The Alchemist s Secret

Összefoglaló

A former élite member of the SAS, Ben Hope is tortured by a tragedy from his past and now devotes his life to finding kidnapped children. But when Ben is recruited to locate an ancient manuscript to save a dying child, he embarks on the deadliest quest of his life. The document is alleged to contain the formula for the elixir of life, discovered by the brilliant alchemist Fulcanelli decades before. But it becomes apparent that others also desire its secrets - for far more evil ends. When the script remains impenetrable, Ben teams up with beautiful American scientist Dr Roberta Ryder to crack the code. It seems that everyone - from the Nazis during WW2 and powerful Catholic organisation Gladius Domini - wants to unearth the mysteries of immortality. The trail leads Ben and Roberta from Paris to the ancient Cathar strongholds of the Languedoc, where an astonishing secret has lain hidden for centuries.

As you might know and have realised by know, I am a sucker for quest stories. I love them! In book form and in the movies! Yes, I am the original Indiana Jones fan – I dug up my parents’ carefully planned garden every weekend, looking for treasure I had accidentally “lost” – much to their anger. But I digress:

So, when Avon sent this onto me to review, I was in the throes of finishing a coursework assignment for CEM. So I got up extra early to read it and stayed up late to finish it. Alchemist is that good, I kid you not. I am so enarmoured of it, I’ve rung them up and asked for an interview with the author, Scott Mariani and because I can be a bit scary in full swing, they agreed just to get me to shut up. So keep an eye out for that in the next few days or so.