The quiet life of a man who escaped a dying world is always going to be hit or miss. One day something good happens. The next, trouble drops in uninvited.
Now, our alchemist is drawing too much attention. Unusual powers will do that. They let you bend the rules, shift the balance of power, open doors that others would rather keep closed. Whether he wants it or not, every new opportunity comes with a price.
But Ed isn’t easy to corner. He has survived what no one else could. If there’s one thing he does well, it is adapting. He’ll always find a way to protect what is his and defend his right to keep breathing.
Alchemy opens many paths. In a world where the gifted hold all the power, it makes sense to learn from the best or go another way entirely. The royal family certainly wouldn’t mind if he took charge of the portal project.
Alchemy, after all, is about creation. With the right tools and a sharp mind, everything can be done. And now that he has a family, there are more reasons than ever to get to work. Big projects mean a better future for all of them.
First, though, he’ll have to avoid getting caught in the middle of someone else’s intrigue.
I almost went with 5 stars, but I found a few things annoying. Excellent tension throughout the story, the story continues to build and the characters are great as usual.
A few things bothered me. In previous books be is always extremely busy. Makes sense. Now he’s married and he seems to want to settle down a bit, things happen to hinder such plans, I won’t spoil anything, but some of his plans (his business that he want to start with a friend, and his other idea that he’s working on and needs a lot of land for,) seem like nothing but a time sink. Adding more responsibility to take away from his family and living. This just didn’t really fit with what I know and expected from the character.
The main drawback of the story for me tho was the constant fact that he’s never prepared for the new twists that come out of nowhere. On the one hand it’s interesting and keeps the tension high, risks, etc. But it felt like he was just beating a wall, and every time he saw the top of the wall, it just got taller. So not a very satisfying conclusion to this novel, but thankfully I don’t have to wait to long for the next book.
The slow parts of this addition to the story were easily to move on as the action was always crisp and exciting to read. The main character is really rounding out and finding himself as an individual against the world as far as his talents and skills. It's a little like James Bond against Spectra. I'm really enjoying this story. It's not overly too much of anything, I'm finding it it's a nice blend of good characters, solid writing, great dialogue and a plotline that shifts just enough to kind of keep you guessing of what the actions of the characters will mean. There's definitely a sense of unknown because it feels any main character could be taken from the storyline. It makes for compelling reading. I'm enjoying this series and look forward to it continuing!!!
It's a bit slower than the other books in the series. Much of the action was in the form of montages/summaries. Brief. Especially in the second half. The scope of events broadened. New technology is discovered and the stakes are more. Overall, it's a good book.
I think every reader needs to start doing this to force authors to write a quick Recap chapter, which readers can skip if they remember, and those who don't won't stop reading the series.