A review by mehsi
The Alchemist War by Craig Phillips, John Seven
4.0
ARC received from Publisher on Netgalley.
First of all, thanks to the Publisher for letting me read this and review it. :)
First some things I didn't like.
1. The fact that I felt like I was kicked in a whirlpool at the beginning. It was utterly confusing, I had no clue what happened, who was who and where I was. Luckily, that is later solved, but it would be better if we got some explanations first or the situation that happens according to the blurb.
2. Switching characters is totally ok. I support it, as long as it is clearly defined where it switches. I missed that with this book. Sometimes we were reading from Dawk's perspective, then Hype's and then suddenly both of them. It was quite confusing, especially in the beginning when you aren't sure who was who.
3. I felt the long explanations were ok, but sometimes a bit overdone. I can imagine that explaining things is needed, but 3 or so pages about one topic is just overkill. It ruins the story.
Now to the things I loved:
1. TIME TRAVEL!!! I love books featuring time travelling, and all that happens during that time. I especially liked this book, since it also showed what happens when you mess up an event happening. Like the mouse, and the elephant.
2. The names, Hype and Dawk, but also the name Faraday, it is a nice nudge to the person who contributed to the fields of Electromagnetism and chemistry. It totally fits the book too.
3 Alchemy. I love reading about alchemy and the things you can make with it. :)
4. I really liked, that although the book was short, it ended on a good note, the story was wrapped up, everything that happened was solved/fixed. And the next mission is waiting for them.
5. Yes, I am a girl who loves her covers, and I must say, this one gets bonus points for a good cover. I like the colour and the characters on it.
In overall, I must say this book is great. Time travel, Alchemy wars, 2 kids on the loose. What more do you want in a kids book? I am sure kids will love this. Especially the ones who love science or science-fiction. It is a great imaginative story and I really loved it.
So I would say to everyone, if you have kids aged 11 to 15 years, and they love time travel, science, different worlds and don't mind some long explanations, give this book to your kids when it comes out. They willl love it.
And me? I will be hoping for more of this series. Hopefully it will span many books.
First of all, thanks to the Publisher for letting me read this and review it. :)
First some things I didn't like.
1. The fact that I felt like I was kicked in a whirlpool at the beginning. It was utterly confusing, I had no clue what happened, who was who and where I was. Luckily, that is later solved, but it would be better if we got some explanations first or the situation that happens according to the blurb.
2. Switching characters is totally ok. I support it, as long as it is clearly defined where it switches. I missed that with this book. Sometimes we were reading from Dawk's perspective, then Hype's and then suddenly both of them. It was quite confusing, especially in the beginning when you aren't sure who was who.
3. I felt the long explanations were ok, but sometimes a bit overdone. I can imagine that explaining things is needed, but 3 or so pages about one topic is just overkill. It ruins the story.
Now to the things I loved:
1. TIME TRAVEL!!! I love books featuring time travelling, and all that happens during that time. I especially liked this book, since it also showed what happens when you mess up an event happening. Like the mouse, and the elephant.
2. The names, Hype and Dawk, but also the name Faraday, it is a nice nudge to the person who contributed to the fields of Electromagnetism and chemistry. It totally fits the book too.
3 Alchemy. I love reading about alchemy and the things you can make with it. :)
4. I really liked, that although the book was short, it ended on a good note, the story was wrapped up, everything that happened was solved/fixed. And the next mission is waiting for them.
5. Yes, I am a girl who loves her covers, and I must say, this one gets bonus points for a good cover. I like the colour and the characters on it.
In overall, I must say this book is great. Time travel, Alchemy wars, 2 kids on the loose. What more do you want in a kids book? I am sure kids will love this. Especially the ones who love science or science-fiction. It is a great imaginative story and I really loved it.
So I would say to everyone, if you have kids aged 11 to 15 years, and they love time travel, science, different worlds and don't mind some long explanations, give this book to your kids when it comes out. They willl love it.
And me? I will be hoping for more of this series. Hopefully it will span many books.