Rate this book

Alkeemik (2012)

by Paolo Bacigalupi(Favorite Author)

3.7 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Fantaasia

review 1: While I feel it unfair to simply compare this book to its counterpart (“The Executioness” by Tobias S. Buckell) I must say I felt more connected to this one and therefore enjoyed it more. I was able to understand the characters, I felt their emotions and resonated with their triumphs and perils, something that just didn’t happen with the other book. It was also very cool to read things here that were references of (or were referenced in) the other story. That really helped make the two books seem like they belonged in the same world, even when the writing style and pacing were so different.I still had problems with this book, though. In my mind, there were three main sections in the plot: the foundation, the conflict, and the resolution. These things felt extrem... moreely unbalanced. The author laid extensive foundations, building up the characters’ backgrounds, following the alchemist’s experiments, talking in general about the world at large and its history; there’s a feeble suggestion of urgency but overall everything seems to proceed smoothly no matter what. It’s comfortable but dull, and takes up nearly ¾ of the book! It wasn’t until I hit 70% (on my Kindle) that some sort of real conflict begins to occur and not until 90% does it begin to get resolved (plus, the final 3% of the book is actually previews of other books, meaning even less time is spent on the resolution). There’s no cool down period at the end, just the idea that our protagonists will probably be ok (at least until they grow old or mad in the extreme isolation that is supposed to be their salvation). It would have been nice to have even a brief glimpse of the characters’ new lives, just to know that their biggest troubles were truly over.While I enjoyed this book more than its counterpart, it still didn’t wow me. I’m glad it wasn’t a difficult read—a well-written book, even with difficulties, means I don’t regret spending the time to finish it—I just wish it had been more balanced and complete.
review 2: It had potential and some good writing but the ending... was disappointing and somewhat anti-climactic and most of the action felt too rushed and told rather than experienced or described. I liked the ideas, but the execution was a disappointment.The author developed a clever world and interesting plot twists. But at times it felt like a fable... like it was a short punchy tale meant to teach a lesson rather than a story. The characters weren't adequately developed and there wasn't enough action show. less

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