Kai Meyer

I feel... like this book went an entirely different way by the end than it had been going towards the beginning. Honestly, I feel a little betrayed, although most people may not have the same reaction. The book started off really interesting and unusual, with two characters that were intelligent and became fast friends regardless of the oddities that they became part of. I admired both of them, Merle and Junipa, because these were girls that were willing to be friends with one another and show more give each other fair chances, regardless of the personality differences and resignations they had. It was a book that had its unique fantasy elements as well, with living and breathing stone lions, to mermaids that lived in the canals of Venice, our story's main stage, to a magical mirror maker that the two girls were apprenticed to.

Everything started off really intriguing and unique for a fantasy book. It had its own story to tell, and was woven with fascinating purpose and fun, haphazard interactions. Yet there was that sensation of lingering mystery and foreboding over the entire tale, like storm clouds on the horizon darkening the sky, but far enough away that you weren't certain if it would come your way at all or just blow off.

The side characters themselves were truly engaging as well, and I liked each of them for their own strange and beautiful, even sad reasons. Characters like Eft really tugged at my heart strings, and even the rambunctious boys working for Arcimboldo were good characters, if typical boys. *Grins crookedly* Serafin, too, as another main character--though we get to see less of him than Merle--really called to me with his dashing and yet mature personality, his thieving background and insatiable curiosity. Overall, the cast we have to work with was a fun one that brought out unique and enjoyable interactions and kept the book moving forward.


My issue with the book begins to arise when we get to meet a mythical entity called The Flowing Queen. She is apparently a being that has protected the city of Venice for countless decades as it lay under perpetual siege of the Egyptian empire, who to the current time in the book, still sits camped outside the city in a complete and total ring of troops. Meeting this being was at first interesting, but very soon I got a whiff of her mentality when she suggested using the forces of Hell (a real place that exists at the center of the earth in this book) to protect the city simply because she (for unspoken reasons) no longer could at that time.

It's a brave thing for any author to do, and I will not fault an author for wanting to introduce controversial elements into the book. Typically it'll result in a 50/50 split in the audiences: Those who don't mind the controversial elements and want to see what'll happen regardless; and those who will be offended and will stop reading the book because of this.

For a while after I finished this book, I was on the fence with this very decision. The Flowing Queen brought up the suggestion yet another time, and the author himself made a point of showing the consequences of making deals with Hell's representatives with a couple of characters throughout the book. At the very end, we get the prime example of how Hell and its Leaders think of the mortal beings with whom they bargain with. Without getting into spoilers, lets just say that the life of one of the characters I grew very attached to suddenly hangs in the balance, and the person who made this pact with Hell's leaders essentially seems to buckle under their demands--for obvious and good reason--to the point where not even guilt will stop him from sacrificing someone's innocent life. What really plays as the clincher is when he says, "Well, I took [this character] into my home because I was supposed to turn them over to Hell in the first place. Instead of giving them to Hell a few years from now, I'm going to have to give them over to them a lot sooner than I thought."


...yeah.


Then they try to sell you some bulls**t about "I was trying to help the children".


Well if you were trying to help the children, you would think with your talents or even just your bare bones and skin, you'd be able to make a living for them doing anything you had to instead of through A PACT WITH HELL WHERE YOU SACRIFICE INNOCENTS TO SAVE OTHER INNOCENTS.


Does NO ONE see the hypocrisy here?!


Whatever the book had going for it was essentially ruined for me with the way the book started to turn sour the further along towards the end it got. Even the introduction of another amazing character at the end chapters of the book wasn't enough to get the bitter taste out of my mouth, thinking about the characters I loved being sacrificed like animals. To be fair, the book gives signs of having a possibility of turning around in the next book in the series and not carrying through on these ideas, but by the time I finished reading this first book, I was stuck feeling sick to my stomach with the thought that I was possibly going to pick up the next book and have to read more of this treachery.

The worst part is that the very "being" of The Flowing Queen, who is supposed to be the savior of this story, is suggesting the people of Venice make a pact with the very Hell that we're sacrificing my babies to.

I'm sorry. I can stomach quite a few things, but this just crosses a line that disgusts me and which I find utterly revolting. And if I sound pompous: deal with it. I have standards, and killing off characters to make blood pacts with Hell so you can live a life that's a lie and contradiction isn't up my alley.


Honestly, I can't in good conscience recommend this book to anyone. It was ruined for me, and people will do what people want, but I won't commend it. It has too much outweighing the positive aspects right now. If I give the second book a try in the future, I'll let you know. Right now-- I recommend skipping it. show less

4.5 stars - I'm very happy that I recently decided to read more German SFF, otherwise I'd have missed this gem. This is a space opera in the tradition of Star Wars (but with unique twists subverting your expectations, and more morally grey and adult characters) - beautiful poetic descriptions of planets and space mixed with magic (which could also be ancient alien psi-technology) and a swashbuckling adventure that keeps you turning the pages very quickly.

The book starts out with a young show more lady who - together with her guards - is flying towards their death due to having been chosen as a "bride" to the God-Empress, a position nobody has ever returned from. She's being transported on one of the old cathedral ships, which were built by aliens thousands of years ago using a technology that is now secret and reserved to the Witches, psionic servants of the empress. But a grizzled old legend shows up to kidnap her, saving her from her fate, but not necessarily for a better one. Here are some illustrations for the book to give you some idea of what it's like:




The main characters are a pretty diverse mix and include a middle-aged, bald woman who's an expert pilot and slow to trust, a grizzled war veteran who's actually kinder than he believes himself to be (and very sneaky), a young couple, a tinkerer who's lost his legs, and an enigmatic female android. There's lots of exciting action, amusing banter, and emotional drama, and the pacing remains fast throughout the whole book. The tension never lets up: there's always something at stake and our protagonists always need to find a solution quickly.

I really thoroughly enjoyed this and only had minor quibbles, such as the ridiculous invented swear words, and that sometimes character backstories became a little too dark for my personal taste. I think I would have loved it even more if it had maintained its light, adventurous tone without ever suddenly becoming very real, grey, and touching on painful serious subjects. But that's a matter of personal taste - I'm sure many people love it all the more for that. And despite these small points of criticism, this was just a blast to read, and I recommend it for anyone looking for an entertaining space opera. show less

Review by Sliced Open Reviews

So, I really love it when I am surfing through GoodReads and come across a book that a couple of my friends have read and loved so I decide, with haste, to go purchase the book. Upon doing so I rapidly ignore my schedule because, hey “So-n-so said it was great” so therefore I need to ignore any part of the rational part of my brain and start reading. Yes, I do love it when this happens because it is usually when I find books like Arcadia Awakens. Because, if show more I had done any of my normal research once I found this title here is what would have happened. I would have fallen head over heels for the synopsis, oh wait, I did and that has yet to change. Ok, so after that I would have begun my digging into the author, his/her previous works and SHIT. I would have then stumbled upon the tid-bit of info that would have me dropping this like a bad habit. Kai Meyer is a German author, meaning his works are translated (into 27 other languages to be correct). No, I’m not against foreign work, in fact my feelings for this book should prove quite the opposite, but I have read some true epic failures in translating. But boys and girls, I am happy to let you know that this piece of literary heaven does not fall into that category! Nothing for me was lost in translation. Quite the contrary, I think that the vision of Meyer’s heritage brought some of what drew me so close to this read. He describes portions of this book with such intent knowledge that you get drawn in to these amazing aerial views of lush Sicily, that frankly; I was lost until I finished. HECK who am I kidding; I’m still lost since book two isn’t quite here yet!

I also have to give mention to the characters in this book. I was so confused with the first couple chapters of the book because I just could not figure out how I was supposed to like our MC Rosa. No, she’s not what I’m used to when it comes to female MCs cause she lies, cheats and steals within the first 100 pages of the book. Yea, I know, I totally didn’t get it. But as you start to learn more about her things start to piece together and you understand the how’s and why’s and things just clicked. She is far more “angst” than what I’ve read recently and I actually quite enjoyed that. Rosa isn’t the only complex character built within the story; I actually feel that each character was built with a sense of precision, giving each character a kaleidoscope of color and diversity that left me breathless at times. The dexterity in the writing of each character still floors me.

Another reason I loved this book comes in one word…Mafia. I have an inordinate fascination with mafia stories and Arcadia Awakens played into that like a Royal Flush in the middle of a losing streak. This mixed with a version of Mythology that is much lesser mainstream totally blended together to place excellence on the pages.

Ok, I’m shitting flowers and sunshine right now but I just cannot help it. This may wipe the floor with any series I’ve started this year…needless to say I will stalk GoodReads and B&N waiting for Arcadia Burns, Book Two in the Arkadien Series! show less

Ein gelungener erster Band. Vielseitige Charaktere mit Ecken und Kanten.

"Die Alchimistin" von Kai Meyer ist ein gelungener erster Band im Genre Fantasy. 1998 wurde das Buch erstmals veröffentlicht und gilt durchaus mittlerweile als Klassiker der deutschen Phantastik.
Das Buch erzählt die Geschichte von Aura Institoris, die in einem geheimnisvollen Schloss aufwächst und in die intriganten Machenschaften einer Alchemistenfamilie verwickelt wird.
Kai Meyer schafft es, eine dichte, spannende show more Atmosphäre zu erzeugen, die gekennzeichnet ist durch mystische Elemente und historische Bezüge. Seine Schreibweise ist bildhaft und zieht den Leser tief in die komplexe und oft düstere Welt der Alchemie und Intrigen. Die Kombination aus Liebesgeschichte und actionreichen Elementen sorgt für ein hohes Tempo in der Erzählung.
Ich mag besonders die vielschichtigen und vielseitigen Charaktere und die überzeugende Darstellung von Themen wie Macht, Liebe und Verrat. Sehr gelungen empfinde ich die mittelalterlichen Beschreibungen der Säle, Burgen und Tunnel, ähnlich gelungen ist auch die ganze Atmosphäre von den Mooren des Nordens über Wien, Venedig und Siebenbürgen bis nach Swanetien, einem vergessenen Bergland jenseits des Schwarzen Meeres.

Insgesamt ist "Die Alchimistin" ein gelungener und empfehlenswerter erster Teil einer Serie. Kai Meyers Mischung aus fantastischen Elementen und realhistorischen Begebenheiten machen das Buch zu einem besonderen Leseerlebnis. show less