The main characters seemed fine but none of them really developed into the interesting characters they promised to be in the early stages. While reading I had the feel that the story itself was fine, especially in the early stages, but that Roethle just never managed to make things click so that I got caught up in the story. I think the story had potential to be a lot of fun but was held back by the writing and pacing being a bit plodding. Which was a real pity as the premise was really awesome!Īrhyen is London's best thief but stumbles upon some trouble on his latest mission to steal the journal of a famous alchemist when he finds the alchemist himself dead on the floor with a knife in the back and his automaton 'daughter' claiming she has a soul of her own! Before Arhyen knows it he is caught up in a bit of a murder mystery conspiracy plot. This Victorian Era gaslamp UF was a bit of a disappointing flop. Will they uncover the true source of Liliana's soul in time, or will London plunge into a dark age of nefarious technology, where only the scientific will survive? Clockwork Alchemist is classified as Gaslamp Fantasy, with elements of magic within alchemy and science, based in Victorian England. Nor had he expected the alchemist's automaton daughter, who claims to have a soul.Suddenly entrenched in a mystery too great to fully comprehend, Arhyen and Liliana must rely on the help of a wayward detective, and a mysterious masked man, to piece together the clues laid before them. He hadn't expected to find Fairfax himself, with a dagger in his back. Steal a journal from Fairfax Breckinridge, the greatest alchemist of the time. Arhyen is the self-declared finest thief in London. Now he's lying dead in the next room, and there's nothing she can do to bring him back. If only she hadn't been locked up in her room, reading a book she wasn't allowed to read, she might have been able to stop her father's killer. Her father is dead, and London is very far away. The clock ticks for London.Liliana is trapped alone in the dark.

Clockwork Alchemist by Sara C. Roethle