The Five Elements (The Alchemancer: Book 1)

4.11 Stars/19 ratings/10 reviews On Goodreads (goodreads.com/book/show/13425167-the-five-elements)

"I loved the story and it was the perfect combination of elemental magic and adventure." - Ritesh Kala, Ritesh Kala's Book Reviews

Alchemist, mathematician, sorcerer's apprentice, Aaron is an unpretentious, gifted fifteen year old apprenticed to the great master sorcerer, Elsanar. His daily routine is thrown into disarray when his home is attacked and he is forced to flee for his life.

Shanna is a free-spirited fifteen year old who wants, above all else, freedom from the life of drudgery that awaits her as she enters adulthood. She is given this opportunity when Norwynne is near leveled by an elemental attack.

A member of the blue-black skinned race known as eslar, Ensel Rhe's reasons for coming to Norwynne remain as enigmatic as the blood-stained satchel he carries with him everywhere.

Savant, scholar, man of science. He walks as if an elder one moment, then moves with the swiftness of a twenty year old the next. His purpose is both mysterious and diabolical.

Aaron--scholar, alchemist, and sorcerer's apprentice--wants nothing more than to study his tomes, perform his experiments, and spend time with his closest friend, Shanna. Substitute the occasional romp about the city for the books and plenty of games of crutchit for the smelly alchemicals, and Shanna is just fine with that too.

Their routines--and their lives--are thrown into chaos when an elemental attack is launched against their home. Aaron thinks Shanna killed, while Aaron himself is forced to flee for his life. For Shanna, who survives that fateful night, the greatest adventure of her life is about to begin. Only the worst of nightmares awaits Aaron: pursued by dwarves, hell hounds, and a demon who will not stop until he is dead, the only thing keeping him alive is his own resourcefulness and an eslar mercenary whose reputation as a killer might make him the worst threat of all.

Though Aaron and Shanna travel different paths, their purpose is joined when they individually learn of the mysterious Fifth Element. Shanna sees it as the final piece in the puzzle that is her destiny. To Aaron's logical mind, it is an impossible ambiguity. Whatever the answer, the Fifth Element draws them back together and into a final confrontation not as allies, but as adversaries.