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The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter
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TSCotAD: October 2017 Book Pick: The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss
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Yeah, I tried to pick up the online copies, but the waitlist is too long and I wouldn't get the book until January at this rate, so it looks like I'll have to actually get up to go to the library for a physical copy, ugh. :)
Low on Credits? oh, the joys of Overdrive. Used a credit on this BOM because Kate Reading is a no brainer and I was reaching my limit. Have to keep 2 in the tank for the Winds of Winter because it has to be coming, it right there in the Stark motto!
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I'm not sure I'm going to like this book either, so I'm reluctant to buy it.
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I think they also *want* to be.
I just saw a random episode of a show called 800 Words, w..."
It is a popular show here. Not something I watch personally.
Seachanges (and Treechanges) are a real thing in Australia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seachan...
City folk moving from a hectic city life to a more relaxed rural life, either on the coast of in the country.
Moving to NZ might be unusual, (don't get me wrong NZ is a lovely place), but there are plenty of similar places in Australia. Tassie and NZ share many similarities.
BTW the star of 800 Words is Kiwi (Scottish born) Erik Thomson
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Us get off topic. Shock :-0
I bet it was that Trike dude ;-)
Tassie Dave wrote: "Rob wrote: "I think we're getting off topic.."Us get off topic. Shock :-0
I bet it was that Trike dude ;-)"
Oh sure, throw me under the bus.
Or from your perspective, throw me over the lorry. #BottomOfTheWorld #DifferentWordForEverything
My library didn't have any copies in stock, and Overdrive here hasn't been updated with it. So I'm grabbing it with my Audible credit. It sounds like a fun book.
I gave this book 5 stars and put it on my favorites list. I'm now hating having to wait for a sequel.
I’m only a few pages in, and already love the book. I want to marry this book and have little book babies.Here’s hoping it continues to please.
(Sorry for the repost, accidentally deleted my first comment).
I'm off on a 2 week vacation tomorrow so I'm going to give this one a miss.
I'm about 40% of the way in (audiobook format). I like the little interjections/comments from the characters on the text. Otherwise I'm kind of reserving judgement for now - it's a fun enough read (listen) and a clever mash-up of 19th century Gothic fiction, but the actual plot has yet to grip me.I'm also not in general enamoured of mysteries about murdered prostitutes.
I'm listening to the audio book and just a little way into chapter 2 and I'm enjoying it so much more than last month's pick. Agree with the general opinion that Kate Reading is very good. I also like the characters commenting on the book as it's being written and the bit of humor it's adding.
There seem to be a lot of people listening to the audiobook. I've only been reading this one so far, and already 25% into it after just starting it yesterday. It's really entertaining and well paced. I'm probably going to finish it before the weekend, so I might buy the audio version and listen to it in the car instead of repetitive sad stories about the recent shootings in Las Vegas.
Just finished (in three days) and this was a fun read. A joyful romp through Victorian London.Could have been a lot darker given the source material, this was more Holmes than Hyde or Frankenstein's monster. This book could sit happily in the YA section of the book store.
Sounds good. Still #4 for ebook and audiobook.
Now about 75% of the way through and I'm kind of liking this book more in theory than in practice.I mean, I like me some Gothic fiction, I enjoy the concept of writing the stories of the monsters' daughters and seeing things from their perspective, I'm always a sucker for found families, and I like the meta-textual commentary which adds humour and layers to the characterisation...
But I'm still finding the actual plot just a bit... meh.
I think I would also prefer it without Holmes and Watson. Sherlock Holmes feels a bit too culturally ubiquitous these days, and I also find the presence of the very logical rational detective a little jarring alongside all the monsters. He's also not really done a great deal so far that couldn't have been accomplished by the main characters. It feels a bit like Goss thought she needed to throw him in the pot as well when actually I think the story would be better without him.
I'm about 20% through. I'm doing about 80% audio book and 20% ebook (oh how I love kindle's whispersync). As others have pointed out, the narrator is awesome indeed. I had to reread the first couple of pages a few times to figure out the character interjections (duh on my part). But now I like the sidebars as I tend to write in a similar fashion. Seems good to me so far!
Finished!For anyone who hasn't yet started reading and is wondering which format to go for, I'd definitely recommend the audiobook (narrated by Kate Reading).
I ended up enjoying this book more than I thought at the three-quarters mark - it's a lively read (much livelier than Helliconia Spring!) and I loved the characters and their interactions.
The meta-textual commentary was also fun if you like your fiction meta. My one criticism of it would be that, by revealing early on that (view spoiler) it takes some of the tension out of the story. This was also a problem with including Holmes and Watson - (view spoiler)
Just starting Chapter 15, so I'm 2/3 of the way through. I'm primarily (about 90%) taking it in via the Audiobook, mostly because I drive too much, and it's a delightful book so far.The characters and their touchstones and connections to classic science fiction works, which were my original concern with reading this story, are instead pulling me further and further into the book.
Just starting Chapter 15, so I'm 2/3 of the way through. I'm primarily (about 90%) taking it in via the Audiobook, mostly because I drive too much, and it's a delightful book so far.The characters and their touchstones and connections to classic science fiction works, which were my original concern with reading this story, are instead pulling me further and further into the book.
I'm finally getting from the library!!! I'm saving it for some flight reading I think
Our local library system didn’t have a copy, nor did what’s called ‘NC Cardinal’, which is a network of libraries throughout the state that loan books out, shipping them from one locale to another sans fees (unlike our interlibrary loan system, which charges for the service).Got the dead tree edition, so if I decide I don’t care for it well enough to give it a spot of steadily diminishing shelf space in my personal library, I can always donate it to our local one.
I was really enjoying this book and then the author decided to have her characters walk quickly from Lincoln's Inn Fields to Piccadilly Circus.As a Londoner it bugged the hell out of me. Piccadilly Circus is a mile away and there are much better places closer to Lincoln's Inn Fields to get a cab.
Also let's just say there was a lot of major road creation around Holborn and Lincoln's Inn Fields in the late 19th/early 20th Century (after the book's setting).
Here's a Google maps link of the walk
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Lin...
I'm about 60% done. Still good! I haven't read any of the classics that this comes from, so not sure how that all fits in (i did read the wikipedia article on the Island of Dr. Moreau...does that count?)I dig the (often snide) sidebar comments from the characters. It feel like it gives more insight into who they are outside of the main plotline.
Also, maybe this is just me being too pedantic about the wold at large, but how does the copyright on using characters from other's works of fiction work? I didn't think this type of using characters wholesale like this was allowed without getting permission? (Maybe the author did so...)
All those novels are public, that why there are multiple publishing houses that can publish those novels from the 1800s.
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Tassie Dave, S&L Historian
(last edited Oct 10, 2017 12:23PM)
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rated it 4 stars
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Most books she has taken characters from are well outside the period she would need permission.
Everything printed before 1923 is Public Domain. That would include all the characters Goss uses, except "maybe" Arthur Conan Doyle's creations.
Sherlock Holmes doesn't fully become Public Domain until 2022.
There have been court cases over license fees. It is still a bit cloudy over whether the characters can be used without a license fee.
Tassie Dave wrote: "Alex wrote: "I didn't think this type of using characters wholesale like this was allowed without getting permission? (Maybe the author did so...) "Most books she has taken characters from are we..."
IN the US at least, Holmes is public domain EXCEPT for the stories after 1922 (http://www.npr.org/2014/01/07/2604719...) unless there's a later case that overturned that. Outside the US... I've no idea.
TRP wrote: "I was really enjoying this book and then the author decided to have her characters walk quickly from Lincoln's Inn Fields to Piccadilly Circus.As a Londoner it bugged the hell out of me. Piccadill..."
HAHAHA I'm not a Londoner but I noticed that too. I was quite happy that so much of this was in places/areas in London where I've spent most of my time (for work, I spent a good amount of time hanging out in Shoreditch).
terpkristin wrote: "TRP wrote: "I was really enjoying this book and then the author decided to have her characters walk quickly from Lincoln's Inn Fields to Piccadilly Circus.As a Londoner it bugged the hell out of m..."
she was really careful and pretty accurate about everything else so this stood out. I wondered is she meant Charing Cross which is closer and a rail station where cabs would be easier to get.
This complaint aside I loved the book and if there are more in this universe in the future, I'll be reading them.
TRP wrote: "I was really enjoying this book and then the author decided to have her characters walk quickly from Lincoln's Inn Fields to Piccadilly Circus.As a Londoner it bugged the hell out of me."
As somebody who grew up with firearms, the fact that a gentleman's pocket pistol could hurt Mary's arm and knock her back had a similar effect. We all have a burdens when it comes to suspension of disbelief :-)
Tassie Dave wrote: "Most books she has taken characters from are well outside the period she would need permission..."
Thanks everyone!
When there are a lot of places that are real I like to pull up a map and follow it around. I noticed they did seem to jump around very quickly in London especially for those times when conveyances were not too quick.but otherwise I am fully enjoying the book. I love the side bars (once I figured it out - listening on audiobook). I love all the different characters from some of my favorite books together. I read a series of books from the Riverworld seriesTo Your Scattered Bodies Go they have lots of different characters from real life history all together
Finished the audio book version today and I deeply enjoyed the entire ride. I think it's also fitting to be reading about this book at the same time just as the feminist movement seems to be entering a new phase of activism.
I really loved this book and my only complaint is that there was not more to it especially at the end. I'm sure there will be more later on and I look forward to the (view spoiler)
Jessica wrote: "I love this book! But then again I'm a sucker for reimagined classics, headstrong female characters, and anything with Holmes and Watson. (I hope that last part isn't a spoiler. I took a risk since..."Considering that the Goodreads description mentions Holmes and Watson, I would say you are okay.
OK, I just finished. In the words of the great Bill Preston Esquire, that book was indeed Most Excellent.I just hope Chava the Golem joins the club in the next book ;-)
Thank you Veronica for a great pick!
Just finished! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was originally worried that it would be too derivative of the classics it references, but found myself surprised and impressed with its characters' originality.
I'll be picking up the sequel when it's out.
Finished! Enjoyed it and will be reading the next book, hopefully without side bars.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here is a free story by Theodora Goss that I loved:
https://www.tor.com/2016/05/04/red-as...
Listening to the Podcast, I thought, that sounds extremely familiar, but not the title. It's because I listened to an anthology called "The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination" & the story "The Mad Scientist's Daughter" by Theadora Goss was in it. I'm so glad she wrote a novel about it & I will be listening to "The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter" very soon.
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I mentioned in another thread that the magazine that printed "The Mad Scientist's Daughter" has it available to read for free online.
The Mad Scientist's Daughter (Part 1)
The Mad Scientist's Daughter (Part 2)
It is worth reading to see where the story started.
It is a quick read, but is full of spoilers if you haven't read the book yet.
The only character in this short story that isn't in TSCotAD is Helen Raymond.
She is Helen Vaughan from the 1894 novel The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen
She is another woman who's life is connected with a mad scientist. It was her mother who was operated on. To "open up her mind" Which leads to her having a baby (Helen) with the god Pan.
After listening to the wrap up pod cast I realised that Holmes is mentoring Mary. (He may be interested in other ways as well ;-)As far as Holmes getting involved. He likes weird and interesting things. A bunch of mad scientists offsprings (creations) running around looking for a ripper like murdered. Of course Holmes will get involved.
I enjoyed the (slightly) three dimensional version of Sherlock Holmes.
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
The Great God Pan (other topics)To Your Scattered Bodies Go (other topics)
The Rook (other topics)
Empire State (other topics)
The Shadow of What Was Lost (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Arthur Machen (other topics)James Islington (other topics)
Daniel O'Malley (other topics)
Adam Christopher (other topics)
James Islington (other topics)
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I managed to get a copy of this months pick from the library, although sadly not the audio. Apparently that's not an option and I'm low on audible credits.