The Alchemist's Code

"The Alchemist's Code" is the fantastic sequel to "The Alchemist's Apprentice." Alfeo Zeno, apprentice to the philosopher and astrologer Nostradamus, is about to become entangled in another mystery. It begins when he runs into an old acquaintance at the theater. It continues when Nostradamus is hired to find the missing daughter of a wealthy noble family (for an outrageous fee), and gets complicated when it turns out that that missing daughter ran off with Alfeo's childhood acquaintance, Danese Dolfin, who is known by most to be a user with little or no morals, suspecting to be using the girl to get in with a rich and influential family. On top of all this, the Council of Ten has hired Nostradamus to track down a spy, a traitor to Venice who is selling secrets to an ambassador somewhere in town. As the stories play out, it becomes clear that they are connected, as evidenced when Danese turns up dead in front of Ca' Barbolano. Who is responsible? What is the identity of the spy wanted by the Council of Ten? How are these cases related? It is up to Alfeo to find out. I loved the first book, and I equally love the second. Duncan does a great job blending history, fantasy, and mystery together into an invigorating story that hooks and won't let go until the mysteries are solved. I love the first person narrative; telling the story from Alfeo's point of view is a great way of giving you all the information needed at just the right pace, so that you can follow along without being able to guess what's coming. I like the characters too, and their interactions are well written and fun to read. This was a fun book, and I am definitely looking forward to the further adventures of Alfeo!

I enjoy historical mysteries as well as fantasies, so this richly detailed portrayal of late Renaissance Venice, with its ancient palazzos, labyrinthine politics and committees, old noble families and a soupçon of magic, very much as the first book in this enjoyable series, is a great read for me. Nostradamus's resourceful, witty apprentice with attitude, Alfeo Zeno is once again involved in a mystery that is intellectually and physically challenging. As his master's amanuensis, he braves kidnappers and spies and swordsmen and plots and set-ups that may lead to prosperity and renown or to prison and torture. It begins with an old and powerful family with a missing daughter who may be kidnapped or more likely has eloped, who request Nostradamus to find her. Woven into this is a mysterious spy that the Committee of Ten want found. Nostradamus and his apprentice work through ordinary means but with a dab of the supernatural--always careful not to slip into witchcraft and sorcery which could end up with burning at the stake. The supernatural elements are in accordance with the period and not high fantasy stuff, and it's more the little grey cells that are used to solve the mysteries, which are intriguing and involved. And Zeno's personality is fun, fresh and lively. I hope this series continues, and that fantasy fans and fans of historical mysteries will find these books and enjoy them as much as I.

I love fantasies, historical novels, and humor and this book has it all. Duncan also excels at cleverly drawn characters and the ability to keep the story moving. No extraneous detail here (sorry, the huge fantasy volume I read just before this book could have used some editing so I really appreciated the flow of this story) Reading it brought me back to my childhood, reading my father's Rafael Sabatini collection - books that took place in the Italian states. If you enjoyed the first of this series or Duncan's King's Blades series, you should enjoy this one too!

Everything Dave Duncan writes is wonderful. The only problem, is that once you've caught up with ALL his books, you have to wait for months and months to get a new one. This year we get two, though! The Alchemist's Code is great. I spent the first two nights I had it doing nothing but reading. One line (with no spoilers) was so good I had to call my husband on a business trip to share it with him. Alfeo narrates the Alchemist books, and sometimes he talks directly to his readers, which adds a wonderful reflexivity to parts of the book. Read the books. Duncan can say more in a sentence than I can in a page.

Second in a series to ALCHEMIST'S APPRENTICE, this work can stand alone. I am wondering, though, how our hero became Nostradamus' apprentice so will need to find a copy of that first book just to satisfy my curiosity. In THE ALCHEMIST'S CODE, Maestro Nostradamus is brought before "the Most Excellent Council of Ten" to decipher an unknown code intercepted from a spy. Told from the point of view of his apprentice Alfeo Zeno--who does most of the footwork--this becomes a murder mystery with Alfeo as one of the suspects. But Alfeo is up to the task: he's one-up on everyone else except his master and mental games are his meat and drink. In fact, this character has such a quick wit he's got a bit of an attitude to go along with it. This story is loaded with political intrigue, so Alfeo needs not only his wit, but also his sword skill and supernatural talents as well. He's good with Taro card predictions, but there's a demonic jinx on both the Taro and Nostradamus' clairvoyance, so the maestro pushes Alfeo into unknown territory to solve these mysteries before an Inquisitor can haul them away for practicing black magic. THE ALCHEMIST'S CODE is rich in detail: Sixteenth Century Venice comes alive on these pages. Author Duncan's style moves easily from humor to tension and back again as the plot builds. This is a fast, fun, easy read, recommended for fans of historical fantasy. ~kc