A brief history of alchemy - part four and the last

Three musketeers of alchemy (and one shadowy D’Artagnan)


 I have been busy lately so the last part of my alchemy series, describing in more detail the life and deeds of Nicolas Flamel, dr John Dee, his partner, Edward Kelly and sir Isaac Newton is a bit late – sorry for that. Still better late than never. Why I focused on those three (ok, four, but in the true tradition of the Dumas novel let’s assume there are three of them) ? Because they are very well-known, even today. Not all of them gained the fame of  brilliant alchemists but still each of these names usually rings a bell. Why? I hope my article will allow you to find an answer.

A house owned by
Nicolas Flamel in Paris, now
one of the oldest
restaurants.

 Let’s start with the oldest of these three, the Frenchman Nicolas Flamel. His name was popularized by the Harry Potter novels and other literary work (e.g. Alchemyst by Michael Scott) as well. Little is known about his childhood or private life. He lived in the fourteenth and fifteenth century (officially born September 28,1330, probably at Pontoise, and died in 1418 in Paris) and was a successful French scrivener (so a manuscript copyist and seller). 

His reputation as an alchemist is most likely a later addition. Allegedly he had learned his art while traveling as a pilgrim from a Jewish converso (so a Spanish or Portuguese Jew who officially had conversed to Christianity) on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Nobody knows when he married Perenelle, a widow older than himself and the possessor of a little property. He and his wife were Roman Catholics and later in life they were noted for their wealth and philanthropy. Nobody was sure where that wealth came from. Allegedly Perenelle died first. In 1410 Flamel designed his own tombstone which was carved with arcane alchemical signs and symbols. Some claim that he coded a message there, saying that he,  in fact, kept living because he found the Philosopher’s Stone. The tombstone is preserved and can be viewed at the Musee de Cluny in Paris. Flamel also arranged a religious service to be held for him twelve times a year after his death. Just a pious wish of an elderly man or something more?

The tombstone of Flamel

After the death of Flamel people took an uncommon interest in his property. According to one author, Albert Poisson, towards the middle of the sixteenth century a man who had a well-known name and good credentials, presented himself before the parish board of Saint-Jacques la Boucherie. He said he wished to carry out the vow of a dead friend, a pious alchemist, who, on his deathbed, had given him a sum of money with which to repair Flamel's house. The board accepted the offer. The unknown man had the cellars ransacked under the pretext of strengthening the foundations; wherever he saw a hieroglyph he found some reason for knocking down the wall at that point. Having found nothing, he disappeared, forgetting to pay the workmen. Not long afterwards, a Capuchin friar and a German baron are said to have discovered in the house some stone vials full of a reddish powder -- allegedly the projection powder. By the seventeenth century, the various houses which had belonged to Flamel were despoiled of their ornaments and decorations, and there was nothing of them left but the four bare walls. Apparently some people believed in Flamel’s immortality and wanted to find a way to achieve the same. Or maybe they were looking for his gold?

Nicolas Flamel had bequeathed his papers and library to a nephew named Perrier, who was interested in alchemy and of whom he was very fond. Absolutely nothing is known of Perrier. He no doubt benefited by his uncle's teachings and spent a sage's life in the munificent obscurity that Flamel prized so dearly, but had not been able altogether to maintain during the last years of his life. For two centuries the precious heritage was handed down from father to son, without anything being heard of it. Traces of it are found again in the reign of Louis XIII. A descendant of Flamel, named Dubois, who must still have possessed a supply of the projection powder, threw off the wise reserve of his ancestor and used the powder to dazzle his contemporaries. In the presence of the King, he changed leaden balls with it into gold. As a result of this experiment, it is known he had many interviews with Cardinal de Richelieu, who wished to extract his secret. Dubois, who possessed the powder but was unable to understand either Flamel's manuscripts or the book of Abraham the Jew Flamel had allegedly procured and read, could tell him nothing. He was soon imprisoned at Vincennes. It was found that he had committed certain offences in the past, and this enabled Richelieu to get him condemned to death and confiscate his property for his own benefit. At the same time the proctor of the Chitelet, no doubt by order of Richelieu, seized the houses that Flamel had owned and had them searched from top to bottom. About this time, at the church of Saint-Jacques la Boucherie, robbers made their way in during the night, lifted Flamel's tombstone and broke open his coffin. It was after this incident that the rumor spread that the coffin had been found empty, and that it had never contained the body of Flamel, who was supposed to be still alive.

Other strange stories started to circulate around. Louis XIV sent an archeologist named Paul Lucas on a mission to the East. He was to study antiquities and bring back any inscriptions or documents that could help forward the modest scientific efforts then being made in France. At Broussa Paul Lucas made the acquaintance of a kind of philosopher, who wore Turkish clothes, spoke almost every known language and, in outward appearance, belonged to the type of man of whom it is said that they " have no age." Thanks to his own cultured presence, Lucas came to know him fairly well, and this is what he learned. This philosopher was a member of a group of seven philosophers, who belonged to no particular country and traveled all over the world, having no other aim than the search for wisdom and their own development. Every twenty years they met at a pre-determined place, which happened that year to be Broussa. According to him, human life ought to have an infinitely longer duration than we admit; the average length should be a thousand years. A man could live a thousand years if he had knowledge of the Philosopher's Stone, which, besides being knowledge of the transmutation of metals, was also knowledge of the Elixir of life. The sages possessed it and kept it for themselves. In the West, there were only a few such sages. Nicolas Flamel had been one of them. Paul Lucas was astonished that a Turk, whom he had met by chance at Broussa, should be familiar with the story of Flamel. He was still more astonished when the Turk told him how the book of Abraham the Jew had come into Flamel's possession, for hitherto no one had known this.


“Abraham the Jew was a member of our group," the man told him. "He had determined not to lose sight of the descendants of his brothers who had taken refuge in France. He had a desire to see them, and in spite of all we could do to dissuade him he went to Paris. He made the acquaintance there of a rabbi who was seeking the Philosopher's Stone, and our friend became intimate with the rabbi and was able to explain much to him. But before he left the country the rabbi, by an act of treachery, killed our brother to get possession of his book and papers. The rabbi was arrested, convicted of this and other crimes and burned alive. The persecution of the Jews in France began not long afterwards, and they were expelled from the country. The book of Abraham was sold to Flamel by a Jewish man who did not know its value and was anxious to get rid of it before leaving Paris. Having discovered the Philosopher's Stone, Flamel was able to remain alive in the physical form he possessed at the time of his discovery. Pernelle's and his own funerals and the minute care he bestowed on the arrangements for them had been nothing but clever sham.”

If you find the life and legend of Nicolas Flamel too murky and fuzzy – rejoice. Far more concrete information we have about the life and achievements of John Dee, the Englishman. He was born in 1527 in the village of Mortlake which is situated by the Thames outside London. At the tender age of fifteen he entered the esteemed St John’s College Cambridge to start his academic life. Although just a young boy, he had a quick mind and worked hard. As a result in 1546 he was appointed Under Reader of Greek at Trinity College. Then Dee was honoured by being made a Fellow of Trinity and went on to graduate as a Bachelor of Arts.

John Dee

When still at Cambridge University, the serious charge of black sorcery was brought against him. Dee had created a mechanical flying beetle, for the stage production of Aristophane’s; "Pax"; apparently it was so realistic that some people thought it the work of the devil. Fortunately he managed to prove them wrong. Science and Magic were bed fellows back in Elizabethan times, the renaissance men tended to study both, black magic was a taboo subject, so one had to be careful not to over step the mark. Natural magic was okay. the churches view was Natural magic was a force where God worked through the medium of the hidden spirit world, and therefore a force for good. (however do not confuse the term natural, with modern day nature based religions, and shamanism. The term natural magic, was more akin to modern spiritualism).


One year later found John Dee at the University of Louvain in Belgium. He quickly made friends with the map maker, "Gerardus Mercator". On his return back to Cambridge he had managed to smuggle back new astronomical instruments and two of Mercator’s globes of the world. These items at the time were of great help to English science of navigation which had slipped into second place, next to some of its foreign neighbour’s; "Those who ruled the sea, ruled the world" Empire building was the name of the game then. This was John Dee’s first taste of industrial espionage.


John Dee like many of his contemporaries was fascinated by the subject called, natural magic, and whilst on the continent again, making a good living teaching mathematics, Dee had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of no other then Cornlius Agrippa a celebrated magician of the time, together they investigated the mystery’s of natural magic and the way telepathy worked between the spirit world, and the world of man.
During this time Dee had built up a reputation for himself as an astrologer, so much so, that his talents attracted the interest of the Royal court of Queen Mary. As a result John Dee was played to cast horoscopes for the Queen and her prospective husband king Philip of Spain.


John Dee’s cousin, Blanche Parry  was Maid of Honour to the young princess Elizabeth. Through his cousin Dee perilously formed a link with Elizabeth, and drew her Horoscope as well. Because of his involvement with Elizabeth, John Dee was accused of trying to murder Queen Mary by the heinous crime of black magic; luckily for Dee the only evidence his accusers could put forwards was Mary’s horoscope that he had shown to Mary’s sister Elizabeth. Although being acquitted of the charge he remained in prison until his release in 1555. It was his second brush with death because of unfounded accusations of sorcery.


Elizabeth was crowned Queen in 1558. After the death of her sister, not forgetting her old acquaintance, Elizabeth summoned John Dee to court, where their friendly relationship blossomed. However Elizabeth kept John Dee in the wings, clearly not wishing to be seen by the court openly to having a liaison with a suspected sorcerer. Later Dee was introduced by the Queen to Sir Francis Walsingham, who was the head of Elizabeth’s secret service. After this meeting Dee would often travel to the continent on the Queens business, or more often or not on some errand for the spy master Walsingham. Did John Dee gather secret information for the crown, using his magic for a cover for espionage, no one knows for sure, but it would have been easy for such a gifted mathematician to hide a cipher inside his complex magical symbolism.

John Dee was married twice.His first marriage seems to be a kind of a sham, though. There was no record of it in Dee’s diary, not even the woman’s name. She allegedly died in 1575 just one year after the wedding. The strange thing was, on the day of her death Queen Elizabeth along with her entourage visited Dee’s house. The Queen wished to see her astrologer’s magic glass, that was the talk of the court. Dee wrote in his diary; "The Queen and her courtiers laughed heartily" as John Dee’s, magic glass was more then likely to have been a concave mirror, but there was no word about the Queen being upset about such a tragic event as the death of her host during her visit. Why?

Edward Kelley

In the years that followed Dee married for the second time to Jane Fromond, a lady in waiting at Elizabeth’s court. Here he met Edward Kelly. Kelly seems to have been an adventurer of sorts – he lost his ears at Lancaster on an accusation of producing forged title deeds. He allegedly had clairvoyant visions and Dee, being unable to contact the supernatural world, decided to cooperate with him, despite the fact that most probably he knew much about Edward Kelley’s past. Maybe he  thought; "I know this man is a bit of a rogue, but he has been through the mill, so to speak". John Dee did however insist that Kelley concentrate on contact with angels and good spirits only, and never to try and make contact with devils, and the like. Once burnt, twice shy.


A relationship that resulted in the creation of a whole new magical system, called today Enochian Magic, was started. Edward Kelley would sit down in front of the crystal and describe what he saw and heard, John Dee would sit nearby and record all the information, sometimes asking questions which Kelley would put to the spirits in the glass. Alegedly the angels went on to instruct them to make large magical charts and through the medium of the mirror or crystal stone, they would place certain strange letters, into column’s or magical graphs. (Dr John Dee diaries and manuscripts are housed in the Sloane and Harleian collection, in the British Museum where you can see them if you are lucky) One spirit in particular came to dominate the scrying, appearing time and time again, she called herself, Madimi. Dee recorded in his diaries that Madimi; "Was a spiritual creature, like a pretty girl of seven or nine years of age, half angel, half elfin". The spirits started to teach Dee and Kelley their own Angelic language which they called Enochian, moreover they taught them certain calls and invocation’s in Enochian, to be used at the start of a scrying session to open the way to higher levels, Madimi was always there to help popping in and out, (Dee must have been fond of her because named his own daughter after her).


In 1583 Count Adalbert Laski of Poland visited Elizabeth’s court, were he was warmly received; the Queen asked John Dee if he could entertain The Count and show him their experiments, she would pay his expenses. Laski was so impressed that he persuaded Dee and Kelley with their families to return to Poland with him, and carry on their experiments there. John Dee and Edward Kelley caused a great deal of interest in and around the continent with story’s of their Angelic conversations and the future prospect of Kelley’s break through in manufacturing lead into gold. Consequently, they had celebrity status and were guests at the dinners tables of the rich and famous monarchs in other countries. With the invitation to the palace of the King of Czech, things looked rosy for our two hero’s, until May 6^th 1586 when a Papal nuncio was given to Emperor Rudolph the second, the document accused John Dee and Edward Kelley of sorcery. Sadly the Emperor had no choice but to expel them from Prague.


Luckily they found a new patron in one Count Wilhelm Rosenberg, who invited them all to come and live in his palace in Trebon. It was about this time when things took an extraordinary turn. Supposedly the little Madimi appeared in the magic glass and after the usual questions and conversation, the spirit said: "Hear what I say God is the unity of all things" then she instructed Dee and Kelley to share all things including their wives. Dee refused at once to follow Madimi instructions, rebuking her for using such unmeet words. When Jane Dee heard of the proposal she flew into a temper. Dee reassured her saying he would have nothing to do with it but the seed of the idea had been firmly planted in all their minds. I wonder why. Did the apparent sexual release of suppressed frustrations of the two couples, which must have been present in the pressure cooker environment they found themselves in for seven years, destroyed the cooperation? Or maybe that event made Dee see his partner in a new light? The result of their wife swapping is not recorded, we even are not sure it happened at all (but Dee wrote about it in his diary so perhaps it did happen) but shortly after that, the angelic messages dried up. It was the end of an era - soon afterwards Kelley’s family left the Dees for good.


In February 1588, Dee made for England and Kelly for Prague, where Rosenberg had persuaded the Emperor to quash the Papal decree. Through the introduction of Rosenberg, Kelly was received and honored by Rudolph as one in possession of the Great Secret of Alchemy. From him he received besides a grant of land and the freedom of the city, a position of state and apparently a title, since he was known from that time forward as Sir Edward Kelly. These honors are evidence that Kelly had undoubtedly demonstrated to the Emperor his knowledge of transmutation, but the powder of projection had now diminished, and to the Emperor's command to produce it in ample quantities, he failed to accede, being either unable or unwilling to do so. As a result, Kelly was cast into prison at the Castle of Purglitz near Prague where he remained until 1591 when he was restored to favor. He was interned a second time, however, and in 1595, according to chronicles, and while attempting to escape from his prison, fell from a considerable height and was killed at the age of forty.


John Dee for his part returned to England with his family, and sought an audience with Elizabeth. Shortly afterwards Dee was given the wardenship of Christ’s Collage Manchester. Dee returned to Mortlake in 1605 to spend the last days of his life in peace. He died three years latter at the age of 81. It seems a very peaceful ending to such an adventurous life.

guess who? ;)

The last gentleman’s alchemical interests were kept deliberately obscure. After all, Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) is perceived even today as a great scientist and not a sorcerer or a mystic, although he would have preferred to be called an alchemist. 


You can find plenty of articles described his achievements in the field of mathematics, physics, chemistry and optics but alchemy? It is barely mentioned like a dirty secret. Such a perception shows just one side of his personage, though, and it is not entirely true. However, before describing Newton's alchemical work, it is necessary to explain a few things about Newton's Christian beliefs which are quite different from what most of us were taught in Sunday school. First, Newton believed that church teachings as practiced by Catholics and Anglicans were totally corrupted. Specifically, Newton rejected the concept of the trinity because he did not believe that Jesus or the Holy Ghost were on an equal footing with God. Newton's God reigned supreme: all-knowing and present everywhere in the universe. Newton found that in nature there was much evidence of "choice" not "chance." If nature seems to follow physical "laws" consistently, it is because God supervises each and every event taking place in the world. God, according to Newton, did not leave the scene after the creation. These were dangerous beliefs which Newton had to keep private since his job at Cambridge University depended on his public compliance with Anglican doctrines.

Newton's hostility towards Catholics, especially French Catholics, was not unusual in the 17th century after the English civil war. There were several plots by the French to place a Catholic king upon the English throne. Consequently, relations between England and France went from bad to worse. What is strange is Newton's belief that before the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, all of the laws of science were known and understood. Natural philosophers like himself were merely "recovering" knowledge from the time of Eden. Newton was the not the first natural philosopher to try to "Christianize" science and, in this way, make it less threatening. He kept it to himself, however; along with another surprising idea. He believed that ancient philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato wrote about gravity and the inverse square law! Newton believed that he had found evidence of the inverse square law in the ancient concept of "the harmony of the spheres," specifically in the connection between tension and pitch in a stringed instrument. Newton spent years scouring ancient texts looking for more evidence of gravity buried in arcane symbolism.

The more cryptic the symbolism, the more convinced Newton was that it contained some important truth. This is what attracted him to alchemy: an ancient, quasi-religion, rich in chemical symbols and bizarre drawings with human figures representing events in distillation experiments. Newton spent an enormous amount of time reading, copying, and writing about alchemical theories. He owned a total of 1752 books of which 369 were scientific and most of these were about alchemy. He also owned 170 books on what was called "practical magic." In Newton's manuscript MS 3975, he kept 25 years of records of his alchemical experiments using gold, lead, and mercury metals. He also wrote 3 versions of an Index Chemicus with over 900 headings, 5000 page references, and 100 authors cited. During this time, he worked primarily alone in a shed near his room at Cambridge University. Sometimes his assistant, Humphrey Newton (no relation), worked with him. Newton shared some of his findings with other alchemists such as Robert Boyle, but most of his work he kept to himself. Unlike Boyle, Newton practiced what he called a "high silence." He thought of his work in alchemy as "noble" or sacred, not to be shared under any circumstances with lesser minds or, as Newton put it, "the vulgar." It is evident that he valued it very highly.


After analyzing Newton's unpublished manuscripts on alchemy, it is clear that Newton incorporated concepts from alchemy into his religious beliefs. Newton rejects Descartes' clockwork universe because it had no spiritual dimension. Instead, he infuses his universe with what he called a "vegetative spirit" or what alchemists called "the pneuma," a mysterious, holy energy from the Gods. He also believed there was an additional substance permeating all of 3-D space called the "ether." Light waves and sound waves as well as planets and stars traveled through this ether. Newton believed that it was the interaction between the pneuma and the ether with molecules of matter that gave rise to all the chemical reactions observed in nature.

To explain how matter was created in the universe, Newton adopted some ideas of Paracelsus,  a Renaissance alchemist who was also something of a social activist. Paracelsus believed that the creation story in Genesis actually described the distillation of substances with God as the supreme adept. Adam, Eve, and the snake are symbols like the figures in an alchemical illustration. God the alchemist creates all the elements and minerals in the universe. In this way, alchemy is central to Newton's belief in Christianity and science.
Ironically, it is these alchemical beliefs which sustained Newton for two decades of intense study. He was socially isolated with only one or two friends and no wife, girlfriend or mistress. Voltaire wrote that, concerning women, Newton "had no passion or weakness." Well, nowadays people wouldn’t be so sure about the weakness part, even if it didn’t concern women. When his roomate at Cambridge, John Wickins (or Wickens) moved out after 20 years, Newton suffered a deep depression or a psychotic breakdown (historians aren't sure which). Wickins married and became a clergyman and even if he was just a long-time, close friend of Newton, without any homosexual innuendo, Newton felt that loss very deeply indeed (but I can’t help wondering why he considered his friend so completely “lost” while married – didn’t he hear of the institution of a family friend or social visits?). To make the things even worse in the following year Newton’s mother died. His response was to cut off contact with others and engross himself in alchemical research. These studies for many years were an embarrassment to Newton scholars. The problem was that, afterwards, Newton left Cambridge, and his most productive years were over. He got involved in running the Royal mint and presiding over the Royal Society. He never married, although he was certainly in a position to if he wanted. Was it a result of a heartbreak?


In 1936, a collection of Isaac Newton's unpublished works were auctioned by Sotheby's on behalf of Gerard Wallop, 9th Earl of Portsmouth, who had inherited them from Newton's great-niece. Known as the "Portsmouth Papers", this material consisted of three hundred and twenty-nine lots of Newton's manuscripts, over a third of which were filled with content that appeared to be alchemical in nature. At the time of Newton's death this material was considered "unfit to publish" by Newton's estate, and consequently fell into obscurity until their somewhat sensational re-emergence in 1936.Of the material sold during the 1936 Sotheby's auction, several documents indicate an interest by Newton in the procurement or development of The Philosopher's Stone. Most notably are documents entitled, "Artephius his secret Book", followed by "The Epistle of Iohn Pontanus, wherein he beareth witness of ye book of Artephius", these are themselves a collection of excerpts from another work entitled, "Nicholas Flammel, His Exposition of the Hieroglyphicall Figures which he caused to be painted upon an Arch in St Innocents Church-yard in Paris. Together with The secret Booke of Artephius, And the Epistle of Iohn Pontanus: Containing both the Theoricke and the Practicke of the Philosophers Stone". This work may also have been referenced by Newton in its Latin version found within Lazarus Zetzner's, "Theatrum Chemicum", a volume often associated with the Turba Philosophorum and other early European alchemical manuscripts. Nicolas Flamel, (one subject of the aforementioned work) was a notable, though mysterious figure, often associated with the discovery of The Philosopher's Stone, Hieroglyphical Figures, early forms of tarot, and occultism. Artephius, and his "secret book", were also subjects of interest to 17th century alchemists.

I will end this series in a slightly cynical way. What about contemporary alchemy? These days, few people would dare hang out a shingle and advertise themselves as professional alchemists but do not believe they don't exist. They are out there and indeed  they are many. Being able to recognize them is the first step toward understanding the true secrets of alchemical transformation although it is not a kind of transformation you might expect. These people sometimes change the life around them and us for worse, not for better.

They are politicians. They are hucksters, scammers and con men of every color, creed, nationality and gender. They are the people who have succeeded in making us cautious about dealing with others of our own species. They are the people who are practicing modern varieties of alchemy. They are the people who want us to believe that they can transform nothing into something or one thing into another. How they are able to accomplish this 'magic’ lends revelation to the understanding of all kinds of alchemical activities. After all, a successful alchemical transformation requires more often than not someone who believes that it can happen.  Small wonder the true alchemist's lot was such that they were often depicted as a melancholy and frustrated beings.

http://www.hypatiamaze.org/isaac/newton.html
http://www.twistedtree.org.uk/JohnDee.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/in4/alchemy2084/flamel.html
http://www.flamelcollege.org/flamel.htm

Silent Saturday

Friday Flash Fiction

Amy C at Romance Book Wyrm and Dottie atTink's Place have come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge. Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to participate - you publish your Fiction Flash  on Friday - 350 words, give or take. Here is the picture posted this Monday:

I don't know about you but as soon as I saw that girl I thought about defeated Lara the vamp...so my story continues...no, it won't be nice and fluffy.

Her initial rage passed and her throat simply too sore to speak, let alone shout, Lara decided to hide in her favourite tomb to think her situation over. That tomb, built some time ago for a local family of  rich merchants, was in fact  a small chapel . The main building featured an altar, two windows and some pews; below there was an underground crypt with coffins stacked in alcoves. It was kept more or less clean because the cemetery ward was paid for it extra. His duties also included bringing fresh flowers once a week and indeed, every Friday the tomb was adorned by a bouquet of wild lilies, marigolds or dog roses, depending on the season. Lara liked it here. It reminded her of a tiny village she was born, with a wooden church roughly the same size as this tomb. She has forgotten the village's name but she remembered the church as she loved playing there as a little girl.

Usually the tomb's silent atmosphere as able to calm her down and even make her cheerful. Not today. She felt cold and hollow inside as if somebody bored a hole straight through her chest. Everything was progressing so nicely until she met Lord Dreane. With two vampires and as many new candidates she could really think of some degree of independence. The boys loved her - she made sure of it - but it was too fresh a bond to survive her failure. Now she wasn't certain whether the rest haven't deserted as well, following the example of that wretched Frenchman, Henri. Nobody liked weakness and vampires could simply sniff it in the air for miles; it was ok if it concerned their victims but in a vampire they treated it, along fear, as the worst stench possible. Lara was being covered with that stench right now and no amount of fresh blood or perfume would hide it. The feeling of self-loathing filled her body and poisoned her brain. 

All of a sudden a big raven fluttered through the open window and sat on her shoulder. The bird ruffled her long dark hair and, although it didn't attack, she bent her head in despair. She knew what it meant - Lawrence, the local vampire master sent a messenger to announce a visit as it was his habit. Soon enough she heard soft steps and felt that somebody was standing before her. She didn't dare to look at him and he didn't bother with greetings or small talk.

"I came to inform you that your last vampire and all  your candidates asked me for protection. I granted it. Now they officially belong to my coven."

Lawrence's voice was very soft and low, nothing more than a louder murmur, but Lara winced with pain as if he whipped her.

"You are alone, Lara and let's face it - you are never going to build a coven for yourself. You are not the queen type. How many times have you tried and failed before, you stupid, stubborn, rapacious girl? I extend my hand to help you for the last time - join me and you might survive; on your own...well, I am sure you know very well what happens to lonely vampires."

Lara closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing. In and out, neither too deep, nor too shallow, as normal as possible, not indicating how deep she was thrown into panic by these words. Only after a minute or so  she felt well enough to continue the conversation. 

"Let me...let me think it over one more time, Master Lawrence," she whispered, unsure of her voice, too afraid that if she spoke louder it might crack and humiliate her even further. "Several hours won't make a big difference, will they?"

The intense, sickening-sweet stench of fear and weakness was envelopping her like a stiffling coat. She had never hated herself more - begging a younger vampire, a male vampire, for more time. 

Lawrence was silent for a long, painful moment.

"As you wish," he said. "My offer stands till midnight. Take it or go away as quick and as far as possible - your choice. I just want you to know I won't tolerate strays in my area."

She looked at him and saw compassion in his gray eyes. She hated compassion. She wanted to kick him for it but, being far quieter and clear-headed now, she curtsied instead. It wasn't the best of times for making more enemies. She decided to keep all her options open just in case.

"Understood. I would like to say...that's...very generous of you, Master Lawrence. Thank you for your kind offer. I do appreciate."

The vampire looked at her, clearly surprised by her meek response, bowed his head slightly, acknowledging her words, and was gone. She clenched her hands. She didn't know what her future would bring but she was sure that  Lord Dreane was going to pay for her humiliation very soon.

Review: Wolfsangel (Craw trilogy 01) by M.D. Lachlan

Book info:
Form: e-book, mobi format
Genre: fantasy fiction
Target audience: adults

Synopsis:

Authun a Viking king has a problem – he is childless. He is not just any king, mind you, he is Authun the Pitiless and his exploits are legendary. He must ensure his people will be led by somebody at least as good as him or better. In short his son. Acting on the prophecy of the witch queen Gullveig, he raids an Anglo-Saxon village looking for a promised infant. He finds twins instead, with their disfigured mother. One he keeps and names Vali; the other, Feileg, is kept by Gullveig herself to serve as her protector; the boy is sent to be schooled in the animalistic magic of the berserkers and wolf people. However, the prince and the wolf boy are entwined in the same web of destiny - over the years, the twins become pawns in the complex game of magical subterfuge that is the eternal war between Odin and Loki.

The tale moves forward. Vali is brought up in a peaceful village, leading a lifestyle which makes him value pursuits other than those expected of a son of Authun the Pitiless. He is known as Vali the Swordless for one thing and, to make it even worse, he falls for a simple peasant girl, Adisla, refusing to marry a princess designated to be his wife. In short Vali is a prince who doesn't want to play the role expected of him– he abhors fighting and he intends to lead a “normal” life (normal from our point of view of course). Unfortunately his fate will be a bit different.

The princess’s father, another local ruler, wants to get rid of Vali but he must do it in a very diplomatic way - the wrath of Authun can be deadly. He tricks the young prince (Vali is thirteen at that time but we are talking about a society in which a 35-year-old man is called old so, I suppose you can place Vali's age somewhere around 18) into bringing him a head of a werewolf or even better, capturing a live werewolf. Adisla’s life depends on it. Vali goes werewolf hunting and, quite unexpectedly even for himself, returns with his twin brother, Feileg, who, in the meantime, became a real beast of a man, hunting with his bare hands and teeth and living like a wild animal in the forest. Soon after Vali’s triumphal return Danes raid the village and, despite the heroic defense led by Vali, they manage to steal Adisla away. Vali finds out it was not an accident - they were looking specifically for the girl, even knew her name. What did they need a simple peasant girl for?

Vali, now an outlaw, with his faithful mentor and bodyguard, Braggi, and Feileg, who managed to fall in love with Adisla in no time, set out to rescue his beloved and find out more about the mysterious raid. He never imagines how the journey will change him.

What I liked:

This novel was a good page turner - it begins as a historical Viking story but soon it turns into a battle between ancient Gods and other magical powers, with a nice touch of horror along the way (nice meaning original, not pleasant - there are plenty of entertaining but brutal action scenes).  Fortunately the author didn’t forget to add some sense of humour to the mix, making it all more palatable.

The characterization of main characters was excellent, particularly that of Vali and later his twin wolf brother, Feileg. It was easy to feel empathy for these two, even when their actions were brutal and bloody. It added to a dark atmosphere, a pervasive bleakness against which the characters had to strive; it also fitted perfectly with the Viking setting. There was a constant sense of an oppressive destiny bearing down on Vali, but the reader is kept guessing as to exactly what that is until quite far into the story. Also I admit the rivalry and suspense around the twin brothers was well-played – even the love triangle with Adisla didn’t annoy me as much as such ugly plot tricks usually do.

What’s more, the whole world building and, more precisely, the depiction of the use of magic and the Norse Runes I found truly excellent. Lachlan stayed close to the shamanistic nature of Norse religion and  the effect was very powerful indeed. I am hardly a Norse mythology and culture expert so I might be mistaken but it somehow resonated right. I found the way that magic consumes and distorts those who use it particularly striking. For example the witch queen allegedly had enough power to kill her sisters without lifting her little finger and she could become a deity of a kind but she paid for it a horrible price – her body, seasoned to endure torture and hardship beyond belief, remained forever that of a child. You get nothing for nothing. Even the witches have to earn their magic in all manner of unspeakable ways, while the Gods do not bestride this novel as all-powerful beings — rather, they scheme and operate from behind the scenes, especially Loki, my all time favourite.

Speaking of Loki…I was very nicely surprised that, for a character who is barely present in the novel, he steals every scene he appears in. And very rightly so! I would love to see more of the Trickster God in subsequent novels! I loved his dialogues, like the one I am quoting below:



“You chose imperfection — what could be more perfect? You saw your imperfection was perfection and therefore remedied it by imposing an imperfection on yourself thereby becoming perfect again. The logic is imperfectly flawless.”

What I didn’t like:

Portrait of Loki via Wikipedia

Firstly, the character of Adisla, the main squeeze of two protagonists, was rather sketchy – I really was wondering what Vali and Feileg saw in that girl because neither her actions nor appearance justified sufficiently such deep feelings and everlasting devotion. She was kind and pretty, she swam like a seal, she was loyal but also a bit tame, especially compared to those two brothers.

Secondly I found it sometimes really hard to get into Lachlan's writing style. It was too detached for me, and too often leaned on telling rather than showing. At times it was more like reading a newspaper article than a novel. The lack of warmth and immediacy really stopped me from becoming invested in the book as much as the story was worth.

Finally the fact that the magic system, presented here, involved so many deaths (and, more particularly, the death of children) to make things work, made me a little uncomfortable. It is true that the magical context was well-explained and logical but still…it doesn’t change the fact that these Norse witches were icky sadistic psychopaths and some ‘exploits’ of Authun and his son made me nearly nauseatic.

Final verdict

I finished the book caring about the characters and wanting to know what happens next.  That is a good sign. Of course the book wasn’t flawless but, taking into account the fact that it is a debut novel, it really wasn’t bad. I am willing to continue this series. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Norse mythology and Viking stories with a dash of supernatural.

Supernatural review: Dragon Bound (Elder Races 01) by Thea Harrison

Form: e-book

Genre: paranormal romance (but more romance than paranormal)

Target audience: adults

Source: borrowed from a friend

Synopsis (from Goodreads - almost):

Is anyone stupid enough to steal from a Dragon? Theoretically no but... Half-human and half-wyr, Pia Giovanni spent her life keeping a low profile among the wyrkind and avoiding the continuing conflict between them and their dark Fae enemies. But after being blackmailed by her ex into stealing from the hoard of the last living full-blood wyr dragon, Pia finds herself targeted by one of the most powerful-and passionate-of the Elder races. Oh mercy, mercy me…this book is not what it is supposed to be...

Why I read it at all:

I’ve seen so many positive reviews of this one that even that obnoxious guy on the cover, preening himself on his steroid- inflated biceps, couldn’t put me off. As curious as a cat, that’s me. My bad. Apart from that I admit  I love dragons and dragon stories, that’s why I was so tempted. However, being also rather busy,  I asked a bunch of friendly house elves to read the book with me and write a review. They agreed under one condition – that I don’t reveal their real names. You know how it is with magical creatures – once you know the name, its owner is your slave…er…I mean a friendly helper…small wonder secrecy and personal info protection are very important to my elves. I graciously allowed them to take whatever nicknames they wanted from fictional literature and pop culture. This is the result of their midnight effort (every elf wrote his or her bit but they kept it short, midnight doesn’t last forever, you know…)

Conan the Barbarian wrote:

Not impressed by the action side of the story. You know I like a good fight like any barbarian or librarian and I can appreciate feisty books which narration is fast and bloody. Well, this wasn’t one of them. If I had wings I would defeat that wyr guy, Dragos, hands down, bend him in two  and make him swallow his own tail. What’s more, he also had flabby intellectual muscles of a senile lapdog, and not a great sense of honour either.  His machete smile has become blunt and rusty after a while. Seriously, where was his inner dragon hidden all the time? Why he was so poor at cunning and diplomacy? All he could do was slay some nasty little Goblins who are the lousiest warriors in Elvenland ever;  As you guessed, I am not persuaded. Give me a George R.R. Martin book any time! By Crome, give me red meat of a fight!

Cinderella the Clean wrote: 

I am sorry to say Pia just pretends to be a self-sufficient, self-possessed survivor; in reality she is a sham. If you want to learn survival, read my story and follow my example! I think an evil stepmother is always a great addition to a family - she would improve Pia's character, especially by teaching her how to recognize a real baddie and making her wash her mouth more often – the girl cusses like a sailor!! I am really surprised she is the main female lead here; her turning on, all of a sudden, the  “queen of the dragon empire” routine never persuaded my inner royal soul. Perhaps she would be a great shop assistant or a cook  but not a queen…! Dragos is also not a proper king – he seemed alternately wooden in speech and mannerisms. Correct me if I am mistaken but when an author writes about a character who is thousands of years old, that person should be wiser, speak more formally and certainly without a lot of inner city slang. And he should have more dignity! Ask Prince Charming!

Gawky Goblin wrote:

I want to protest most vigorously. Goblins are slain here  in the most merciless way and quite possibly eaten raw.  Cruel and senseless. We are a peaceful race! Does the author realize that small Goblin children might read it!?! Where are the Goblin rights? Where is any sense of justice or those well-rounded, three-dimensional characters who show you life is not as easy as novels with the world painted black and white? To add insult to injury Goblins are also portrayed as ugly, dirty, low-brow brutes who don’t know a thing about plunder and rape. Most outrageous and definitely untrue!!! More power for Goblins!!! Down with dirty dragons! Down with simplistic books!

Blond Barbie the Babe wrote:   

I love  candies and pink things, the more the better,  so the book was ok; I can even say I enjoyed it very much!! Girly girl that’s me!!! The best fragments? Dragos blows up, heroine cries (no, not such a big baddass heroine our Pia is, I agree with Cindy), Dragos does or says something that makes her feel all squishy inside (awwww) and they go…to bed. Pinky pink, pinky pink, I am pretty - I don’t think. Then again Dragos blows up, heroine cries, they kiss and make up…nice, repetitive and easy to read, right? I’d love to make Ken read this novel as well and then force him to improve in some departments, modelling on the descriptions of Dragos physique…see you soon, I have a new pony and a lovely new dress with tons of tulle! Fluffiness is next to godliness, right? If any movie director thought about  adapting this novel for cinema, I would be given the role of Pia for sure…blond, shiny, slender, beautiful, empty-headed…hear me giggle and throw hissy fits and you will be sure I am perfect!

Robin Hood for President wrote:

 Having lived in an enchanted Sherwood forest among different weirdos, exactly like my hero, I can tell you one thing: Harrison's world isn't anything new. The Elder races comprise of the Dark and Light Faye, Elves and  Wyr. Wyr is just a fancy name for animal shifters of a wide variety - as a treat they do get a bit exotic with Dragons, Thunderbirds, Gryphons, and Harpies among the bunch but it is not enough to make this world interesting as these are hardly explained. People are quite aware of the supernaturals walking among them, but the history of 'why' and 'when' is sketchy at best - perhaps left for other installments.  Are you as poor as that world building scheme? Don’t  spend your money on this book then, it is  not worth it, spend your time stealing from the rich. Are you rich? Give me some of your money to redistribute among poor; I promise I will make them buy food, not stupid novels.

Dark Vampire Queen wrote:  

In my dark and bloody opinion Pia couldn’t have  gone further from a juicy character she pretends to be. Sex scenes? You must be kidding, right? What sex scenes?  It was a kind of wild Callanetics and in the end you find out its aim – the procreation of the reptiles. If not for those detailed descriptions of different body parts, indicating what goes where and how it fits, I would think we were reading about a pair of teens training intensely for a local mixed teams rugby match. No subtlety whatsoever. A vampire wants to know why?  

The most silly scene? No, not a sex scene, they went beyond silly. It was about the "breakfast fairie incident" (major snort of vampiric proportions). Imagine that one morning a poor innocent domestic elf busts into the master bedroom without knocking (who trained that wretch?) to deliver Dragos’s first meal of the day. She sees him and Pia in bed naked (why isn't the bed in a separate room? Is it a multi-millionaire luxury penthouse or not? Lack of imagination? Lack of space? Lack of ideas? Zombies ate your mind? All of those above and more?) and Dragos hits the roof about Pia being seen in bed by a little fairie (yes, nothing more opinionated than that) in a less than ideal state. Or any state at all. As if elves never saw naked women. He's growling at the poor creature who is frightened to death. At that moment our sweet Pia takes over like a good primary school teacher, showing who rules the rooster from now on. She calms little Dragos, apologizes in his name to the little faerie and asks her to knock before coming in next time. You see kids? That's the way it is done by adults...play nicely, no more quarrels or the cookie jar will be left permanently sealed. 


How. Very. Kindergarten. Cheesy...I would say creepy even, as the scene goes right after one of these super strenuous sex moments...who said vampires are kinky?

Byron Is My Hero wrote: 

Let's call a spade a spade -  I might be a simple gravedigger but in my books romance consists of beautiful, delicate feelings first and all the nitty-gritty later. Pia doesn’t walk in beauty but she often walks in dirty clothes and her mind is equally unsavoury as her trainers. I would call her ‘Dirty Harriet’ if she only could fire a gun and had a bit more intellect. Dragos doesn’t know a thing about seduction – he is as subtle as a trunk of a tree. I think many readers will simply find the overly detailed erotic scenes as a distraction, rather than an enhancement, to the story. In other words definitely not my tea and not my coffee either. Keep your dirty laundry where it belongs, my mother always said. And you can't hurry love...
By the way, how could a dragon millions of years old not know what love is? He's surely loved and lost hundreds of times or he is not as old as he claims. And him calling his girlfriend person "lover" and her calling him “big guy”... (an elegant snort, worth of my black coat) so gross and silly and unreal! Do you know any real person who calls his partner 'lover' in public with a straight face? As you can guess I am not buying the romantic aspect, not even one bit of it. See you soon on the cemetery of your choice!

  

Final verdict (from me but the elves agree):

  

This must be comfort food for hard core PNR fans who don't mind reading the same story over and over again as long as it has  the right ingredients: wild hot passion, a blond, slender heroine and a muscled alpha male to drool over. Just don’t look too close because that alpha male and his lady are without brains and undoubtedly made of plastics. They could have been mass-produced in China. I won't be reading any other books in this series, no matter how good reviews I see. Nuh-huh, say my elves in chorus. And they mean it, even Barbie, although she looks petulant. 

Musical Monday, 24 October

Welcome to Musical Monday! 

Some books simply evoke particular songs, at least in my case. As I finally managed to find a copy of A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin I would like to share a song that fits that series (A Song of Ice and Fire) perfectly: Hymnus Cantica sung by Corvus Corax.

O et o com jubilo 2x

locundemur socii

sectatores otii!

Nostra pangant ora

cantica sonora...

O et o com jubilo...

Now who wants to translate it into English? :p   :-) Such  nice, short lyrics...and somehow I couldn't find any English translation...