Book Review: The Alchemy of Stone

Author: Ekaterina Sedia

The Alchemy of Stone is Ekaterina Sedia’s third novel and has received some very high marks, including a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Personally, the cover art is what really drew my attention to this book in the first place. In fact, the novel has been reissued with new cover art and I almost picked it up again at the bookstore. Unfortunately, it is rare that the art actually lives up to the story inside the novel itself.

Summary

The Alchemy of Stone takes in a fictional steam punk type of city which is run by two factions, the Mechanics and the Alchemists. Ruling over the two parties is a Duke. While the Mechanics and the Alchemists can be voted into and out of office, the Duke’s rule remains constant. At the beginning of the novel the Mechanics have swept into power and plan to make significant changes within the city itself. Ms. Sedia’s world that she created is uniquely fascinating but very little of it was explored. The reader has very little to exposure to the politics between the Mechanics and the Alchemists, which is the cause of all the major events that place in this novel.

Review

The title, The Alchemy of Stone, refers to a mission given to the main character, Mattie, by the gargoyles. The gargoyles are the keepers and builders of the city but they are dying off. They ask Mattie to find a way to prevent them from turning into stone. Mattie’s exploration into this subject leads her several into several interesting side characters which include, the Soul-Smoker, Sebastian and Niobe. My favorite of these was the Soul-Smoker, whose responsibly was to suck the souls of the dead into himself. The side effect is that he had hundreds of people living inside of him and they all want to talk to him.

I instantly fell in love with Mattie. I really have a thing robot type of characters in novels and movies. I am not sure why that is but I have been fascinated by robots since I was kid. Mattie is actually an intelligent automaton who was built by a genius mechanic known as Loharri. Mattie started out as a simple automaton whose only responsibility was to clean and cook. Eventually Mattie moves beyond these household chores and takes up learning a trade, alchemy. Loharri agrees to allow Mattie to have some freedom which includes her moving into her own apartment. But Loharri still maintains control over Mattie by keeping her key. Mattie must be wound every now and then or she will just stop working.

The relationship between Loharri and Mattie is the major theme running through the book. Mattie is constantly looking for ways to gain access to the key so that she can live independently. Loharri doesn’t want to give up his control over Mattie or she will stop visiting him as he had been cruel to her in the past. The dynamic between the two is far from a healthy relationship, akin to a mentally abusive spouse attempting to separate herself from her husband.

The other theme running through the novel is class prejudice. The Mechanics and the Alchemists would be considered the upper class with the common people considered the lower classes. The Mechanics think that they understand what is best for society and that the commoners must be pushed into doing their bidding. This way of governing does not go over all that well and eventually sparks a revolution. Of the plot threads this is the most interesting but the least explored.

In addition, Mattie is treated like a pet throughout the novel but I think this less effective analogy because the automatons are not intelligent and regulated to menially jobs. Once people come to know her, they change their attitudes but this does not correlate with other automatons.

The biggest issue had with this novel was the second act. The story started off and ended strong but the middle act just meandered all over the place. I was hoping that Ms. Sedia would explore the intriguing world that she crafted. Instead the focus remains solely on Mattie instead of turbulent events going on around her.

Final Word

The Alchemy of Stone is a thought provoking story that is not afraid to deal with some very tough issues. But I wish the author would have spent some more time building upon and developing the themes and the world she has so lovingly created. 

                                                           My Rating