- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Chronicle Books; 1 edition (May 30 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0811854507
- ISBN-13: 978-0811854504
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 16.1 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 440 g
- Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,993,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9–In this prequel to The Deptford Mice trilogy, Elias Theophratus Spittle, an evil alchemist, tricks Will Godwin into working as his assistant in his apothecary shop. Sent on a hideous task, Will stumbles onto a cat with three kittens in a dreary graveyard. Chilled to the bone and starving, the felines are rescued by Will and brought back to the shop. Convinced that he is in need of a familiar, Doctor Spittle agrees to let them stay. Will's act of kindness leads to a spiraling tale of sorcery, betrayal, murder, and eventually the evil rise of Jupiter, Lord of All. The book is filled with adventure, suspense, and a feeling of dread. However, parts of it move very slowly, particularly in the beginning. Still, Jarvis closes with an unexpected cliff-hanger that will have readers craving more books about Jupiter. Fans of this series and the "Redwall" audience will enjoy this book.–Christine McGinty, Newark Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. This creepy, atmospheric horror tale, the first in the Deptford Histories and a scary prequel to the Deptford Mice trilogy, reveals how Jupiter, Lord of the Darkness, became so evil and so powerful. Orphaned Will Godwin arrives in London in 1664, summoned by an uncle he doesn't know. After being falsely accused of murder, he flees a mob and ends up in the hands of a wicked alchemist, Elias Theophratus Spittle, who forces Will into servitude. On a late-night errand in winter, Will is pursued and almost caught. He finds refuge in an overgrown graveyard, where he comes upon a mother cat and three young kittens, which he carries back to his master's apothecary shop. The streets of London are vividly realized in all their smell, filth, and disease, as is Spittle's laboratory with its noxious potions, smoke, and evil doings. Jarvis delivers a vivid tale of treachery, cruelty, and sorcery, leavened only by Will's innate goodness. It's also a real page-turner, guaranteed to mesmerize readers of the trilogy. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
"Nothing is what it seems," Will whispered to himself, repeating a favorite saying of his father's. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
"Nothing is what it seems," Will whispered to himself, repeating a favorite saying of his father's. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Alchemist's Cat and its cruelty,
By
This review is from: The Alchemist's Cat: Book One of the Deptford Histories (Paperback)
I ordered this book some time ago, but just read it this past week. I truly wish I hadn't. Yes, it had a historical setting, which I like, and did have action and some interesting characters. However, the total cruelty in this book, especially to animals, has haunted me since I finished reading it. Only once before did I read a book that left such lasting distasteful memories and gave me nightmares--that was "The Dogs of Babel"--and it took a few years to cleanse my mind somewhat of that dreadful book. Now, here I am again with nightmares of cruel people trying to club and dismember my beautiful rescued stray cats. My advice would be to steer clear of this book and its vivid detailing of cruelty to both humans and animals. It has no redemptive value.
1.0 out of 5 stars
A painful history,
By
This review is from: The Alchemist's Cat: Book One of the Deptford Histories (Paperback)
The book started promisingly, but became increasingly disturbing. A lot of cruelty, a messy plot, and a sadistic ending featuring horribly burned and dead cats. Not a book I would give to any child I was fond of. I regretted reading it: left ugly traces in the memory.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews) 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Alchemist's Cat,
A Kid's Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Alchemist's Cat (Hardcover)
I got this book because I liked the Deptford Mice books. But this one was incredibly boring, like reading a textbook for history class. With the exception of the very beginning, the very end, and one or two places in the middle, this book was a snoozefest. Take my advice and get the other Deptford Mice stories: (The Dark Portal, Crystal Prison, Final Reckoning) and ignore this one, because you can do without it.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Boring,
By SIS - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Alchemist's Cat (Hardcover)
Unlike the Deptford mice stories, this book is incredibly boring. I couldn't make it through the dull middle, and the only parts I found remotely interesting was the beginning and the end. The author spends way too much time on the creepy setting and the characters aren't sketched out very well. The whole thing isn't very well explained, its as if it needs a prequal to tell you how Dr. Spittle and the others actually ended up where tehy were at the beginning. You don't have to read this one to read the Deptford mice books, so I'd suggest reading those instead, and skipping this one.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
great intro to a wonderful series,
By behappy2005k - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Alchemist's Cat (Hardcover)
This book was very, very, interesting. It wasn't quite the same as the rest of the books in the series. The rest of the series had more magic, while this one had more history and realistic adventures, but it still had plenty of magic in it. I thought it was well thought out and I was a little more fond of the charicters in this book then the ones in the others, probably because I like human charicters better then animals.I recommend this book and all the others in the Deptford Mice Trilogy because it is a truly amazing series! |
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