The Alchemy of Stone

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More About This Book

Overview

Mattie, an intelligent automaton skilled in the use of alchemy, finds herself caught in the middle of a conflict between gargoyles, the Mechanics, and the Alchemists. With the old order quickly giving way to the new, Mattie discovers powerful and dangerous secrets - secrets that can completely alter the balance of power in the city of Ayona. This doesn't sit well with Loharri, the Mechanic who created Mattie and still has the key to her heart - literally.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Sedia's evocative third novel, a steampunk fable about the price of industrial development, follows Mattie, an emancipated automaton, as her home city is rent by conflict between alchemists and the mechanics whose clanking, steaming inventions are changing society. Though created by a leader of the mechanics, Mattie chose to join the alchemists, but her creator still holds the key that winds her up. When a terrorist bombing and an assassination touch off all-out war between the two factions, she discovers the ugly secrets and exploitation that keep the city supplied with food and coal. Sedia's exquisitely bleak vision deliberately skewers familiar ideas from know-it-all computers to talking statues desperate for souls, leaving readers to reach their own conclusions about the proper balance of tradition and progress and what it means to be alive. (Aug.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781607012153
  • Publisher: Prime Books LLC
  • Publication date: 11/25/2009
  • Pages: 304
  • Sales rank: 527,423
  • Product dimensions: 5.56 (w) x 8.60 (h) x 0.79 (d)
Customer Reviews
Average Rating 4
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  • Posted March 27, 2010

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    Characters FTW

    I passed this book in B&N one day and was captivated by the cover. I remember picking it up and looking over the back before putting it back and attributing my initial desire to read it right then and there as a passing impulse. A week later I still wanted to read it, but I couldn't remember either title or author so a friend and I spent twenty minutes pulling books off of the shelves to see their covers until I finally found it - not on the top of a row where I first saw it, but on the bottom shelf, where I would never have found it if I was not intentionally looking for it. I have no regrets about the purchase and I'm quietly cheering on the author for pulling off an ending that I love to hate. I don't know that I would call the book steampunk; yes there are elements of advanced technology, but it doesn't really fit to me as steampunk. If you're looking for a steampunk book specifically, a person might be disappointed.

    The Setting - is a slightly steampunk fantasy city. There is a long-lasting relationship with stone in their culture which is revered because of the gargoyles.

    The Characters - or more specifically Mattie, is what makes this book come alive. One of the reviews on the book says:

    A gorgeous meditation on what it means to not be human. - Justine Larbalestier

    And also what it means to be human. Mattie's plight as both an emancipated, created being and female are striking and powerful. It makes me think about what other discriminated persons feel like. Through the eyes of a non-human Sedia evaluates what it is to be considered not-human. Beyond Mattie, there are other characters. I liked how individualistic they all were. Sometimes characters muddle together in my head until I'm not quite sure who is who and I have to flip around to make sure, but I knew who everyone was.

    The Plot - to me felt like it took a back-seat to Mattie. Which, I don't necessarily think is a bad thing. At times it made for slow reading - which is probably why I've been carrying it around with me for a few days, leafing through a few chapters at a time. I'm not sure what the intent was when the story was written, but I found Mattie's own struggles far more interesting than the actual plot. Yes, I wanted the gargoyles to be set free. I wanted the Soul-Smoker to have some respite. There were things I wanted the plot to do or things I wanted to cheer on, but I was less interested in them, and more in Mattie.

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  • Posted May 24, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Covert symbolism in a charming fantasy

    Call it science fiction, steam punk, magical realism, fantasy or subversive feminist literature - whatever you call it, call The Alchemy of Stone good reading. The excellent and original quality of the story, the characters, the setting, the dialog would be enough to recommend this novel, but Ekaterina's deft handling of symbolism and fairy tale elements make it memorable, and a highly satisfying experience. This is a keeper.

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  • Posted April 27, 2009

    A novel of automated anarchy and clockwork lust.

    Sedia's books are fascinating. Last year I read The Secret History of Moscow and then stumbled across this book later in the year. I've only just now gotten around to reading it, but it's been quite the literary delight.

    Unlike most of the UF genre out there - Sedia's books are gentle. Not so much in their subject matter, but in the feel of them.

    Alchemy is the tale of an intelligent automaton named Mattie, who's caught up in a fight between numerous factions to control her town. On one side is her maker, on the other the mechanic Sebastian she's become fascinated with. Through it all, Mattie searches for a way to free the gargoyles, and we get neat 1st person snippets from them peppered into the tale. The tale culminates in a massive fight, betrayal, and Mattie's struggle to retrieve the one thing in the world that matters to her - the key to her clockwork heart.

    It's an achingly beautiful book.

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    Posted April 13, 2010

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    Posted September 16, 2011

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