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    The Five Elements: The Alchemancer, #1
    Unavailable
    The Five Elements: The Alchemancer, #1
    Unavailable
    The Five Elements: The Alchemancer, #1
    Ebook450 pages7 hours

    The Five Elements: The Alchemancer, #1

    By Scott Marlowe

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Infernal engines consume the world and only a sorcerer's apprentice who knows nothing about magic can stop them. The Alchemancer series begins.

     

    Chaos erupts in the Barony of Fallmere when a surprise elemental attack destroys Norwynne Keep. Aaron Shepherd and Shanna Bonnerman survive, but Shanna is soon lost in the fallout of the keep's destruction while Aaron is forced to flee for his life.

     

    Unbeknownst to Aaron, Shanna becomes a captive of the enemy who destroyed their home. This enemy, a savant who claims to follow the path of science, speaks of ancient, infernal devices and a quest to reclaim the greatest of them all. Certain the savant means to kill her, Shanna is instead surprised when she finds herself embarking upon the adventure of a lifetime.

     

    Meanwhile, only the worst of nightmares awaits Aaron. Pursued by dwarven raiders, mad sorcerers, and a host of demons who will not stop until he is dead, the only thing keeping him alive is his own wits and an eslar mercenary whose reputation as a killer might make him the worst threat of all.

     

    Though Aaron and Shanna travel different paths, their purposes align when they each learn of a mysterious device known as the Fifth Element. Shanna sees it as the final piece of the puzzle that is her destiny. To Aaron's logical mind, it is an impossible ambiguity. Whatever the answer, the Fifth Element draws them back together and into a final confrontation where science and sorcery will collide.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUmberland Press
    Release dateDec 18, 2014
    ISBN9781498926775
    Unavailable
    The Five Elements: The Alchemancer, #1
    Author

    Scott Marlowe

    Scott Marlowe lives in Bentonville, Arkansas, the Mountain Biking Capital of the World, where he drinks extraordinary amounts of coffee, rides his mountain or gravel bike whenever the opportunity arises, and writes stories that often end in wondrous, explosive mayhem. Join his reader's group and receive The Hall of Riddles (An Alchemancer Prequel) and The Killing Knife (Tales of the Assassin Without a Name 1-3) as a thank you. The Hall of Riddles features Aaron and Shanna from The Alchemancer series and is exclusive to email subscribers only. The Killing Knife collects the first three Assassin Without a Name stories into a single volume. Both are great launching points into their respective series. Find out more at scottmarlowe.com.

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    Reviews for The Five Elements

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      I received this book through librarything.com.Scott Marlowe's "The Five Elements" is a bit of a mess. It is well written and edited, technically speaking, but when you stop to try to work out what is going on, and why, suddenly huge gaps in logic and flow appear. It is difficult to choose an example without providing a spoiler, but here is one that won't damage your reading.A minor character waits through a long search with many hardships until an important character has gained power from the Elements and then attempts murder, failing, of course, because of the Elemental strength. Since there is never a question that the murder would be required, why didn't the murder attempt come early when the character was sick, weak and trusting?One character's shift from manifestly good to manifestly evil is not grounded in the story. And the whole hell hound bit does not work.Also, why does everyone have the same name? Esler, Eslar, Elsanar, Engus, Ensel, Erlek. Shanna, Serena. Mirna, Nala, Nora. Too few consonants on Mr. Marlowe's keyboard?
    • 4/5
      I hate writing book reviews for books such as this. I just hate it. I do not feel, in any way, I can do the book justice. This is a wonderful little gem of a book.

      The Five Elements tells the story of two friends and the paths onto which they are forced and the choices they then make. Because of the ages of our protagonists, I am sure some would classify this as young adult. To me, it is a story about people who just happen to be young and, therefore, enjoyable by all. As I read, I certainly did not feel spoken down to and the literary quality is quite high. And, no angst.

      The writing style is very descriptive rather than dialog heavy and is written in an almost "Sliding Doors" manner. That is to say, when our two protagonists split, they take wildly different paths but eventually end up in the same place. The chapters rotate between characters and get longer as the tale progresses. I did find myself enjoying my stay with one character rather more than the other. Which actually surprised me.

      The magic system involved is unusual and, as can probably be guessed by the title, involves using the elements: fire, earth, air, and water. And, the fifth element. (You will have to read to discover.) I really liked this take on the magic system. I also liked that it did not only involve magic, but also science. I am a sucker for characters who are smart and use science.

      My only problem with this book was character names. (I really never would have guessed how much names make a difference in my ability to enjoy a story.) There were several characters/classes whose names start with 'E' and five letters long. And, another whose name started with an 'E' but was longer. Now, if these are familiar names, it would not be an issue for me but because they were beyond what is normal, I kept mixing them up and forgetting about whom we were speaking. It made things a tad bit confusing for me. It was at best, however, a minor irritant.

      Oh, and, there is no snark.
    • 4/5
      3.5 Stars! What the heck--I'll give it a 4.

      This is a fine YA novel for action-adventure-fantasy lovers everywhere. I am impressed that Mr. Marlowe is serious in his craft as he is improving with each novel. Well, I've only read one other, his first, but I intend, still, to commend Scott on his progress. (I hope he doesn't mind that I call him Scott--he is one of my GRFs, after all)

      I'm not going to write a synopsis. The one at Goodreads is excellent enough. Instead, I'll concur that the characters are varied (an eslar mercenary, sorcerers, dwarves, hell hounds, demons, etc), interesting, well-drawn, and the action is nearly non-stop. In addition, a world is built reminiscent of Lord of the Rings and The Terminator, combined, with lots of precision and details.

      Which brings me to the required mention of a nit: In more than one scene---I'd ignore it if it were only one scene---too many step-by-step descriptions were written without apparent purpose. Details such as a character putting one foot on the ground, then the other, etc etc can draw out tension, and I will read minutia with rapt attention for effect in a story, but for the life of me, I couldn't understand why I would care for a breakdown of every movement so often, for example, when a character was merely getting out of bed. In one case, the action should have been rapid-fire, but the read slowed due to step by step details that roll already in the average imagination. Of course, this is merely my average opinion and personal experience. Other opinions may vary.

      In sum, good job, Scott. Thanks for the memories of a skinny white man and his hell hounds.