Audiobook10 hours
The Alchemists of Loom
Written by Elise Kova
Narrated by Erin Moon and Tim Campbell
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
Ari lost everything she once loved when the Five Guilds' resistance fell to the Dragon King. Now, she uses her unparalleled gift for clockwork machinery in tandem with notoriously unscrupulous morals to contribute to a thriving underground organ market. There isn't a place on Loom that is secure from the engineer-turned-thief, and her magical talents are sold to the highest bidder as long as the job defies their Dragon oppressors.
Cvareh would do anything to see his sister usurp the Dragon King and sit on the throne. His family's house has endured the shame of being the lowest rung in the Dragons' society for far too long. The Alchemist Guild, down on Loom, may just hold the key to putting his kin in power, if Cvareh can get to them before the Dragon King's assassins.
When Ari stumbles upon a wounded Cvareh, she sees an opportunity to slaughter an enemy and make a profit off his corpse. But the Dragon sees an opportunity to navigate Loom with the best person to get him where he wants to go.
He offers her the one thing Ari can't refuse: a wish of her greatest desire, if she brings him to the Alchemists of Loom.
Cvareh would do anything to see his sister usurp the Dragon King and sit on the throne. His family's house has endured the shame of being the lowest rung in the Dragons' society for far too long. The Alchemist Guild, down on Loom, may just hold the key to putting his kin in power, if Cvareh can get to them before the Dragon King's assassins.
When Ari stumbles upon a wounded Cvareh, she sees an opportunity to slaughter an enemy and make a profit off his corpse. But the Dragon sees an opportunity to navigate Loom with the best person to get him where he wants to go.
He offers her the one thing Ari can't refuse: a wish of her greatest desire, if she brings him to the Alchemists of Loom.
More audiobooks from Elise Kova
Loom Saga: The Complete Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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The Alchemists of Loom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dragons of Nova Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rebels of Gold Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The Alchemists of Loom
Rating: 3.9055117771653545 out of 5 stars
4/5
127 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Great concept and characters but there's a hell of a lot going on.
I loved the premises of The Alchemist Of Loom and the beginning of the story is so intriguing. Elise Kova really sets the tone for this grimey, old town fantasy world where everyone has to look after themselves to survive. As a reader, you are thrown in from the start and really get emersed in where and what is happening in this world.
This could have been two books with a focus more on one aspect at a time as the story moved fast and a lot was happening. Trying to get used to all the new phrases and multiple different characters who had previous connections to the heroine before the story even started. It was a catch-up game while moving forward with the present storyline. It got to the point where I couldn't keep up with what was happening and completely lost where I was.
Maybe go into the book where you can solely focus your attention on reading to help keep up with what is happening. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Elise Kova (Air Awakens) kicks off her new Loom Saga with The Alchemists of Loom in January 2017. Alchemists is a high-fantasy tale of divided worlds and vengeance. Ari, a Chimera, works the black market as a dragon organ-harvester, among other things. After a heist, she stumbles upon Cvareh, a dragon, and quickly twists his situation to her advantage. Cvareh needs to get to the Alchemists and deliver a tool to help inspire a revolt and overthrow the oppressive dragon ruler. Ari sees an opportunity to use the dragon to get revenge. Armed with a slew of weapons and magic, Ari, Cvareh, and a number of sidekicks take off for the Alchemists.
The Alchemists of Loom is one of those funny series debuts; it’s flawed and unbalanced, but there is just something about it. Ari is the epitome of hot and cold, but incredibly magnetic. Cvareh seems helplessly weak, yet manages to keep pace with The White Wraith. Kova excels when writing the unique sexual tension between the two main characters and the world of Loom is fascinating, but readers should be prepared to be dropped in that world without any guidance. Ultimately the positive aspects of Loom outweigh the flaws; book two, The Dragons of Nova, is expected in April of 2017. Here’s hoping there’s a hearty helping of worldbuilding with better balance to carry on a very interesting series. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Keeps you hooked, with all you could love from a book
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another fine start to a fantasy trilogy. I particularly like the ebb and flow of attraction between Ari and Cvareh as the story moves on. I'm already waiting for the other two books to arrive at my library so I can sit on my deck and get completely lost in the remainder of the story.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A strange mix of familiar elements. Not much sense of the internal of each character is spite of the view point descriptions. Statements of motivation more than communicated feelings.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've heard so many great things about this author and the Air Awakens series so when I saw this one offered up on NetGalley I thought I would give it a shot. I unfortunately don't really have a lot to say to about this book. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. There wasn't really anything that blew me away. The pace, especially in the beginning, was extremely slow and that almost never bodes well for me. The characters and plot felt similar to other popular fantasy novels and yet different enough that it wasn't a huge problem. I really enjoy world building in fantasy novels and I felt that the world building in this novel left me hanging a bit. At this point I don't know if I will continue on with the series. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I have no idea why I didn’t like The Alchemists of Loom more. It has a lot of the elements I want out of a book… but for whatever reason, it just never landed.Once Loom was a free world, but then it was conquered by the Dragons in the world above, the cloud filled Nova. Ari knows that direct resistance to the Dragons’ rule is futile but she fights against them the ways she can: from the shadows and as a thief. Cvareh is a Dragon who’s stolen plans from the king and fled down to the realm below, hoping to get to the Alchemist’s Guild, the only group who could possibly help his family over throw the reigning house. He’s pursued by the king’s guards with orders to kill, and the only thing that saves him is running into Ari. They make a deal. She’ll help get him to the Alchemist’s Guild, and in return, he’ll give her a boon.First off, the world building. I love fantasy world building, and I’m always looking for well constructed, imaginative settings. In this regard, The Alchemists of Loom really should have been perfect for me. The story contains two different worlds (one on floating islands in the sky, another on the shadowy ground) that were both fairly well realized. I also liked that they’re undergoing an industrial revolution instead of being stuck in the medieval stasis of so many fantasy settings. It gives it a bit of a steampunk vibe, although I wouldn’t classify it as steampunk.However, I think I wanted to get more of a sense of the culture and society of the Loom. It took me a long while to figure out the functions of the five different guilds, and I would still liked to have seen more of how family structure and such worked. I feel like I never got a complete picture.Regarding the characters, I liked them okay but never felt super attached to them. Again, some of them fit into the categories of characters I usually like! Ari is competent, driven, and doesn’t have a trace of “Not Like Other Girls” about her. In fact, her most significant relationship is her mentorship/friendship with her apprentice Florence. Oh, and Ari’s bisexual, one of the things that initially drove me to read the book. I’m not sure how I feel about the tragically dead girlfriend in her backstory though. Since it’s not about a man, I wouldn’t call it fridging, but I’m still tired of tragically dead girlfriends as character motivation.For the first eighty percent of the book or so, the plot didn’t excite me much either. It’s mostly a pursuit story. Ari, Florence, and Cvareh are trying to get to the Alchemist’s Guild; the King’s guards are chasing them. Dangerous situations and fights ensue, and Ari and Cvareh reluctantly learn to trust each other. I have a feeling their relationship arc is heading towards the “enemies to lovers” trope. The good news is that towards the end of the book, there were some pretty good plot twists. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to make me change my mind about not reading the sequel.Again, I have no idea why I didn’t like this one more! It has elements I’m primed to enjoy, but it just never inspired me to keep reading.Originally posted at The Illustrated Page.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley. Kova has also written the Air Awakens series which I have on my shelf to read but have not read yet. This was a well done fantasy story set in a very creative world. I did had some trouble staying engaged in the story because the writing style didn't flow all that smoothly. The book starts out at a good fast pace and the initial character of Ari is intriguing. I loved this world of Dragons and the more human and shorter lived land dwellers. There are a lot of steampunk elements to the story and Kova did a great job of blending steampunk and fantasy elements together.I am having trouble putting my finger on exactly what it was...but I struggled a bit with the writing style. I really had to focus to read it and the words just didn’t flow all the smoothly off the page for me. This resulted in me being easily distracted while reading the story and never feeling like the book really sucked me in. Overall this was a solid steampunk fantasy. The world building is amazing and the characters are interesting. I struggling some with how the writing flowed and with staying engaged with the story. Given that, even though I enjoyed the world, I probably won’t read future books in this series.