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A review by ian
The Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle
5.0
Where to start? The setting is fantastically detailed (but not to the point of being overboard, ala The Shadow of Black Wings). Settings as varied as he Royal palace to the darkest slums come alive in Anne's writings. The entire book is set in London, during an alternate history of the 1800s. In this history, Skraylings were discovered in the new world. Although Skrayling traders have become quite common in England by the point of the novel, they have not ever had a formal alliance with Englad. They send an ambassador, one Kiiren. Mal Catlyn, the erstwhile hero of the novel, is assigned to be his bodyguard. The problem? Mal hates Skraylings.
Why do I say the 'erstwhile hero'? One of the side characters - Jacob (Coby) stole my heart about midway through the novel. I love strong female heroines, and the wrap up of Coby's storyline at the end of the novel cinched it - Coby is awesome. At first she seems to be the classic fantasy novel trope - the female dressing as a boy in order to get to their objective - but by the end, Coby breaks free, not just breaking but shattering her mold.
I had a harder time growing to like the main character. Mal is grumpy and prejudiced. Right up until the end. He has his reasons, but I was hoping for more character development from the main character over the course of the novel. This is easily my biggest (only?) complaint.
The rest of the cast is as varied and colorful as the setting. Spies, Diplomats, a troupe of actors, royals, street rats, and more populate the streets of this book, all of them written to perfection.
As far as the Plot goes, it is not as straightforward as it seems. I won't say more because I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I loved the twist at the end. The pacing is perfect. The downtime spaced just right to make the action all the better.
I'll be honest, I didn't follow at all the bits about religion - protestant vs christian vs catholic, vs ??.... oh, my, too much to follow for someone who grew up deep in the bowels of the mormon religion they all seem the same to me. Luckily, these don't play any direct bearing on the plot that I could see. Or perhaps I just missed it? No matter.
Be warned, several of the characters are gay and there is one gay sex scene (very very tastefully done, no worries there). So if that bothers you, best to skip this jewel.
Why do I say the 'erstwhile hero'? One of the side characters - Jacob (Coby) stole my heart about midway through the novel. I love strong female heroines, and the wrap up of Coby's storyline at the end of the novel cinched it - Coby is awesome. At first she seems to be the classic fantasy novel trope - the female dressing as a boy in order to get to their objective - but by the end, Coby breaks free, not just breaking but shattering her mold.
I had a harder time growing to like the main character. Mal is grumpy and prejudiced. Right up until the end. He has his reasons, but I was hoping for more character development from the main character over the course of the novel. This is easily my biggest (only?) complaint.
The rest of the cast is as varied and colorful as the setting. Spies, Diplomats, a troupe of actors, royals, street rats, and more populate the streets of this book, all of them written to perfection.
As far as the Plot goes, it is not as straightforward as it seems. I won't say more because I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I loved the twist at the end. The pacing is perfect. The downtime spaced just right to make the action all the better.
I'll be honest, I didn't follow at all the bits about religion - protestant vs christian vs catholic, vs ??.... oh, my, too much to follow for someone who grew up deep in the bowels of the mormon religion they all seem the same to me. Luckily, these don't play any direct bearing on the plot that I could see. Or perhaps I just missed it? No matter.
Be warned, several of the characters are gay and there is one gay sex scene (very very tastefully done, no worries there). So if that bothers you, best to skip this jewel.