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Another rave review for the great Walter Moers and his new novel The Alchemaster's Apprentice: "Moers is a German author and cartoonist who has had five books translated into English (four of which are set in Zamonia). The most recent being The Alchemaster’s Apprentice. These books can be read in any order, so don’t worry about starting with the newest book first. What Moers has done is set about exploring Zamonia – so while characters may make cameos in eachothers’ stories, this is not a chronologically told tale. You will not be following the continuing saga of one single character or event through a series of books. Instead, with each story the reader is allowed to pop in and out of different sections and cities of Zamonia. You learn about Wolpertings and Crats, Lindworms and Blue Bears, Shark Grubs and more. You’ll visit Bookholm, the Netherworld and, in this newest adventure, Malaisea.

And the cause of all this sickness is Ghoolion the Terrible, the Alchemaster of the book’s title and resident of the creepy-looking castle. Echo, a Crat (looks like a cat, but can speak any language and has two livers), is our hero. After his mistress’ death he is left to starve on the streets of Malaisea. Ghoolion finds Echo and offers him a Faustian bargain. Until the full moon he will feed Echo the most delicious foods the Crat has ever eaten and teach Echo all his alchemical secrets. Then, at month’s end, Ghoolion will render Echo down for his fat to use in experiments (Crat fat being extremely rare). Seeing no other option other than starvation, Echo agrees.

Moers is not only an inventive writer, he is also a very funny one. As the story progresses, Ghoolion (not without a certain charisma) and Echo form a demented odd couple. The Alchemaster more than keeps to his part of the bargain – and the two main characters seem to develop a mutual respect which borders on friendship. Their interactions, even moreso than Echo’s quest to break his contract, really propel the plot forward. (In fact, if it wasn’t for the whole killing the Crat for his fat and torturing the citizens of Malaisea with fear and disease – we’d be rooting for team Ghoolian).

The subtitle of The Alchemaster’s Apprentice is A Culinary Tale from Zamonia – and the Zamonian delicacies Ghoolion prepares for Echo are an important (as well as entertaining) element of the story (What comes next is one of the funniest scenes in the book, but we won’t ruin it for you). The Alchemaster’s Apprentice is a story that you lose yourself in – the very definition of escapist literature. It has a cast of supporting characters and settings – all examples of Zamonian flora and fauna – that will fascinate and enchant you. And when you finish, we promise you’ll want to get the rest of the series: Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures; The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear, and The City of Dreaming Books. You can pass them on to your friends or just wait for them to discover the books themselves. Suggestions: The Zamonia novels are perfect to share with t

Many thanks to all who attended the Brooklyn Book Festival yesterday - we had a FANTASTIC time meeting and talking books with everyone who came by the Overlook booth. We're always grateful to hear what you have to say about the books we publish. Our bestsellers for the day were: New York in the 70s, anything and everything by the great Walter Moers, Today I Wrote Nothing, Church Signs Across America, and Milton Glaser's Drawing is Thinking.

Omnivoracious book blogger Jeff VanderMeer pays tribute to the "Mad Genius of Walter Moers:"

"The Overlook Press should get some kind of special dispensation from Heaven for bringing readers so many great books, and especially the work of German genius Walter Moers. For pure reading pleasure, nothing really beats his The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures, and The City of Dreaming Books. It's not just the incredible level of imagination on display in the text--it's also the stunning artwork that not only complements the writing but helps, in its own way, to tell the story. And what stories! Twisted, wild, brutally humorous and at times more serious than you might think, Moers as storyteller is a true original, a one-off whose sensibility and talent cannot be duplicated.

Now he's back with The Alchemaster's Apprentice. In this new crackpot adventure, set in Malaisea, a backward town of Zamonia, Echo the Crat is forced into a contract with Ghoolion the Alchemaster that calls for him to be rendered for his fat in a month's time. Yes, you read that correctly. Fat-rendering will occur, unless Echo can find some way out of the contract--which he attempts by consulting with creatures far and wide. Echo, you see, can speak in the language of every species. What species? Well, this is Moers, so they include Leathermice, Cogitating Eggs, the Cooked Ghost, and more!"

The Mad Hatter's Bookshelf, one of our favorite sci-fi and fantasy blogs, pays tribute the new novel by Walter Moers, The Alchemaster's Apprentice: "There are few authors who get me as excited about a new release as Moers since his The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Blue Bear is probably my favorite comic Fantasy of the last decade. A new Walter Moers book means I put aside whatever I am doing and start reading with a profuse amount of breaks for laughter. I'm always amazed by how good the translations by John Brownjohn are for these books as Moers is known for creating words and tweaking many others to his twisted pen. Accompanied by dozens of illustrations by Moers The Alchemaster's Apprentice is the fourth Zamonia novel after The City of Dreaming Books ,which keeps to the same high quality as previous books. The series to this point has been far sweeping stories that explore the lost continent whether it be across the land or under it, however the latest entrant breaks from that mold as it stays in the just one place, which is the unhealthiest city in Zamonia, Malaisea, where the resident Alchemaster Ghoolian reigns over the sickly populace. The Alchemaster's Apprentice is the most intimate and shortest tale to date, but is no less entertaining for its brevity. . . The Alchemaster's Apprentice is a dark fairy tale for adults that keeps you laughing even through the most gruesome of parts. The ending was a bit expected, but the journey to get there what the fun is all about. I give The Alchemaster's Apprentice 9 out of 10 Hats."

The Alchemaster's Apprentice is the new novel from Walter Moers, the world renowned German author of novels and comics. Following in the steps of The 131/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, Rumo, and The City of Dreaming Books, The Alchemaster's Apprentice takes readers back to that favorite place: Zamonia.

Publishers Weekly has given the new Walter Moers novel The Alchemaster's Apprentice a starred review in next week's issue: "Moers’s elegantly written fourth stand alone comic fantasy set in Zamonia (after 2008’s The City of Dreaming Books) takes us to the city of Malaisea, where everyone is sick except for two characters: Echo, a Crat (a talking cat, more or less), and Ghoolion, an evil alchemist likely responsible for Malaisea’s afflictions. Crat and alchemist cross paths when the starving Echo is offered a month of food, entertainment and alchemical secrets, after which Ghoolion will kill him to boil down his fat. Ghoolion proves a magically masterful chef, and Echo quickly becomes fascinated by Ghoolion’s work, particularly the morphic meals that seem to transform Echo into different creatures. Secrets are revealed, old bodies unearthed and strange allies made in this entrancing tale of darkness, determined survival and incredibly luxurious cuisine."

New in paperback this month is another zany adventure in the land of Zamonia from Walter Moers: The City of Dreaming Books. Moers got the idea to write this novel after visiting second-hand bookshops on the East Coast of the United States. The German version was released in Fall 2004, and the English version from Overlook followed in Fall 2007. Publishers Weekly called The City of Dreaming Books "an uproarious fantasy, a delightfully imaginative mélange of Shel Silverstein zaniness and oddball anthropomorphism à la Terry Pratchett's Discworld. . . .Enchanting illustrations by the author compliment a wonderfully whimsical story that will appeal to readers of all ages."