Joachim: The Heretic

The sequel to Joachim's Magic, Joachim: The Heretic continues the story of Joachim Gans and his apprentice, Reis Courtney, upon their return to England. The 1585 exploration was considered a failure because no veins of copper were found. Joachim, Queen Elizabeth's Jewish metallurgist, is given a grant to process saltpeter. He goes to Bristol where he runs into trouble at a local inn. By denying Christ as the Son of God, he's considered a blasphemer and tried. Not knowing what to do with him, the judge sends him on to London to continue the trial by the Queen's Privy Council. They eventually free him and after a brief time in Neath, Wales, he returns to his native Bohemia, leaving Reis to work at the horse farm of a wealthy gentleman, carving out a new life for himself. "Superb historical fiction," says School Library Journal