Azoth

A book that is both intellectually stimulating and also narratively engrossing. It takes place in a maze, and the author, John Sandbach, crafts the book's structure to mimic that setting by taking the reader through complex and sometimes disorienting turns. The flow is so successful that the several restrictions that Sandbach imposes on himself are almost unnoticeable, namely writing mostly in the voice of a female speaking aloud about her experiences -- not a simple task. The characters feel like an artist's psyche projected onto several personalities, the inner mixture of youthful naiveté and sagely wisdom especially. One of those novels that, in day to day life, unexpectedly comes up again in the back of your mind.

This is an amazing book filled with mystery intrigue and many questions to be disclosed and explored. At its heart it is filled with many deep truths and messages for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see!

As a lover of fantasy epics I found Sandbach's voice refreshingly complex and clearly influenced by authors of the past. His characters are strange, intriguing and somehow feel incredibly real. Like the lost history of some bizarre land this story meanders through time and tells the stories of multiple characters, each as interesting as the last. Definitely what I would call Whole Grain Reading that challenges the mind, and sometimes vocabulary, of anyone lucky enough to give Sandbach's epic a go.

one of the best books out there!

A chronicle of the mysteries and wonders of Azoth by the very talented Master, John Sandbach. Do not hesitate to step into the maze for this is a book lover's book. Those who suffer from book lust will thrill to the mysteries of the palimpsest of Brisar and the search for this lost tome down twisting back alleys and into dim and dusty bookshops...in back rooms filled with towering piles of forgotten books. Words seeping down the pages and into pools of various colors of ink blending into the pattern of the ancient carpet. Delicious! Alice in Wonderland for the millennium mixed with Snow White and Frankenstein. These are the ancient tales and themes that one never tires of reading. This book evokes the same feeling as my old fairytale book that I read over and over again every night for many years...no, I was not alone in the dark, I knew, all along... Azoth is like that! You open the door into that lost world, the beauty, terror and sensuality of it... the timeless truth to be savored endlessly until there is no more time. Azoth is ever fresh and as magical as the palimpsest from which it came complete with the power to make it new with each reading and seeing layer upon layer contained within, like looking deeply into an astrological chart. Intoxicating and sumptuous, Lovecraftian, and mystical channeled by a alchemist at the top of his powers who has created a separate reality. Remember that little shop in Peth that sells potions and elixirs? I will meet you there...