of a particular potion, written in a language or code that neither of them recognise, which promises resurrection and eternal life.
Jacob’s time at the school comes to an abrupt end when experimental medicines he provides for his peers have untoward side effects. He is sent away in disgrace, leaving the girl he has fallen in love with, Emily, unwell and disturbed.
Returning to the family shop in London he begins painting in order to earn money. He befriends poor women who will become the victims in the murder trial being narrated alongside the story of his life.
This brilliant young man, a talented artist, becomes addicted to drinks he concocts to fuel his creativity. Blighted by the drugs, and by the demands of the art buying public for erotica and then violence, his mind becomes skewed. When the professor reappears Jacob submits to his request to attempt to unravel the mysteries of the elixir of life.
I found the story far fetched but it was written with aplomb. The author name drops a great deal, which I found off-putting, but it did not overly detract. The erotic elements did not appeal, but the grim descriptions of boarding school, of life for the poor in London, and the concoction of the final potion, were impressively brutal and chilling.
Undercurrents throughout leave the reader unsure what in Jacob’s life is as he narrates. The denouement was satisfying, tying up the varied threads whilst allowing scope for a planned sequel. Despite reservations, which mainly centred around credibility, I was sufficiently drawn in to wish to read what happens next. What more need a book offer than that its reader remain eager to turn the next page.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the author.
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