The Alchemaster's Apprentice - Walter Moers

Title: The Alchemaster's Apprentice
Author: Walter Moers
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 384
Date read: July, 2016

Malaisea, the unhealthiest town in the whole of Zamonia, is home to Echo the Crat, a multitalented creature resembling a cat in appearance but capable of speaking any language under the sun, human or animal. When his mistress dies, Echo finds himself out on the street. Dying of starvation, he is compelled to sign a contract with Ghoolion the Alchemaster, Malaisea's evil alchemist-in-chief. This fateful document gives Ghoolion the right to kill Echo at the next full moon and render him down for his fat, with which he hopes to brew an alchemical concoction that will make him immortal. In return, he promises to regale the little Crat with the most exquisite gastronomic delicacies until his time is up.

But Ghoolion has reckoned without Echo's talent for survival and his ability to make new friends. These include the Leathermice, the Cogitating Eggs, the Golden Squirrel, the Cooked Ghost, Theodore T. Theodore the one-eyed Tuwituwu, and, above all, Izanuela Anazazi, the last Uggly in Malaisea.


Unfortunately the weakest of Walter Moers' books so far. I still liked it, and the writing style totally lived up to my expectations, but unfortunately the plot itself didn't, as it was too 'small' a plot to allow for a ~400p book, which resulted in a book that was rather drawn out in places.

Had it been cut down to 200-250 pages I'd probably have loved it.