The Alchemaster's Apprentice

Nov 29, 2025 7:44 PM

Author:Walter Moers,John Brownjohn

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.

Reviews

This follows the pattern familiar to Moers fans of old... There are short stories galore hidden here... for me they're top notch

—— thebookbag.co.uk

Another fascinating fantasy... Moers has created an absolutely charming world populated by lovable characters, and the well-paced stories he tells about it are informed by fairy-tale morality

—— Booklist

Elegantly written...Secrets are revealed, old bodies unearthed and strange allies made in this entrancing tale of darkness, determined survival and incredibly luxurious cuisine

—— Publisher's Weekly

Moers' creative mind is like J.K. Rowling's on ecstasy

—— Detroit News

She elegantly uses traditional orchestration, which makes her works, for all their weighty concerns, universally accessible and stirringly romantic

—— Independent

Descriptions of Iceland's stunning crystalline landscape are lyrical and the overall storyline thoughtful and original

—— Carla McKay , Daily Mail

Indridason's best novel so far

—— Books Quarterly

Indridason has a remarkable understanding of grief and its persistence... Indridason combines psychological acuteness with great stylistic economy and a pleasing pace

—— Jane Jakeman , Independent

A personal odyssey, suffused with a melancholy that, like the icy chill, seeps into the bones

—— Alastair Mabbott , Herald

This Icelandic novelist keeps on getting better

—— Sunday Times

Our love affair with Scandinavian crime continues with the latest instalment of Indridason's award-winning Icelandic murder mystery series

—— Daily Express

Arnaldur Indridason has built an international reputation with this series, and rightly so. Hypothermia is perhaps his best book yet, gracefully depicting the lengths to which people are driven by the need for answers. An outstanding novel

—— Joanna Hines , Guardian

The Icelandic master of crime Arnaldur Indridason is not yet as well known in this country as Sweden's Henning Mankell, but on this showing, it is only a matter of time...a wonderfully atmospheric tale

—— Sally Cousins , Sunday Telegraph

This is a humane, unsentimental study of grief and guilt, which is both moving and unsettling. It's also a softly gripping narrative, without ever resorting to fight scenes, car chases or torture

—— Brandon Robshaw , Independent on Sunday

Margaret Atwood is a wry and perceptive observer of society as well as an original storyteller

—— Cecilia Heyes , Psychologist

Brilliantly conceived and executed, this powerful evocation of twenty-first century America gives full rein to Margaret Atwood’s devastating irony, wit and astute perception

—— Essence

This is a novel pervaded by violence, sex, terror, but also by contemplation, analysis and – occasionally – by hope… Atwood shockingly reveals what we could be capable of.

—— Elly McCausland , Cherwell Newspaper

A magnificent achievement...an American masterpiece

—— A.S. Byatt , Guardian

A triumph

—— Margaret Atwood , New York Times Book Review

She melds horror and beauty in a story that will disturb the mind forever

—— Sunday Times

Toni Morrison is not just an important contemporary novelist but a major figure in our national literature

—— New York Review of Books

A work of genuine force. . .Beautifully written

—— Washington Post

There is something great in Beloved: a play of human voices, consciously exalted, perversely stressed, yet holding true. It gets you

—— The New Yorker

Superb...A profound and shattering story that carries the weight of history...Exquisitely told

—— Cosmopolitan

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