The Alchemist's Apprentice

the long version

"Madagascar Rhodes was probably the most famous author in the world. His magical novel The Alchemist's Apprentice enchanted millions of readers, making him a household name to rival...well, any other household name you care to mention." "And yet, strangely, you've never heard of him. Or his amazing book. In fact, it's almost as if Madagascar Rhodes never existed." "To unravel the tangled threads of reality and - what? Fantasy? Dream? Plain old-fashioned fabrication? - you have to go back to the beginning. To a rather odd New Year's Eve party in 1996. Or earlier, to that chance encounter with a ghostly girl in a sunny garden. Or perhaps it all really began when an unsuccessful novelist called Roderick Bent embarked on a train journey from King's Cross to Ely and found himself travelling into a nightmare." "Actually, it doesn't really matter where you start. The point is that when you get to the end of The Alchemist's Apprentice, you'll understand why there's never been another book like it. And, more importantly, why you can't remember that you've already read it."--Book jacket.