The Alchemist War (Time-tripping Faradays, 1) - Softcover

Seven, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1434264386 ISBN 13: 9781434264381

Publisher: Capstone Press, 2013

Synopsis

Dawk and Hype find themselves in the middle of an alchemist mystery in 1600s Prague.

About this title

About the Author:

John Seven grew up in the 1970s, when science fiction movies and TV shows were cheap and fun. His favorites shows were The Starlost, Land of the Lost, and Return to the Planet of the Apes, and he loved time travel most of all. John collaborated with his wife, illustrator Jana Christy, on the comic book Very Vicky and a number of children’s books, including the multi-award-winning The Ocean Story, A Year With Friends, A Rule Is To Break: A Child’s Guide To Anarchy, and Happy Punks 1-2-3. John was born in Savannah, GA and currently lives in North Adams, MA with his wife and their twin sons, Harry and Hugo, where they all watch a lot of Doctor Who and Lost together.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 4-8-One of the advantages of having parents who are temporal researchers for the Cosmos Institute in the 25th century is the chance to join them during field research. One of the disadvantages is having to explain nearly derailing Hannibal's march across the Alps due to a mouse, a herd of elephants, and a squeamish Carthaginian soldier. On probation after the rodent mishap, teenagers Dawk and Hype are sent with their parents to Prague in 1648 to research the footwear of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III. They meet Richthausen, an alchemist who seems able to actually transform metal into gold. The siblings, along with their OpBot Fizzbin, suspect that he has come across technology from far in the future. Posing as the man's new apprentices, the teens find themselves embroiled in a dangerous mystery. The novel is light on character development but full of action and intriguing concepts and possibilities. The requisite technology of the 25th century is quickly explained in the early chapters, including the NeuroNet, which allows everyone access to all the world's compiled knowledge, and the Link, its social component. The short chapters may appeal to reluctant readers. This sci-fi foray is sure to be embraced by kids who once relished the time-traveling adventures in Mary Pope Osborne's "Magic Tree House" series (Random) or Jon Scieszka's "Time Warp Trio" (Penguin) and those who enjoy the "Infinity Ring" (Scholastic) series.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, ILα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Capstone Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1434264386
• ISBN 13: 9781434264381
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160
• Illustrator: Phillips Craig