Paolo Bacigalupi

An alchemist determined to heal his sick daughter and save his town from a weed-like plant that feeds off magic invents a device that destroys the plant, but things start to go wrong after he shows the device to the town's mayor.

The Alchemist

Kirsten Simkiss

I read this as a part of The Tangled Lands in hardcover.

The story is dark. I anticipated some darkness to it, but the overall tone of the book doesn't let up. It almost feels like an Indian myth or something akin to Aladdin and the 40 Thieves at times, which is weird considering both the authors are white Americans. The world concept, which is what drew me in, is really interesting. I can see why these authors gravitated toward it and decided to explore it together because it really is a cool thing. It definitely feels like an allegory for pollution and how everyone participates in it in their own way even knowing it hurts their environment.

The characters were pretty thin, so I didn't really have anything to truly latch onto in that regard. Like I said, it was more mythologically written. I can't say I hated it but I also can't say I loved it either.

The Alchemist

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