The conclusion of the trilogy, and perhaps the best yet. There are twists and turns, and a resolution to the mystery that you probably not see coming. With the elements there, it is hard to figure out yet Nostradamus and Alfeo do.

Along with their many acquaintances, and working with the structure of Venice, this historical mystery teaches us about renaissance Venice and is a lot of fun as well. One could not ask for better as a guide to the time and era.

All told, this little trilogy was very much worth the effort and one can only hope that Duncan wants to do a second trilogy, especially letting us know what happens to Sier Alfeo. I can only think that somewhere along the man's path he is struct from the Golden Book because of Nostrodamus, and then later on, he is restored as well. ( )

(Amy) This is an interesting contrast to my last review - the protagonist of this series is a teenager in early-Renaissance Venice, and OK, yes, he's cocky and kind of a jackass, and yet he still manages to treat women more like people than Harry Dresden does, at 30-something in 21st century Chicago. Go figure. Of course, that's probably anachronistic on the part of Dave Duncan, but it's still interesting.

...and that's the closest thing I have to new stuff to say, here. I've said pretty much everything I have to say about these books, I think, here and here. The series is neatly done, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

( http://weblog.siliconcerebrate.com/zenos-library/2009/07/the_alchemists_pursuit_... ) ( )