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The Alchemy of Stone

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The Alchemy of Stone

By: Ekaterina Sedia
Narrated by: Eileen Stevens
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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.

©2008 Ekaterina Sedia (P)2010 Audible, Inc. Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction Steampunk Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

"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....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." ( Publishers Weekly)
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There are important themes and complex issues tackled by this audio book, but at the end, the moral of the story is not really clear. It is slow to get going and wraps up in a rush, leaving the reader wondering about many of the characters.

So, while it has the elements of a good story, and it gets merit for trying to avoid a formulaic path and cover complex issies, unfortunately, it doesn't quite pull it all off.

Merit for complexity

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