Alfeo Zeno is one of the many impoverished nobility living in Venice, but he is an apprentice to a very important man- Nostradamus. Not the famous Michel de Nostredame, but Filippo Nostradamus who is Michel’s nephew. Nostradamus is both an astrologer and physician, but he also dabbles in alchemy and prophecy. Zeno is his student but also Nostradamus’s feet and eyes since health problems make travel difficult for his master. This Venice is also not identical to the city of the 1600’s, but instead is the creation of a parallel history that has both elements of truth and fantasy.

The Alchemist series by Dave Duncan has three books and is an enjoyable treat that blends mystery, fantasy, and history. In all three books there is a mystery to be solved, but there is more than one way to solve a murder. Most of the detective work involves Zeno following leads, interviewing witnesses, and using deduction, but that doesn’t mean that tarot cards and prophecy is not used as well. History is interwoven with the story creating a feel of Venice in the 1600’s, and keeping true to the age is the threat of witchcraft that hangs over Nostradamus.

In the first book, The Alchemist’s Apprentice, a man dies after Nostradamus warns him of danger. Rumors fly that the victim was killed by Nostradamus in order to fulfill the prophecy, and now he and Zeno have a choice- flee or prove their innocence. Following is the second book The Alchemist’s Code. When a spy has infiltrated the ruling council, Nostradamus is charged to find him. The only clues are messages in a cipher that must be decoded and with little evidence Nostradamus and Zeno must use all their resources to find the traitor. In The Alchemist’s Pursuit, the third book, someone is murdering the courtesans of Venice, and the race is on to stop the killings even though the ruling council has ordered Nostradamus not to investigate.