Imagine there is a class that is not on the roster — a class that you have to find. It may start with an errant whisper or a hushed conversation, but once you fall down the rabbit hole a whole new labyrinthine world of myths awaits. Or are they really just myths? Welcome to Folklore 517, a class in urban myths taught in the heart of Los Angeles by the enigmatic Professor whose stories just may be true.
Former Folklore 517 student Holland St. James was never quite able to let go of the Professor's stories. She believed magic could be just around the corner if only she could catch it when it wasn't looking. Having grown up with her father's treasure hunts, it is only natural that she catches the Watch Man first. See, legend has it that there are signs all over LA that point to the Watch Man, a shadowy figure who can tell you when you will die. All you need to do is ask him the time. So when Holland finds Curios & Clockwork in a grimy alley that certainly hadn't existed before, she does just that. Little does she know that she is destined to die the next night, Halloween, one minute before midnight. But there is a catch: she can extend her time if she finds the mythical Alchemical Heart. So starts the ticking clock that sends Holland on a breakneck race through LA and the seedy underworld of urban legend and Hollywood. Garber plants so many twists and turns that it is impossible for any one reader to expect them all — from unreliable narrators and past secrets to devilishly handsome men whose intentions are either murder or salvation if only she can puzzle out who to trust.
My absolute favorite part of Alchemy of Secrets is the second-person chapters scattered throughout the novel. In fact, the novel starts in second person, which perfectly draws the reader into a glamorous, film noir atmosphere. Garber lets the reader feel the tingle of magic across their skin themselves as they fall headfirst into wonderland. Stephanie Garber is one of my favorite authors, and one of the main reasons is her uncanny ability to create atmosphere and drag you into her world. I feel as if I can touch, hear, smell, taste and truly see everything that she writes, and it makes me forget that I am really just staring at a piece of paper and hallucinating. I was interested to see how this would work in urban fantasy compared to her past fairytale fantasies. However, I am happy to report that her skills transfer beautifully to the vintage, art deco world of Alchemy of Secrets.
There was one scene that stuck out to me and makes this world so unique. Holland eventually finds herself in a magically veiled hotel where the grains of time slow to a crawl. As she passes through lacquered doors in one of the rooms, the world is transformed into black and white. It felt like a scene straight out of a movie, like The Wizard of Oz in reverse and it is truly magical to be transported into the silver screen. As Garber puts it, the scene felt like “the moment when you know something is about to happen.”
My only criticism is that some of the circumstances seemed too good to be true. Whether this be a car appearing at just the right time or the next clue somehow always being connected to the conveniently MIA sister who apparently knew everything all along. I was hoping for a Da Vinci Code-style treasure hunt, and while there definitely are some good puzzles, I found too many of them to be right in the reader's face. Additionally — and this may just be a result of the genre — I found that the villainesque love interests did not work as well. This works well in fantasy because many of the situations are unfamiliar to readers. But in an urban fantasy setting, when a character corners a woman in the parking lot with a gun and orders her into a car, it's scary, not attractive. Some of the secondary characters definitely grew on me, but I hope they will be expanded upon in the sequel, beyond shadowy, untrustworthy men or the stereotypical girl best friend who appears when it is convenient for the narrative.
Alchemy of Secrets is Garber's adult debut, and it is a triumph — a perfect shadowy, glitter-dusted dream. Like the lustral glitter scattered amongst the pages, the story sticks with you. You may find yourself peeking down alleyways, listening extra carefully to whispered conversations or buying a stranger a sidecar. I think she did a fantastic job with the novel's pacing, which was aided by the high-stakes time pressure that spanned the plot. I was also happy to see that her whimsical writing style transferred to the adult urban fantasy genre so well. Garber's writing is like spun sugar, dissolving on your tongue, delicate and sweet. I would absolutely recommend Alchemy of Secrets to anyone who has enjoyed Garber's work in the past, as well as anyone who likes their thrillers and mysteries served hot with folklore magic.
“You're here because of a story, [...], now I'm going to tell you another one.”
Thank you to Flatiron Books for an ARC of Alchemy of Secrets!
Ayla Kruse Lawson is a junior in the College of Human Ecology. She can be reached at akruselawson@cornellsun.com.
