We’re now just a month away from the release of The Alchemy of Chaos. Needless to say, I’m very excited.
But it’s a little strange this time around. Talking about The Alchemy of Chaos implicitly includes spoilers for The Thorn of Dentonhill. I sometimes feel like I should preface everything with, “Go read that, then come back and we’ll talk.”
I mean, yes, go read that. I highly recommend reading The Thorn of Dentonhill before reading The Alchemy of Chaos. Of course, Alchemy, is a complete story in and of itself, just as Thorn was. Both books will each give you a good, ripping adventure. You’re not going to feel like you’ve only read two-fifths of a story. But I deeply hope you’re going to read Alchemy and want more adventures in Maradaine. We’ll be talking about that in the near future.
So what is The Alchemy of Chaos all about?
The saga of the streets of Maradaine that began in The Thorn of Dentonhill continues….
Veranix Calbert is The Thorn—the street vigilante who became a legend to the people of Maradaine, especially the gangs that run the neighborhood of Aventil. The Thorn continues to harass Willem Fenmere, the drug kingpin of the Dentonhill neighborhood. Veranix is still determined to stop Fenmere and the effitte drug trade, especially when he discovers that Fenmere is planning on using the Red Rabbits gang to bring the drug into Aventil.
But it’s also Exam Week at the University of Maradaine, where Veranix is a magic student. With his academic career—and future as a mage—riding on his performance, Veranix needs to devote himself entirely to studying and participating in a fellow student’s thesis experiments. There’s no time to go after Fenmere or the Red Rabbits.
Then a series of strange pranks begin to plague the campus, using a form of magic that Veranix doesn’t recognize. As the pranks grow increasingly deadly, it becomes clear that there’s someone with a vendetta against the university, and The Thorn may be the only one capable of stopping them. Between the prankster, the war brewing between the Aventil gangs, and the flamboyant assassins Fenmere has hired to kill him, Veranix may end up dead before the week is out. Which just might be preferable to taking his exams….
Not convinced to go preorder at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Indiebound? Or at least head over to its Goodreads Page and it to your Want To Read list?
All right, then, how about an excerpt to whet your appetite?
The Alchemy of Chaos comes out on February 2nd, and if you’re in the Austin area (or close enough to drive), I’ll be at Bookpeople that night at 7pm for a reading and signing event.