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Neo-opsis Review
The
Alchemist’s Apprentice
Dave Duncan
Ace Books
Tempted though I was to
start this review by anointing The Alchemist’s Apprentice my favourite
fantasy novel yet, I don’t think I can actually do that.
For one thing, there are about 35 other Duncan fantasy
novels with claim to that title. Duncan keeps getting better and better, yet I
still have a soft spot for many of his classic fantasies, so it is difficult to
definitively argue that The Alchemist’s Apprentice is his best fantasy
novel ever.
For another, I’m not convinced this is a fantasy
novel, though it is clearly being marketed as such and will undoubtedly be
enjoyed by Duncan’s regular fantasy readership. But swashbuckling action aside,
this is really an historical mystery, a who-done-it
set in the Medici’s Florence. True, there is one brief scene in which our hero
consults a demon, but even here the description of the necromancy is entirely
consistent with contemporary Renaissance accounts (such as that in Benvenuto Cellini’s autobiography) so feels more like
‘historical depiction’ than ‘fantasy’.
And then there is the whole Nostradamus angle. Frankly, if
this had been by anyone else, I don’t think I could have gotten past the back
cover blurb. A novel about Nostradamus working to solve a
murder in which he himself is implicated? New Age nonsense meets National
Inquiry headlines? But fortunately, Duncan’s wry humour prevails and the
book isn’t really about that Nostradamus – not Michel Nostradamus — but
his great nephew Felippo. Duncan is thus free to
characterize Nostradamus as a cranky, manipulative old fraud without having to
worry about offending against true believers or historical accuracy. And it is
kind of fun to speculate how Nostradamus would have fared as a detective
navigating through the convoluted political and commercial conspiracies of
Medici Florence.
The story unfolds, however, as a first person narrative by
Nostradamus’ dashing apprentice, Alfeo Zeno. Zeno is
no mere chronicler of his Maestro’s genius, but a fast-talking, quick-witted,
lovable young rogue in his own right. Zeno deftly avoids the machinations of
various spies, commercial agents, and the Medici’s police, while advancing his
own affair with the most desirable courtesan in the city. In the best
who-done-it tradition, everyone is a suspect, and Zeno has to weave his way
through contradictory evidence, red herrings, and sudden insights to collect
the evidence his Maestro has asked for, never quite knowing what the Maestro is
after. I confess that Duncan also kept me guessing until the last, and
kept me frantically turning pages long after I should have been abed. (I
strongly advise setting the book aside until one has
sufficient time to read it in one go, because once begun, it is impossible
to put down.)
Filled with Machiavellian plotting, heart-stopping action,
and convincing historical detail that makes Medici’s Florence come alive, Alchemist’s
Apprentice is Duncan at his rollicking best.
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Review by Robert Runté. Originally
in Neo-opsis
issue 10. Ethical
disclosure: Reviewer Robert Runte, and Neo-opsis owners Karl and Stephanie Johanson
were friends with Dave Duncan. |
Dave Duncan at Vcon 2006
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Dave Duncan died on October 29, 2018. Dr. Robert Runte made a presentation at Dave’s memorial, on February 2,
2019. Also on the video is an excerpt of an interview Karl Johanson
did with Dave Duncan in 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VMnVm_Z9X4
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