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The Alchemancer #2
The Nullification Engine
An infernal engine threatens all life. A sorcerer's apprentice has no idea how to stop it. The Alchemancer series continues.The city of Brighton promises new beginnings for Aaron, Serena, and the taciturn eslar, Ensel Rhe. But, upon their arrival, Aaron and Serena are arrested for their role in the Chaos of a week ago, while Ensel Rhe slips away on business of his own.The pair are given the opportunity to plead their case before the earl himself, whereupon they are released and assigned a very special duty, for deep below the palace lies the Nullification Engine, an ancient machine completed hundreds of years ago but never activated. Until now. While Aaron and Serena struggle to unravel the machine's mysteries, Ensel Rhe confronts his past once more when he learns his daughter has come to Brighton, but in the company of one of his greatest enemies.A race against time begins as Aaron comes to realize the Nullification Engine was never turned on for a reason, for once the machine reaches a state of full nullitivity, it will destroy Brighton and everyone in it.
458 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 30, 2013
3 people are currently reading
315 people want to read
About the author
Scott Marlowe
23 books147 followersScott Marlowe lives in Bentonville, Arkansas, the Mountain Biking Capital of the World, where he drinks extraordinary amounts of coffee, rides his mountain or gravel bike whenever the opportunity arises, and writes stories that often end in wondrous, explosive mayhem.
You can find more information about Scott at scottmarlowe.com.
You can find more information about Scott at scottmarlowe.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 2, 2016
This is the second book the Alchemancer series, following on from ‘The Five Elements’. Like that one, this starts with a bang, literally, a mysterious underground explosion in the city of Brighton, just as our heroes from the first book, Aaron, Serena and Ensel Rhe, arrive there, followed almost immediately by demon houndmaster Krosus and his evil pack. In dealing with the hounds, Aaron and Serena manage to get themselves arrested and tossed into the dungeon. It has to be said, the author knows how to drop straight into the action.
After this, the pace lets up just a little, and branches out into multiple point of view threads to ensure that the plot is nicely stirred. There’s the airship which featured in the first book, newly arrived for repairs; there’s a King’s Patroller, whose function I’m not sure about, but he seems to be a good guy; there’s a disgruntled pyromancer; there’s a dwarf underworld boss with a beautiful daughter; there’s an old enemy of Ensel Rhe’s; and there’s a nest of rats-on-steroids under the city, who wear clothes and wield swords and are definitely bad guys. Well, they eat people. Oh, and there’s a machine, the Nullification Engine of the title, which is seriously cool and I can’t wait for the movie to be made to see exactly what it looks like.
Of the characters, Ensel Rhe is the most interesting, with his mysterious past and his super-ninja skills. In the first book, he was rather lightly sketched in, more plot device than rounded character, but here he gets a lot more screen-time and a chance to shine. Every scene he was in sizzled with tension. We learn quite a bit more about him here, which only serves to make him more intriguing. Aaron, the prodigy applying logic and science to largely magical artifacts, is also fun, and I loved the way he cracked the code. Serena worked less well for me. Her conventional upper-class family setting did nothing to make her interesting (to me), and there were times when she simply acted in ways that had me rolling my eyes. Speaking up at the funeral, for instance, and only realising afterwards that it might be a Bad Idea. And when her former mentor tells her to stay away from a device, what is the very first thing she does? Doh.
Of the other characters, they’re nicely drawn and work very well. I particularly liked the newly introduced Jakinda, a nice fiery character. I’m very much looking forward to seeing her in action in the next book. The dwarves were huge fun, too, although why is it dwarves are always the comic relief? I blame Peter Jackson. But the star character for me (if I can describe it this way) was the Nullification Engine itself, which stole the show in every scene it was in, and was a wonderfully unpredictable and fascinating device.
As with the first book, the plot rattles along at a breath-taking pace, with an unpredictable twist in almost every chapter. If I had a beer for every time I muttered ‘Didn’t see THAT coming’ I’d be blind drunk under the table by now. My only complaint is that I had trouble remembering everything that had happened in the first book, so I was flummoxed for a while when certain characters turned up again. A summary would have helped, although to be perfectly fair, I’m very bad at remembering plots in general, so I have the same trouble with every series. In other words, my fault, not the author’s. There’s a list of characters at the front and some good maps, too, as well as a sprinkle of reminders throughout the story, so I got past the confusion stage in the end. There was one plot-thread that I didn’t fully understand, involving Krosus the demon houndmaster and Ursool the witch; I’m still not sure just how things ended up there, but again, I suspect it’s just me not paying attention, since everything else was tied up beautifully, with neat little bows on top.
Another fun read, very entertaining, with a great ending setting everything up nicely for the next book. Highly recommended. Four stars.
After this, the pace lets up just a little, and branches out into multiple point of view threads to ensure that the plot is nicely stirred. There’s the airship which featured in the first book, newly arrived for repairs; there’s a King’s Patroller, whose function I’m not sure about, but he seems to be a good guy; there’s a disgruntled pyromancer; there’s a dwarf underworld boss with a beautiful daughter; there’s an old enemy of Ensel Rhe’s; and there’s a nest of rats-on-steroids under the city, who wear clothes and wield swords and are definitely bad guys. Well, they eat people. Oh, and there’s a machine, the Nullification Engine of the title, which is seriously cool and I can’t wait for the movie to be made to see exactly what it looks like.
Of the characters, Ensel Rhe is the most interesting, with his mysterious past and his super-ninja skills. In the first book, he was rather lightly sketched in, more plot device than rounded character, but here he gets a lot more screen-time and a chance to shine. Every scene he was in sizzled with tension. We learn quite a bit more about him here, which only serves to make him more intriguing. Aaron, the prodigy applying logic and science to largely magical artifacts, is also fun, and I loved the way he cracked the code. Serena worked less well for me. Her conventional upper-class family setting did nothing to make her interesting (to me), and there were times when she simply acted in ways that had me rolling my eyes. Speaking up at the funeral, for instance, and only realising afterwards that it might be a Bad Idea. And when her former mentor tells her to stay away from a device, what is the very first thing she does? Doh.
Of the other characters, they’re nicely drawn and work very well. I particularly liked the newly introduced Jakinda, a nice fiery character. I’m very much looking forward to seeing her in action in the next book. The dwarves were huge fun, too, although why is it dwarves are always the comic relief? I blame Peter Jackson. But the star character for me (if I can describe it this way) was the Nullification Engine itself, which stole the show in every scene it was in, and was a wonderfully unpredictable and fascinating device.
As with the first book, the plot rattles along at a breath-taking pace, with an unpredictable twist in almost every chapter. If I had a beer for every time I muttered ‘Didn’t see THAT coming’ I’d be blind drunk under the table by now. My only complaint is that I had trouble remembering everything that had happened in the first book, so I was flummoxed for a while when certain characters turned up again. A summary would have helped, although to be perfectly fair, I’m very bad at remembering plots in general, so I have the same trouble with every series. In other words, my fault, not the author’s. There’s a list of characters at the front and some good maps, too, as well as a sprinkle of reminders throughout the story, so I got past the confusion stage in the end. There was one plot-thread that I didn’t fully understand, involving Krosus the demon houndmaster and Ursool the witch; I’m still not sure just how things ended up there, but again, I suspect it’s just me not paying attention, since everything else was tied up beautifully, with neat little bows on top.
Another fun read, very entertaining, with a great ending setting everything up nicely for the next book. Highly recommended. Four stars.
April 7, 2014
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book of The Alchemancer series by Scott Marlowe and it does an excellent job of building on the first book. Like the first book, this is a nice mix of epic fantasy and steampunk. It's primarily the story of two sorcerers' apprentices, Aaron and Serena and their companion Ensel Rhe. Of course, only one of the apprentices can actually do magic. Aaron's talents lie in the science and alchemy fields, which is fortuitous due to the strange machine being examined by the Earl of Brighton.
The thing I found somewhat interesting about this book is that usually, you get most of the background on characters in the first book in a series. However, here in The Alchemancer, we are thrown into action in the first book and we don't start learning much about the characters until book two. It was an unusual approach but I think it worked here.
However, there was still enough action and intrigue here. I look forward to seeing how the series will progress as there are plenty of unanswered questions.
This is the second book of The Alchemancer series by Scott Marlowe and it does an excellent job of building on the first book. Like the first book, this is a nice mix of epic fantasy and steampunk. It's primarily the story of two sorcerers' apprentices, Aaron and Serena and their companion Ensel Rhe. Of course, only one of the apprentices can actually do magic. Aaron's talents lie in the science and alchemy fields, which is fortuitous due to the strange machine being examined by the Earl of Brighton.
The thing I found somewhat interesting about this book is that usually, you get most of the background on characters in the first book in a series. However, here in The Alchemancer, we are thrown into action in the first book and we don't start learning much about the characters until book two. It was an unusual approach but I think it worked here.
However, there was still enough action and intrigue here. I look forward to seeing how the series will progress as there are plenty of unanswered questions.
February 24, 2014
This turned out to be one of my favourite surprises of the year. I wasn't surprised that it was good, I expected that after reading the first book. I was surprised and pleased that the author managed to continue on from the first book and yet make this one so different from the first.
There is still the steampunkish (not a word but oh well) feel to this, in fact a bit more so than in the first, but the plot was entirely different and there were lots of unexpected events and even some "Wow!" moments that I did not forecast.
Scott Marlowe has definitely figured out how to get around the boring second series book curse with this title. The writing was strong and solid, and right from the beginning the personalities of the characters shined.
I was particularly impressed by the events near the halfway point of this story. I love it when a character has to make a tough decision and you don't know exactly what they will do. The dialogue was well written and believable and made me feel like I was there. I liked the way the main characters played off of one another and created a special dynamic.
This review is based off of a digital review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was offered or accepted. All opinions are my own.
There is still the steampunkish (not a word but oh well) feel to this, in fact a bit more so than in the first, but the plot was entirely different and there were lots of unexpected events and even some "Wow!" moments that I did not forecast.
Scott Marlowe has definitely figured out how to get around the boring second series book curse with this title. The writing was strong and solid, and right from the beginning the personalities of the characters shined.
I was particularly impressed by the events near the halfway point of this story. I love it when a character has to make a tough decision and you don't know exactly what they will do. The dialogue was well written and believable and made me feel like I was there. I liked the way the main characters played off of one another and created a special dynamic.
This review is based off of a digital review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was offered or accepted. All opinions are my own.
November 26, 2013
I read Scott Marlowe’s The Nullification Engine over the weekend and found it to be as enjoyable as the first book in the series, The Five Elements. Most of the characters return in the latest book, some in more minor roles than previously. Aaron is still the hero and still modest and hard-working. Again, he almost saves the day (not really a spoiler, as this is not the last book in the series). Marlowe continues to write strong female characters, which I find refreshing in sword-and-sorcery fantasy. A new race of sentient animals is introduced, based on rats, not most people’s most beloved creature. The rats are both good and bad, but it would have been easy to make them all evil, given their reputation today. The mix of steampunk and fantasy also continues, with more emphasis on infernal machine building. I like that the conclusion of each book and of the story arc is not self-evident, leaving the reader wanting to continue the journey with Aaron and company.
December 8, 2013
The second installment in Mr. Marlowe's sci-Fi fantasy series did not disappoint. The same captivating style of writing as used in the first novel, The Five Elements, drags you in from page one and doesn't let go.
We are reintroduced to Aaron and Serena from book one, as well as a couple other characters that we became familiar with. They have barely reached their destination city following on the heels of battles fought and won in the first story only to be folded into a new and terrifying event in the second. We meet several new and interesting faces as well. Both Serena and Aaron have come to understand their respective talents and we get to see each of them continue to grow.
I hope Mr. Marlowe continues to write this series as I have enjoyed it very much and book two leaves a couple of loose ends that hint at a future book three.
We are reintroduced to Aaron and Serena from book one, as well as a couple other characters that we became familiar with. They have barely reached their destination city following on the heels of battles fought and won in the first story only to be folded into a new and terrifying event in the second. We meet several new and interesting faces as well. Both Serena and Aaron have come to understand their respective talents and we get to see each of them continue to grow.
I hope Mr. Marlowe continues to write this series as I have enjoyed it very much and book two leaves a couple of loose ends that hint at a future book three.
May 8, 2014
The Nullification Engine is the second book of the Alchemancer Series. We catch up with Aaron after the final events of book one. A few of the side plots take a larger part of the story. I enjoyed learning more about the five elements and what the originators were trying to ultimately achieve.
New characters are introduced, and at times it becomes a little hard to keep track of them all. There is still a nice blend of magic and technology. We meet new enemies and friends, as Aaron works on the engine. I enjoyed learning the backstories of Ensel and of Serena.
The end had a slight twist which has left me with uncertain feelings. On one hand, I want to see how the new problem will be dealt with in a future book. On the other hand, it feels a bit, “jump on the bandwagon.” Either way, I am looking forward to reading the third installment in Aaron’s adventures.
New characters are introduced, and at times it becomes a little hard to keep track of them all. There is still a nice blend of magic and technology. We meet new enemies and friends, as Aaron works on the engine. I enjoyed learning the backstories of Ensel and of Serena.
The end had a slight twist which has left me with uncertain feelings. On one hand, I want to see how the new problem will be dealt with in a future book. On the other hand, it feels a bit, “jump on the bandwagon.” Either way, I am looking forward to reading the third installment in Aaron’s adventures.
May 20, 2024
This was such a thrilling read, and definitely a good continuation of the first book. I love all the different storylines and how they somehow all are connected to each other. I will definitely continue with this series!
July 13, 2016
Nachdem ich den Vorgänger The Five Elements mit Freuden gelesen habe, ging es direkt mit The Nullification Engine weiter.
Wieder einmal besticht The Nullification Engine durch eine Mischung aus Magie, Wissenschaft und Steampunk. Während im Erstling noch Magie eine große Rolle spielte, hat sich das Gewicht umverteilt. Zu Beginn wirkte der nicht vorhandene Fokus noch erfrischend, im Verlauf der Geschichte findet man auch keinen Fokus mehr, was mir nicht mehr so sehr gefiel. Störend empfand ich auch, dass dass der Plot im Gegensatz zum Erstling klein wirkt. Überdies gab es zum Ende hin Wendungen, die aufgezwungen wirkten.
Die bereits im ersten Band eingeführten Charaktere werden weiter vertieft und dies gelingt auch ganz gut. Aaron, Serena und insbesondere Ensel Rhe bekommen weiter Substanz. Hinzu kommen eine Reihe an mehr oder weniger neuen Charakteren mit eigenen Handlungsbögen. Einige von diesen werden häufig thematisiert, tragen insgesamt aber wenig zur Handlung bei.
Der Schreibstil ist hier ebenfalls gut zu lesen und The Nullification Engine ist keine schlechte Geschichte per se, die Begeisterung wie The Five Elements konnte aber nicht eingehalten werden. Nichtsdestotrotz erwarte ich die Veröffentlichung des letzten Parts der Trilogie.
Wieder einmal besticht The Nullification Engine durch eine Mischung aus Magie, Wissenschaft und Steampunk. Während im Erstling noch Magie eine große Rolle spielte, hat sich das Gewicht umverteilt. Zu Beginn wirkte der nicht vorhandene Fokus noch erfrischend, im Verlauf der Geschichte findet man auch keinen Fokus mehr, was mir nicht mehr so sehr gefiel. Störend empfand ich auch, dass dass der Plot im Gegensatz zum Erstling klein wirkt. Überdies gab es zum Ende hin Wendungen, die aufgezwungen wirkten.
Die bereits im ersten Band eingeführten Charaktere werden weiter vertieft und dies gelingt auch ganz gut. Aaron, Serena und insbesondere Ensel Rhe bekommen weiter Substanz. Hinzu kommen eine Reihe an mehr oder weniger neuen Charakteren mit eigenen Handlungsbögen. Einige von diesen werden häufig thematisiert, tragen insgesamt aber wenig zur Handlung bei.
Der Schreibstil ist hier ebenfalls gut zu lesen und The Nullification Engine ist keine schlechte Geschichte per se, die Begeisterung wie The Five Elements konnte aber nicht eingehalten werden. Nichtsdestotrotz erwarte ich die Veröffentlichung des letzten Parts der Trilogie.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews