The Alchemaster's Apprentice - Softcover

Moers, Walter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099526328 ISBN 13: 9780099526322

Publisher: Vintage, 2010

Synopsis

Malaisea, the unhealthiest town in the whole of Zamonia, is home to Echo the Crat, a multi-talented creature resembling a cat in appearance but capable of speaking any language under the sun, human or animal. When his mistress dies, Echo finds himself out on the street. Dying of starvation, he is compelled to sign a contract with Ghoolion the Alchemaster, Malaisea's evil alchemist-in-chief.

This fateful document gives Ghoolion the right to kill Echo at the next full moon and render him down for his fat, with which he hopes to brew an alchemical concoction that will make him immortal. In return, he promises to regale the little Crat with the most exquisite gastronomic delicacies until his time is up. But Ghoolion has reckoned without Echo's talent for survival and his ability to make new friends. These include the Leathermice, the Cogitating Eggs, the Golden Squirrel, the Cooked Ghost, Theodore T. Theodore the one-eyed Tuwituwu, and, above all, Izanuela Anazazi, the last Uggly in Malaisea.

Walter Moers's magnificent translation of Optimus Yarnspinner's novel introduces us to yet another of Zamonia's hotbeds of adventure: Malaisea, a place where sick is healthy, up is down, right is wrong, and Ghoolion the Alchemaster reigns supreme - until Echo crosses his path.

About this title

About the Author

Walter Moers is the author of The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, Rumo, A Wild Ride Through the Night, The City of Dreaming Books, and The Alchemaster's Apprentice, all published by Overlook.

Review

Praise for Walter Moers

"Incredible level of imagination, stunning artwork, twisted, wild, brutally humorous Moers as a storyteller is a true original, a one-off whose sensibility and talent cannot be duplicated. Absolutely magnificent."
-Jeff VanderMeer for Omnivoracious

"Equal parts J.K. Rowling, Douglas Adams, and Shel Silverstein."
-Washington Post

"This is a children's book for adults who want to remember the joy of youth, but want more complexity."
-Philadelphia Weekly

"Cheerfully insane. Remains lively and inventive right through the final heroic battle between good and evil."
-The New York Times Book Review

"Moers's great strength, as evidenced by the multitude of characters he presents, is his creativity. Less a text and more an imagination on paper."
-Philadelphia Enquirer

"A yarn of drollery, deeper meaning and sheer lunacy."
-Rolling Stone

Edition details

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0099526328
• ISBN 13: 9780099526322
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384