Hey dopers.
I’m on the hunt for a fantasy series that revolved around alchemy and was probably published (or at least re-published) in the late 1970s/early 1980s.
Chances are good that it was at least a trilogy long, although not for sure.
Any ideas who wrote this series of books, and what the titles are?
Thanks,
Mrs. Furthur
bump
Hmmmmm. Can you give us anything else to go on?
Don’t I wish. I have a patron (I’m a librarian) who has begged me to help him find this series, which he remembered enjoying when it first came out, which he believes was in the late 70s to early 80s sometime. He thinks there were at least three novels in the series.
Instead of being major witches/wizards, etc., he says that the magic, etc. in the book was done by alchemy. The main protagonist may have gone to a school and been an apprentice in alchemy – but possibly not.
His only other clue, which is of doubtful value, is that he thinks it might have been a Tor paperback, since he “read a lot of them at that time.”
Sorry for the paucity of detail! He didn’t give me a lot to go on.
Mrs. Furthur
Could it be this book? I only read a part of it, and that was a long time ago, so I might be way off, but it’s the only thing I could think of.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I don’t think that’s quite it – a bit too recent to make the cut I think. But I will certainly suggest it to him, anyway.
Appreciate your help,
Mrs. Furthur
In the late '70’s or early '80’s, some company issued a big paperback that contained three Henry Kuttner/C.L. Moore novellas, including “The Dark World.” Is it possible you’re thinking of this, because the first and longest novella did revolve around a world based on alchemy.
Amazingly, that actually sounds very vaguely familiar…
Not entirely revolved around alchemy, but alchemy was one of the types explored by an apprentice in the Lyndon Hardy series:
Master of the Five Magics
Secret of teh Sixth Magic
(something about the Seventh realm)
You guys are amazing. I have e-mailed the above possibilities off to my patron, with the feeling that the Lyndon Hardy series may be the strongest candidate with Kuttner running second.
I honestly cannot say how much I appreciate this. If he confirms one of the above is what he’s looking for, I’m probably going to have to give you guys a kidney or something. 
Mrs. Furthur
No kidney necessary. It is the duty of all right minded bibliophiles to assist librarians in whatever manner they require. Besides, there has to be some upside to the abysmal literary taste of my youth. (Though I shall never be able to compensate for the teenage hours spent reading the first 9 or 10 Gor novels. shudder)
Gooooorrrr!!! (Didja catch the Mst3k on the Gor movie? At least, I’m pretty sure it was “Return to Gor” or something – different title perhaps, but hilarious).
It’s good of you to reject the kidney, so to speak, because my patron told me today that you nailed it – that was just what he was looking for, & he’s so excited!
Thanks again. Hehehehee, Gor. Sorry. Hehehehehe. That MST3K was one of the funniest, I swear
Mrs. Furthur
Woo hoo
I helped a librarian! Instant karma points for me.
Keep the kidney. um . . . do you have any copies of Teenaged Wet Dreamers of Gor[sup]1[/sup] that I can check out? 
[sup]1[/sup][sub]Never saw the MST3K treatment, but I wish I had. If ever there were a subject begging for parody . . .[/sub]
BTW – I just glanced at your registration date and post count. Wow. You librarians really mean it when you tell people that silence is the house rule, eh?
