Have read and listened to all of the Giordano Bruno Escapades and this one does not disappoint. This time he is in Prague with a new apprentice Beslar and already a murder. Ziggi an alchemist has been found hanging and his body mutilated.
Rudolf 11 has given Bruno the job of finding out who killed Ziggi because in Bohemia Prague Rudolf 11 has tolerated the alchemist to find the philosopher's stone thus giving him immortality. Anywhere else these alchemists would be classed as heresy and witchcraft punishable by death.
Bruno also meets up with his long-time enemy from the Inquisition who would gladly convict Bruno of heresy but he's always managed to escape their clutches.
These books are quite long and can tend to drift sometimes but always very entertaining I did get this as an ARC copy to review but it is an honest review as the detection of murder is so very different from today,
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this copy.

Prague 1588, and Giordano Bruno, sent by the spymaster Walsingham, is searching for his friend John Dee, who, as well as being a renowned alchemist, is also a fellow spy. John Dee is nowhere to be found and when a fellow alchemist is brutally murdered, Dee becomes a suspect.
Rudolf, The Holy Roman Emperor, orders Bruno to find the killer.
The political turmoil in Prague at the time is a colourful and diverse back drop to this tale of intrigue and corruption. As with all S J Parris’ characters, Bruno is authentic, well rounded and full of life.
This is quite a long read but thoroughly enjoyable.
Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping fast paced historical thriller set in 1588 Prague at the court of the Holy Roman Empire.
Seventh in the series featuring ex-priest turned spy Giordano Bruno.
It’s an interesting and engaging read, the historical research for the book is incredible, transporting you to the time and place making it feel totally immersive.
Loved the clever twists and turns and Prague makes for such a magical setting .
Thanks @sjmerrittbooks @harpercollins & @netgalley for the eARC

I was sent a copy of Alchemy by S. J. Parris to read and review by NetGalley. I think that this is my favourite book in the Giordano Bruno series that I have read so far. It is full of intrigue and murder, with a backdrop of Prague under the rule of The Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II. There are plenty of twists and turns as we have come to expect from this author, and a large cast of characters – all of which I found to be very believable. All in all a really good murder mystery to get your teeth into!

I really enjoy this series and was an auto request for me although I do admit to rolling my eyes a bit at the title: I have read many books in this genre and time period with Alchemy as the theme. However I’m sorry I doubted the author because this was a great read, set in Bohemia with Rudolph as Holy Roman Emperor. The plot was a good one and I really had no idea how the story would end. It felt like quite a long book but I took it slowly and was thoroughly absorbed. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I was given a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alchemy is the seventh book in a series featuring Giordano Bruno, a sixteenth century free thinker. It is a rare historical novel that impresses me, particularly in this period of history which I know quite well, but like others in the series it does not disappoint.

The book is set in Prague during the Reign of Rudolph who was known for his patronage of early scientists. Alchemy was not just the search for eternal life or turning lead into gold, it was the search for knowledge of how substances react together and is the beginnings of the discipline of chemistry.

Bruno arrives in Prague in search of his friend the magician John Dee only to find he went missing three weeks earlier and a fellow Alchemist has just turned up murdered. Bruno is called in to investigate and is caught up in high politics, inter-religious tensions, and the perpetual struggle for power and influence at court. There are many twists and turns, reflecting the streets of the city, but of course are hero comes out on top.

It's a classic Bruno story, and one I really enjoyed reading. I think it stands up well on its own, whether or not you have read the other books in the series. Highly recommended.

Enjoyed, very much. The characters, the history, the sense of everyday life and danger.
Just thought it was a bit long. I would have liked to learn more of Besler, travelling alongside Bruno in search of Dee, but perhaps this is for another day.

5.0 out of 5 stars great addition to the series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 July 2023
Was delighted to see S J Parris has written a new Giordano Bruno novel.I have read all the previous books and absolutely love them. I do enjoy good historical fiction and Parris is definitely one of the finest writers in the genre.
Bruno an ex monk considered a heretic for his writings travels to Prague (at the behest of an old fiend),the seat of the Holy Roman emperor, surprisinly a liberal and ruler who is even content to allow a sizeable jewish community in his city safe from the pogroms of much of europe.

His friend John Dee has been an Intelligencer at the English court as has Bruno himself ,and when Bruno arrives is missing and a suspect in the heinous and brutal murder of one of the many Alchemists working under the protection of the emperor involved in the hunt to discover the philosophers stone,the secret of immortality. .A rival of Dee he had a serious argument only days before the murder.
Introduced to the Emperor Bruno accepts a commision to find the killer.Another murder takes place and the emperor receiver a box containing a pair of eyes .Pressure mounts on Bruno as he attempts to unravel the myriad of plots and counterplots those looking to ingratiate themselves with the Emperor or consolidate their influence or diminish someone elses.
The evocation of the sights sounds and smells of a mid 1500's city the attitudes of the people and their readiness to accept the gossip pointing to the guilt of the jews and a jewish monster ,a golem for the murder and desecration of the body are exceptionally well done .All this adds to the tension in the city and the stress on Bruno to solve the murders before people start taking the law into their own hands with no more than superstition and prejudice guiding them.
ALL in all an exciting mystery all solved in Bruno's own inimitable style.An excellent addition the series.

Another brilliant story featuring Giordano Bruno, a vivid and well researched historical background, a solid plot that kept me guessing
Fun fact: i’m not a fan if the real Giordano Bruno even if his philosophical ideas are interesting and he is a stmbol of free thinking
Highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher, all opinions are mine

A book in a series following the adventures and investigations of Bruno Giordano, an Elizabethan philosopher and thinker. This adventure is set in Prague and although it has the usual intrigue and mystery we have come to expect from this series, I found the book to be slow going and clunky in parts as well as fairly predictable. Maybe it’s time to mix up the formula a little. That said, it is well researched, just a bit dull.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy.

Why is it that today's authors feel the need to use random expletives? For me, this book was spoiled by their use. Having said that there were less than half the number in Alchemy than there were in Execution.

Even two educated and intelligent men in the 16th century using the phrase "three score and ten" seems unlikely as I understand that phrase structure did not appear until the 17th Century version of the KJ Bible. In real life, historians suggest "average" life expectancy was around 35.

All of the above took the edge off what I still found to be a rather good and interesting read and a good follow on from her previous volumes. In spite of everything, a scant 4 Stars and still a book for close to the top of your reading list if you can deal with the idiosyncratic drifts towards more modern times.

A great combination of historical fiction and crime, the writing really brings to life the spirit and feel of Prague in 1588 along with the political / religious conflicts playing out during this period.

I look forward to reading more of Giordano Bruno adventures.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Alchemy.

Very enjoyable and well written. I enjoy this glimpse into the world of Bruno and Elizabethan intrigue.

This is an excellent historical crime series with a great central character in Bruno. This one is set in Prague and has some wonderful historical details of life and death and alchemy and science. Long and twisty but well worth the effort.

Bruno ends up in Prague, at the court of Emperor Rudolph who is a man of mercurial passions and inconsistent patronage. A man has been murdered, a friend of his is missing and the Jewish population are being blamed for releasing a Golem. The Emperor gives Bruno the task of finding the murderer which he does really much more by chance and having ruled everyone else out! There are some good scenes between him and an old enemy from the Catholic Church. This took a bit of time to get me interested as you have to become familiar with quite a vast array of characters; however, after that the story moves at a great pace and is another enjoyable instalment in the series, Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC.

Another great outing for Giordano Bruno - the memory master, heretic and sleuth. This time Bruno is in Prague in 1588. He has travelled there to gain favour with the Emperor and to catch up with his old friend, John Dee. However, he is soon investigating the brutal and gruesome death of Ziggi Bartos, one of Dee’s rivals for the patronage from the Emperor … and so begins another thrilling and twisting mystery.

This is an energetic and enjoyable read, with S J Parris’s usual array of vivid characters. Great for fans of Rory Clemente’s John Shakespeare series.

There are few books that combine history, murder mystery, and detective thriller, as successfully as SJ Parris does in her Bruno series.
I’ve loved all her previous books and was really looking forward to this, the 7th, set in C16th Prague and featuring Giodarno Bruno, the reluctant detective working for Elizabeth 1’s spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham.
Loving and knowing Prague well, and also knowing a fair bit about Jewish history, I came to the book with high expectations, and it certainly did not disappoint.
It’s a real page-turner. As with previous books, I found myself very quickly immersed in C16th Prague, and staying up far too late at night unable to stop reading and wanting to find out the truth in this typically twisty tale.
My only regret is that having raced through it, I’ll have to wait ages for another book!
With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC.

An Italian philosopher exiled for heresy in the 16th century travels to Prague to solve a bizarre mystery, interfacing with both the Holy Roman Emperor and the small Jewish community. I didn't realize until I finished the book that it was one of a series - it stands very well on its own and I am now interested in reading the others. It's a clever plot, full of twists and turns and had me trying to guess the outcome to the very end. I would recommend to any fans of "The Name of the Rose" and definitely will keep an eye out for other books in this series - a very enjoyable read.

I don’t read many book series but Giordano Bruno is a character I happily return to. I was surprised to see it’s over 3 years since I read the last instalment, but I did have the pleasure of his company last year when reading the short stories in The Dead of Winter. I know what we get here is a fictional portrayal of a real historical person but I’ve come to believe in Steph Merritt’s version of Bruno as fully as I do Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell.
Since we last met him, Bruno has been living a quiet(er) life as a scholar in Wittenberg. But has that been enough to keep him occupied? A letter from his former boss Walsingham has him hurrying to see his old mucker John Dee in Prague. It’s a great place for intrigue: Emperor Rudolf is ill-equipped to rule so the jostling for position and intrigue at court are even more pronounced. The setting of the castle complex, old town and Jewish quarter is a great backdrop and I could imagine it on screen; I wonder if Merritt has form writing screenplays.
Bruno is charged with investigating the murder of one of Rudolf’s pet alchemists; as with all the best whodunnits, there are several people who would stand to gain from his demise. So, as usual, Bruno has to use all his skills, cerebral and physical, to get to the bottom of it. But it takes its toll: his always being sleep-deprived and getting beaten up puts me in mind of a knackered Indiana Jones at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The appearance the Spanish ambassador and the papal nuncio, a Dominican friar from Bruno’s past, both with inquisitorial form, made me shiver; was this foreshadowing of his ultimate fate? I guess we’ll just have to wait for the next book.

Another Giordano Bruno book, this time set in Prague. Lots of history, rich description and plenty of twists and turns.
Another mystery for Bruno to solve when his friend goes missing. Good characters and a good story.
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