The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life, Vol. 1

The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life (Light Novel) #1

by Usata Nonohara

A girl out of time, a fish out of water

Alchemists used to be a dime a dozen in the Kingdom of Endalsia, so Mariela was never particularly special. But her skills were put to the test one fateful day when a horde of monsters came stampeding from the nearby forest. In a desperate attempt to escape the horror, the young alchemist put herself in a state of suspended animation that lasted just a little longer than she'd planned-an entire two hundred years! Needless to say, there have been some big changes, and biggest of Mariela is now the sole alchemist in the entire kingdom. Her one wish in this strange new environment is to get back her quiet, leisurely, low-key lifestyle!

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Fiction, Slice Of Life, Adventure, Comics

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 30, 2017

About the author

のの原兎太

Reviews

[Kezia Santoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this thinking that I was about to get some light-hearted, easily digestible fantasy story that would warm my heart, but I wasn't prepared with the degree of feels that I'd get hit by instead. The main characters have both been through a lot and it's extremely cathartic to see them both heal together. While it might not be for everyone, considering the amount of world-building and the seemingly 'mundane' activities that take place, I personally really love it. The writing is very optimistic while trying to cover up the heavy, dark setting. Honestly, I can't help but fall in love with the world and the characters.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

First and foremost -- Alchemist loses an entire star for being yet another series to use slavery to obtain the MC a companion. Yes, Mariela treats him like a human and there is a bit of discussion of where slaves come from in this world and how they are used (abused). But the sole purpose really seemed to be so Mari could have a companion/protector. I not only strongly dislike this particular trope, but I'm getting extremely tired of seeing it.

Otherwise -- this is a slow stroll through a forest on a sunny afternoon. Don't expect it to be EPIC because there is nothing to suggest it will be, though there are hints that there will be some action in the future.

There is what appears to be an somewhat interesting magic/alchemical system... alas, you are treated to so little of it in some ways and and overabundance in others. When Mari is going on about all the different herbs and what they do I just find myself reading without absorbing anything. I doubt having just finished this book minutes ago if I could name a single one of the plants used in making the potions. (Mind you I'm not sure that's something to be proud of, but the book didn't give me any reason to care either).

Verdict: I'll likely read at least one more -- but it isn't next on my to read list, and probably isn't in the top 10.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED IT. Sieg is MINE. Fight me. 5 stars and on to the next!

[Marcus Laurence · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you have even a passing knowledge of Japanese light novel tropes and storytelling methods, this book will immediately show itself with painful clarity to be:
A) A light novel B) Written by a male
These aren't bad by default, but the novel doesn't try to hide its male-gaze-y tendencies, which really gets in the way of the storytelling.

Speaking of, this novel lacks clear structure in terms of traditional buildup and climax, and seems to be written with the intention of being a slice-of-life story (though that may be the author's lack of experience). To that end, the format doesn't really work for the story the author is trying to tell.

It makes constant reference to its own chemistry and alchemical processes, but these descriptions often involve page-long blocks of text and read like recipe books rather than anything interesting; a detrimental point being that all the ingredients are arbitrary fantasy items, so the descriptions are both worthless and keep the story from progressing.

The characters are flanderizations of common tropes: dime a dozen. Mariela is exactly what you'd expect, and Sieg isn't developed enough to be interesting until halfway through (the author also switches points of view to give character insight that would be more effectively done through dialogue, body language, etc.).

All in all it's fine, I guess. You can find better books elsewhere. The manga Dr. Stone is the obvious success story of this type of writing (because it has technical processes that are relevant to real-life), even though it isn't a novel (yet).

EDIT:
Let's also not forget to mention the crazy value the main character gets from her "superpower," while reading I was putting together plans that would absolutely destroy the local economy, but Mariela's use of her stock market-crashing fistfuls of gold doubloons is instead used to pay for rent.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars may be a bit generous for a book where the action culminated in the fabrication of glass panes for a shop window... Much of this first novel gets bogged down in information dump style world building. A lot of saying and not showing and it reads at times like a list of ingredients in a pen and paper role-playing game’s appendix of spell components. That, along with the needless repetition of certain details can make reading The Alchemist Who Survived more than a little tedious. The narrative structure can be disjointed and unfocused. Some readers, unaccustomed to the fan service elements of light novels, may find the early and abrupt occasions with a focus on bust size very off-putting. Thankfully, that particular problem disappears before the half-way mark. And, while there is a lot of world building-ish exposition, there is really not much of a world described. Fans of adult fantasy may find this work trite. However, there was enough of a kernel of setup that I will be willing to try another volume. Siegmund’s story in particular provided a compelling antidote to the ledger of goods most of this novels devolves into...

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got into slice of life fantasy light novels through my husband, and have really discovered a liking for them. This one is relatively light on the genre's over-reliance on the superpowered protagonist trope, and has appealing characters who it's just nice to spend some time with as we watch Mariela build herself a live as the only active alchemist in her city.

[Rebecca Lowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Middle school appropriate. I personally found this to be not very exciting and I also had a hard time keeping track of most of the characters. The idea that the main character was the only alchemist didn’t seem to make much sense based on how amazing their powers seemed. I was also not comfortable with how slavery was depicted and handled. I received a free copy of this from a friend and will not be keeping it for myself or my students.

[Brandy Ackerley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. I absolutely need more of the books.

[Shannon Babb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once in a while you will read a book that perfectly meets your needs at a specific moment of time...this was one of those books. The methodical pacing and character-driven plot provided an intriguing escape from the challenges of sheltering in place. It was also a story that dives into the emotions of adapting to and living in a changed world which made the book even more meaningful than it might have been under other contexts.

[DG · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

I really enjoyed the first volume and look forward to the next one! However, the world building and the alchemy scenes were really a chore to get through after the first couple of times. Towards the end, my eyes were crossing. I’m hoping it won’t that much of a hassle in the second volume.

Still, it was fun and light hearted and I highly recommend it to any anime/manga lovers, especially if you enjoy animes like Snow White With the Red Hair.

[Jennifer]

The light novel fleshes things out far better than the manga. The world building is a little confusing. I don’t really understand the magic system or healers versus chemists versus alchemists, let alone the people with a skill in alchemy, but they can’t actually practice it. I’m not sure the author thought out some of the details of her world for it to make sense. For example, it explains that the labyrinth city seriously lacks manpower, to the point that they encourage the slaves to have children - those children will be taken away and raised in an orphanage. Do the children not resent this? Do the slaves agree to have children when their kids will be taken away? Also, the treatment of slaves does not suggest that they value their lives, quite the opposite. If you are lacking in manpower, you shouldn’t be OK with throwing away the lives of anybody that manages to survive in the city. There was also this thing about how people consider slaves to be less intelligent and evolved than they are, and basically subhuman. But people often become slaves because they can’t repay a debt…so that doesn’t make sense.

Mariela is not going to keep her secret for very long at this rate. In fact, I don’t quite understand why other people haven’t already guessed it. Not only is she providing fresh potions in great quantities, but her extremely sick slave was miraculously healed the next day. Even Lynx immediately guessed that she used a specialty potion, but didn’t seem to think further than that. Where would she keep all the potions if she inherited them?? Why would anyone imagine that? How is she just finding glass? 🙄 I also thought the bits trying to make Sieg feel guilty were very weak. Contrary to what Lynx said, Sieg didn’t actually give any info away that would put her in danger, and later his panic over her collapse was real, he just also worried about what it would mean for him. That’s totally normal!

Given the way Mariela’s master trained her and disappeared, I wonder if they are still alive and will reappear, and if they foresaw the stampede and prepared her specifically to survive. I get that Mariela is naive, but she really should figure out what is normal in this age, and stop just blithely showing off her skills. Although I don’t agree that she will bis in danger the way it suggests - if she merely possessed the potions, yes, she would be robbed. But as the only living person with a pact that can make VERY NECESSARY potions, she would be able to set her terms. When you have that valuable a skill, other factions would want to protect her, and it would be better to keep her happy. Threatening people to produce things only goes so far.

Also…having only one eye does not mean you cannot be an archer. For some reason the author thinks you have to have a dominant eye to be able to shoot accurately…

[Pablo García · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well polished and edited story. Although main character, Mariela, buys a slave, she never once treated Sieg like a slave and saved him from a very painful death...Of course, it's not a justification/compensation for slavery. The illustrator made character summaries, inside illustrations and graphical charts of the potions, recipes and salves typically used in Alchemy/healing/buffing. The first book is long, about 350 pages. All of the illustrations are really well made.
The main character draws a special rune to save herself in a Monster Stampede that wipes out the town and sleeps/hibernates for 200 years without ageing, without needing to eat, or any other physiological needs, something that probably needs a better explanation...for example, where did her body go, if all of a sudden she appeared in the "jungle/forest" and even her home had disappeared? Same goes for Sieg's experience becoming an indentured servant and then a prison slave. Sieg did everything right, was an honorable person and ended up almost dying by the injustices of the people that took advantage of him...How did the author think that a "good guy" would really allow things to happen to him in this way?? Cheated in the creation of the potion to recover his eye, betrayed by his "old master" when saving his son, etc.?
Story is not an isekai (technically) although main character is dropped into her same world, 200 years into the future. The story flows really well, even though action is not that "fast-paced"...
Overall a good story. Main character is creating her Apothecary store and doing really well, being a super positive influence around her.

[Cress · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple slice-of-life about the last surviving alchemist in a fantasy land. There. That's the story in a nutshell.

If you are looking for an epic high-fantasy with an engaging story, The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life is not for you. The plot is more of a setting, and I know that for the uninitiated in the slice-of-life genre, that's a total deal breaker. Me? I was sick in bed and wanted to read a soft story with soft characters that made me feel better as I recovered from a cold. In that capacity, Alchemist did it's job splendidly.

I liked learning about the Labyrinth City along side Mariela as she tried to get her life in order after being in suspended animation for around two-hundred years. I liked watching her interact with Sieg and her new friends. I liked it.

What I didn't like was the translation, which read as a hot mess from time to time. At times it felt as though this volume was translated word for word, as opposed to editing as need be to construct an actual narrative. Maybe the source material was written this poorly as well? I don't know, I can't know for certain. But when sentences feel like a jerky mess, it really pulls you out of the story from time to time. Basically....this translation lacks any sort of finesse.

And yet, I will continue the series. Not everything I read has to be a literary masterpiece, and I like these characters enough to want to read about them again. I just expected better from Yen Press, y'know?

[Niall Teasdale · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tedious.

One star is, perhaps, a little unfair. Maybe 1.5. I was thinking 2 ('It's okay') but I realise that reading this has actually put me off starting another book right now. That can't be a good sign.

There's nothing really wrong with this book. There isn't anything really right with it either. It fails miserably to take any advantage of its setup and just trudges along with the author explaining in monotonous, repetitive detail all the wonderful stuff they've concocted for their fantasy world. One of the great benefits of the 'fish out of water' concept (isekai, portal fantasy, time travel, etc) is that your protagonist doesn't know anything about the world they find themselves in, so they can ask questions without half the sentences beginning with 'as you already know...' Here, almost none of the exposition necessary for readers to understand the world is handled organically. It's just plastered on the page in bulk and frequently with extraneous details added because if the author knows something, the reader should know it too (which is not the case). The word 'incidentally' is going to make me flinch for months to come.

Some of the detail is fun. The characters aren't entirely terrible, even if they are a bit flat. (And the appraisal paper is broken: if Sieg is more intelligent than Mari, then she's an absolute moron.) I honestly think this could be a series worth reading, if handled right. I just have no faith that it will be and no incentive to find out.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read one of these light novels before but decided to give it a try after coming across one in the Teen section, as I like mangas, and it's basically an extended manga with less art. In fact it starts with a manga in the back that you read first and then read the novel which has illustrations at the beginnings of some chapters. Mariela was a skilled alchemist who survived the Stampede, when a horde of monsters invaded Citadel City, by going into a deep animated sleep. She awoke 200 years later to discover that she's one of the only Pact-bearing Alchemist left and has to keep it a secret. She feels sorry for one of the slaves named Siegmund (Sieg for short) she meets in Labyrinth City (which took over Citadel City after the Stampede) and decided to buy him. She cleans and prepares potions for his grievous wounds and slowly but surely nurses him back to health. They each secretly like each other but neither will say anything. Potions are rare these days so Mariela ends up making a killing selling them to the Black Iron Company, who was originally transporting slaves from the capital city to the Labyrinth, and is later able to buy her own house and set up an apothecary shop. Mariela is a little naive at 16 so I'm glad she has Seig to watch out for her. On to the second volume! Recommended for ages 14+, 4 stars.

[Mariela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok full honesty: the only reason I read this book was because the MC and I share a first name in the exact same spelling of it too! Super rare btw. In my near 50 years of life I have only met one other Mariela and only because I worked in a place where I met hundreds of people a month. I had little expectation of it being a masterpiece or even somewhat good. Plus it was a free read on my Kindle unlimited, so I gave it a try. I found myself enjoying the MC because she is as naive, idealistic and oblivious as I was at that age. She was easily taken advantage of work-wise which I could relate to since my early career was full of underpaid and overworked jobs. I took a star off only cuz of the slave trope which I do not like. (RIP Dobby 😭) I hope the subsequent volumes will fix the issue. I dislike it very much and I really like Sieg's character so I hope he does not end up like other slave-who-is-crucial-to-the-plot characters (looking at you JK!). It's really weird to see my name (spelled correctly) over and over in this book. All in all I enjoyed it and I'm gonna read the rest of the series.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming, if a bit mindless. It's a litRPG light novel, so the 'mindless' is hard to avoid: The tropes of fantasy roleplaying are the novel's laws of nature. Most of the characters are two-dimensional. The book is plot-light. And too much of the book is devoted to telling us, in detail, how to make various potions.

Still charming and fun. Two hundred years ago, a disaster destroyed the city and cut the chain of transmission for alchemy, so it has been impossible to train new alchemists. Enter Mariela, a very-young alchemist whose suspended animation (accidentally) lasted two hundred years, and who is now trying to make a life for herself without revealing that she is an alchemist. (Being the only person capable of brewing magical potions may be hazardous to one's freedom.) The Alchemist Who Etc. avoids the usual litRPG focus on monster-bashing and heroics, and is better for it.

[Makmild · Rating 3 out of 5]

เล่มนี้ซื้อมาผิดค่ะ นึกว่าเป็นมังงะ แต่ที่ไหนได้เป็นไลท์โนเวลเฉยเลย ฮือๆ โทษฐานของการอ่านไม่ดี แต่ว่าซื้อมาแล้วก็ต้องอ่านเท่านั้น!

เรื่องก็คือน้องมาริแกล้งตายเพราะเหตุจำเป็น ตื่นมาอีกทีก็ 200 ปีแล้วซะงั้น แต่ตื่นมาธรรมดาไม่ได้ น้องกลายเป็นนักเล่นแร่แปรธาตุคนเดียวที่เหลืออยู่ในอาณาจักรอี้ก เออ เอาสิ้

ข้อดีของการอ่านไลท์โนเวลคืออ่านง่าย เรื่องดำเนินเร็ว แต่ข้อเสียคือขาดรายละเอียดความนึกคิดของตัวละคร เหมือนเราอ่านมังงะเลยค่ะ ซึ่งไม่ได้อ่านแนวนี้มานานแล้วก็เลยติดใจอ่านอย่างรวดเร็วเลย น้องมาริก็น่ารักมาก เอ๋อๆ ซิกก็เท่ แต่อ่านๆไปก็ขัดใจ ทุกคนเป็นคนดีจังน้า 555555 ดิฉันมันคนนิสัยเสีย อยากเจอเรื่องร้ายๆ ของคนอื่นค่ะ 55555555

เพราะงั้นเรื่องนี้มันเลยออกแนวเรื่อยๆ แต่ setting world ไม่เรื่อยนะ ค่อนข้างโหด มีทาสเอย แบ่งชนชั้นเอย อสูรเอย เอาตัวรอดยากน่าดู แต่มันเรื่อยเพราะน้องมาริเลยค่ะ

สรุปคือ เมื่อไรเล่มสองจะมาคะ?

[Taun · Rating 3 out of 5]

A stampede of vicious monsters, an alchemical spell gone wrong…

Mariela has awoken to find her world has disappeared, time & the forest reclaiming her cottage, a Labyrinth City now sprawling across a once familiar land. Soon, she discovers that she’s the only alchemist left; a secret she’s determined to hold on to.

As she makes new friends, including a pact with Siegmond, Mariela works toward her own apothecary, where she can create her potions in secret, while still helping those around her.


A slice of life fantasy, with low stakes & cozy friendships. A fun one, & a nice companion to the mangas. Like the mangas, I disliked the Amber character, who’s basic identity revolves around her large bust & is commented on occasionally. I also dislike the use of slang. (While not offensive, I find it annoying)


Content Notes: crude talk/comparison between bust sizes

[Bailey Spaulding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so I really like this book. I like the plot and I enjoy the characters. The artwork is really nice. The world building is really good and it makes me want to know more about it.
But...

I really, really don't like it when slavery is used as a plot device to bring to characters together. It leaves a power-balance that I am generally not comfortable with. Especially when it looks like one of the characters has any inkling of romantic feelings for the other. The whole concept of 'treating a human being like a human being' is something I don't normally jive with.
I already like this series. I want to love this series. I hope as it goes on the dynamic between Mariela and Siegmund changes to something where it doesn't feel like Seig worships the ground Mariela walks on because she is a 'nice master.'

[Franzi Bowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was even better than I expected! I'm really happy I bought this on a whim and it definetly didn't disappoint. It's more of a lazy read till now with a bit of action, but not as much as that your on the edge of your seat. The first volume was mostly very interesting and wholesome with endearing humour in between.

The first volume focused on a lot of characters I'm already growing fond of besides the main pair. Needless to say that the heroine was very likeable from the start and her companion that she gets through rather uncommon means, is also a very intriguing man with a heavy backstory that changed him drastically. I love his development and can't wait to read more of their interactions in the next volume!♡

[Yoriko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by itself I'd say is closer to a 2/5. The characters show promise to be more than shallow, but outside of a couple in the story, we never get to see that. The story suffers from starting out as a webnovel, with long stints explaining stuff that is ultimately pointless. A lot of this book, and to a lesser extent to series as a whole, there is extensive details into recipes and other things that don't really need to be understood.

I do want to say I do see parallels with a certain video game series, which I also enjoy, but I don't want to say it was originally a fanfiction. The author does way too much fleshing out for that one would otherwise leave out if it was a fanfiction. But if you do enjoy that series, I think you'll love this series.

[Miss X · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first series and I'm really liking it. The only reason for taking off one star is because it's such a slow story with so much detail, that it's a bit hard to follow sometimes and makes me fall asleep. But on the other hand I find that to be the charm of the book. A good, simple slice of life story, which lets you fantasize into detail about how life is in the labyrinth city.

Also I am loving the whole concept of alchemists and Mariela settling into the city and opening the shop with sieg. The way you are led in to Mariela's thoughts and how she is being supported by sieg with the journey she's on makes you have a deep connection to the story. I really love where sieg's emotional development is going and I'm hoping for more development.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story about an alchemist who wakes up from a spell and 200 years have gone by. She is trying to figure out how the world works and not let anything know what happened to her. This story does a great job in showing how the spell affected her, and the reasons she is trying to have a calm life.

The world building and magic in this series is quite interesting and I think the author did a great job in weaving it together, and it all made sense. The second book is already out and I am excited to read it!

Definitely check it out if you like Japanese-style fantasy! Or fantasy in general!

[Kino · Rating 5 out of 5]

A light hearted competently written Light Novel that provides a tone so consistent you'd almost call it perfect.

IF you are looking for a good fantasy novel that can be described as a leisure-page-turner with believable characters that isn't "forced" into conflict because of stupidity then this series is for you.

This series is like a perfect apple, it's light and sweet but not overt in any way. If you like apples, you'd LOVE this, if you think apples are fine, you'd still like this. If you hate apples or not in the mood for it, then best to just keep this in mind for when the mood for something light but not adolescent hits you.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the store, intrigued by the cover artwork and sounded like a good read. I only intended to see what the story was like, how the author's writing style was and then stop and finish another book I was reading. Yet, I COULD NOT put this book down! The characters are really interesting and I like the interaction between Mariela and Sieg.
I LOVE that the author gives the thoughts of each different character, instead of focusing just on Mariela. You get to read how Sieg feels, understand what he went through in his trials. The author does a really good job.
This would make a great anime!!!

[Othy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series was a bit tedious. It was my first light novel series, and so I stuck with it, but the plot was slowed down by lengthy exposition in weird places. World building can be fun, and there seems to be an established style in Japanese light novels that splits up dialogue with exposition, but a lot of this was really hard to get through. I feel bad - the characters are fun and the alchemy was neat.

One final comment: I felt very uncomfortable with the fact that half of the side characters are slave traders. The author tried to walk around the issue, but you really can't look away from the plain fact that everyone seems to be just fine with looking down and enslaving people.

[Mistress OP · Rating 2 out of 5]

the slavery was a distraction and a bit of a turn off for me. I found myself fighting to keep reading but distracted by it again and again.

I'm not sure this slavery bent in light novels but it's kinda tiring. There's a that's who they are and some are like that. But at the same time it's not fun for me to read. Although i imagine others can read through quickly. I've almost always found that books that had it weren't worth my time. Which is hard because this is one of the few female lead ones where it's not "princess" style.



sigh..................... I dunno what to do with this series. it's recomended if you like Dahila in bloom but I'm kinda wondering why this was in the list.

[Jina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little fantasy story that has a moderate pace and is filled with the warmth of living a modest and happy life day-by-day. I'm wondering if there will be a romance between Sieg and Mariella eventually or if Lynx, who is closer to her age (taking out the 200 years she slept) will be the one to win her.

The only downside for me was the very in-depth detail explanation of this world's alchemy process for making things. It got to the point where I just skimmed over the details to get to the part where plot began progressing again. It makes one wonder if perhaps if this story is actually memories of another world and life for the author for the level of detail that was put it.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose maybe more like 2.5 stars

It reads like a script to an anime. Which, as an anime fan, I don't really mean in a discriminatory way, but it was just a weird experience. The old cliche of show, don't tell? This story only told -- it felt like the author didn't feel the need to, or knew how, to "show" with words because they were anticipating the animation to do it for them. But to be fair, if it WAS an anime (and I checked, it's not) I would watch it.

But, very expository and boring when explaining the magic system and tax code (yes, tax code).

I will probably read book 2, but I am not in a rush to do so.