The Alchemy Thief on July 16 2021 Source: Review copy
Genres: Pirates, Time Travel
Pages: 474
Find the Author: Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon
Format: Ebook Arc
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When the secrets of the past threaten to destroy the future.
A tale of hope, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of a woman, this sweeping epic spans the Atlantic from New England to Morocco during the Age of Exploration.
2019: A young woman finds a relic engraved with a mysterious symbol off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. Terrorists in Morocco steal a 17th-century book engraved with the same symbol. As the woman struggles to unravel the secrets behind the symbol, her life changes in ways she could never have imagined.
1657: Transported back in time, she meets the alchemist, John Winthrop, Jr. who is plotting to lure the greatest scientific minds to the New World. But the more she learns, the more she fears for the lives of the loved ones she left behind.
In a stunning twist of fate, a modern terrorist has traveled into the past, where he has become a Barbary Corsair. He has plans of his own. And he will stop at nothing to succeed.
Review
The Alchemy Thief started slow. Usually, I’m not too fond of it when books start slow. But, in this instance, Peri and Ayoub’s backstories needed it. Ayoub is an Islamic terrorist kid who helps his mother steal a book, and his mother loses her life as a result and Ayoub is adrift trying to fulfill the mission he has been tasked with. Along the way, he becomes mixed in with a group of pirates. Peri is a student at Harvard trying to make her way in life and finds an ancient palladium bodkin and, while attending her intern job as a puritan, is whisked away in a ball of lightning to the year 1657. How these two characters’ lives get tangled up over a book and bodkin is a gripping tale indeed. Two bodkins are in play as Ayoub found one in the back of the book before he was tossed into the ocean. Both characters are interested in the book, one to foil a jihadist plot and bring Ak-47s into the 17 century. The author makes the story as she has done her research to make the past and present work in a way that keeps you wanting to read to see what will happen next. You are immersed in the life that Peri experiences with a hunky Daniel Native American by her side. How will peri make it back to the present? You don’t get that answer in this book, but I stayed tuned for book two.
About R. A. Denny
R.A. Denny started writing epic novels when, after watching the first Hobbit movie, she told her sons about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien’s writer’s group called the Inklings. These two famous friends had encouraged each other to create their great novels. One of her sons said, “We could do that.” R.A. laughed. Her son turned it into a challenge. Her unexpected journey had begun.
For several years, she continued her day job as a criminal prosecutor and escaped by night to the world of her Tzoladian Empire. Then, she decided to just do what she loved. With encouragement from her own “Inklings,” she completed writing her five-book epic fantasy series: Tales of Tzoladia.
Next, she turned to historical fiction. As a child, R.A. had helped her parents to research genealogy. One line of a desperate father intrigued her. He believed his son, who was lost at sea, had not drowned but had been captured by “Algerines.” Her quest to solve the mystery took her all the way to Morocco and resulted in her Pirates and Puritans historical fiction/time travel series.
R.A. received her law degree from Duke University. Indoors, she enjoys history, tabletop games, and painting. Outdoors, she enjoys riding horses, swimming, and kayaking. Wherever she is, she loves a challenge.
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| Overall: | 4 |
