Review - The Alchemyst

[wilderthan]

The Alchemyst (Michael Scott)

I remember rereading some of Michael Scott's earlier novels last summer and feeling disappointed. They just didn't hold the magic I'd seen in them when I was younger. I don't know if these books would or not, if I was younger, but my first comment on The Alchemyst was "I'm so far unimpressed", and I could close the book with the same feeling, too. I don't really care enough to hunt down the next book, not while I have so much else to read.

It could be interesting. I quite like mash-ups of tonnes of different mythology. This just left me cold, though. The Morrigan likes ebay and is addicted to online strategy games. Hecate lives in a copy of Yggdrasil. Scathach is a vampire (of sorts) and prefers to be called Scatty. Etc. I don't mind mythology meeting modern technology, either, but this... Every couple of paragraphs it had to mention laptops or email or ipods.

You could sort of call this book "fast-paced", if by that you mean "one never-ending fight scene, with lots of special effects".

It completely lacks subtlety. Exposition is ladled on thickly, and not a chapter can go by without a reference to how much the twins love each other. The kids aren't just the son and daughter of an archaeologist, no, they know loads of stuff about mythology and the names of craters of the moon (and yet still don't know what Yggdrasil or Hecate or anything is). They're not just special, they're super special, with solid gold and silver auras. Etc.

Not for me, I think.

Comments

[sweet_sparrow]

This was my first run-in with Scott's work. I don't think I got much further than 50 pages into it. I don't mind the author occasionally telling me something, but it felt like that was all the author did. I was looking forward to enjoying it too... It'd be much, much better off as a movie, I think. (If they do ever turn it into a movie, I might go see it sometime, too. I like the idea - what I saw of it - but not the execution of it.)

I've seen plenty of people enjoy the books too, though. ^-^ *likes hearing about books being appreciated, even if she can't share in the sentiment for a specific book*

[wilderthan]

Yeaaah, I did spend quite a lot of the time thinking that it was just begging for a movie. It was so... cinematic. Everything described would work great as special effects (if slightly cheesy special effects).

[sweet_sparrow]

Does your copy come with the script-writer note? Because mine did and it made the style make so much more sense. No less pleasant for Shanras to read, but more sense. *nods* At least I think it was a script-writer. I may be confusing terms now (So, Much. Noise. *in uni cafeteria*)

[wilderthan]

No, it didn't. Huh.

[misura.livejournal.com]

I think ... I could dig a story where the Morrigan is addicted to eBay and on-line gaming - one of those short stories in your random collection of fantasy-meets-modern-technology anthologies, that are just fun and cracky. Plus, I've been reading Tom Holt recently, and his stuff's pretty loopy like that, too, generally.

The other bits though ... not so much. (I try to remember if I've ever read anything by this author, but I can't seem to recall any books or titles, even though his name sounds kind of familiar.)

[wilderthan.livejournal.com]

In a different context, I think I'd enjoy it too. But... it was just mentioned, matter-of-factly, just, "Oh, the Morrigan likes ebay and is addicted to online strategy games". That's more or less exactly how the detail is given. It feels like of like he reeeally wanted the story to be quirky, so he just had to ladle on the weird details.

I read his Culai Heritage books when I was younger and reread them this summer. Magician's Law, Death's Law and Demon's Law.