Bitten by Books
Geologist Petra Dee arrives in the small town of Temperance, Wyoming, for a job in Yellowstone National Park, taking soil samples for the U.S. Geological Survey. Mike, the park ranger who picks her up at the airport and drives her to her ramshackle rental trailer in a desolate area, tries to convince Petra she should go to the park lodge rather than stay there, but she tells him she will be fine, especially as the less-than-ideal accommodation represents an improvement over the oil rig she just left. Mike does insist that Petra needs protection, and leaves her one of his personal firearms.
That night, Petra wakes when she hears an animal (a dog, she thinks) outside, but when she goes to investigate, discovers a coyote digging. The oddly-tame animal unearths an unusual medallion-one that contains a design similar to the necklace given to Petra by her father before he disappeared years earlier-in Temperance.
Petra’s trek on foot into town the next day involves being harassed (and chased) by a carful of meth heads, a visit to a local gas station/convenience store that serves some locally-famous sandwiches, buying an old Bronco from the resident social worker, Maria Yellowrose, and pulling her gun on Maria’s drunken, somewhat-prophetic uncle to get him to stop beating a local ranch hand with a fence post. These events, plus a few others that follow in swift succession, lead Petra to realize that much lies beneath the surface of Temperance, Wyoming, at least some of which affects her.
In Dark Alchemy, Bickle skillfully creates an engrossing atmosphere of both realistic familiarity and surreal mystery. Right along with Petra, the reader feels as though they never quite know exactly what may be going on at any given moment. The past (both recent and more distant) combines with the present in a tale that puts the Yellowstone area in a completely unexpected light, yet upon further reflection makes sense given the area’s geologic and environmental uniqueness. Petra proves a likeable character easy to root for, and her somewhat grudging acceptance of the things she sees and experiences feels believable. Fans of both urban fantasy and atmospheric speculative fiction should find much to enjoy here.
Book Stats:
- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse (April 28, 2015)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 006240492X
- ISBN-13: 978-0062404923
Buy a print copy of Dark Alchemy from Amazon by clicking here.
Buy a Kindle copy of Dark Alchemy from Amazon by clicking here.
Books in the Dark Alchemy series in the order they should be read:
Dark Alchemy
Mercury Retrograde
Review Overview
Overall Rating
Total
Summary : In Dark Alchemy, Bickle skillfully creates an engrossing atmosphere of both realistic familiarity and surreal mystery. Right along with Petra, the reader feels as though they never quite know exactly what may be going on at any given moment. The past (both recent and more distant) combines with the present in a tale that puts the Yellowstone area in a completely unexpected light, yet upon further reflection makes sense given the area’s geologic and environmental uniqueness.
