Tracing the Shadow

December 3, 2007
Despite a rocky start, Ash's new series, set in the world of her Tears of Artamon trilogy (Lord of Snow and Shadows
, etc.), promises to grow into a compelling saga. When Alois Visant, Francia's head Inquisitor, accuses the entire College of Thaumaturgy of practicing magic, only two survive the purge: Linnaius, King Gobain's trusted “alchymist,” and his apprentice, Rieuk Mordiern. Rieuk joins a secret band of mages, only to find their leader, Arkhan, intends to turn him into a weapon to drive the Francians out of neighboring Ondhessar by stealing or discharging the four superpowerful aethyr crystals known as the Angelstones. Meanwhile, Linnaius takes the Vox Aethyria, a radiolike invention that uses magical crystals to transmit voices, to rival nation Tielen. With the multitude of characters now in place, Ash may be able to pull things together for the next installment, but the complex plot and political setting will leave some readers struggling.

February 15, 2008
After the Kingdom of Francia purged its mages, the official church believed itself rid of practitioners of magic. But when young Captain Ruaud de Lanvaux, a Guerriere or holy warrior, finds an orphaned girl-child and sees to her care, he is unaware that she is the daughter of a mage who died on the inquisitors' pyres and that a spirit bent on revenge accompanies her. The author of the "Tears of Artamon" trilogy ("Lord of Snow and Shadows") begins a new series set in a land of warring nations and conflicting beliefs, where religion and magic are at odds with each other, and the souls of men and women struggle to find their own truth. Ash's graceful prose and well-drawn characters make this fantasy adventure a good addition to most libraries.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2008
Book one of the Alchymists Legacy introduces myriad characters and plot lines that Ash skillfully weaves into an enticing tapestry of a world reminiscent of eighteenth-century Europe, full of political machinations and rich with music. When the Inquisition of Francia decides to eradicate magic by executing all alchemists, one magus and his apprentice, Rieuk Mordiern, escape. Rieuk joins a secret magi sect that makes him the host or symbiont of an Emissarya shadow-winged hawk whose image is cut into his flesh. Meanwhile, Klervie becomes a homeless street urchin, her only possession a book given her by her alchemist father, who was burned at the stake. The book, originallyconsisting of fairy tales, has changed itself into a Lives of the Saints but is actually quite different; it houses an ethereal being that can be seen as angel, saint, or fairy and who guides and guards Klervie. Rescued from the streets, Klervie is renamed Celestine and sent to a convent, where her job is to sing. This challenging, complex fantasy will appeal to readers of George R. R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire series and Lois McMaster Bujolds Chalion books; that is, to a tidy fantasy readership, indeed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)