Doctor Illuminatus : The Alchemist's Son Part I (Booth, Martin. Alchemist's Son, Pt. I.)

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable!
Review: Twins Pip and Tim have just moved with their parents to a house built in 1422 near the village of Brampton. Imagine their surprise when one night they meet Sebastian, also 12 years old, and the son of the man who built the house. Sebastian's father had been a powerful alchemist and Christian, fighting evil and training Sebastian to follow in his footsteps. When he died, Sebastian was charged with continuing the mission, and given a potion which would allow him to attain a state of suspended animation, rousing only when their old enemy was active. Pip and Tim join forces with Sebastion and try to defeat de Loudeac in his attempt to create an evil homunculus, an artificial being with no soul or morality. This highly readable book has well-drawn characters and a plot that moves right along. One of it's strengths is the way that Sebastian can relate modern scientific technology to alchemic principles he was taught. A warning, though - one scene is grisly and may upset younger readers. Though complete in itself, this first volume of a series leaves the reader anticipating more adventures with Sebastian, Pip, and Tim.

Rating:
Summary: "Here is Much Wickedness Which Must be Fought..."
Review: "Doctor Illuminatus" is the first of what promises to be three books, and I was quite undecided on whether to give it two stars or three. Finally I clicked three, but what it really deserves is two and a half stars, putting it exactly midpoint between good and just fair. Though it has an interesting premise and full of fascinating facts and ideas, it often falls short on several accounts.

Pip and Tim are two twins that have just moved into an old, mysterious house called Rawne Barton: your standard beginning for a fantasy story of this nature. Before long, the siblings have uncovered a strange boy hidden in the walls of the house named Sebastian who claims to be the son of a medieval alchemist. He has been in a drugged sleep for the last six centuries, and now awoken in order to battle his father's enemy de Loudeac. In league with the devil himself, de Loudeac plans to create a homunculus, a being made out of dead matter that will do his bidding. Sebastian tells the twins that even now de Loudeac is gathering the ingredients he needs from the countryside.

Whilst Sebastian goes about his own mysterious business, the twins do their best to continue their day to day chores, but inevitably they are caught between Sebastian and de Loudeac's struggle. Martin Booth's strength throughout the story is also his weakness, and that is that he incorporates a lot of real history and facts about alchemy into the work. These touches are excellent, as they brought a sense of resonance and `realness' to the story, but at the same time they will only be appealing for those that already have a basic understanding of some of these historical figures and alchemical principles.

I was halfway in the middle, enjoying and appreciating some of the touches that were not just put in the story for their own sake, but actually *used*, but at other times struggling to sort out the myriad of names and facts and figures that he gives us.
Despite this however, Booth wonderfully matches ancient alchemy with their counterparts in modern day.

The characters are also quite problematic: Sebastian is an interesting enigma that lights up the page, but the twins are less enjoyable. Tim spends most of the beginning of the book denying that all the weird and wonderful events around him aren't real - this is a waste of time considering 1. They obviously are happening, and 2. When a reader opens a fantasy book, they are already agreeing to the rules of normality being broken - the author doesn't need to over-explain or justify the supernatural. Second of all, Pip isn't actually a strong heroine. Looking at Booth's previous publications, which are mostly war and survival stories (with boys as the protagonists), I came to the conclusion that Booth simply doesn't know how to portray females. Throughout the story, she is mostly shown gardening, shopping and being attacked, whilst Tim does the most to push the story along. When the final conflict does come, the boys use her as a decoy (though to be fair, she does manage to knock an enemy on the head with a rock).

Some things are introduced only to be forgotten, such as the mysterious bottle at the school and a cameo appearance from the devil, but I assume these are devices will be continued in the second book. Despite all my complaints I was intrigued by the story, and I will track down the next installment "Soul Stealer." Eventually.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, quick read!
Review: I really enjoyed the start to this new series. I am an adult and I did not feel like I was reading a children's book. In fact I learned a lot of information, like what a ha-ha is (it's not a laugh by the way :) Pip, Tim and Sebastian are bright kids (even though technically Sebastian is not a kid). My only complaint is that is was too short for me. While for a children's book it might be a good length, as an adult reading it, I have come to expect longer because of the Harry Potter series and books like Eragon. I highly recommend this book for people of all ages, especially if you like fantasy and magic!

Rating:
Summary: An interesting, but flawed book
Review: I think I must agree with the last reviewer that I would like to have been able to give this book 2.5 stars, halfway between good and bad. So I guess I'll have to settle for giving it two and then letting it all even out in the tally.

The book is well-written and the premise intriguing, which is why I picked it up in the first place. I was very interested in the information about Alchemy (which the author claims is authentic, thus highlighting the interest factor) and the title character, who was mysterious enough to draw me in but not so mysterious as to make me angry about held back information.

The other two main characters, Pip and Tim, are also interesting, but not very stand-out. They show up, they do what they are supposed to, they will continue on to the next book.

What I found most annoying about this book is all of the pop culture references. I know this story is for a teen audience, but did the author have to try so hard to prove that he is up with the lingo, hip, and knowledgeable about what kids do in their spare time? Do we need to know that Tim is obsessed with MTV and the cartoon network? Absolutely necessary that they have Pepsi in the house instead of just cola or soda? And et cetera. I felt like maybe there was product placement money coming in.

Though this book is supposed to be for the 8 - 12 year old crowd, I wondered at some points if it was really appropriate for that age. Then agin, these kids may be reading worse in terms of scariness or gore in those Goosebumps books. But I must warn you (SPOILER!) that there are severed limbs, suggestions and discussions of brutal murders of people and animals, and an appearance by the Devil. So there ya go. When this books says it deals with the dark side of Alchemy, it is not kidding.

Overall, I felt very meh about this book. It didn't wow me, but it wasn't horrible. A few things here and there didn't do it for me, but the book isn't horrible. I will be interested in seeing what happens in the next two.

Rating:
Summary: Semi-qualified "Doctor"
Review: Martin Booth tries for a more sophisticated magical journey than Harry Potter, in "Doctor Illuminatus: The Alchemist's Son Part I." Taking a pretty typical fantasy good vs. evil story, Booth weaves in history and alchemy, but his handling of the plot is rather clumsy.

Pip and her know-it-all twin Tim have just moved into a rambling English country estate, far from the pop-culture world they formerly had. Then scrabbling noises inside the wall are revealed to be something else entirely -- a boy called Sebastian emerges, claiming to be the son of the man who built the house. He's also the son of an alchemist, and he's hibernated for centuries.

Sebastian reveals that he is not the only alchemist who has hibernated to the modern day -- an evil enemy named de Loudeac has also survived to the present day. Now de Loudeac is stalking the kids, and is building a homunculus -- a soulless automaton that will do whatever he wants. It's up to Pip, Tim and Sebastian to stop him.

If anyone thought that the latest Harry Potter novels were oh-so-dark, then they will be scared witless by this dark fantasy. Booth takes a step into nastier territory, with severed limbs, undead hippies, and a cameo by Satan. And he takes some history (medieval and alchemical) to base the entire plot on.

But Booth does have a slightly clumsy way of writing fantasy. Sebastian launches into long lectures every chapter or so, and Booth doesn't manage to make them interesting. And the homunculus is built up as a big threat, then gets toasted within a page of appearing. However, he has a pretty solid writing style, with plenty of details and creepiness.

Pip and Tim are fairly good heroes -- a little passive for my taste, but their gradual adjustment to a world of alchemists and magic is well done. Pip in particular is a good lead character, with plenty of promise. Sebastian is not so likable. He's a rather annoying know-it-all, and he never once acts like a twelve-year-old.

Martin Booth's "Doctor Illuminatus: The Alchemist's Son Part I" has some deep flaws, but it also has quite a bit of promise for Booth's future alchemy books. Worth checking out, for patient readers of dark books.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Start to A Complex New Series
Review: Teen siblings, Tim and Pip, aren't exactly looking forward to moving to an old English country estate with their parents, and the strange knocking coming from within the walls of the home isn't a very welcoming sign, at least not in their opinion. But when the two of them find a mysterious boy named Sebastian, who claims to be not only the son of a medieval alchemist, but to have been sleeping for nearly six hundred years, the two sibs don't know what to think. Sebastian informs them that his Father's arch nemesis, known as de Loudeac, has also awoken, and that he plans on using the secrets of alchemy to create an artificial human, known as a homunculous, from dead matter that only he will be able to control. Before they have even unpacked their belongings, Tim and Pip find themselves mixed up in a bizarre web of magic, filled with intrigue and horror, as they join Sebastian in his attempt to stop de Loudeac's crazy plan.

Martin Booth has created an intricately woven, well-crafted novel filled with fast-paced adventure, intrigue, horror, and more. Tim and Pip are exciting characters, wise beyond their years, who will quickly capture the hearts, and the attention, of readers both young and old; while Sebastian, and the crazy schemes thought up by de Loudeac, will keep readers on the edge of their seats from the opening page to the last, dying to find out what will happen next in this exciting thriller. Science fiction and fantasy fans will enjoy the magic created within the pages of DOCTOR ILLUMINATUS: THE ALCHEMIST'S SON, while mystery and thriller fans will find the fast-paced action right up their alley. Overall this was an amazing novel that will be loved by reader's the world over.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper