The Alchemists of Loom

Loom Saga Series, Book 1

By: Elise Kova

Narrated by: Tim Campbell, Erin Moon

Ari lost everything she once loved when the Five Guilds' resistance fell to the Dragon King. Now, she uses her unparalleled gift for clockwork machinery in tandem with notoriously unscrupulous morals to contribute to a thriving underground organ market. There isn't a place on Loom that is secure from the engineer-turned-thief, and her magical talents are sold to the highest bidder, as long as the job defies their Dragon oppressors.

Cvareh would do anything to see his sister usurp the Dragon King and sit on the throne. His family's house has endured the shame of being the lowest rung in the Dragons' society for far too long. The Alchemist Guild, down on Loom, may just hold the key to putting his kin in power, if Cvareh can get to them before the Dragon King's assassins.

When Ari stumbles upon a wounded Cvareh, she sees an opportunity to slaughter an enemy and make a profit off his corpse. But the Dragon sees an opportunity to navigate Loom with the best person to get him where he wants to go. He offers her the one thing Ari can't refuse: a wish of her greatest desire, if she brings him to the Alchemists of Loom.

©2016 Elise Kova (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Kova crafts a fascinating divided world...The steampunk technology of the Fenthri and magic of the Dragons are nicely depicted." ( Publishers Weekly)

Cool world, great characters, good book

the world is novel and interesting and the characters are well written. there is a bit more exposition than I'd prefer, but it's still compelling the whole way through: well worth the read. the narration is excellent and very enjoyable.

GOOD PLOT. WELL WRITTEN.

Good storyline. The protagonists were interesting characters. Aries, an engineer turned thief uses her talents to kill dragons and sell their organs to the highest bidder at an underground organ market. Cvareh, a dragon, wounded by the dragon king's man was found by Aris. He offered her a boon in exchange for her bringing him to the Alchemists of Loom. The narrators were alright but I would have preferred if there is only one narrator. Tim Campbell did quite well and should have continued the whole story by himself, IMO. Worth continuing the series.

omg I love everything this author writes!

I need book two now! I love this series and author! I am so relieved that Elise Kova releases her books so quickly.

inconsistent accents

the story itself was great! pretty fast paced, and we skip days in a few minutes... my only gripe is with the main woman narrator. sometimes her British accents used for Cvareh were not British at all. they went from British to American accents every few chapters or so. and for the royal dragons, it was overemphasized British accents for them, which at least was consistent. the mans voice was great. the definition of dragons was downplayed by the fact that they are shaped more like humans. if you like fantasy and can handle that fact about the dragons and not the typical idea of them, then pick this up! its great!

Would have preferred a single narrator.

I adore the characters and the world Elise created. Her writing style is light and fluid and the story moves along without getting bogged down in unnecessary fluff. Elise had recommended this to me when I met her at a con and I'm glad she did. My only knock is that I don't like the narrator switch. Erin Moon's a wonderful voice to the characters with a lot more range than Tim offers. That's not to say Tim is bad, I just don't think he's the best fit for it.