What do you think?
Rate this book
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #2
The Magician
Nicholas Flamel appeared in J.K. Rowling s Harry Potter but did you know he really lived? And he might still be alive today!" "Discover the truth in Michael Scott s "New York Times" bestselling series the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel in "The Magician," book two.
After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for Nicholas Flamel. Only this homecoming is anything but sweet. Perenell is still locked up back in Alcatraz and Paris is teeming with enemies. Nicollo Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, is working for Dee. He s after them, and time is running out for Nicholas and Perenell. For every day spent without the Book of Abraham the Mage, they age one year their magic becoming weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophesy is becoming more and more clear.
It s time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic: Fire Magic. And there s only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel s old student, the Comte de Saint-Germain alchemist, magician, and rock star. Josh and Sophie Newman are the world s only hope if they don t turn on each other first.
Readers will be swept up by a plot that moves smartly along, leaving a wide trail of destruction and well-timed revelations. "Kirkus Reveiws," Starred
Read the whole series!
"The Alchemyst"
"The Magician"
"The Sorceress"
"The Necromancer"
"The Warlock"
"The Enchantress" "From the Hardcover edition.""
After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for Nicholas Flamel. Only this homecoming is anything but sweet. Perenell is still locked up back in Alcatraz and Paris is teeming with enemies. Nicollo Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, is working for Dee. He s after them, and time is running out for Nicholas and Perenell. For every day spent without the Book of Abraham the Mage, they age one year their magic becoming weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophesy is becoming more and more clear.
It s time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic: Fire Magic. And there s only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel s old student, the Comte de Saint-Germain alchemist, magician, and rock star. Josh and Sophie Newman are the world s only hope if they don t turn on each other first.
Readers will be swept up by a plot that moves smartly along, leaving a wide trail of destruction and well-timed revelations. "Kirkus Reveiws," Starred
Read the whole series!
"The Alchemyst"
"The Magician"
"The Sorceress"
"The Necromancer"
"The Warlock"
"The Enchantress" "From the Hardcover edition.""
464 pages, Paperback
First published June 24, 2008
2198 people are currently reading
39840 people want to read
About the author
Michael Scott
186 books6,842 followersIrish-born Michael Scott began writing over thirty years ago, and is one of Ireland's most successful and prolific authors, with over one hundred titles to his credit, spanning a
variety of genres, including Fantasy, Science Fiction and Folklore.
He writes for both adults and young adults and is published in thirty-seven countries, in over twenty languages.
Praised for his “unparalleled contribution to children’s literature,” by the Guide to Children’s
Books, Michael Scott was the Writer in Residence during Dublin’s tenure as European City of Culture in 1991, and was featured in the 2006 edition of Who’s Who in Ireland as one of the 1000
most “significant Irish.”
variety of genres, including Fantasy, Science Fiction and Folklore.
He writes for both adults and young adults and is published in thirty-seven countries, in over twenty languages.
Praised for his “unparalleled contribution to children’s literature,” by the Guide to Children’s
Books, Michael Scott was the Writer in Residence during Dublin’s tenure as European City of Culture in 1991, and was featured in the 2006 edition of Who’s Who in Ireland as one of the 1000
most “significant Irish.”
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,458 reviews
March 24, 2018
OK, the story is not bad, but that boy is bugging the heck out of me!!! He is annoying and the sister is just a very little tad better... Will give a chance to the next one...
December 11, 2015
Okay, well I gave two stars to The Alchemyst which is book one in the series and basically thought that it was a bit childish and I probably would not read book 2. The I saw book 2 has a group rating over 4 and thought "well it can't be that bad". So I read it and it was certainly better than book 1. It still wasn't really good though. The story is okay. The magic is that irritating kind where people can do incredible things but then they have to eat or sleep before they can do anything else. And the baddies never seem to have those issues. Some of the characters are a bit out there too. Machiavelli? Joan of Arc? Why? Sorry - I am running away with criticisms again. This is not a bad book. It is really okay. And in a while I might be able to read book 3.
June 4, 2009
More actiony than the first book, and not quite as gripping for me, as the characters just tumbled from chase to chase, and weird enemy creature to weird enemy creature. Readers who like that, however, will eat the book up, and I'm still fascinated enough to read the next book. I admire Scott's grasp of world myth and legend--in that respect he's up there with Neil Gaiman, Jane Lindskold, and Guy Gavriel Kay!
November 4, 2018
Book Two suffers from most of the same weaknesses I mentioned in the review for The Alchemyst: the odd sort of dryness to the writing (don't know if that's quite the word I'm looking for, but no other word is really coming to mind) that causes the book to feel rather dull in places, even when it's during a scene with lots of action, and the bad habit of repeating facts that we've already established over and over. First, we need to relisten to all the main points of what occurred in The Alchemyst, which I find unnecessary, since a reader's enjoyment of this book is going to be quite hindered if they didn't read the first book to begin with, and then, everything that we learn within this book is hammered into our heads time and time again. The constant reminding of auric smells, or powers that everyone can use. This isn't helped when someone will make a comment about something they need to do or referring to some immortal's abilities in a roundabout way, but which the answer for is glaringly obvious to the reader (because, again, due to REPETITION), and Sophie or Josh will act all "Durrrr, what you mean?!?!?", even though it should be obvious to them too.
Speaking of the twins, Josh annoyed the hell out of me in book one while Sophie was alright. By the end of book two, I now hate them both. In fact, this is supposed to be a book series about Nicholas Flamel, so the importance constantly place upon Sophie and Josh, giving them the right to be the Spotlight-Stealing Squad makes things all the more unbearable. It's a young adult series, so of course the main characters need to be teenagers, right? Actually, I think the series would've been a lot stronger, and no less entertaining to youths, had it actually focused more on Flamel and his adventures. (Truthfully, though, I imagine if an author did try to sell a YA story with no minors in it, most publishers would refuse to buy it, saying it needs kids for kid readers to identify with, or some BS like that.)
Though to be honest, so far the only characters I particularly like and enjoy seeing the adventures/antics of are Scathach (sometimes), Machiavelli, the spider elder (hey, the narrator gave it this adorable lisp, okay?), and Perenelle...though Perenelle herself sort of falls into the "too perfect" category. (She's incredibly strong, more so and more worthy of fear than Nicholas, so far she hasn't made any serious blunders, she can constantly pull out some brand new trick from her ass when she's in a dire situation, and Nick himself constantly bemoans her not being there, because "Perenelle would know what to do" in even the most bizarre situation.) Really now, we already know all these non-humans and immortal humans have ridiculous amounts of power. They can still have some actual flaws, too.
Speaking of the twins, Josh annoyed the hell out of me in book one while Sophie was alright. By the end of book two, I now hate them both. In fact, this is supposed to be a book series about Nicholas Flamel, so the importance constantly place upon Sophie and Josh, giving them the right to be the Spotlight-Stealing Squad makes things all the more unbearable. It's a young adult series, so of course the main characters need to be teenagers, right? Actually, I think the series would've been a lot stronger, and no less entertaining to youths, had it actually focused more on Flamel and his adventures. (Truthfully, though, I imagine if an author did try to sell a YA story with no minors in it, most publishers would refuse to buy it, saying it needs kids for kid readers to identify with, or some BS like that.)
Though to be honest, so far the only characters I particularly like and enjoy seeing the adventures/antics of are Scathach (sometimes), Machiavelli, the spider elder (hey, the narrator gave it this adorable lisp, okay?), and Perenelle...though Perenelle herself sort of falls into the "too perfect" category. (She's incredibly strong, more so and more worthy of fear than Nicholas, so far she hasn't made any serious blunders, she can constantly pull out some brand new trick from her ass when she's in a dire situation, and Nick himself constantly bemoans her not being there, because "Perenelle would know what to do" in even the most bizarre situation.) Really now, we already know all these non-humans and immortal humans have ridiculous amounts of power. They can still have some actual flaws, too.
January 17, 2016
3.5
Bastante mejor que el primero. Este tomo mantiene errores presentes en El Alquimista, pero es más dinámico y un poco (solo un poco) menos pesado.
Buen final.
Bastante mejor que el primero. Este tomo mantiene errores presentes en El Alquimista, pero es más dinámico y un poco (solo un poco) menos pesado.
Buen final.
September 18, 2011
Egads, what a moronic bullturd this book was. I wanted to see whether the sequel might have possessed any redeeming qualities, but didn't meet any on the way. It's as if the author fished out some sleazy Mary Sue fanfiction from of the pits of FF.net, squashed it together with some hideously sodomized bits of world mythology, and went off begging for publishing rights. I don't understand the abundance of 5-star reviews here. Seems like people's tastes have REALLY sunk these days.
Plot? I once *thought* the narration was supposed to tell the story of the title character, but instead we get these horrible Mary Sue twins gamboling about, and the author just has to remind the reader in every other sentence how their silver and gold auras are so magnificent and how they're the Super Speshul Uber Cool Twinsies of Legend and yada yada blah blah. Yes, we got that the first time round. Also nobody needs to be re-told 575972873 times how their auras smell of vanilla and strawberry and whatever other completely ridiculous tripe. Seriously, that's just about the stupidest attempt at "originality" I've come across in a while. Several times, it threw me into fits of snerking (No, truthfully, in many places the descriptions are so idiotic that they become involuntarily hilarious. I'm not even starting on the unintended innuendo between the twins...). Like this passage, which was probably supposed to sound all brooding and ominous:
"And the scent of vanilla filled the catacombs."
Cue bucketfuls of lol'ing. Apparently also good people smell good, and bad people in the lines of rotten eggs. Black-and-white generalizations, much?
I guess I could ramble on about the imbecility of this concoction for hours, but I have better things to do with my time. I'm vaguely tempted to pick up the next volume to see whether it might induce as much laughter, though. On the other hand, that would mean wading through more swamps of abused mythology: think I had quite enough with the whole dísir/Yggdrasil codswallop here. Who the hell gave this guy a permission to ravage our cultural inheritance? *eyeroll*
Plot? I once *thought* the narration was supposed to tell the story of the title character, but instead we get these horrible Mary Sue twins gamboling about, and the author just has to remind the reader in every other sentence how their silver and gold auras are so magnificent and how they're the Super Speshul Uber Cool Twinsies of Legend and yada yada blah blah. Yes, we got that the first time round. Also nobody needs to be re-told 575972873 times how their auras smell of vanilla and strawberry and whatever other completely ridiculous tripe. Seriously, that's just about the stupidest attempt at "originality" I've come across in a while. Several times, it threw me into fits of snerking (No, truthfully, in many places the descriptions are so idiotic that they become involuntarily hilarious. I'm not even starting on the unintended innuendo between the twins...). Like this passage, which was probably supposed to sound all brooding and ominous:
"And the scent of vanilla filled the catacombs."
Cue bucketfuls of lol'ing. Apparently also good people smell good, and bad people in the lines of rotten eggs. Black-and-white generalizations, much?
I guess I could ramble on about the imbecility of this concoction for hours, but I have better things to do with my time. I'm vaguely tempted to pick up the next volume to see whether it might induce as much laughter, though. On the other hand, that would mean wading through more swamps of abused mythology: think I had quite enough with the whole dísir/Yggdrasil codswallop here. Who the hell gave this guy a permission to ravage our cultural inheritance? *eyeroll*
July 21, 2008
The only complaint that I have about the Magician is the same complaint that I had about the Alchemyst - where is the next book?
Michael Scott deftly picks up Sophie and Josh's story where the Alchemyst left off. And although it had been over a year since I had read Alchemyst, I was never lost or feeling that I needed to go back and re-read the first book. Mr. Scott did a wonderful job of weaving pieces of book 1 into the Magician.
In this story, Sophie and Josh are in Paris with Nicholas Flamel and Scatty trying to fine-tune Sophie's new skills and have Josh's Awakened. The evil Dee is still chasing them and trying to retrieve the last 2 pages of the Codex, while possible swaying the Twins to his side of the fight.
And just like the Alchemyst, I kept my laptop close by so that I could stop and look up information about the various new cast of legeandary figures and myths that Michael weaves into this fast paced adventure.
Michael Scott deftly picks up Sophie and Josh's story where the Alchemyst left off. And although it had been over a year since I had read Alchemyst, I was never lost or feeling that I needed to go back and re-read the first book. Mr. Scott did a wonderful job of weaving pieces of book 1 into the Magician.
In this story, Sophie and Josh are in Paris with Nicholas Flamel and Scatty trying to fine-tune Sophie's new skills and have Josh's Awakened. The evil Dee is still chasing them and trying to retrieve the last 2 pages of the Codex, while possible swaying the Twins to his side of the fight.
And just like the Alchemyst, I kept my laptop close by so that I could stop and look up information about the various new cast of legeandary figures and myths that Michael weaves into this fast paced adventure.
October 31, 2016
Dok je prva knjiga služila da nas upozna sa igračima, svetom i opasnostima i samim tim bila naporna na momente u ovoj knjizi ulećemo u trčećem tempu i do kraja nema stajanja. Samim tim sama priča relativno stagnira ovde ali je sve prepuno akcije i opasnosti koje naši junaci moraju da izbegavaju što vrlo lepo drži pažnju. Isto tako za većinu likova me i dalje boli uvo ali sam se barem kolko tolko vezao za blizance i počinjem polako da navijam za njih što je još uvek jedan veliki plus u odnosu na prethodnu knjigu.
Sve u svemu lep pomak u odnosu na prvu knjigu tako da nastavljamo dalje sa serijalom :)
Sve u svemu lep pomak u odnosu na prvu knjigu tako da nastavljamo dalje sa serijalom :)
October 5, 2020
Read the full review at my site Digital Amrit
'The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel' ranks among the most innovative and atypical Young Adult series I have read.
While the series is named after the character Nicholas Flamel, the main characters are actually a set of twins - Sophie and Josh Newman. The books - set of 6 with an additional two novellas (last I checked) - chart the life and events of these twins over a period of a month after they discover that magic is real. While this type of plot device is common in the YA genre (magic is real/the chosen ones), Michael Scott excels in where he takes this premise.
The world-building is fantastic - it is a great combination of the myths we know but with an additional twist on top. Add to this,
Read the full review at my site Digital Amrit
'The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel' ranks among the most innovative and atypical Young Adult series I have read.
While the series is named after the character Nicholas Flamel, the main characters are actually a set of twins - Sophie and Josh Newman. The books - set of 6 with an additional two novellas (last I checked) - chart the life and events of these twins over a period of a month after they discover that magic is real. While this type of plot device is common in the YA genre (magic is real/the chosen ones), Michael Scott excels in where he takes this premise.
The world-building is fantastic - it is a great combination of the myths we know but with an additional twist on top. Add to this,
Read the full review at my site Digital Amrit
June 26, 2024
Nachdem spannenden und actionreichen Auftakt in "Der unsterbliche Alchemyst" geht die Jagd in Paris weiter. Die Handlung ist wieder nur auf wenige Tage beschränkt - in denen aber so viel passiert, dass es locker die 500 Seiten mit vielen abwechslungsreichen Ereignissen füllen kann!
Die Zwillinge Josh und Sophie sind durch puren Zufall in einen Konflikt zwischen den uralten Ältesten und Nicholas Flamel samt seiner Frau Perenelle geraten, die mit den magischen Formeln eines uralten Buches ihr Leben schon seit Jahrhunderten verlängern.
Die Zwillinge spielen hierbei eine ganz besondere Rolle und sie begleiten hier Flamel und die unsterbliche Kriegerin Scathach nach Paris, um den Verfolgern zu entkommen.
Allerdings wartet in hier ein ganz besonderer Unsterblicher auf sie: Niccolò Machiavelli. Zusammen mit Dr. Dee und ihrem magischen Netzwerk wollen sie endlich die in einer alten Prophezeiung erwähnten Zwillinge in die Finger bekommen und scheuen nichts, um ihr Ziel zu erreichen!
Währenddessen sitzt Perenelle als Gefangene auf der Insel Alcatraz fest. Doch ihre besondere Gabe, mit den Geistern zu sprechen, verleiht ihr die Chance auf eine Fluchtmöglichkeit.
In einem kurzen Tagebucheintrag zu Beginn bekommt man von Nicholas Flamel eine kurze Zusammenfassung der vorherigen Ereignisse. Aber man kommt eh wieder sehr gut rein und alles geschieht so fix Knall auf Fall, dass man eh kaum zum Nachdenken kommt, sondern einfach nur mitfiebert!
Der Autor hat einen wirklich unterhaltsamen Stil, in dem er zwar jede Szene wirklich anschaulich beschreibt, aber auch gut vorantreibt, so dass es keine langatmigen Phasen gibt. Natürlich gibt es schon auch mal ruhige Momente zum Verschnaufen, aber wie in Band 1 geht es durchweg zügig voran!
Dazu kommen die kleinen Cliffhanger am Ende der Kapitel, die die Spannung immer noch ein Stückchen höher treiben.
Sophies Kräfte sind ja mittlerweile geweckt worden und langsam lernt sie, auch damit umzugehen.
Josh hingegen ist zwiegespalten. Zum einen bangt er um seine Schwester und möchte am liebsten alles rückgängig machen - andererseits aber faszinieren ihn die magischen Fähigkeiten und seine Eifersucht lässt sich kaum noch unterdrücken. Dazu kommt die Wut auf Flamel, dass dieser ihn und seine Schwester überhaupt in diese Situation gebracht hat, in der sie um ihr Leben fürchten müssen, und sich so sehr verändern, dass die Verbundenheit nicht mehr fest scheint, wie sie sein ganzes Leben lang war. Dieser innere Konflikt ist sehr gut nachzuvollziehen, so dass man die folgenden Entscheidungen auch verstehen kann.
Ich finde es klasse, welche mythischen Figuren der Autor hier immer wieder ausgräbt und Sagengestalten lebendig werden lässt, die die ganzen alten Geschichten aufleben lassen. Ob alte Götter wie Ares, phantastische Wesen wie Satyrn oder auch menschliche Legenden wie Johanna von Orleans, sie alle finden hier ihren Platz und man lernt auch noch nebenbei etwas über sie!
Dazu kommen auch "weltliche" Informationen, die für das Zielpublikum, also Jugendliche, oft sicher noch neu sind und faszinieren: hier das legendäre Gefängnis auf der Insel Alcatraz, die weit verzweigten Katakomben unter Paris oder auch die Kraftlinien auf der Erde, deren Kräfte schon die Aborigines zu nutzen wussten.
Das mag ich ganz besonders, da man hier ein Sammelsurium an Wissen in einem actionreichen Abenteuer serviert bekommt. Natürlich nicht im Detail, aber man lernt doch einiges dazu und worüber man mehr wissen möchte, kann man dann ja auch googeln :)
Insgesamt bin ich wieder sehr begeistert und konnte das Buch kaum aus der Hand legen. Die Charaktere haben auch so ihre Eigenheiten und Geheimnisse - auf der guten, und auf der bösen Seite - was das ganze noch interessanter macht. Jetzt freu ich mich definitiv schon sehr auf Band 3 und wie es mit den Zwillingen und dem Kampf um die Weltherrschaft weiter geht!
Weltenwanderer
Die Zwillinge Josh und Sophie sind durch puren Zufall in einen Konflikt zwischen den uralten Ältesten und Nicholas Flamel samt seiner Frau Perenelle geraten, die mit den magischen Formeln eines uralten Buches ihr Leben schon seit Jahrhunderten verlängern.
Die Zwillinge spielen hierbei eine ganz besondere Rolle und sie begleiten hier Flamel und die unsterbliche Kriegerin Scathach nach Paris, um den Verfolgern zu entkommen.
Allerdings wartet in hier ein ganz besonderer Unsterblicher auf sie: Niccolò Machiavelli. Zusammen mit Dr. Dee und ihrem magischen Netzwerk wollen sie endlich die in einer alten Prophezeiung erwähnten Zwillinge in die Finger bekommen und scheuen nichts, um ihr Ziel zu erreichen!
Währenddessen sitzt Perenelle als Gefangene auf der Insel Alcatraz fest. Doch ihre besondere Gabe, mit den Geistern zu sprechen, verleiht ihr die Chance auf eine Fluchtmöglichkeit.
In einem kurzen Tagebucheintrag zu Beginn bekommt man von Nicholas Flamel eine kurze Zusammenfassung der vorherigen Ereignisse. Aber man kommt eh wieder sehr gut rein und alles geschieht so fix Knall auf Fall, dass man eh kaum zum Nachdenken kommt, sondern einfach nur mitfiebert!
Der Autor hat einen wirklich unterhaltsamen Stil, in dem er zwar jede Szene wirklich anschaulich beschreibt, aber auch gut vorantreibt, so dass es keine langatmigen Phasen gibt. Natürlich gibt es schon auch mal ruhige Momente zum Verschnaufen, aber wie in Band 1 geht es durchweg zügig voran!
Dazu kommen die kleinen Cliffhanger am Ende der Kapitel, die die Spannung immer noch ein Stückchen höher treiben.
Sophies Kräfte sind ja mittlerweile geweckt worden und langsam lernt sie, auch damit umzugehen.
Josh hingegen ist zwiegespalten. Zum einen bangt er um seine Schwester und möchte am liebsten alles rückgängig machen - andererseits aber faszinieren ihn die magischen Fähigkeiten und seine Eifersucht lässt sich kaum noch unterdrücken. Dazu kommt die Wut auf Flamel, dass dieser ihn und seine Schwester überhaupt in diese Situation gebracht hat, in der sie um ihr Leben fürchten müssen, und sich so sehr verändern, dass die Verbundenheit nicht mehr fest scheint, wie sie sein ganzes Leben lang war. Dieser innere Konflikt ist sehr gut nachzuvollziehen, so dass man die folgenden Entscheidungen auch verstehen kann.
Ich finde es klasse, welche mythischen Figuren der Autor hier immer wieder ausgräbt und Sagengestalten lebendig werden lässt, die die ganzen alten Geschichten aufleben lassen. Ob alte Götter wie Ares, phantastische Wesen wie Satyrn oder auch menschliche Legenden wie Johanna von Orleans, sie alle finden hier ihren Platz und man lernt auch noch nebenbei etwas über sie!
Dazu kommen auch "weltliche" Informationen, die für das Zielpublikum, also Jugendliche, oft sicher noch neu sind und faszinieren: hier das legendäre Gefängnis auf der Insel Alcatraz, die weit verzweigten Katakomben unter Paris oder auch die Kraftlinien auf der Erde, deren Kräfte schon die Aborigines zu nutzen wussten.
Das mag ich ganz besonders, da man hier ein Sammelsurium an Wissen in einem actionreichen Abenteuer serviert bekommt. Natürlich nicht im Detail, aber man lernt doch einiges dazu und worüber man mehr wissen möchte, kann man dann ja auch googeln :)
Insgesamt bin ich wieder sehr begeistert und konnte das Buch kaum aus der Hand legen. Die Charaktere haben auch so ihre Eigenheiten und Geheimnisse - auf der guten, und auf der bösen Seite - was das ganze noch interessanter macht. Jetzt freu ich mich definitiv schon sehr auf Band 3 und wie es mit den Zwillingen und dem Kampf um die Weltherrschaft weiter geht!
Weltenwanderer
July 27, 2015
Αν και το πρώτο βιβλίο της σειράς δεν με εντυπωσιάσε ιδαίτερα, πίστευα ότι το δεύτερο τουλάχιστον, εφόσον πλέον ο συγγραφέας μας εισήγαγε στον κόσμο που έχει δημιουργήσει, θα ήταν πιο ενδιαφέρον και πιο αγωνιωδες.Μέγα λάθος.Δυστυχώς το δεύτερο βιβλίο κινείται πάνω ακριβώς στα πλαίσια του πρώτου βιβλίου μη προσφέροντας κάτι καινούργιο.
Ο Νίκολας Φλαμελ μαζί με τα δίδυμα και τη Σκάθι, καταφεύγουν στο Παρίσι για να γλιτώσουν από τον Ντι.Εκεί έρχονται σε επαφή με τον Κόμη Σεν Ζερμέν, που πλέον είναι ένας διάσημος ροκ σταρ και τη γυναίκα που δεν είναι άλλη από την Ιωάννα της Λωραίνης, προκειμένου να εκπαιδευτεί η Σόφι πάνω στς νέες τις ικανότητες και να βρουν τον τρόπο ώστε να αφυπνιστεί και ο Τζος.Πάραλληλα αποκτούν νέους εχθρούς καθώς ο συνεργός του Ντι, ο Μακιαβέλλι βρίσκεται στο κατόπο τους.Η Σόφι και ο Τζος θα πρέπει σύντομα να ανακαλύψουν τις κρυφές τους δυνάμεις πριν να είναι πολύ αργά για ολόκληρη την ανθρωπότητα.
Εξακολουθώ να πιστεύω πως η ιδέα του Μάικλ Σκοτ είναι ιδιαιτέρως ενδιαφέρουσα, δυστυχώς όμως αναλώνεται στις λεπτομέρεες και στους αφελείς και εκνευριστικούς χαρακτήρες και δεν καταφέρνει να προσφέρει μια καταιγιστική περιπέτεια με ανατροπές και σασπενς.Οι γνώσεις του και η έρευνα που έχει κάνει πάνω στην ιστορία και την αρχαιολογία είναι αδιαμφισβήτητες, αλλά δεν νομίζω πως τις αξιοποιεί σωστά.
Σε αυτό το βιβλίο μας συστήνονται τριες νέοι σημαντικοί χαρακτήρες, παρμένοι από το παρελθόν, εκ των οποίων οι δύο παρουσιάζουν αρκετό ενδιαφέρον ενώ ο άλλος συγκαταλέγεται σε έναν ακόμη εκνευριστικό και αδιάφορο ήρωα.Μιλάω φυσικά για τον κόμη Σεν Ζερμέν ο οποίος φέρεται σαν δεκαοχτάχρονος ανώριμος έφηβος, παρόλο που υποτίθεται πως υπήρξε μια τόσο σημαντική προσωπικότητα.Μα καλά πως σκέφτηκε ο συγγραφέας να τον κάνει διάσημο τραγουδιστή;Δεν ξέρω αν μόνο εμένα έτσι ου φάνηκε αλλά ο τρόπος που αντιμετωπίζει όλες τις καταστάσεις είναι τόσο επιπόλαιος και παθητικός που δεν ανταποκρίνεται σε κάποιον που έχει ζήσει τόσους αιώνες.Αντιθέτως η Ιωάννα και ο Μακιαβέλλι παρουσιάζουν μεγαλύτερο ενδιαφέρον με τη δυναμικοί και έντονη προσωπικότητα τους.Ειδικά ο δεύτερος παρόλο που ανήκει στους κακούς θα εντυπωσιάσει όλους τους αναγνώστες καθώς φαίνεται να διατηρεί κάτι από την αίγλη και το μυστήριο της αυθεντικής ιστορικής προσωπικότητας.Μακάρι να συνέβαινε το ίδιο με όλους!
Για μια ακόμη φορά δεν μαθαίνουμε απολύτως τίποτε για τη ζωή της Σόφι και του Τζος, παρα μόνο πως εκείνος είναι ακόμη πιο ζηλιάρης και εγωπαθής απ' ότι φαινόταν και η Σόφι ακόμη πιο ανυπόφορη ξερόλας απ'οτι φανταζόμασταν.Ο Νίκολας Φλαμέλ παραμένει ο γκαφατζής της παρέας κάνοντας το ένα λάθος πίσω από το άλλο.
Εν κατακλείδι, θα έλεγα πως το δεύτερο βιβλίο της σειράς κινείται στα επίπεδα του πρώτου χωρίς κάποια ιδιαίττερη ανατροπή και χωρίς ν μαθαίνουμε κάτι καινούργιο.Έχω σκοπό να συνεχίσω με τη σειρά, ωστόσο αν συνεχίσω να έχω αυτή την αρνητική άποψη θα καθυστερήσω αρκετά να διάβασω τα επόμενα.
Ο Νίκολας Φλαμελ μαζί με τα δίδυμα και τη Σκάθι, καταφεύγουν στο Παρίσι για να γλιτώσουν από τον Ντι.Εκεί έρχονται σε επαφή με τον Κόμη Σεν Ζερμέν, που πλέον είναι ένας διάσημος ροκ σταρ και τη γυναίκα που δεν είναι άλλη από την Ιωάννα της Λωραίνης, προκειμένου να εκπαιδευτεί η Σόφι πάνω στς νέες τις ικανότητες και να βρουν τον τρόπο ώστε να αφυπνιστεί και ο Τζος.Πάραλληλα αποκτούν νέους εχθρούς καθώς ο συνεργός του Ντι, ο Μακιαβέλλι βρίσκεται στο κατόπο τους.Η Σόφι και ο Τζος θα πρέπει σύντομα να ανακαλύψουν τις κρυφές τους δυνάμεις πριν να είναι πολύ αργά για ολόκληρη την ανθρωπότητα.
Εξακολουθώ να πιστεύω πως η ιδέα του Μάικλ Σκοτ είναι ιδιαιτέρως ενδιαφέρουσα, δυστυχώς όμως αναλώνεται στις λεπτομέρεες και στους αφελείς και εκνευριστικούς χαρακτήρες και δεν καταφέρνει να προσφέρει μια καταιγιστική περιπέτεια με ανατροπές και σασπενς.Οι γνώσεις του και η έρευνα που έχει κάνει πάνω στην ιστορία και την αρχαιολογία είναι αδιαμφισβήτητες, αλλά δεν νομίζω πως τις αξιοποιεί σωστά.
Σε αυτό το βιβλίο μας συστήνονται τριες νέοι σημαντικοί χαρακτήρες, παρμένοι από το παρελθόν, εκ των οποίων οι δύο παρουσιάζουν αρκετό ενδιαφέρον ενώ ο άλλος συγκαταλέγεται σε έναν ακόμη εκνευριστικό και αδιάφορο ήρωα.Μιλάω φυσικά για τον κόμη Σεν Ζερμέν ο οποίος φέρεται σαν δεκαοχτάχρονος ανώριμος έφηβος, παρόλο που υποτίθεται πως υπήρξε μια τόσο σημαντική προσωπικότητα.Μα καλά πως σκέφτηκε ο συγγραφέας να τον κάνει διάσημο τραγουδιστή;Δεν ξέρω αν μόνο εμένα έτσι ου φάνηκε αλλά ο τρόπος που αντιμετωπίζει όλες τις καταστάσεις είναι τόσο επιπόλαιος και παθητικός που δεν ανταποκρίνεται σε κάποιον που έχει ζήσει τόσους αιώνες.Αντιθέτως η Ιωάννα και ο Μακιαβέλλι παρουσιάζουν μεγαλύτερο ενδιαφέρον με τη δυναμικοί και έντονη προσωπικότητα τους.Ειδικά ο δεύτερος παρόλο που ανήκει στους κακούς θα εντυπωσιάσει όλους τους αναγνώστες καθώς φαίνεται να διατηρεί κάτι από την αίγλη και το μυστήριο της αυθεντικής ιστορικής προσωπικότητας.Μακάρι να συνέβαινε το ίδιο με όλους!
Για μια ακόμη φορά δεν μαθαίνουμε απολύτως τίποτε για τη ζωή της Σόφι και του Τζος, παρα μόνο πως εκείνος είναι ακόμη πιο ζηλιάρης και εγωπαθής απ' ότι φαινόταν και η Σόφι ακόμη πιο ανυπόφορη ξερόλας απ'οτι φανταζόμασταν.Ο Νίκολας Φλαμέλ παραμένει ο γκαφατζής της παρέας κάνοντας το ένα λάθος πίσω από το άλλο.
Εν κατακλείδι, θα έλεγα πως το δεύτερο βιβλίο της σειράς κινείται στα επίπεδα του πρώτου χωρίς κάποια ιδιαίττερη ανατροπή και χωρίς ν μαθαίνουμε κάτι καινούργιο.Έχω σκοπό να συνεχίσω με τη σειρά, ωστόσο αν συνεχίσω να έχω αυτή την αρνητική άποψη θα καθυστερήσω αρκετά να διάβασω τα επόμενα.
February 25, 2009
The first book in this series, The Alchemyst, was not that great, and the second book is proving to be equally disappointing. However, I am not one to stop reading a book right in the middle, so I am trudging onward. It's not that this book, or this series, is entirely terrible, it's just that it lacks something that would make it enjoyable. I've been pondering what is missing and I think I've figured out a few things. First of all, the characters are not in any way people you feel sympathy or concern for or interest in. I can put this book down and walk away and not really care what happens next. Second, I've read that the author is a leading authority on mythology and folklore, and I have no reason to doubt that because it seems that his purpose in writing these books is trying to cram every bit of mythology and folklore he knows about into the books, then trying to write a fictional story around them. It's a little self-indulgent if you ask me. It makes for OK, but not fantastic, reading. Not entirely entertaining which is usually why I read these days. Don't get me wrong, it has some interesting elements to it, but when one of the reviews says a lot of the info will send you running for your encyclopedia, that says a lot about this book. I will finish the book just because I am not a quitter, but I don't plan to read the next book when it comes out.
May 21, 2016
This series is actually shaping up to be pretty good. And I like how the book title seems to refer to more than just one character, at least in this instance -- going in, we assume 'the Magician' refers to Saint-Germain, but Dee is a magician as well. Nicely done, Mr Scott. I'm assuming 'the Sorceress' will be Perenelle, but we'll see.
This was a decent installment. Not a fan of the changing narrators, but whatever. There was lots of action and I loved the inclusion of historical figures like Joan of Arc and Niccolo Machiavelli. The overall story seems rather predictable (and as such, makes Dee a rather predictable villain) but Machiavelli is delicious. And I was impressed, things didn't turn out the way I'd imagined they would -- yes, there are cliches, but they don't swallow the story. There were several times, even amid all the action, where I simply didn't have any interest in listening to this though; not sure if that was me or the narration or what. I would go for one or two-day stretches where I ignored the audiobook completely, so it wasn't nearly as gripping as Ready Player One or Billy Joel or some of the other audios I've listened to lately. Ah well.
Still a great story, and I'm wishing I was in eighth or ninth grade again so I would perhaps appreciate it more :)
This was a decent installment. Not a fan of the changing narrators, but whatever. There was lots of action and I loved the inclusion of historical figures like Joan of Arc and Niccolo Machiavelli. The overall story seems rather predictable (and as such, makes Dee a rather predictable villain) but Machiavelli is delicious. And I was impressed, things didn't turn out the way I'd imagined they would -- yes, there are cliches, but they don't swallow the story. There were several times, even amid all the action, where I simply didn't have any interest in listening to this though; not sure if that was me or the narration or what. I would go for one or two-day stretches where I ignored the audiobook completely, so it wasn't nearly as gripping as Ready Player One or Billy Joel or some of the other audios I've listened to lately. Ah well.
Still a great story, and I'm wishing I was in eighth or ninth grade again so I would perhaps appreciate it more :)
March 30, 2020
The Adventure continue.. even with the quarantine.
This time in Paris, More Historical characters that turned out to be immortals, still living among us...
the story action packed too , may be a little "too action-ed", over 120 pages in one action scene was a bit too much for me.. yet I appreciate the rest of the plot.. the trilling situations the characters face...
and of course the catacombs of Paris scene.. and the "Sleeping god"
It's really a good series and fantastic imagination , mixing the mythology, history and fantasy in a fast paced modern thrilling story.
This time in Paris, More Historical characters that turned out to be immortals, still living among us...
the story action packed too , may be a little "too action-ed", over 120 pages in one action scene was a bit too much for me.. yet I appreciate the rest of the plot.. the trilling situations the characters face...
and of course the catacombs of Paris scene.. and the "Sleeping god"
It's really a good series and fantastic imagination , mixing the mythology, history and fantasy in a fast paced modern thrilling story.
November 16, 2018
Le he dado 4 estrellas porque me ha gustado la historia en Paris y el personaje de Nicolas Macchiavelli.
April 1, 2015
This one was even better than the first. I really love the new characters introduced and I love that they are such prominent members from history. Scott does an excellent job of weaving imagination into known history. Many of the problems that existed in the first book were gone from this one and the action was even better. My only slight problem with this book was the pacing. I kept thinking it was about to end, because I was listening on audiobook and wasn't sure how much was left. But the book kept going and going with more and more action. Not a problem, it's just that it kept me unsure. And the actor for the audiobook was excellent. Really great job. Overall I loved this book and all the magic. Onto the next one.
June 12, 2018
Not as good as the first book, but what I wanted to happen came true, so I'm happy.
June 20, 2019
Originally published in Phantases and Other Funny Words
Note: Below, my review is split into two parts. The first gives my general thoughts on the book, and the second details spoilers and major plot points. Be warned.
Part One: Overview
This book is a noticeable improvement over the first one. For starters, there are very few pop-cultural references that date the novel, and the action is a bit more spread out. Whereas the first book was only an action scene followed by another action scene, which could be exhausting, The Magician takes a few breaks. There are a few points in the story where the characters take a break and just talk to each other. However, they only talk about exposition or about the plot. I guess talking about themselves was asking too much.
We finally get a little bit of background information on Flamel’s character, but it’s not enough to make him compelling. He’s still just some guy who does magic and who keeps telling these two teenagers to trust him. Scathach is roughly the same. She has an open-hearted conversation with Sophie about halfway into the book. But the problem is that it’s a single conversation. Beyond that, Scathach is little more than her epithet, the Warrior. Josh and Sophie do have a little bit more personality here, and they do start to become separate people. Josh is still sad and glum because his powers weren’t Awakened in the last book, and he’s jealous of his sister. Sophie just wants to go back to normal, because she feels that her Awakened senses are too much for her mind to deal with. But, I’m sad to say, this is the extent of their development.
The prose and the writing style are both fairly standard, leaning towards the simplistic. This leads to quick and easy reading, but it leaves little impact on the mind and allows for very limited vivid imagery. However, the biggest issue I had with the writing was the repetition. Scott really repeats himself a lot in this book, especially when describing the age of mythological beings and Josh’s fear of his sister leaving him behind. The ages of mythological creatures always follow the same formula: “she looked young, but was more ancient than the world” or “he looked like he was in his thirties, but he came from a time before humanity even existed,” etc. It grows exhausting. We get it, myths are old, the Elder Race is called Elder for a reason, please stop trying to tell us about the myths and please show us (I’ll come back to this later). As for Josh’s fears, not only are they acknowledged every time he so much as looks as his sister, but they’re also addressed and discussed at length, usually with the same words. Again, Scott tells us that Josh is afraid instead of showing us. He doesn’t distance himself from his sister, he doesn’t snap at her, and he only verbally acknowledges his feelings once. Instead, the narrative explains that Josh is afraid, and that he’s going to lose Sophie, and that there’s no place for him in this mythical world, and because of that he’s afraid. It’s tiresome.
One final note before I get into spoilers. Nearly every mythological creature that shows up is either a fifty-something year old, or seventeen. Scathach is supposed to look seventeen, and both Flamel and Dee look like they’re in their mid-fifties. It makes most of the characters, who already have little to distinguish them from one another, to blend together.
Overall, an improvement from the last book, but still not what I would have liked. Yet again, the potential comes from the way that Scott mixes all these mythologies together, and yet, as I’ll discuss below he wastes that potential at every single opportunity he gets. If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be “frustrating.” It’s frustrating that so many opportunities are missed, and that we, the readers, don’t get to watch some of the most popular myths of all time interact with each other properly. I already told myself I’d read the entire series, so I will, and I still hold the hope that the books will get better.
Part Two: Spoilers and In-Depth Discussion
There was one major plot hole that I noticed on the first book, as many others have before me: if Nicholas Flamel has lived for over 600 years, how does he not have the recipe for the Immortality Juice memorized by now? Well, luckily for us, Mr. Scott explains that the formula changes every month, and that it works only once ever.
We get an additional villain in this book, Niccolo Machiavelli, and he’s supposed to be scary and creepy and vile and evil. But quite frankly, there’s hardly any difference between him and Dee, who we already know and who is a flat and shallow villain. Both Machiavelli and Dee dress the same in the same colors, have the same attitude, and they even speak the same way! The only major difference between them is that Dee is supposed to have a temper and Machiavelli is supposed to be more controlled. But in the end, they’re basically carbon copies of each other to the point that it becomes boring having them both in the same scene.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the biggest letdown since the release of A Phantom Menace! After an entire chapter of Machiavelli, Dee and Dagon discussing the Nidhogg, building it up as a primordial creature that the Elders themselves used as a weapon, the legendary monstrosity that was trapped at the roots of Yggdrasil, the ancient dragon of Norse mythology prophesized to be set free at the End of Times, and we finally get to see it. And it is……….!! A big lizard. Granted, it’s a very big lizard, but it’s just a lizard nonetheless. Josh even compares it to a Komodo dragon. [Insert disappointed weeping here]. By Odin’s beard, is this really the best you could come up with? The Nidhogg was supposed to have destroyed countless cities in the time before the humani, and it took several Valkyries (or Disir, as they’re more often called in this book) to keep it in check. But no, he’s just a big lizard who runs through Paris and breaks a few buildings. From the prelude we were getting and the buildup the characters were providing, I expected something along the lines of Godzilla or King Ghidorah to come rampaging through a city, knocking buildings down with every step and making the ground quake, but no. Yet again, we have the great potential of something colossal and mythological in scale (emphasis on the word “mythological”) that is wasted with something mundane and blasé.
It was taking me some time to figure it out, but after reading the scene with the Nidhogg, it finally hit me. I finally realized what these books have been lacking so far, and that is spectacle. The plot involves some of the greatest myths in the world, as well as some of the most enigmatic characters in human history. And yet, it all feels dull and weak and bland. Why? Because the books have no spectacle, no sense of wonder or scale. Nothing is ever grand or larger than life because the author won’t let it. He stubbornly sticks to the idea that mythological beings behaving like everyday people is cool, but believe me, it’s not. The Disir as they’re described, the Nidhogg, Mars Ultor, they’re not the creatures that people used to fear or worship or tell legends about! They’re pale, weak, cheap facsimiles with little in common with the myths that inspired them. The Nidhogg rampages through the city of Paris and it’s not even half as impressive as Godzilla is in his 1954 debut. For me, the best part of the book was when Saint-Germain lit up the Eiffel Tower and that’s because it’s the only part of the book that is allowed to be impressive and simply cool. The writing style provides a few vivid images and the entire section is memorable. The rest of it feels just like a low-budget, generic TV show that tries to tackle cool ideas but ends up falling short. The type of TV show that sells time travel as its core, but only has its characters end up in cheap, easily-reproduced time periods like the late 1800s, or the 80s or the 70s or virtually any time in human history that doesn’t require creativity to put on set. And if this was a TV show, I may almost excuse it. But it’s not, it’s a book, and books aren’t limited by budgetary needs. They charge the same to edit or publish a scene with gods and magic and storming weather as they would for a scene with three people sitting in a room debating who could win the FIFA World Cup. If the author had wanted to have impressive things, cool things, in his book, all he needed to do was write them! But he simply keeps trying to ground these myths, trying to make them fit in our world, only to have them end up unrecognizable and unsatisfactory.
Note: Below, my review is split into two parts. The first gives my general thoughts on the book, and the second details spoilers and major plot points. Be warned.
Part One: Overview
This book is a noticeable improvement over the first one. For starters, there are very few pop-cultural references that date the novel, and the action is a bit more spread out. Whereas the first book was only an action scene followed by another action scene, which could be exhausting, The Magician takes a few breaks. There are a few points in the story where the characters take a break and just talk to each other. However, they only talk about exposition or about the plot. I guess talking about themselves was asking too much.
We finally get a little bit of background information on Flamel’s character, but it’s not enough to make him compelling. He’s still just some guy who does magic and who keeps telling these two teenagers to trust him. Scathach is roughly the same. She has an open-hearted conversation with Sophie about halfway into the book. But the problem is that it’s a single conversation. Beyond that, Scathach is little more than her epithet, the Warrior. Josh and Sophie do have a little bit more personality here, and they do start to become separate people. Josh is still sad and glum because his powers weren’t Awakened in the last book, and he’s jealous of his sister. Sophie just wants to go back to normal, because she feels that her Awakened senses are too much for her mind to deal with. But, I’m sad to say, this is the extent of their development.
The prose and the writing style are both fairly standard, leaning towards the simplistic. This leads to quick and easy reading, but it leaves little impact on the mind and allows for very limited vivid imagery. However, the biggest issue I had with the writing was the repetition. Scott really repeats himself a lot in this book, especially when describing the age of mythological beings and Josh’s fear of his sister leaving him behind. The ages of mythological creatures always follow the same formula: “she looked young, but was more ancient than the world” or “he looked like he was in his thirties, but he came from a time before humanity even existed,” etc. It grows exhausting. We get it, myths are old, the Elder Race is called Elder for a reason, please stop trying to tell us about the myths and please show us (I’ll come back to this later). As for Josh’s fears, not only are they acknowledged every time he so much as looks as his sister, but they’re also addressed and discussed at length, usually with the same words. Again, Scott tells us that Josh is afraid instead of showing us. He doesn’t distance himself from his sister, he doesn’t snap at her, and he only verbally acknowledges his feelings once. Instead, the narrative explains that Josh is afraid, and that he’s going to lose Sophie, and that there’s no place for him in this mythical world, and because of that he’s afraid. It’s tiresome.
One final note before I get into spoilers. Nearly every mythological creature that shows up is either a fifty-something year old, or seventeen. Scathach is supposed to look seventeen, and both Flamel and Dee look like they’re in their mid-fifties. It makes most of the characters, who already have little to distinguish them from one another, to blend together.
Overall, an improvement from the last book, but still not what I would have liked. Yet again, the potential comes from the way that Scott mixes all these mythologies together, and yet, as I’ll discuss below he wastes that potential at every single opportunity he gets. If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be “frustrating.” It’s frustrating that so many opportunities are missed, and that we, the readers, don’t get to watch some of the most popular myths of all time interact with each other properly. I already told myself I’d read the entire series, so I will, and I still hold the hope that the books will get better.
Part Two: Spoilers and In-Depth Discussion
There was one major plot hole that I noticed on the first book, as many others have before me: if Nicholas Flamel has lived for over 600 years, how does he not have the recipe for the Immortality Juice memorized by now? Well, luckily for us, Mr. Scott explains that the formula changes every month, and that it works only once ever.
We get an additional villain in this book, Niccolo Machiavelli, and he’s supposed to be scary and creepy and vile and evil. But quite frankly, there’s hardly any difference between him and Dee, who we already know and who is a flat and shallow villain. Both Machiavelli and Dee dress the same in the same colors, have the same attitude, and they even speak the same way! The only major difference between them is that Dee is supposed to have a temper and Machiavelli is supposed to be more controlled. But in the end, they’re basically carbon copies of each other to the point that it becomes boring having them both in the same scene.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the biggest letdown since the release of A Phantom Menace! After an entire chapter of Machiavelli, Dee and Dagon discussing the Nidhogg, building it up as a primordial creature that the Elders themselves used as a weapon, the legendary monstrosity that was trapped at the roots of Yggdrasil, the ancient dragon of Norse mythology prophesized to be set free at the End of Times, and we finally get to see it. And it is……….!! A big lizard. Granted, it’s a very big lizard, but it’s just a lizard nonetheless. Josh even compares it to a Komodo dragon. [Insert disappointed weeping here]. By Odin’s beard, is this really the best you could come up with? The Nidhogg was supposed to have destroyed countless cities in the time before the humani, and it took several Valkyries (or Disir, as they’re more often called in this book) to keep it in check. But no, he’s just a big lizard who runs through Paris and breaks a few buildings. From the prelude we were getting and the buildup the characters were providing, I expected something along the lines of Godzilla or King Ghidorah to come rampaging through a city, knocking buildings down with every step and making the ground quake, but no. Yet again, we have the great potential of something colossal and mythological in scale (emphasis on the word “mythological”) that is wasted with something mundane and blasé.
It was taking me some time to figure it out, but after reading the scene with the Nidhogg, it finally hit me. I finally realized what these books have been lacking so far, and that is spectacle. The plot involves some of the greatest myths in the world, as well as some of the most enigmatic characters in human history. And yet, it all feels dull and weak and bland. Why? Because the books have no spectacle, no sense of wonder or scale. Nothing is ever grand or larger than life because the author won’t let it. He stubbornly sticks to the idea that mythological beings behaving like everyday people is cool, but believe me, it’s not. The Disir as they’re described, the Nidhogg, Mars Ultor, they’re not the creatures that people used to fear or worship or tell legends about! They’re pale, weak, cheap facsimiles with little in common with the myths that inspired them. The Nidhogg rampages through the city of Paris and it’s not even half as impressive as Godzilla is in his 1954 debut. For me, the best part of the book was when Saint-Germain lit up the Eiffel Tower and that’s because it’s the only part of the book that is allowed to be impressive and simply cool. The writing style provides a few vivid images and the entire section is memorable. The rest of it feels just like a low-budget, generic TV show that tries to tackle cool ideas but ends up falling short. The type of TV show that sells time travel as its core, but only has its characters end up in cheap, easily-reproduced time periods like the late 1800s, or the 80s or the 70s or virtually any time in human history that doesn’t require creativity to put on set. And if this was a TV show, I may almost excuse it. But it’s not, it’s a book, and books aren’t limited by budgetary needs. They charge the same to edit or publish a scene with gods and magic and storming weather as they would for a scene with three people sitting in a room debating who could win the FIFA World Cup. If the author had wanted to have impressive things, cool things, in his book, all he needed to do was write them! But he simply keeps trying to ground these myths, trying to make them fit in our world, only to have them end up unrecognizable and unsatisfactory.
September 18, 2013
So, I look down at all the reviews, and I see all these five stars. WOW.
This book started out with TONS of promise, introducing Machiavelli with the Kabuki masks. But then the book progresses.. you start to predict the next thread in the story line. Sophie continues her magical training, and learns fire magic from Saint Germaine, who in turn stole it from Promethius; Saint Germaine is coincidentally married to THE Joan of Arc, the last person to have a silver aura (besides Sophie.) Josh stays incredibly jealous.. and finally gets Awoken by Mars, the God of War, before Dee kills Mars. Dee kills everyone. Flamel continues to age, and Perenelle manages to escape Alcatraz, and in turn traps the Morrigan in a deep, dark cave, with no exit... and no way to fly again.
I honestly wish this book series just stopped with The Alchemyst.. because that one was pretty good. This book sounded too forced on. The story line was way too predictable.. nothing interesting happened except when Scatty was dragged into the lake by Dagon. I swear, I almost gasped when I got to that part. But the rest of the book continued to DRONE... and the way he added Joan of Arc in was too awkward. I really love Joan of Arc, but she's a terrible character addition. I must admit.. Machiavelli wasn't bad.
So.. why did I give this book three stars? I felt generous. Considering how it wasn't terrible.. and that I just have lofty standards for the books that I read. I used my history teacher's policy..where he still gives you half credit on an essay even if you miss the point entirely. I mean.. at least there's a book. With a really cool cover.
This book started out with TONS of promise, introducing Machiavelli with the Kabuki masks. But then the book progresses.. you start to predict the next thread in the story line. Sophie continues her magical training, and learns fire magic from Saint Germaine, who in turn stole it from Promethius; Saint Germaine is coincidentally married to THE Joan of Arc, the last person to have a silver aura (besides Sophie.) Josh stays incredibly jealous.. and finally gets Awoken by Mars, the God of War, before Dee kills Mars. Dee kills everyone. Flamel continues to age, and Perenelle manages to escape Alcatraz, and in turn traps the Morrigan in a deep, dark cave, with no exit... and no way to fly again.
I honestly wish this book series just stopped with The Alchemyst.. because that one was pretty good. This book sounded too forced on. The story line was way too predictable.. nothing interesting happened except when Scatty was dragged into the lake by Dagon. I swear, I almost gasped when I got to that part. But the rest of the book continued to DRONE... and the way he added Joan of Arc in was too awkward. I really love Joan of Arc, but she's a terrible character addition. I must admit.. Machiavelli wasn't bad.
So.. why did I give this book three stars? I felt generous. Considering how it wasn't terrible.. and that I just have lofty standards for the books that I read. I used my history teacher's policy..where he still gives you half credit on an essay even if you miss the point entirely. I mean.. at least there's a book. With a really cool cover.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2008
I love anything to do with Alchemy and having recently spent time in Paris this adventure was doubly entertaining for me.
It's about twin teenagers who find their own magic and deal with the magic that surrounds them in the modern day streets of Paris. The author's wildly imaginative concepts are dark and dangerous. This is fun read for those who are still in touch with the child within.
It's about twin teenagers who find their own magic and deal with the magic that surrounds them in the modern day streets of Paris. The author's wildly imaginative concepts are dark and dangerous. This is fun read for those who are still in touch with the child within.
June 15, 2016
Πολύ καλυτερο από το 1ο βιβλίο αλλά περιμένω στο 3ο ο Νίκολας Φλαμέλ να μην είναι τοσο αδυναμος και ο Τζος να μην τόσο εκνευριστικος και ανυπόφορος !!! Θα συνεχίσω και το 3ο βιβλίο Η Μάγισσα και τα υπόλοιπα επίσης !!!! Ο Μακιαβέλι είναι πολύ πιο συμπαθητικός κακός !!!! Η δραση πολύ πιο καλύτερη ,η πλοκή επισης και η φαντασία πολύ πιο ωραία εδώ !!!! Ανυπομονω για το 3ο βιβλίο !!!!!!!!!
March 23, 2019
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
June 1, 2022
Un filo più fiacco del primo, personaggi preferiti Machiavelli e Saint-Germain 💜
October 3, 2017
This series is awesome. It's fast-paced, funny and intriguing. I love how there's so many different mythologies involved in this book and it's really a joy to listen to. I never want to stop once I start. One of the things I really like is how even though it's seemingly obvious who is good and who is evil, you're never really quite 100 percent sure. I need the next book as soon as possible, because it is totally adictive.
Read
May 18, 2025Pat nezinu ko teikt.
Mani māc ļoti pretrunīgas jūtas pret šo grāmatu. Vienu brīdi vienkārši gribas bļaut "vienkārši w*f!!!!?!?!??", bet brīžiem liekas "tā nekas, pat samērā laba grāmata." Tomēr es neuzskatu, ka būtu izniekojusi laiku lasot šo, jo patiesībā bija tīri laba grāmata. Vienīgi tulkojums diezgan drausmīgs un par to arī paturpināšu.
Vai Jumavai vispār nav neviena korektora?! Un ja ir tad arī galīgi sūdīgs. Gandrīz visās Jumavas grāmatās ir briesmīgi daudz drukas kļūdu! Nu tak jāpieņem darbā normāls korektors!!😡😡😡😡
Mani māc ļoti pretrunīgas jūtas pret šo grāmatu. Vienu brīdi vienkārši gribas bļaut "vienkārši w*f!!!!?!?!??", bet brīžiem liekas "tā nekas, pat samērā laba grāmata." Tomēr es neuzskatu, ka būtu izniekojusi laiku lasot šo, jo patiesībā bija tīri laba grāmata. Vienīgi tulkojums diezgan drausmīgs un par to arī paturpināšu.
Vai Jumavai vispār nav neviena korektora?! Un ja ir tad arī galīgi sūdīgs. Gandrīz visās Jumavas grāmatās ir briesmīgi daudz drukas kļūdu! Nu tak jāpieņem darbā normāls korektors!!😡😡😡😡
December 20, 2023
Very entertaining book, there are lots of characters for the reader to learn about, but you never feel over saturated, the author writes in a way that allows the reader to understand each of the characters and the purpose that they have within the story line. In a genre where it is hard to come up with new stories because there are thousands of books about Magicians, this author actually does bring a unique and fresh look to stories using Magicians. A really enjoyable fantasy book and that is all you want. Easy to read, easy to follow the story line. Good vs bad. Book cover is average in my opinion, but story line is good. Well worth reading.
March 29, 2020
Thankfully, this book greatly picks up the action in the series, and I found it much more enjoyable than the first book. Instead of needing to introduce the strange, magical world of Nicholas Flamel, Scott focuses more on ramping up the stakes for his characters. The baddies who want to turn humans back into slaves are congregating to work together to bring down Flamel and the twins, but Flamel has friends of his own, who are able to help in fight back in this one.
This book mostly takes place in France, where they traveled to during the last book using a portal. Sophie is learning fire magic, and Josh is trying to remain patient about everything, but the situation of Sophie having powers and him not having any is wearing on him. Perenelle is still imprisoned, though her storyline also makes progress in this book. (That’s all I can say without revealing spoilers, sorry!) I was much happier with the plot in this one. Tons of action, and the stakes are high — Flamel and the twins are running for their lives, and up against incredible odds, which makes for a brilliant reading experience.
The only thing that brought me down in this book was Josh’s character. It’s not a writing flaw or a story flaw, he’s just incredibly whiny and unlikeable, in my opinion. I get very frustrated during his parts, because I want him to get over himself and stop being such a whiny baby! Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Aside from his character, everything else is great. We meet some FANTASTIC new characters and learn even more about the mythology that rules this world, which is one of my favorite parts of reading books like this. I love all the worldbuilding and connections to myths and legends that we have.
If you’re into magic and mythology, definitely give this series a try. I was skeptical with book one, but this book is fantastic, and I’m excited to see what lies ahead. It’s a fairly easy/quick read for those who might get bored easily, too, so it might be a good fit for a reluctant reader.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
This book mostly takes place in France, where they traveled to during the last book using a portal. Sophie is learning fire magic, and Josh is trying to remain patient about everything, but the situation of Sophie having powers and him not having any is wearing on him. Perenelle is still imprisoned, though her storyline also makes progress in this book. (That’s all I can say without revealing spoilers, sorry!) I was much happier with the plot in this one. Tons of action, and the stakes are high — Flamel and the twins are running for their lives, and up against incredible odds, which makes for a brilliant reading experience.
The only thing that brought me down in this book was Josh’s character. It’s not a writing flaw or a story flaw, he’s just incredibly whiny and unlikeable, in my opinion. I get very frustrated during his parts, because I want him to get over himself and stop being such a whiny baby! Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Aside from his character, everything else is great. We meet some FANTASTIC new characters and learn even more about the mythology that rules this world, which is one of my favorite parts of reading books like this. I love all the worldbuilding and connections to myths and legends that we have.
If you’re into magic and mythology, definitely give this series a try. I was skeptical with book one, but this book is fantastic, and I’m excited to see what lies ahead. It’s a fairly easy/quick read for those who might get bored easily, too, so it might be a good fit for a reluctant reader.
Also posted on Purple People Readers.
March 18, 2017
I still think of Michael Scott from The Office every time I pick these books up.
These books are fine, but not at the top of my list for kids' literature. The character development was slightly better in this one for some of the characters -- St. Germain and Joan of Arc felt more fleshed out, and a little bit for Perenelle. Unfortunately, Sophie, Josh, and Flamel remain fairly bland, and Josh's jealousy over Sophie's "awakening" mixed with his fear of losing her has been beaten to death. Add in his tenuously written mistrust of Flamel, and Josh begins to seem petulent and annoying. Bizarrely, the non-stop action is honestly just a bit much, though I'm sure it thrills its target audience. They get chased here, at which point they're chased, then more things join into the chase, then there's an explosion....but THEN the chase is on!! The first two entire books take place within about 3-5 days, so there's very little movement of the larger plot of the story -- it's just non-stop escaping. On the plus side, it's interesting seeing the weaving in mythological and historical figures into this storyline, and I appreciate the inclusion of historical background on some of these settings, like the catacombs beneath Paris.
These books are fine, but not at the top of my list for kids' literature. The character development was slightly better in this one for some of the characters -- St. Germain and Joan of Arc felt more fleshed out, and a little bit for Perenelle. Unfortunately, Sophie, Josh, and Flamel remain fairly bland, and Josh's jealousy over Sophie's "awakening" mixed with his fear of losing her has been beaten to death. Add in his tenuously written mistrust of Flamel, and Josh begins to seem petulent and annoying. Bizarrely, the non-stop action is honestly just a bit much, though I'm sure it thrills its target audience. They get chased here, at which point they're chased, then more things join into the chase, then there's an explosion....but THEN the chase is on!! The first two entire books take place within about 3-5 days, so there's very little movement of the larger plot of the story -- it's just non-stop escaping. On the plus side, it's interesting seeing the weaving in mythological and historical figures into this storyline, and I appreciate the inclusion of historical background on some of these settings, like the catacombs beneath Paris.
October 10, 2018
The Magician gives us more than better twist than the Alchemyst. It drives us in a new dimension than far better our imagination can travel with. With new characters than gives revelation within the story. New revelation within the lives of the characters.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Re-reading this made me dive again to my thoughts about this book. Quite half of the book was slow paced during Flamel's encounter with Saint Germain and Joan. Nonetheless, this was a great book!
I don't understand some readers to missed out this great series :(
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Re-reading this made me dive again to my thoughts about this book. Quite half of the book was slow paced during Flamel's encounter with Saint Germain and Joan. Nonetheless, this was a great book!
I don't understand some readers to missed out this great series :(
January 11, 2015
Wow. Not just for kids. I loved this book. From the beginning it shot off at rocket speed and didn't slow at all. I usually find myself pondering the writing, the characters, etc., but there was none of that here. (Well hardly any. There was too much to absorb.) It gripped me from the beginning. I was sad when it ended, and I am excited to start the 3rd book in this series.
The only thing that was annoying was the brother. I don't think it is completely necessary to turn him into a total little whiner, but I feel like I know where that is going. It flashes like a neon sign on a very dark night.
The only thing that was annoying was the brother. I don't think it is completely necessary to turn him into a total little whiner, but I feel like I know where that is going. It flashes like a neon sign on a very dark night.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,458 reviews