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Zamonien #5
Kot alchemika
W Sledwaya, gdzie zamiast kwiatów rosną jedynie brodawki i czyraki, mały krotek Echo, tzn. kot, który nie mówi, umiera z głodu, gdy nagle pomocną i szponiastą dłoń wyciąga ku niemu miejski Przeraźnik, alchemik, kucharz i mistrz malarstwa katastroficznego. Krotek godzi się na miesiąc najbardziej wyrafinowanych rozkoszy kulinarnych w zamian za swój tłuszcz. Czy Echo skończy marnie w alchemicznym kotle podczas kolejnej pełni? Czy pomogą mu jego nowi sprzymierzeńcy: Gotowany Upiór, puchacz Fjodor F. Fjodor oraz równie romantyczna co brzydka Inacea Anacaci, ostatnia przeraźnica w Sledwaya? Czy uda im się pokonać Przeraźnika?
376 pages, Hardcover
First published August 31, 2007
250 people are currently reading
3520 people want to read
About the author
Walter Moers
89 books2,489 followersWalter Moers was born in 1957 and is a writer, cartoonist, painter and sculptor. He has refused to be photographed ever since his comic strips The Little Asshole and Adolf were published, the latter leading him to be declared persona non grata by the political right in Germany. Walter Moers lives in Hamburg.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 428 reviews
April 29, 2023
Let's just call it the adventures of Echo the Crat. Because that's what it is.
Of course, that doesn't quite do the culinary genre justice, nor does the bargain to eat all he wants for the low, low price of being rendered into tallow for an evil old man quite do the stakes justice.
That's merely the appetizer.
There's a lot of great imagination in here, packed page by page, evoking a Goethian nightmare, an intellectual paradise, and a taste for tongue (not merely for the words it swirls) bar none.
The novel is worth a great, slow, lazy read. Don't worry if you get fat on words. I promise, the author won't process you for your fat. I promise.
Of course, that doesn't quite do the culinary genre justice, nor does the bargain to eat all he wants for the low, low price of being rendered into tallow for an evil old man quite do the stakes justice.
That's merely the appetizer.
There's a lot of great imagination in here, packed page by page, evoking a Goethian nightmare, an intellectual paradise, and a taste for tongue (not merely for the words it swirls) bar none.
The novel is worth a great, slow, lazy read. Don't worry if you get fat on words. I promise, the author won't process you for your fat. I promise.
March 26, 2025
The English version can be found below.
-----------
German Version:
Ein kulinarisches Märchen nach meinem Geschmack! Das Märchen spielt an einem äußerst ungesunden Ort namens Sledwaya, an dem es „nach Äther und Eiter roch, nach Lebertran und Brechmittel, nach Jod und Tod“ (vgl. S. 9). Alles dreht sich dort um Krankheiten, die wie ein Fluch über der Stadt liegen und dieser Fluch heißt ‚Eißpin‘! Die Stadt Seldwaya ist anders als Seldwyla (Stadt bei Gottfried Kellers Werk) wesentlich düsterer und exzentrischer, vor allem wenn es darum geht, was man essen kann 😅
Moers verdreht und ergänzt das Original von Gottfried Keller ‚Spiegel, das Kätzchen‘ so, dass die stellenweise humorvolle Vorlage wirklich urkomisch wird. Er füllt die 50-seitige Originalgeschichte mit Leben und Originalität. Alles bekommt mehr Kontur und Farbe und entwickelt sich in großen Teilen des Buches zu einem echten Abenteuerroman, in welchem Echo, das Kätzchen, die Hauptfigur verkörpert.
Ich würde es wirkliche empfehlen, das Original von Keller davor zu lesen, da es wirkliche eine Bereicherung für den Leseprozess von Moers Werk darstellt. Ich habe en Originaltext leider erst im Nachhinein gelesen und dabei erst festgestellt, wie raffiniert Moers mit diesem Text spielt und wie er bestimmte Punkte an die Spitze treibt 😅 Diese Intertextualität macht nochmals einen großen Teil des Humors aus.
Allein wenn man die Namen des K(r)ätzchens ‚Spiegel‘ (Gottfried Keller) und ‚Echo‘ (Walter Moers) vergleicht, muss man schon schmunzeln und ist zugleich auch von den Feinheiten, mit denen Moers an seine Romane herangeht und andere rezeptiert überrascht. ‚Spiegel‘ und ‚Echo‘ sind beide Abbilder von etwas, einmal ein Bild/Gestalt und einmal Ton. Wenn man hier weiterdenkt, kann man auch auf den Bearbeitungsprozess selbst schließen. Ein Spiegel ist das direkte Abbild von etwas, wohingegen ein Echo immer weiter wiederhallt und irgendwann schwächer wird und immer weniger an den Originalton herankommt, genau wie Bearbeitungen von Originaltexten, die auch immer weiter verändert werden.
„Was gewesen und gegangen
Soll jetzt wieder neu anfangen
Was gegangen und gewesen
Soll im Wundersud genesen
Soll im Topfe wiederkehren
Um die Alchimie zu ehren“ (Der Schrecksenmeister – Walter Moers)
Moers schreibt mit diesem Roman einen wahren Liebesbrief an die Alchemie! Diese wird hier in den verschiedensten Facetten auf ein besondere Weise dargestellt und erfährt durch Eißpins besondere Präzision. Ein Beispiel hierfür sind seine Definitionsformen von Tot sein, da es laut ihm nicht nur eine gibt, sondern „frischtot, gesterntot, vorgesterntot, riechtot, sehriechtot, stinktot und wurmös“ (vgl. S. 149) 😅 😅
Liebe geht ja bekanntlich durch den Magen und dieses kulinarische Märchen erfüllt diesen Zweck zu 100 Prozent. Eines meiner neuen Lieblingsbücher (auch innerhalb der Zamonienbücher)!
Daher => Gesamt: 4,8
---
Mein persönliches Ranking der Zamonien-Romane:
Platz 1: Die Stadt der Träumenden Bücher (2004) – ⭐5,0+
Platz 2: Die 13 ½ Leben des Käpt’n Blaubär (1999) – ⭐5,0
Platz 3: Rumo & Die Wunder im Dunkeln (2003) – ⭐5,0
Platz 4: Die Insel der 1000 Leuchttürme (2023) – ⭐4,8
Platz 5: Der Schrecksenmeister (2007) – ⭐4,8
Platz 6: Das Labyrinth der Träumenden Bücher (2011) - ⭐4,4
Platz 7: Der Bücherdrache (2019) - ⭐4,3
Platz 8: Ensel und Krete (2000) – ⭐4,0
Platz 9: Das Einhörnchen, das rückwärts leben wollte: Zwanzig zamonische Flabeln (2024) – ⭐3,4
Platz 10: Weihnachten auf der Lindwurmfeste (2018) – ⭐3,3
Platz 11: Prinzessin Insomnia & der alptraumfarbene Nachtmahr (2017) – ⭐1,7
----------
English version:
A culinary fairy tale to my taste! The fairy tale takes place in an extremely unhealthy place called Sledwaya, where it "smelled of ether and pus, of cod liver oil and emetics, of iodine and death" (p. 9; translated by myself). Everything there revolves around diseases that hover over the town like a curse and this curse is called 'Eißpin'! Unlike Seldwyla (the town in Gottfried Keller's work), the town of Seldwaya is much darker and more eccentric, especially when it comes to what you can eat 😅
Moers twists and adds to Gottfried Keller's original 'Spiegel, das Kätzchen' in such a way that the sometimes humorous original becomes truly hilarious. He fills the 50-page original story with life and originality. Everything takes on more contour and color and develops into a real adventure novel in large parts of the book, in which Echo, the kitten, embodies the main character.
I would really recommend reading the original by Keller beforehand, as it really enriches the reading process of Moers' work. Unfortunately, I only read the original text afterwards and realized how cleverly Moers plays with this text and how he pushes certain points to the extreme 😅 However, this intertextuality makes up a large part of the humour.
Just by comparing the names of the little c(r)at's 'Spiegel (engl. Mirror)' (Gottfried Keller) and 'Echo' (Walter Moers) makes you smile and at the same time you are surprised by the subtleties with which Moers approaches his novels and interprets and adapts other texts. 'Spiegel/Mirror' and 'Echo' are both images of something, once an image/form and once sound. If you think further here, you can also draw conclusions about the editing process itself. A mirror is the direct image of something, whereas an echo continues to reverberate and at some point becomes weaker and less and less similar to the original sound, just like adaptations of original texts, which are also constantly being changed.
"What has been and gone
Shall now begin again
What has been and gone
Shall recover in the miracle brew
Shall return in the pot
To honor alchemy" (Der Schrecksenmeister - Walter Moers; translated by myself)
With this novel, Moers writes a true love letter to alchemy! It is portrayed here in a special way in the most diverse facets and is given particular precision by Eißpin. One example of this is his definition of being dead, as according to him there is not just one, but "fresh-dead, yesterday-dead, the-day-before-yesterday-dead, smelly-dead, smelly-stinky-dead, stinky-dead and wormy" (p. 149; translated by myself) 😅 😅
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach and this culinary fairy tale fulfills this purpose 100 percent. One of my new favorite books (also within the Zamonien books)!
Therefore => Overall: 4.8
---
My personal ranking of the Zamonia-Novels:
Rank 1: The City of Dreaming Books (2004) – ⭐5,0+
Rank 2: The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Bluebear (1999) – ⭐5,0
Rank 3: Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures (2003) – ⭐5,0
Rank 4: Die Insel der 1000 Leuchttürme (My translation: ‚The island of a 1000 lighthouses‘; not translated into English yet) (2023) – ⭐4,8
Rank 5: The Alchemaster’s Apprentice (2007) – ⭐4,8
Rank 6: The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books (2011) – ⭐4,4
Rank 7: Der Bücherdrache (My translation: ‚The Bookdragon‘; not translated into English) (2019) – ⭐4,3
Rank 8: Ensel und Krete (My translation: Ensel and Krete (reference to the fairy tale ‘Hansel and Gretel’ by the Brothers Grimm); not translated into English) (2000) – ⭐4,0
Rank 9: Das Einhörnchen, das rückwärts leben wollte: Zwanzig zamonische Flabeln (My translation: The squirrel with the one horn that wanted to live backwards (sounds strange in English because it's a play on words and squirrel means ‘Eichhörnchen’ in German and Moers then makes it ‘Einhörnchen’ (‘ein’= one; ‘hörnchen’= diminutive of horn), i.e. a squirrel that wears a horn on its head); not translated into English) (2024) – ⭐3,4
Rank 10: Weihnachten auf der Lindwurmfeste (My translation: Christmas at the Lindwurm Fortress; not translated into English) (2018) – ⭐3,3
Platz 11: Prinzessin Insomnia & der alptraumfarbene Nachtmahr (My translation: Princess Insomnia & the nightmare-coloured gnome; not translated into English) (2017) – ⭐1,7
-----------
German Version:
Ein kulinarisches Märchen nach meinem Geschmack! Das Märchen spielt an einem äußerst ungesunden Ort namens Sledwaya, an dem es „nach Äther und Eiter roch, nach Lebertran und Brechmittel, nach Jod und Tod“ (vgl. S. 9). Alles dreht sich dort um Krankheiten, die wie ein Fluch über der Stadt liegen und dieser Fluch heißt ‚Eißpin‘! Die Stadt Seldwaya ist anders als Seldwyla (Stadt bei Gottfried Kellers Werk) wesentlich düsterer und exzentrischer, vor allem wenn es darum geht, was man essen kann 😅
Moers verdreht und ergänzt das Original von Gottfried Keller ‚Spiegel, das Kätzchen‘ so, dass die stellenweise humorvolle Vorlage wirklich urkomisch wird. Er füllt die 50-seitige Originalgeschichte mit Leben und Originalität. Alles bekommt mehr Kontur und Farbe und entwickelt sich in großen Teilen des Buches zu einem echten Abenteuerroman, in welchem Echo, das Kätzchen, die Hauptfigur verkörpert.
Ich würde es wirkliche empfehlen, das Original von Keller davor zu lesen, da es wirkliche eine Bereicherung für den Leseprozess von Moers Werk darstellt. Ich habe en Originaltext leider erst im Nachhinein gelesen und dabei erst festgestellt, wie raffiniert Moers mit diesem Text spielt und wie er bestimmte Punkte an die Spitze treibt 😅 Diese Intertextualität macht nochmals einen großen Teil des Humors aus.
Allein wenn man die Namen des K(r)ätzchens ‚Spiegel‘ (Gottfried Keller) und ‚Echo‘ (Walter Moers) vergleicht, muss man schon schmunzeln und ist zugleich auch von den Feinheiten, mit denen Moers an seine Romane herangeht und andere rezeptiert überrascht. ‚Spiegel‘ und ‚Echo‘ sind beide Abbilder von etwas, einmal ein Bild/Gestalt und einmal Ton. Wenn man hier weiterdenkt, kann man auch auf den Bearbeitungsprozess selbst schließen. Ein Spiegel ist das direkte Abbild von etwas, wohingegen ein Echo immer weiter wiederhallt und irgendwann schwächer wird und immer weniger an den Originalton herankommt, genau wie Bearbeitungen von Originaltexten, die auch immer weiter verändert werden.
„Was gewesen und gegangen
Soll jetzt wieder neu anfangen
Was gegangen und gewesen
Soll im Wundersud genesen
Soll im Topfe wiederkehren
Um die Alchimie zu ehren“ (Der Schrecksenmeister – Walter Moers)
Moers schreibt mit diesem Roman einen wahren Liebesbrief an die Alchemie! Diese wird hier in den verschiedensten Facetten auf ein besondere Weise dargestellt und erfährt durch Eißpins besondere Präzision. Ein Beispiel hierfür sind seine Definitionsformen von Tot sein, da es laut ihm nicht nur eine gibt, sondern „frischtot, gesterntot, vorgesterntot, riechtot, sehriechtot, stinktot und wurmös“ (vgl. S. 149) 😅 😅
Liebe geht ja bekanntlich durch den Magen und dieses kulinarische Märchen erfüllt diesen Zweck zu 100 Prozent. Eines meiner neuen Lieblingsbücher (auch innerhalb der Zamonienbücher)!
Daher => Gesamt: 4,8
---
Mein persönliches Ranking der Zamonien-Romane:
Platz 1: Die Stadt der Träumenden Bücher (2004) – ⭐5,0+
Platz 2: Die 13 ½ Leben des Käpt’n Blaubär (1999) – ⭐5,0
Platz 3: Rumo & Die Wunder im Dunkeln (2003) – ⭐5,0
Platz 4: Die Insel der 1000 Leuchttürme (2023) – ⭐4,8
Platz 5: Der Schrecksenmeister (2007) – ⭐4,8
Platz 6: Das Labyrinth der Träumenden Bücher (2011) - ⭐4,4
Platz 7: Der Bücherdrache (2019) - ⭐4,3
Platz 8: Ensel und Krete (2000) – ⭐4,0
Platz 9: Das Einhörnchen, das rückwärts leben wollte: Zwanzig zamonische Flabeln (2024) – ⭐3,4
Platz 10: Weihnachten auf der Lindwurmfeste (2018) – ⭐3,3
Platz 11: Prinzessin Insomnia & der alptraumfarbene Nachtmahr (2017) – ⭐1,7
----------
English version:
A culinary fairy tale to my taste! The fairy tale takes place in an extremely unhealthy place called Sledwaya, where it "smelled of ether and pus, of cod liver oil and emetics, of iodine and death" (p. 9; translated by myself). Everything there revolves around diseases that hover over the town like a curse and this curse is called 'Eißpin'! Unlike Seldwyla (the town in Gottfried Keller's work), the town of Seldwaya is much darker and more eccentric, especially when it comes to what you can eat 😅
Moers twists and adds to Gottfried Keller's original 'Spiegel, das Kätzchen' in such a way that the sometimes humorous original becomes truly hilarious. He fills the 50-page original story with life and originality. Everything takes on more contour and color and develops into a real adventure novel in large parts of the book, in which Echo, the kitten, embodies the main character.
I would really recommend reading the original by Keller beforehand, as it really enriches the reading process of Moers' work. Unfortunately, I only read the original text afterwards and realized how cleverly Moers plays with this text and how he pushes certain points to the extreme 😅 However, this intertextuality makes up a large part of the humour.
Just by comparing the names of the little c(r)at's 'Spiegel (engl. Mirror)' (Gottfried Keller) and 'Echo' (Walter Moers) makes you smile and at the same time you are surprised by the subtleties with which Moers approaches his novels and interprets and adapts other texts. 'Spiegel/Mirror' and 'Echo' are both images of something, once an image/form and once sound. If you think further here, you can also draw conclusions about the editing process itself. A mirror is the direct image of something, whereas an echo continues to reverberate and at some point becomes weaker and less and less similar to the original sound, just like adaptations of original texts, which are also constantly being changed.
"What has been and gone
Shall now begin again
What has been and gone
Shall recover in the miracle brew
Shall return in the pot
To honor alchemy" (Der Schrecksenmeister - Walter Moers; translated by myself)
With this novel, Moers writes a true love letter to alchemy! It is portrayed here in a special way in the most diverse facets and is given particular precision by Eißpin. One example of this is his definition of being dead, as according to him there is not just one, but "fresh-dead, yesterday-dead, the-day-before-yesterday-dead, smelly-dead, smelly-stinky-dead, stinky-dead and wormy" (p. 149; translated by myself) 😅 😅
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach and this culinary fairy tale fulfills this purpose 100 percent. One of my new favorite books (also within the Zamonien books)!
Therefore => Overall: 4.8
---
My personal ranking of the Zamonia-Novels:
Rank 1: The City of Dreaming Books (2004) – ⭐5,0+
Rank 2: The 13 ½ Lives of Captain Bluebear (1999) – ⭐5,0
Rank 3: Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures (2003) – ⭐5,0
Rank 4: Die Insel der 1000 Leuchttürme (My translation: ‚The island of a 1000 lighthouses‘; not translated into English yet) (2023) – ⭐4,8
Rank 5: The Alchemaster’s Apprentice (2007) – ⭐4,8
Rank 6: The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books (2011) – ⭐4,4
Rank 7: Der Bücherdrache (My translation: ‚The Bookdragon‘; not translated into English) (2019) – ⭐4,3
Rank 8: Ensel und Krete (My translation: Ensel and Krete (reference to the fairy tale ‘Hansel and Gretel’ by the Brothers Grimm); not translated into English) (2000) – ⭐4,0
Rank 9: Das Einhörnchen, das rückwärts leben wollte: Zwanzig zamonische Flabeln (My translation: The squirrel with the one horn that wanted to live backwards (sounds strange in English because it's a play on words and squirrel means ‘Eichhörnchen’ in German and Moers then makes it ‘Einhörnchen’ (‘ein’= one; ‘hörnchen’= diminutive of horn), i.e. a squirrel that wears a horn on its head); not translated into English) (2024) – ⭐3,4
Rank 10: Weihnachten auf der Lindwurmfeste (My translation: Christmas at the Lindwurm Fortress; not translated into English) (2018) – ⭐3,3
Platz 11: Prinzessin Insomnia & der alptraumfarbene Nachtmahr (My translation: Princess Insomnia & the nightmare-coloured gnome; not translated into English) (2017) – ⭐1,7
April 29, 2023
This is a wonderful amalgamation of Goeste's masterpiece, Faust, a Frankenstein-esque horror story and the typical elements of a master-and-student wizard duo.
Echo is a Krätzchen, cat-like creature capable of speech and since his owner has died, he's starving in the streets of Sledwaya. Sledwaya is a truly weird city where the healthy is sick and the sick is healthy. The city has a so-called Schrecksenmeister, an alchemist every citizen fears. His name is Succubius Eißpin and he's the one who finds Echo and offers him a Faustian deal: he will take Echo in and give him every imaginable comfort including the most delicious hand-made foods until the next full moon, then he'll kill Echo for his fat - a vital ingrediant in his attempt to become the master over Life and Death. Echo accepts but within the next month, he tries to find a way out. Along the way, he makes friends with a cooked ghost, an almost all-knowing bird and a Schreckse (a mix between a witch and soothsayer).
The sheer amount of delicious-sounding dishes cooked in this book was enough to make me gain weight. *lol* But I think what I loved the most was the masterful blend of three of literature's most memorable, impressive and fantastic works. Moers even used some quotes (slightly adapted to work within the framework of Zamonia). I loved Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and even enjoy the movies his creation features in (though they usually get it dead wrong), was very impressed when reading Goethe's Faust in school (haven't been able to get it out of my head since) and still adore Goethe's Der Zauberlehrling (yes, I can recite it by heart).
At this point, I don't think I need to say much about the author's own ability to create magic with his words. He's not quite as political as Terry Pratchett but otherwise, he's right up there with him. The wit, the quirkiness, the inventiveness, the beautiful prose ...
Instead, I shall comment on the audiobook edition at this point. This was the first I read that wasn't narrated by Dirk Bach. I was highly sceptical, to be honest, since bringing such a world to life requires some serious talent. I'm happy to report that Andreas Fröhlich did a formidable job! So much so that I'm looking forward to hearing more of him in the remaining books of this series.
Every book in this series is so fantastic that I really couldn't say which is my favorite. Sure, some have a natural lead since they are about everything that makes a bibliophile's heart beat faster, but I marvel every time I read an installment because no matter what it is about, I get sucked in and am having the time of my life! It is too bad that Moers and his Zamonia books aren't more well-known / famous throughout the world! If you can get your hands on one, don't hesitate, it's absolutely worth it.
Echo is a Krätzchen, cat-like creature capable of speech and since his owner has died, he's starving in the streets of Sledwaya. Sledwaya is a truly weird city where the healthy is sick and the sick is healthy. The city has a so-called Schrecksenmeister, an alchemist every citizen fears. His name is Succubius Eißpin and he's the one who finds Echo and offers him a Faustian deal: he will take Echo in and give him every imaginable comfort including the most delicious hand-made foods until the next full moon, then he'll kill Echo for his fat - a vital ingrediant in his attempt to become the master over Life and Death. Echo accepts but within the next month, he tries to find a way out. Along the way, he makes friends with a cooked ghost, an almost all-knowing bird and a Schreckse (a mix between a witch and soothsayer).
The sheer amount of delicious-sounding dishes cooked in this book was enough to make me gain weight. *lol* But I think what I loved the most was the masterful blend of three of literature's most memorable, impressive and fantastic works. Moers even used some quotes (slightly adapted to work within the framework of Zamonia). I loved Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and even enjoy the movies his creation features in (though they usually get it dead wrong), was very impressed when reading Goethe's Faust in school (haven't been able to get it out of my head since) and still adore Goethe's Der Zauberlehrling (yes, I can recite it by heart).
At this point, I don't think I need to say much about the author's own ability to create magic with his words. He's not quite as political as Terry Pratchett but otherwise, he's right up there with him. The wit, the quirkiness, the inventiveness, the beautiful prose ...
Instead, I shall comment on the audiobook edition at this point. This was the first I read that wasn't narrated by Dirk Bach. I was highly sceptical, to be honest, since bringing such a world to life requires some serious talent. I'm happy to report that Andreas Fröhlich did a formidable job! So much so that I'm looking forward to hearing more of him in the remaining books of this series.
Every book in this series is so fantastic that I really couldn't say which is my favorite. Sure, some have a natural lead since they are about everything that makes a bibliophile's heart beat faster, but I marvel every time I read an installment because no matter what it is about, I get sucked in and am having the time of my life! It is too bad that Moers and his Zamonia books aren't more well-known / famous throughout the world! If you can get your hands on one, don't hesitate, it's absolutely worth it.
December 11, 2025
An almost-literal feast for fantasy lovers!
Some years back, I read two books by Walter Moers: 'The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear' and 'The City of Dreaming Books' [UPDATE: the second one I've now read twice] - both of them long and involved books, as I recall, and I enjoyed them immensely. To be honest, my reading tastes don't particularly run towards fantasy but I discovered there's something about the sensibility of Moers' work that appeals to me. He doesn't write for children but he does write for certain adolescents, and he definitely writes for adults. It seems that, if I'm going to read fantasy, it needs to have a certain... angle. Or, shall we say, 'bent'.
I'm not sure I could give a fair or adequate synopsis of 'TAA' - in fact, trying might prove a disservice. There are non-stop delights in store for the reader and I wouldn't want to spoil them. The title had put me in mind of Disney's 'Fantasia'; the memorable sequence involving Mickey Mouse going way overboard and wayward with a master sorcerer's power. (All those brooms! All that water!) But there is only the smallest vestige of that in 'TAA'.
Simply put, it is the story of Echo, a Crat (an advanced cat-creature who speaks all languages and can retain the world of knowledge without necessarily understanding all that he retains). As the story opens, Echo has just lost his home and is hungry. It is in this state that he meets Ghoolion, the feared Alchemaster who holds sway over the entire town of Zamonia, the story's setting. The two strike a bargain since there is something the Alchemaster needs for his current experiment: Echo's fat.
In one sense, Ghoolion resembles the silent sorcerer of the Disney film: he is fierce and intimidating. But he's much more than that. Moers' depiction of the wizard is (to put it mildly) a complex one - but, then, it's a complex book; complex in the sense of the seemingly endless amounts of invention and complication.
I tend to read fast - but Moers seemed to be regularly 'telling' me to slow down. I often had to put the book down in order to absorb / savor chapters I had just read. Almost every chapter is relatively short - yet, remarkably, each one is somehow full in scope and I often needed to just sit back and ruminate on what I'd just read. (~ which explains my opening remark about the 'feast', although that's a dual reference; there is certainly a whole lot of rich detail about food!)
Of particular importance - and delight - is the book's conclusion; among the most intricate conclusions I've ever read. Normally, a story of this type is likely to build to a single, cataclysmic climax... but not 'TAA'; its extensive wrap-up - at times, marvelously clever - is full of 'gotcha' moments that spiral the reader along.
Having just read Edward Sorel's wonderful (and highly recommended) book about (part of) the life of Mary Astor ('Mary Astor's Purple Diary: The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936'), I was pleased to fall into another work for which the author did his own illustrations. Even if Sorel's drawings appeal more to me personally, Moers is a fine illustrator - with a sharp sense of the macabre. However, though Sorel is also a fantasist (in a sense), Moers' imagination seems limitless. He leaps off into areas that are as mind-bending as they are unexpected.
He's also quite funny - which becomes more apparent in the second half of this book. The darkness of this novel would, at some point, become overwhelming if it weren't for the judicious, periodic inclusion of humorous whimsy. Characters come out with hysterical throwaway lines at just the right moments.
By now, I'm a real Moers fan. He has a few more novels waiting for me. I'll take a break for now... but I'll be ready to return before long.
Some years back, I read two books by Walter Moers: 'The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear' and 'The City of Dreaming Books' [UPDATE: the second one I've now read twice] - both of them long and involved books, as I recall, and I enjoyed them immensely. To be honest, my reading tastes don't particularly run towards fantasy but I discovered there's something about the sensibility of Moers' work that appeals to me. He doesn't write for children but he does write for certain adolescents, and he definitely writes for adults. It seems that, if I'm going to read fantasy, it needs to have a certain... angle. Or, shall we say, 'bent'.
I'm not sure I could give a fair or adequate synopsis of 'TAA' - in fact, trying might prove a disservice. There are non-stop delights in store for the reader and I wouldn't want to spoil them. The title had put me in mind of Disney's 'Fantasia'; the memorable sequence involving Mickey Mouse going way overboard and wayward with a master sorcerer's power. (All those brooms! All that water!) But there is only the smallest vestige of that in 'TAA'.
Simply put, it is the story of Echo, a Crat (an advanced cat-creature who speaks all languages and can retain the world of knowledge without necessarily understanding all that he retains). As the story opens, Echo has just lost his home and is hungry. It is in this state that he meets Ghoolion, the feared Alchemaster who holds sway over the entire town of Zamonia, the story's setting. The two strike a bargain since there is something the Alchemaster needs for his current experiment: Echo's fat.
In one sense, Ghoolion resembles the silent sorcerer of the Disney film: he is fierce and intimidating. But he's much more than that. Moers' depiction of the wizard is (to put it mildly) a complex one - but, then, it's a complex book; complex in the sense of the seemingly endless amounts of invention and complication.
I tend to read fast - but Moers seemed to be regularly 'telling' me to slow down. I often had to put the book down in order to absorb / savor chapters I had just read. Almost every chapter is relatively short - yet, remarkably, each one is somehow full in scope and I often needed to just sit back and ruminate on what I'd just read. (~ which explains my opening remark about the 'feast', although that's a dual reference; there is certainly a whole lot of rich detail about food!)
Of particular importance - and delight - is the book's conclusion; among the most intricate conclusions I've ever read. Normally, a story of this type is likely to build to a single, cataclysmic climax... but not 'TAA'; its extensive wrap-up - at times, marvelously clever - is full of 'gotcha' moments that spiral the reader along.
Having just read Edward Sorel's wonderful (and highly recommended) book about (part of) the life of Mary Astor ('Mary Astor's Purple Diary: The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936'), I was pleased to fall into another work for which the author did his own illustrations. Even if Sorel's drawings appeal more to me personally, Moers is a fine illustrator - with a sharp sense of the macabre. However, though Sorel is also a fantasist (in a sense), Moers' imagination seems limitless. He leaps off into areas that are as mind-bending as they are unexpected.
He's also quite funny - which becomes more apparent in the second half of this book. The darkness of this novel would, at some point, become overwhelming if it weren't for the judicious, periodic inclusion of humorous whimsy. Characters come out with hysterical throwaway lines at just the right moments.
By now, I'm a real Moers fan. He has a few more novels waiting for me. I'll take a break for now... but I'll be ready to return before long.
May 6, 2023
I took this book on a recent trip, and it was the perfect vacation read. Eloquent talking cats, fantasy plants, evil villains who are also excellent chefs - well, there was almost no way I wouldn't like The Alchemaster's Apprentice. Walter Moers writes like a cheerful, erudite, and playful madman, and I am here for it.
Echo, a starving Crat (identical to a domestic feline except for being able to understand and speak any language), has struck a bad deal with the alchemaster Ghoolion: in return for being fed, entertained, and pampered, he agrees to be sacrificed at the end of the month for his fat - Crat fat being an alchemically powerful substance.
And thus begins a manic series of events set in Ghoolion's creepy castle. The plot is fairly negligible (Echo makes unusual friends, attempts to get out of his bargain), but the setting and the details are really fun. The castle is home to a colony of Leathermice (bats) and a deadly predator in the basement, Echo learns alchemy (the knowledge is supposedly retained in his fat), and a ghost takes a liking to him. Ghoolion turns out to be a fantastic cook who dishes up remarkable, occasionally hallucinogenic concoctions for Echo, but also has some of the same complaints as ordinary cooks:
I find this especially entertaining because Ghoolion also does all sorts of ghoulish alchemical things with the same precision and passion, such as boiling animals down for their fat, which he stores as spheres in a particular storeroom.
At one point, there's also a subterranean garden of magical plants - fertile ground for Moers's imagination, and one of my favorite scenes in the book (marzipan potatoes and common turdwort, please!).
It's more picaresque than forward moving, but Echo's adventures - drinking wine with the Alchemaster, befriending a Tuwituwu, exploring the castle - are more than enough to carry the story through. There's not a lot of depth here (though Ghoolion has a bit more nuance than strictly necessary for an evil sorcerer), but it's all endlessly inventive and compulsively readable. I think I might have liked this one even more than my previous Moers book The City of Dreaming Books.
Kudos to the translator John Brownjohn - Moers's books were written in German, but thanks to Brownjohn's exceptionally skillful translation, they read perfectly in English, puns and all.
Echo, a starving Crat (identical to a domestic feline except for being able to understand and speak any language), has struck a bad deal with the alchemaster Ghoolion: in return for being fed, entertained, and pampered, he agrees to be sacrificed at the end of the month for his fat - Crat fat being an alchemically powerful substance.
And thus begins a manic series of events set in Ghoolion's creepy castle. The plot is fairly negligible (Echo makes unusual friends, attempts to get out of his bargain), but the setting and the details are really fun. The castle is home to a colony of Leathermice (bats) and a deadly predator in the basement, Echo learns alchemy (the knowledge is supposedly retained in his fat), and a ghost takes a liking to him. Ghoolion turns out to be a fantastic cook who dishes up remarkable, occasionally hallucinogenic concoctions for Echo, but also has some of the same complaints as ordinary cooks:
"That," Ghoolion said in a voice quivering with rage, "is my dungeon for useless kitchen utensils. There's one in every kitchen worthy of the name. Its inmates are kept there like especially dangerous patients in a mental institution."
He reached into the cupboard and brought out an odd-looking implement.
"What cook," he cried, "does not possess such a gadget, which can sculpt a radish into a miniature rose? I acquired it at a fair in one of those moments of mental derangement when life without a miniature-rose-cutting gadget seemed unimaginable."
He hurled the thing back into the darkness and brought out another.
"Or this here, which enables one to cut potatoes into spirals five yards long! Or this, a press for juicing turnips! Or this, a frying pan for producing rectangular omelettes!"
I find this especially entertaining because Ghoolion also does all sorts of ghoulish alchemical things with the same precision and passion, such as boiling animals down for their fat, which he stores as spheres in a particular storeroom.
At one point, there's also a subterranean garden of magical plants - fertile ground for Moers's imagination, and one of my favorite scenes in the book (marzipan potatoes and common turdwort, please!).
"Mobile plants are becoming increasingly popular with people who find normal plants boring but are too lazy to keep a pet. Personally, I think they should be declared a protected species. It's cruelty to plants to allow such people to own them. They're bound to start teaching them tricks."
"Could they do that?" asked Echo.
"The Uggly studied her fingernails. "Well, I must confess I taught that Trampoline Fern down there a little trick. The temptation was too great."
She clicked her fingers. The Trampoline Fern withdrew its roots from the flowerpot, climbed out of it, turned a somersault and climbed back in again.
It's more picaresque than forward moving, but Echo's adventures - drinking wine with the Alchemaster, befriending a Tuwituwu, exploring the castle - are more than enough to carry the story through. There's not a lot of depth here (though Ghoolion has a bit more nuance than strictly necessary for an evil sorcerer), but it's all endlessly inventive and compulsively readable. I think I might have liked this one even more than my previous Moers book The City of Dreaming Books.
Kudos to the translator John Brownjohn - Moers's books were written in German, but thanks to Brownjohn's exceptionally skillful translation, they read perfectly in English, puns and all.
November 14, 2009
The back of this book has a review by the New York Times Book Review with the words "Cheerfully insane..."
When I started this story I just didn't know if I could get into it. Walter Moers imagination is off the charts - it felt like I was being sat down and told a fairy tale with names being made up left and right. But then.. I was introduced to Anguish Candles.
Not normal candles, mind you - these candles suffer when they burn.. and they inch along..and they moan. And they are never put out of their torment.. I was fascinated and couldn't stop reading (I'm laughing even as I type this).
Through the book I was introduced to the Tuwituwu, Theodore T. Theodore (the author made note of Echo the Crat not wanting to find out what the T. was for.. possible .. Theodore?) who speaks.. oddly (read it to find out how). Then, there are the Trees of Nutledge. Yes. Nutledge. Not Knowledge. Similar though! Vlad the Seven Hundred and Seventy-Fourth was a fun Leathermouse to meet, and oh.. the descriptions of the Zamonian food created - the essense of tomato consumme with the dumpling of salmon meat.
And then, there are the folk tales told by the Alchemaster. Every single time it felt like I was receiving a shock when he'd finish one - because they are not typical folk tales!
If you pick up this book to read, give it an honest, thorough chance. It took me a few chapters to really get into the spirit of things, but that's because it's so quirkly and so inventive I had to rearrange the way I was thinking to really start enjoying it.
Bravo to Walter Moers for a thoroughly entertaining tale.
When I started this story I just didn't know if I could get into it. Walter Moers imagination is off the charts - it felt like I was being sat down and told a fairy tale with names being made up left and right. But then.. I was introduced to Anguish Candles.
Not normal candles, mind you - these candles suffer when they burn.. and they inch along..and they moan. And they are never put out of their torment.. I was fascinated and couldn't stop reading (I'm laughing even as I type this).
Through the book I was introduced to the Tuwituwu, Theodore T. Theodore (the author made note of Echo the Crat not wanting to find out what the T. was for.. possible .. Theodore?) who speaks.. oddly (read it to find out how). Then, there are the Trees of Nutledge. Yes. Nutledge. Not Knowledge. Similar though! Vlad the Seven Hundred and Seventy-Fourth was a fun Leathermouse to meet, and oh.. the descriptions of the Zamonian food created - the essense of tomato consumme with the dumpling of salmon meat.
And then, there are the folk tales told by the Alchemaster. Every single time it felt like I was receiving a shock when he'd finish one - because they are not typical folk tales!
If you pick up this book to read, give it an honest, thorough chance. It took me a few chapters to really get into the spirit of things, but that's because it's so quirkly and so inventive I had to rearrange the way I was thinking to really start enjoying it.
Bravo to Walter Moers for a thoroughly entertaining tale.
November 21, 2017
Wurde irgendwann langweilig...
January 14, 2024
Izanuela Anazazi bekommt einen ganz besonderen Platz in meinem Herzen <3 Hatte am Anfang etwas Probleme reinzukommen, aber am Ende hat mich die Geschichte doch bekommen :)
August 23, 2025
“Hers was a proud, undisguised ugliness that exploited its impact to her own advantage–an ugliness that demanded respect.”
Mad respect. Own your ugliness. Lines like the above are what this book series is all about. Hidden treasures of wit and dry humor. It is a hard series to get your hands on, but worth the effort.
Echo the Crat (basically, a cat) is down and out. He is on the struggle bus of existence. The day he meets the town’s Alchemaster is the day his life changes. When you are desperate enough, you will agree to almost anything, including a Faustian bargain. Wait, what? You heard me right. Echo agrees to let Ghoolion (Alchemaster Extraordinaire) kill him in exchange for an all you can eat super buffet. Dumbass move, but you know. When you are hungry, you are hungry.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. The characters, the story, the pacing, were all five stars. Not always are the books in this series this great, so I will take the win when I can.
“’Of course I feel the pain,’ he said when he noticed Echo’s look of horror. ‘I don’t respect it, that’s all.’”
Mad respect. Own your ugliness. Lines like the above are what this book series is all about. Hidden treasures of wit and dry humor. It is a hard series to get your hands on, but worth the effort.
Echo the Crat (basically, a cat) is down and out. He is on the struggle bus of existence. The day he meets the town’s Alchemaster is the day his life changes. When you are desperate enough, you will agree to almost anything, including a Faustian bargain. Wait, what? You heard me right. Echo agrees to let Ghoolion (Alchemaster Extraordinaire) kill him in exchange for an all you can eat super buffet. Dumbass move, but you know. When you are hungry, you are hungry.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. The characters, the story, the pacing, were all five stars. Not always are the books in this series this great, so I will take the win when I can.
“’Of course I feel the pain,’ he said when he noticed Echo’s look of horror. ‘I don’t respect it, that’s all.’”
January 29, 2010
Another winner by Walter Moers! This book follows Echo the Crat (a cat that can speak all creature's languages) as he is saved from starvation by the Alchemaster, Ghoolion. Ghoolion's proposal is to treat Echo to the most amazing culinary treats in order to fatten him up to then, well end his life to take his fat.
Not only does Echo find out a lot about Ghoolion and his love(s) but also about the inhabitants of Ghoolion's castle and the secrets of the house itself. His (one-month) life's mission becomes to outwit Ghoolion and escape with his life and fat intact. Amazing and witty.
Not only does Echo find out a lot about Ghoolion and his love(s) but also about the inhabitants of Ghoolion's castle and the secrets of the house itself. His (one-month) life's mission becomes to outwit Ghoolion and escape with his life and fat intact. Amazing and witty.
September 18, 2017
"Oben ist unten und hässlich ist schön."
October 3, 2021
One of the things that irked me about the Jedi in the Prequel material is the questions that never get fully addressed. For instance, they go running around the galaxy finding Force sensitive children which they recruit and use as child soliders. And if you were say someone like Shmi, and a Jedi said, "yo, your kid will have three squares and a roof" - would you really say no considering what you can offer him is a life of slavery? I mean for poor people in the galaxy far, far away it seems like a good deal.
In this book, Echo finds himself in a similar situation. The poor guy is staving to death and a deal is offered - food in exchange for his fat in a month's time. And to get his fat, he must be killed. Moers story starts on this unfair and unequal terms but moves into the power of connections and friendships as well as, as always in Zamonia, the power of words.
There is humor and a whole bunch of social commentary. It really is a book about the power of community or the lack of power a community has if it choses.
It also is about the power of food.
And Leathermice, which no one understands or knows. Not even the Leathermice.
Also Moers nails cats.
Read for the Black Cat square.
In this book, Echo finds himself in a similar situation. The poor guy is staving to death and a deal is offered - food in exchange for his fat in a month's time. And to get his fat, he must be killed. Moers story starts on this unfair and unequal terms but moves into the power of connections and friendships as well as, as always in Zamonia, the power of words.
There is humor and a whole bunch of social commentary. It really is a book about the power of community or the lack of power a community has if it choses.
It also is about the power of food.
And Leathermice, which no one understands or knows. Not even the Leathermice.
Also Moers nails cats.
Read for the Black Cat square.
January 24, 2022
Questo libro era tra i miei preferiti una dozzina d'anni fa. Ora devo dire che non è neppure tra i migliori dello stesso autore, dato che la trama si muove in modo eccessivamente casuale (nulla avviene effettivamente per mano del protagonista, o quasi). Ma, per quanto mi riguarda, resta un libro geniale.
Walter Moers, ne L'accalappiastreghe, mette in scena una vicenda che rispetta unità di tempo (un mese) e luogo (la città di Sledwaya) aristoteliche: una sorta di gatto parlante, il cratto Eco, è salvato da morte certa da un alchimista privo di scrupoli, Malfrosto, che si impegna a nutrirlo per un mese in cambio del suo grasso (e quindi della sua vita) allo scadere di quel termine. Il resto del romanzo è un tripudio di ricette che Malfrosto propina a Eco e di incontri stravaganti e grotteschi.
Punto di forza, oltre al gusto barocco e all'inventiva dell'autore, lo strano legame, di amicizia e inimicizia insieme, che si crea tra i due personaggi principali.
Difficile dire altro. Sappiate solo che ne vale la pena: vi divertirete senz'altro.
Walter Moers, ne L'accalappiastreghe, mette in scena una vicenda che rispetta unità di tempo (un mese) e luogo (la città di Sledwaya) aristoteliche: una sorta di gatto parlante, il cratto Eco, è salvato da morte certa da un alchimista privo di scrupoli, Malfrosto, che si impegna a nutrirlo per un mese in cambio del suo grasso (e quindi della sua vita) allo scadere di quel termine. Il resto del romanzo è un tripudio di ricette che Malfrosto propina a Eco e di incontri stravaganti e grotteschi.
Punto di forza, oltre al gusto barocco e all'inventiva dell'autore, lo strano legame, di amicizia e inimicizia insieme, che si crea tra i due personaggi principali.
Difficile dire altro. Sappiate solo che ne vale la pena: vi divertirete senz'altro.
September 10, 2015
I was walking slowly through the Fantasy stacks at my favorite library, caressing the spines of the Walter Moers as I came to them, when I stopped in surprise and nearly fell over myself trying to snatch this book off the shelf before anyone else could. You see, not enough of Moers' books have been translated, in my opinion, and I have been bemoaning that fact since the last of his that I read - SO!! Joy! Joy! This was a bonus I hadn't expected.
And I was not disappointed. I loved the Crat.
Moers' imagination is still every bit as wonderful and varied as ever, and this book hold to the plot fairly tight as well, which is nice, though not essential to my reading pleasure.
Moers is weird. He's unique. He is so refreshing. He's one of those writers that makes me want to exercise my imagination muscle more - just to see what would happen.
The world needs more of Moers.
And I was not disappointed. I loved the Crat.
Moers' imagination is still every bit as wonderful and varied as ever, and this book hold to the plot fairly tight as well, which is nice, though not essential to my reading pleasure.
Moers is weird. He's unique. He is so refreshing. He's one of those writers that makes me want to exercise my imagination muscle more - just to see what would happen.
The world needs more of Moers.
January 27, 2024
I was wondering today if I would enjoy the Zamonia Novels nearly as much if they were narrated by someone other than the delightful Bronson Pinchot. He is willing to do ridiculous things with his voice that must have the engineer in the recording studio on the floor laughing!
This book in the series is about a poor little crat who makes a deal with an evil alchemaster, who will cook delectable meals for him for one month and them render him down and take his fat to be used in a potion.
I would tell you some of the wonderful creatures you will meet during this adventure, but my spell check function is already having a nervous breakdown.
Let's just say, this tale is a treat.
This book in the series is about a poor little crat who makes a deal with an evil alchemaster, who will cook delectable meals for him for one month and them render him down and take his fat to be used in a potion.
I would tell you some of the wonderful creatures you will meet during this adventure, but my spell check function is already having a nervous breakdown.
Let's just say, this tale is a treat.
December 19, 2011
Giving this a pre-emptive 5 stars, though I am not done yet. Reviews call this a "children's book for adults," and I don't think that's too far from the truth. What makes it "adult" is not large-scale political troubles or the horrors of the human condition a la The Guy Who Wrote Wicked and Other Stuff I Don't Particularly Care For, but a willingness to go to places the Brothers Grimm might go, and the modern fortitude to make fun of their absurdity.
It's the sort of thing I'd love to read out loud to another adult, complete with silly voices. I'm kind of in love.
It's the sort of thing I'd love to read out loud to another adult, complete with silly voices. I'm kind of in love.
January 20, 2021
Der Schrecksenmeister ist erst zum Ende hin spannend geworden, aber ich glaube, das war bei der Stadt der träumenden Bücher auch schon so. Es war kein schlechtes Buch, aber auch kein überragendes. Aber die Illustrationen finde ich total schön.
August 23, 2020
Walter Moers hat wieder einmal einen absolut originellen, fantasievollen und über alle Maßen unterhaltsamen Roman geschrieben. Dieses Mal über eine halbverhungerte Kratze namens Echo (nicht Katze! ;-)), die einen Vertrag mit einem Alchimisten, dem Schrecksenmeister Succubius Eißpin, schließt. Der Inhalt des Vertrags: Eißpin füttert Echo bis zum nächsten Schrecksenvollmond mit allen denkbaren Leckereien und bietet ihm auch ansonsten die bestmöglichen Lebensbedingungen, im Gegenzug darf Eißpin Echo töten, um sein Fett zu verwerten. Dass Echo sich nicht kampflos seinem Schicksal beugt, nachdem er zu Kräften gekommen ist, ist wohl klar. Wir folgen ihm auf seinem schwierigen, abenteuerlichen Weg, der mit so einigen Überraschungen aufwartet.
Dieser Roman hat mir tatsächlich noch besser gefallen als "Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher". Walter Moers legt hier noch eine Schippe drauf und kommt mit so vielen kreativen Einfällen um die Ecke, dass man gar nicht weiß, wo man hinsehen soll. Sein bildlicher Schreibstil tut sein Übrigens zum Lesevergnügen. Dieses Buch ist spannend und lustig, bunt und actionreich, und macht einfach nur Spaß! Von mir eine ganz klare Leseempfehlung!
Dieser Roman hat mir tatsächlich noch besser gefallen als "Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher". Walter Moers legt hier noch eine Schippe drauf und kommt mit so vielen kreativen Einfällen um die Ecke, dass man gar nicht weiß, wo man hinsehen soll. Sein bildlicher Schreibstil tut sein Übrigens zum Lesevergnügen. Dieses Buch ist spannend und lustig, bunt und actionreich, und macht einfach nur Spaß! Von mir eine ganz klare Leseempfehlung!
October 29, 2021
Not a review, just some pointless blathering about the title of the english edition.
I think The Alchemaster's Apprentice is a boring title which made me think of how I would have named it. The word Schreckse from the original title Der Schrecksenmeister is a made-up hybrid word creation out of Schreck (fright, scare) and Hexe (witch). Since fritch (fright + witch) is phonetically too close to fridge I think scritch (scare + witch) is a better choice as a translation for Schreckse. But wait scritch is the archaic version of screech, thus it isn't a good candidate either. Damn translating is hard. John Brownjohn translated Schreckse with Uggly. Uggly doesn't preserve the original wordplay but at least the level of quirkiness and I like Brownjohns choice. So Uggly Master would have been a better title in my opinion.
I think The Alchemaster's Apprentice is a boring title which made me think of how I would have named it. The word Schreckse from the original title Der Schrecksenmeister is a made-up hybrid word creation out of Schreck (fright, scare) and Hexe (witch). Since fritch (fright + witch) is phonetically too close to fridge I think scritch (scare + witch) is a better choice as a translation for Schreckse. But wait scritch is the archaic version of screech, thus it isn't a good candidate either. Damn translating is hard. John Brownjohn translated Schreckse with Uggly. Uggly doesn't preserve the original wordplay but at least the level of quirkiness and I like Brownjohns choice. So Uggly Master would have been a better title in my opinion.
March 1, 2015
Es ist nicht mein liebster Zamonienroman, aber er war trotzdem natürlich mal wieder super. Vor allen Dingen war das Ende mal wieder super spektakulär und einfach nur schön. Vor allem auch die intertexutellen Bezüge machen den Reiz dieses Buches aus und auch die Nachwörter des Autors und des Übersetzers sind zum Schreien komisch und absolut lesenswert!
May 28, 2018
4.5 but so deserved. one of my favourites of walter moers' work tbh.
im actually writing my thesis on this one and feel so glad that i did like it and wont have to write 12 pages about a book i cant stand...;)
review coming up soon, im just a bit too busy to keep up with all the reviews i want/have to write.
im actually writing my thesis on this one and feel so glad that i did like it and wont have to write 12 pages about a book i cant stand...;)
review coming up soon, im just a bit too busy to keep up with all the reviews i want/have to write.
December 11, 2025
Fantasy-horror-culinario? Geniale.
Ho ben faticato a procurarmi una copia, ma ne è valsa la pena.
La sola premessa è gustosamente invitante alla lettura: un gattino (crattino) in fin di vita, la vita da randagio non gli si addice, decide di vendere il proprio grasso ad un alchimista che lo rimpinzerà per 30 giorni, per poi finire in pentola. Un po' Faustiano, con quel pizzico di mercante di Venezia, come patto.
Romanzo che fa un tour del genere gotico, del demenziale, del fantasy e della gastronomia. La storia si alterna fra esperimenti alla "Frankenstein" e degustazioni di vino; fra scorribande notturne in cimiteri e sontuosi banchetti; fra improbabili prove di coraggio e racconti romantici-umoristici. Il tutto ambientato come sempre nel fantastico continente di Moers, Zamonia. Questo libro, al contrario dei predecessori, è molto più leggero ed agevole alla lettura, esso evita le solite, anche se da me molto amate, digressioni letterarie che allungano il brodo e arriva dritto al punto.
Una storia di una amicizia mortale.
Ho ben faticato a procurarmi una copia, ma ne è valsa la pena.
La sola premessa è gustosamente invitante alla lettura: un gattino (crattino) in fin di vita, la vita da randagio non gli si addice, decide di vendere il proprio grasso ad un alchimista che lo rimpinzerà per 30 giorni, per poi finire in pentola. Un po' Faustiano, con quel pizzico di mercante di Venezia, come patto.
Romanzo che fa un tour del genere gotico, del demenziale, del fantasy e della gastronomia. La storia si alterna fra esperimenti alla "Frankenstein" e degustazioni di vino; fra scorribande notturne in cimiteri e sontuosi banchetti; fra improbabili prove di coraggio e racconti romantici-umoristici. Il tutto ambientato come sempre nel fantastico continente di Moers, Zamonia. Questo libro, al contrario dei predecessori, è molto più leggero ed agevole alla lettura, esso evita le solite, anche se da me molto amate, digressioni letterarie che allungano il brodo e arriva dritto al punto.
Una storia di una amicizia mortale.
October 8, 2025
Otra maravillosa historia llena de fantasía, con grandes personajes y momentos de reflexión.
Moers es grandioso.
Moers es grandioso.
Read
July 26, 2025dnf at 20%
September 23, 2025
Bei diesem Buch fällt mir die Bewertung nicht leicht. Es gibt viele Elemente die ich absolut liebe und an Moers Schreibstil auch absolut zu schätzen gelernt habe, allerdings hat das Buch auch erhebliche Längen die ich nicht ganz ausblenden kann.
Nichtsdestotrotz hatte ich wieder sehr viel Spaß in Zamonien und hab die Geschichte, die oft auch wirklich brutal daherkommt, genossen.
Wer Walter Moers mag wird also auch hier voll auf seine Kosten kommen. Als Einsteigerwerk in die Welt Zamoniens würde ich es jedoch nicht empfehlen.
Nichtsdestotrotz hatte ich wieder sehr viel Spaß in Zamonien und hab die Geschichte, die oft auch wirklich brutal daherkommt, genossen.
Wer Walter Moers mag wird also auch hier voll auf seine Kosten kommen. Als Einsteigerwerk in die Welt Zamoniens würde ich es jedoch nicht empfehlen.
May 1, 2013
Every new-to-me Walter Moers book I pick up immediately becomes my new favorite Walter Moers book, and thus one of my favorite books, full stop. This has happened ever since I first stumbled across a somewhat battered copy of Rumo and his Miraculous Adventures several years ago at my local public library and wondered what the hell was going on with that. One is always going on with the mix of over-the-top imaginative fantasy, adorable illustrations, sophisticated plotting and outrageous wordplay that is Walter Moers. Oh, do I love this man. And his translator into English, the wonderfully named John Brownjohn, who has the unenviable task of turning all of those invented and ordinary compound German nouns and verbs into something intelligible in English without losing any of the original's wit and charm and, as far as I can tell, succeeds brilliantly.
Or at any rate, if Brownjohn is in any way not hitting Moers' mark, then I'm not sure I could handle more Moers. As such. Feel free to throw something at me now.
The Alchemaster's Apprentice is another Zamonia book, Zamonia being, of course, a lost continent that once took up most of the Atlantic Ocean and was home not only to sentient and literate dinosaurs who achieved a very high standard of culture indeed (at least a high Middle Ages standard), but to a myriad of other astonishing creatures as well, including the new-to-this-fifth-novel Crat. A Crat being a sort of cat who can speak every language, human or animal, in the known world, and whose body fat is an alchemist's, well, I would say an alchemist's philosopher's stone, but everyone knows that the philosopher's stone is the alchemists' philosopher's stone, so something just short of that. At any rate, very desirable indeed.
Enter one Succubius Ghoolion*, titular Alchemaster, who is a sort of Jean-Baptiste Greouille through Moers' funhouse mirror in that, like the perfidious perfumer of Suskind's most famous novel, he is obsessed with capturing the essences of things in the most durable possible form, that form being the rendered fat of rare and fabulous creatures like Crats. Of whom Ghoolion suspects our adorable little hero, Echo the Kitty Crat, to possibly be the very last one. Um.
What follows from this state of affairs is another deliciously daffy Moers adventure -- perhaps the most delicious of all because, when Ghoolion finds Echo, Echo is starving to death and has no fat on him, but Ghoolion is a culinary genius and so sets about fattening his foundling in outlandishly opulent ways. If one doesn't drool through at least a few of these chapters, one is obviously some kind of icky ascetic who subsists on room temperature water and celery sticks or something.** Echo befriends a cyclopean owl-type thing who speaks in spoonerisms (Brownjohn must have had a heck of a time with those. He needs all of the awards for translating. All of them, do you understand me?) and is dedicated to helping Echo escape the terrible fate that awaits him, learns a lot of alchemical secrets, eats a lot of absurdly delicious food, and develops a charmingly weird relationship with Ghoolion in the process.
Along the way he picks up some other weird allies, such as a Cooked Ghost (which Echo helps to cook himself as part of his education), a couple thousand Leathermice (like extraordinarily ugly vampire bats with extremely strange habits of thought. Nobody understands Leathermice, dude. Not even Leathermice), and the last remaining Uggly in the city -- an Uggly being, of course, a sort of gypsy practitioner of a natural/homeopathic/herbal medicine that is pretty much the absolute antithesis of what Ghoolion does. Who despite Ghoolion's long history of persecution of Ugglies in every horrible way imaginable, has a crush on Ghoolion. Yeah, it's complicated.
It all builds to a thrilling and insane climax, Moers' best yet! So yeah, The Alchemaster's Apprentice is my new favorite Walter Moers. At least until the next one.
But yeah, I'm still puzzled about that roast wildfowl Echo was sort of tricked into eating mid-story. That's a head-scratcher of a loose end. But Echo does spend a lot of this novel tripping balls on some hallucinogenic meal or other... so... umm... yeah, I've got nothing.
*The character names are part of the fun of Moers, most of them being anagrams of popular authors' names, though so far I can't figure out whose name became Succubius Ghoolion, and I have tried. Oh, have I tried. But I'm a poor hand at anagram solving.
**Seriously, the food porn in this book is completely off the hook. Imagine Lewis Carroll and China Mieville collaborating on a cookbook and you might just get a hint of the flavor. WOW.
Or at any rate, if Brownjohn is in any way not hitting Moers' mark, then I'm not sure I could handle more Moers. As such. Feel free to throw something at me now.
The Alchemaster's Apprentice is another Zamonia book, Zamonia being, of course, a lost continent that once took up most of the Atlantic Ocean and was home not only to sentient and literate dinosaurs who achieved a very high standard of culture indeed (at least a high Middle Ages standard), but to a myriad of other astonishing creatures as well, including the new-to-this-fifth-novel Crat. A Crat being a sort of cat who can speak every language, human or animal, in the known world, and whose body fat is an alchemist's, well, I would say an alchemist's philosopher's stone, but everyone knows that the philosopher's stone is the alchemists' philosopher's stone, so something just short of that. At any rate, very desirable indeed.
Enter one Succubius Ghoolion*, titular Alchemaster, who is a sort of Jean-Baptiste Greouille through Moers' funhouse mirror in that, like the perfidious perfumer of Suskind's most famous novel, he is obsessed with capturing the essences of things in the most durable possible form, that form being the rendered fat of rare and fabulous creatures like Crats. Of whom Ghoolion suspects our adorable little hero, Echo the Kitty Crat, to possibly be the very last one. Um.
What follows from this state of affairs is another deliciously daffy Moers adventure -- perhaps the most delicious of all because, when Ghoolion finds Echo, Echo is starving to death and has no fat on him, but Ghoolion is a culinary genius and so sets about fattening his foundling in outlandishly opulent ways. If one doesn't drool through at least a few of these chapters, one is obviously some kind of icky ascetic who subsists on room temperature water and celery sticks or something.** Echo befriends a cyclopean owl-type thing who speaks in spoonerisms (Brownjohn must have had a heck of a time with those. He needs all of the awards for translating. All of them, do you understand me?) and is dedicated to helping Echo escape the terrible fate that awaits him, learns a lot of alchemical secrets, eats a lot of absurdly delicious food, and develops a charmingly weird relationship with Ghoolion in the process.
Along the way he picks up some other weird allies, such as a Cooked Ghost (which Echo helps to cook himself as part of his education), a couple thousand Leathermice (like extraordinarily ugly vampire bats with extremely strange habits of thought. Nobody understands Leathermice, dude. Not even Leathermice), and the last remaining Uggly in the city -- an Uggly being, of course, a sort of gypsy practitioner of a natural/homeopathic/herbal medicine that is pretty much the absolute antithesis of what Ghoolion does. Who despite Ghoolion's long history of persecution of Ugglies in every horrible way imaginable, has a crush on Ghoolion. Yeah, it's complicated.
It all builds to a thrilling and insane climax, Moers' best yet! So yeah, The Alchemaster's Apprentice is my new favorite Walter Moers. At least until the next one.
But yeah, I'm still puzzled about that roast wildfowl Echo was sort of tricked into eating mid-story. That's a head-scratcher of a loose end. But Echo does spend a lot of this novel tripping balls on some hallucinogenic meal or other... so... umm... yeah, I've got nothing.
*The character names are part of the fun of Moers, most of them being anagrams of popular authors' names, though so far I can't figure out whose name became Succubius Ghoolion, and I have tried. Oh, have I tried. But I'm a poor hand at anagram solving.
**Seriously, the food porn in this book is completely off the hook. Imagine Lewis Carroll and China Mieville collaborating on a cookbook and you might just get a hint of the flavor. WOW.
October 2, 2025
Ein richtig solides Walter Moers Buch😊
October 15, 2024
Direkt nach "Ensel und Krete" habe ich mich an "Der Schrecksenmeister" gemacht, um meine Zamonien-Mission fortzusetzen. Nachdem ich im Frühjahr mit "Prinzessin Insomnia und der albtraumfarbene Nachtmahr" ins Universum von Walter Moers eingestiegen bin, bin ich somit nun bei meinem siebten Buch angelangt. Meine wachsende Sammlung an (begeisterten) Rezensionen zu den anderen Büchern von Walter Moers findet Ihr übrigens hier. Wie nicht anders erwartet, bot auch "Der Schreckenmeister" wieder eine ordentliche Wundertüte aus Überraschungen, Spannung, Originalität, Humor und liebenswürdiger Groteske.
Zunächst wie immer ein paar kurze Worte zur Gestaltung. "Der Schrecksenmeister" hat zeigt im Großformat ein von Ledermäusen umflogenes blaues Ziegeldach, aus dem das Krätzchen Echo seinen Kopf streckt. Mit dem großflächig gemusterten Hintergrund und dem großen gelben Titel ist es mal wieder ein typisches Zamonien-Cover, das wunderbar zu den Gestaltungen der anderen Romane passt. Hervorheben möchte ich auch wieder die Gestaltung Inneren des Buches, die wieder zahlreiche Illustrationen der Umgebung und handelnden Figuren beinhaltet.
Erster Satz: "Stellt Euch den krankesten Ort von ganz Zamonien vor."
In "Der Schrecksenmeister" entführt Walter Moers nach Sledwaya, einer bisher unbekannten Kleinstadt von Zamonien, in dem der titelgebende Schrecksenmeister Eißpin Krankheiten kocht und mittels alchimistischer Experimente bösen Plänen nachgeht. Kein Wunder, dass es nur hier Hirnhusten und Lebermigräne, Magenmumps und Darmschnupfen oder Ohrenbrausen und Nierenverzagen gibt, was die Stadt zu einem Paradies für Apotheker und Quacksalber und der Hölle auf Erden für Hypochonder macht. Weder das eine noch das andere ist unser Protagonist Echo, der wohl der mit Abstand niedlichste Moers-Protagonist überhaupt ist. Als "Krätzchen" unterscheidet er sich von der gewöhnlichen Hauskatze nur in zwei Dingen: erstens hat er zwei Lebern und zweitens kann er alle Sprachen des Universums sprechen. Beides hilft ihm recht wenig, als er nach dem Tod seines Frauchens vor dem Verhungern steht. Da kommt ihm der Deal mit dem Schrecksenmeister trotz des schaurigen Ausgangs ganz recht: er wird von ihm durchgefüttert, bis zum nächsten Vollmond, um dann Teil seiner alchimistischen Fettsammlung zu werden. Schafft es die junge Kratze, ihrem Schicksal zu entgehen....?
"Jedes Ding", flüsterte Eißpin, "hat seinen Schatten. Der Schatten ist die dunkle Seite, die jedem innewohnt. Solange er an uns gekettet ist, ist er unser Sklave, aber sobald man die Schatten von Ihren Besitzern trennt, zeigen sie ihr wahres Wesen. Dann werden sie böse, wild und gefährlich."
Falls Euch die Handlung oder die Namen entfernt bekannt vor kommen: Es handelt sich hierbei genau wie bei "Ensel und Krete" um eine Nacherzählung eines auch in unserer Welt existierenden Märchens und zwar die Novelle des Schweizer Dichters Gottfried Keller "Spiegel, das Kätzchen". Auch wenn ich das Original nicht gelesen habe, wird schon bei einem kurzen Blick auf die Inhaltsangabe deutlich, wie Walter Moers hier mit dem Text spielt. So wird der Protagonist von "Spiegel, das Kätzchen zu "Echo, das Krätzchen", die Stadt Seldwyla wird zu "Sledwaya", der Stadthexenmeister Pineiß wird zum Schrecksenmeister Eißpin und Gottfried Keller zu Gofid Letterkerl. Aber auch bei der Handlung lässt der Autor es sich nicht nehmen, das 50-seitige Original kunstvoll auszubauen, zu verdrehen und zu einem spannenden Roman mit 500 Seiten zu ergänzen. Wer großen Spaß mit der Intertextualität von "Der Schrecksenmeister" haben und die Parallelen zum Original in vollem Ausmaß genießen möchte, sollte vorher also unbedingt "Spiegel, das Kätzchen" lesen. Es sei aber versichert: auch ohne das Original vorher zu kennen, kann man mit dem Roman großen Spaß haben.
„Was gewesen und gegangen
Soll jetzt wieder neu anfangen
Was gegangen und gewesen
Soll im Wundersud genesen
Soll im Topfe wiederkehren
Um die Alchimie zu ehren“
Zwar startet der Spannungsbogen recht flach und das Buch liest sich trotz der Gefahr, in der Echo schwebt, erstmal eher gemütlich. Durch den interessanten Schauort und den Schreibstil des Autors wird jedoch trotzdem eine fesselnde Atmosphäre aufgebaut. So kommt durch das Setting in Sledwaya mit kranken Bewohnern, einem Gruselschloss auf einem Berg, bluttrinkenden Ledermäusen, alchimistischen Experimenten, düsteren Plänen, einer blutdurchtränkten Vorgeschichte und (im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes) Leichen im Keller, die schaurige Atmosphäre eines Gruselklassikers auf. Dem gegenüber stehen allerdings die appetitlichen Essensbeschreibungen, von denen die Geschichte nur so strotzt. Denn es handelt sich hier laut Autor um ein "Kulinarisches Märchen", und dieser zamonischen Literaturgattung macht er mit seitenlangen Beschreibungen der Menüs, die Eißpin Echo auftischt alle Ehre. Dazu kommen überdies lustige Wortspiele, Anspielungen und weitere intertextuelle Köstlichkeiten (Stichwort: "Ojahnn Golgo van Fontheweg"), die Moers´ klassischen Humor ausmachen. Wie kann man sich beim Lesen gleichzeitig ekeln, gruseln, amüsieren und sich hungrig die Lippen lecken? Keine Ahnung, fragt Walter Moers!
"Oben ist unten und hässlich ist schön."
Ebenso widersprüchlich, aber dennoch genial sind die Figuren, die die Geschichte bewohnen. Echo ist einfach herzallerliebst und schwankt zwischen kindlicher Naivität und Genialität, was ihn zu einem hervorragenden Erzähler macht. Und von den originellen Nebenfiguren wie eine verliebte Schreckse, ein fremdworteverdrehener Schuhu, eine schneeweiße Witwe, ein gekochtes Gespenst oder unvorhersehbare Ledermäuse will ich gar nicht erst anfangen.... Der Schrecksenmeister Eißpin ist aber das wahre Kunstwerk der Geschichte. Walter Moers schafft es, aus dem Scheusal, das unschuldige Tiere auskocht, um an deren Fett zu kommen und kranke Pläne ausheckt, um die Bürger Sledwayas aus purer Boshaftigkeit zu vergiften, eine ambivalente Figur zu machen, für die man trotz des Abscheus doch immer wieder kurz Sympathie verspürt. Sei es durch das Erzähler seiner Hintergrundgeschichte, seine Hingabe zur Kochkunst oder die beinahe freundschaftliche Beziehung, die Echo und Eißpin entgegen aller Wahrscheinlichkeit zu entwickeln scheinen - so sehr man sich auch anstrengt, man kann ihn nicht nur hassen. Dadurch wird der Geschichte bis zum Ende die Möglichkeit auf verschiedene Ausgänge offen gehalten. Unterläuft Eißpin doch noch einen Wandel und kommt von seinem bösen Plan ab, wird er als Bösewicht gerichtet oder stirbt Echo doch unerwartet? Ich konnte es bis zur letzten Seite des etwa 100seitigen spannenden Showdown nicht sagen!
"Gestatten: Mein Name ist Fjodor F. Fjodor, aber du kannst mich Fjodor nennen.' Echo wagte nicht, nach der Bedeutung des F's zwischen dem beiden Fjodors zu fragen. Vielleicht stand es für Fjodor."
Ebenfalls überraschend war, dass sich Hildegunst von Mythenmetz hier als "Autor" der Geschichte ungewohnt zurücknimmt und erst im Nachwort auftaucht. Laut der angefügten Erklärung des "Übersetzers" Walter Moers ist das aber vor allem seinen Kürzungen zuzuschreiben, denn er hat beim Übersetzen beschlossen, uns 700 Seiten mythenmetzsche Ausschweifungen über Krankheiten zu ersparen. An dieser Stelle: Danke, Walter! So entsteht eine runde, atmosphärische Nacherzählung mit vergleichsweise wenig Verbindungen zu anderen Zamonien-Romane, die deshalb auch gut für Einsteiger geeignet ist.
"Du musst tun, was du nicht lassen kannst", sagte Fjodor und seufzte noch einmal tief. Der Schuhu sah Echo so lange mit seinem wässrigen Blick an, bis dem Krätzchen unbehaglich wurde. "Aber du musst auch manchmal lassen, was du nicht tun kannst", fügte er geheimnisvoll hinzu."
Fazit:
"Der Schreckenmeister" ist erneut ein typischer Moers: eine ordentliche Wundertüte aus Überraschungen, Spannung, Originalität, Humor und liebenswürdiger Groteske. Ich konnte erneut bis zur letzten Seite nicht sagen, auf was die Geschichte zusteuern wird und auch die intertextuellen Bezüge sind ein wahrer Literaturschmaus!
4,5 Sterne
Zunächst wie immer ein paar kurze Worte zur Gestaltung. "Der Schrecksenmeister" hat zeigt im Großformat ein von Ledermäusen umflogenes blaues Ziegeldach, aus dem das Krätzchen Echo seinen Kopf streckt. Mit dem großflächig gemusterten Hintergrund und dem großen gelben Titel ist es mal wieder ein typisches Zamonien-Cover, das wunderbar zu den Gestaltungen der anderen Romane passt. Hervorheben möchte ich auch wieder die Gestaltung Inneren des Buches, die wieder zahlreiche Illustrationen der Umgebung und handelnden Figuren beinhaltet.
Erster Satz: "Stellt Euch den krankesten Ort von ganz Zamonien vor."
In "Der Schrecksenmeister" entführt Walter Moers nach Sledwaya, einer bisher unbekannten Kleinstadt von Zamonien, in dem der titelgebende Schrecksenmeister Eißpin Krankheiten kocht und mittels alchimistischer Experimente bösen Plänen nachgeht. Kein Wunder, dass es nur hier Hirnhusten und Lebermigräne, Magenmumps und Darmschnupfen oder Ohrenbrausen und Nierenverzagen gibt, was die Stadt zu einem Paradies für Apotheker und Quacksalber und der Hölle auf Erden für Hypochonder macht. Weder das eine noch das andere ist unser Protagonist Echo, der wohl der mit Abstand niedlichste Moers-Protagonist überhaupt ist. Als "Krätzchen" unterscheidet er sich von der gewöhnlichen Hauskatze nur in zwei Dingen: erstens hat er zwei Lebern und zweitens kann er alle Sprachen des Universums sprechen. Beides hilft ihm recht wenig, als er nach dem Tod seines Frauchens vor dem Verhungern steht. Da kommt ihm der Deal mit dem Schrecksenmeister trotz des schaurigen Ausgangs ganz recht: er wird von ihm durchgefüttert, bis zum nächsten Vollmond, um dann Teil seiner alchimistischen Fettsammlung zu werden. Schafft es die junge Kratze, ihrem Schicksal zu entgehen....?
"Jedes Ding", flüsterte Eißpin, "hat seinen Schatten. Der Schatten ist die dunkle Seite, die jedem innewohnt. Solange er an uns gekettet ist, ist er unser Sklave, aber sobald man die Schatten von Ihren Besitzern trennt, zeigen sie ihr wahres Wesen. Dann werden sie böse, wild und gefährlich."
Falls Euch die Handlung oder die Namen entfernt bekannt vor kommen: Es handelt sich hierbei genau wie bei "Ensel und Krete" um eine Nacherzählung eines auch in unserer Welt existierenden Märchens und zwar die Novelle des Schweizer Dichters Gottfried Keller "Spiegel, das Kätzchen". Auch wenn ich das Original nicht gelesen habe, wird schon bei einem kurzen Blick auf die Inhaltsangabe deutlich, wie Walter Moers hier mit dem Text spielt. So wird der Protagonist von "Spiegel, das Kätzchen zu "Echo, das Krätzchen", die Stadt Seldwyla wird zu "Sledwaya", der Stadthexenmeister Pineiß wird zum Schrecksenmeister Eißpin und Gottfried Keller zu Gofid Letterkerl. Aber auch bei der Handlung lässt der Autor es sich nicht nehmen, das 50-seitige Original kunstvoll auszubauen, zu verdrehen und zu einem spannenden Roman mit 500 Seiten zu ergänzen. Wer großen Spaß mit der Intertextualität von "Der Schrecksenmeister" haben und die Parallelen zum Original in vollem Ausmaß genießen möchte, sollte vorher also unbedingt "Spiegel, das Kätzchen" lesen. Es sei aber versichert: auch ohne das Original vorher zu kennen, kann man mit dem Roman großen Spaß haben.
„Was gewesen und gegangen
Soll jetzt wieder neu anfangen
Was gegangen und gewesen
Soll im Wundersud genesen
Soll im Topfe wiederkehren
Um die Alchimie zu ehren“
Zwar startet der Spannungsbogen recht flach und das Buch liest sich trotz der Gefahr, in der Echo schwebt, erstmal eher gemütlich. Durch den interessanten Schauort und den Schreibstil des Autors wird jedoch trotzdem eine fesselnde Atmosphäre aufgebaut. So kommt durch das Setting in Sledwaya mit kranken Bewohnern, einem Gruselschloss auf einem Berg, bluttrinkenden Ledermäusen, alchimistischen Experimenten, düsteren Plänen, einer blutdurchtränkten Vorgeschichte und (im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes) Leichen im Keller, die schaurige Atmosphäre eines Gruselklassikers auf. Dem gegenüber stehen allerdings die appetitlichen Essensbeschreibungen, von denen die Geschichte nur so strotzt. Denn es handelt sich hier laut Autor um ein "Kulinarisches Märchen", und dieser zamonischen Literaturgattung macht er mit seitenlangen Beschreibungen der Menüs, die Eißpin Echo auftischt alle Ehre. Dazu kommen überdies lustige Wortspiele, Anspielungen und weitere intertextuelle Köstlichkeiten (Stichwort: "Ojahnn Golgo van Fontheweg"), die Moers´ klassischen Humor ausmachen. Wie kann man sich beim Lesen gleichzeitig ekeln, gruseln, amüsieren und sich hungrig die Lippen lecken? Keine Ahnung, fragt Walter Moers!
"Oben ist unten und hässlich ist schön."
Ebenso widersprüchlich, aber dennoch genial sind die Figuren, die die Geschichte bewohnen. Echo ist einfach herzallerliebst und schwankt zwischen kindlicher Naivität und Genialität, was ihn zu einem hervorragenden Erzähler macht. Und von den originellen Nebenfiguren wie eine verliebte Schreckse, ein fremdworteverdrehener Schuhu, eine schneeweiße Witwe, ein gekochtes Gespenst oder unvorhersehbare Ledermäuse will ich gar nicht erst anfangen.... Der Schrecksenmeister Eißpin ist aber das wahre Kunstwerk der Geschichte. Walter Moers schafft es, aus dem Scheusal, das unschuldige Tiere auskocht, um an deren Fett zu kommen und kranke Pläne ausheckt, um die Bürger Sledwayas aus purer Boshaftigkeit zu vergiften, eine ambivalente Figur zu machen, für die man trotz des Abscheus doch immer wieder kurz Sympathie verspürt. Sei es durch das Erzähler seiner Hintergrundgeschichte, seine Hingabe zur Kochkunst oder die beinahe freundschaftliche Beziehung, die Echo und Eißpin entgegen aller Wahrscheinlichkeit zu entwickeln scheinen - so sehr man sich auch anstrengt, man kann ihn nicht nur hassen. Dadurch wird der Geschichte bis zum Ende die Möglichkeit auf verschiedene Ausgänge offen gehalten. Unterläuft Eißpin doch noch einen Wandel und kommt von seinem bösen Plan ab, wird er als Bösewicht gerichtet oder stirbt Echo doch unerwartet? Ich konnte es bis zur letzten Seite des etwa 100seitigen spannenden Showdown nicht sagen!
"Gestatten: Mein Name ist Fjodor F. Fjodor, aber du kannst mich Fjodor nennen.' Echo wagte nicht, nach der Bedeutung des F's zwischen dem beiden Fjodors zu fragen. Vielleicht stand es für Fjodor."
Ebenfalls überraschend war, dass sich Hildegunst von Mythenmetz hier als "Autor" der Geschichte ungewohnt zurücknimmt und erst im Nachwort auftaucht. Laut der angefügten Erklärung des "Übersetzers" Walter Moers ist das aber vor allem seinen Kürzungen zuzuschreiben, denn er hat beim Übersetzen beschlossen, uns 700 Seiten mythenmetzsche Ausschweifungen über Krankheiten zu ersparen. An dieser Stelle: Danke, Walter! So entsteht eine runde, atmosphärische Nacherzählung mit vergleichsweise wenig Verbindungen zu anderen Zamonien-Romane, die deshalb auch gut für Einsteiger geeignet ist.
"Du musst tun, was du nicht lassen kannst", sagte Fjodor und seufzte noch einmal tief. Der Schuhu sah Echo so lange mit seinem wässrigen Blick an, bis dem Krätzchen unbehaglich wurde. "Aber du musst auch manchmal lassen, was du nicht tun kannst", fügte er geheimnisvoll hinzu."
Fazit:
"Der Schreckenmeister" ist erneut ein typischer Moers: eine ordentliche Wundertüte aus Überraschungen, Spannung, Originalität, Humor und liebenswürdiger Groteske. Ich konnte erneut bis zur letzten Seite nicht sagen, auf was die Geschichte zusteuern wird und auch die intertextuellen Bezüge sind ein wahrer Literaturschmaus!
4,5 Sterne
January 7, 2018
Since Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures featured a protagonist that was (essentially) a sentient dog, it feels entirely appropriate that Moers wrote a book that stars (essentially) a sentient cat as well.
Technically, Echo is a Crat, not a cat, which basically means a cat that has the ability to understand and speak languages. But make no mistake: this is the first novel I’ve read where the protagonist was a cat, and it was everything I could have wished for in that respect. This was helped along by Moers’ illustrations, which were, as usual, superb. This image might be one of my favorite book illustrations ever.
In this book, Echo the Crat is starving on the streets, when the town’s resident tyrannical Alchemaster Ghoolion happens across him. As Ghoolion needs Crat fat for some of his sinister alchemical experiments, they strike a bargain. Echo, who was days from dying of starvation anyway, will get a month of full bellies and gastronomic delights such as he’d never dreamed up. And after a month of fattening him up, Ghoolion will kill him and render him down.
Sincechemistry alchemy is cooking and cooking chemistry alchemy, Ghoolion keeps his end of the bargain. Along the way, Ghoolion tells Echo all sorts of secrets of cooking, as well as alchemy - he’s not reluctant to share his secret knowledge with Echo, because who is he going to tell? But as the days tick down, Echo naturally seeks a way out of the bargain he has made.
I’ve previously described Moers’ The City of Dreaming Books as a love letter to reading, and books in general. The Alchemaster’s Apprentice is similar, but it’s a love letter to food and eating. It’s of course packed full of the Hithchhiker’s Guide-esque asides and stories of Zamonia that all of Moers’ books have. It’s not the best of the Zamonia books, and I wouldn’t really recommend it to someone who hasn’t read and loved some of the others, but it was still very good.
And the protagonist is a cat. This is a point that bears repeating.
Technically, Echo is a Crat, not a cat, which basically means a cat that has the ability to understand and speak languages. But make no mistake: this is the first novel I’ve read where the protagonist was a cat, and it was everything I could have wished for in that respect. This was helped along by Moers’ illustrations, which were, as usual, superb. This image might be one of my favorite book illustrations ever.
In this book, Echo the Crat is starving on the streets, when the town’s resident tyrannical Alchemaster Ghoolion happens across him. As Ghoolion needs Crat fat for some of his sinister alchemical experiments, they strike a bargain. Echo, who was days from dying of starvation anyway, will get a month of full bellies and gastronomic delights such as he’d never dreamed up. And after a month of fattening him up, Ghoolion will kill him and render him down.
Since
I’ve previously described Moers’ The City of Dreaming Books as a love letter to reading, and books in general. The Alchemaster’s Apprentice is similar, but it’s a love letter to food and eating. It’s of course packed full of the Hithchhiker’s Guide-esque asides and stories of Zamonia that all of Moers’ books have. It’s not the best of the Zamonia books, and I wouldn’t really recommend it to someone who hasn’t read and loved some of the others, but it was still very good.
And the protagonist is a cat. This is a point that bears repeating.
April 23, 2023
Schade. Ich Habs jetzt immer wieder mit Walter Moers probiert aber es soll wohl einfach nicht sein... Fängt stark an aber lässt sehr schnell nach. Der Inhalt ganzer Kapitel hätte in Nebensätzen abgehandelt werden können. Viele Passagen bringen die Handlung nicht vorran und dienen scheinbar nur dazu die Seiten zu füllen. World building zu betreiben ist prinzipiell ne nette Sache aber wenn es den Plot behindert sollte es entweder in ein Beiwerk exportier oder gestrichen werden. Ich habe einige Seiten quer gelesen und nicht selten sogar ganz übersprungen. Es spricht gegen ein Buch wenn das beste daran die Illustrationen sind. Die sind wirklich schön. Der Rest hätte um gute 100 Seiten gekürzt werden können und es wäre dann trotzdem noch genug schwadroniert worden um sich häufig zu denken wann denn nun endlich was wichtiges passiert
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