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The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

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Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
List Price: $16.99
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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.


DESCRIPTION:

Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9780385733588
ISBN: 0385733585
Label: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 496
Publication Date: 2008-06-24
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Reading Level: Young Adult
Release Date: 2008-06-24
Studio: Delacorte Books for Young Readers


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CUSTOMER REVIEWS:

Customer Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get better than Michael Scott!!!!
Comment: Michael Scott is a genius. I will say it again, Michael Scott is a genius. He has captured the essence of Young Adult fantasy better than J.K. Rowling and, dare I say, J.R.R. Tolkien. Bravo, I am truly hooked on Flamel!

Customer Rating:
Summary: Good, But I Need Something More
Comment:
After finishing the Harry Potter series, I was desperate for good fantasy fiction, and there's just not a ton out right now. His Dark Materials went south (yeah... deep south) by the middle of Amber Spyglass. Magic Bites, Dresden Files, and the other magic/mystery series failed to lure me. Luckily, I found The Alchemyst.

I liked the first book, and the second, thoroughly. Michael Scott draws action sequences very well and it's fun to glimpse some of the personalities he has implemented: Dr. John Dee is a great villain, and Saint-Germain is a fun addition to the party. The drama is self-sustaining, as the main characters are constantly moved and moving in and out of danger.

As with most action fiction, characters thoughts and feelings are usually limited to analysis of the situation at hand and reacting to previous events: there's no internal interaction going on, and that's okay. Scott, however, has stumbled across a couple problems and hasn't fixed them in his 2nd book of the series.

1) Scott has a bad case of the one-uppers. Remeber when wereboars were considered the best warriors in history during the battle at Yggdrasill? No, now the Disir are the best. Except for Nidhogg. And Mars. And whomever they meet next. It's going to be tough for Scott to continue introducing more and more characters who are supposed to be more and more dangerous (literary escalation) when he starts out at such superlatives (Scathach is the best warrior there ever was... period). One "superbly powerful" character towards the end of this book barely made it thirty pages past his introduction, and was killed by what seemed like a relatively simple attack by Dr. John Dee. Where will Scott go from here, given that the only possible direction is up?

2) Joan really needs more definition as she seems to be the same character as Scathach.

3) We also seem to be missing a major theme here: Sophie and Josh aren't too emotionally invested in what's happening, and for a long time simply wanted to return home. It's almost like Scott's releasing the books in teen-sized serials, rather than a long epic that might prove imposing to the novice reader. Very little attention has been paid by any character that Flamel's motivations are primarily based around getting his wife back and returning to immortality. I'd really like to see Scott begin to tie together action and an overall morality. He's touched on it a couple times, usually involving Dee's attempts to lure Josh away, but there really needs to be a full addressing of the issues awaiting our heroes.

Overall, very good, and worth the relatively quick read.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable Read!
Comment: I enjoyed reading this book. I thought the author did a great job of keeping you guessing as to what would happen next (an issue I had with the first book), and I thought his character development in this book was very good. I can't wait to grab the third one!!

Customer Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Comment: Just like the first book, this was excellent. Josh and Sophie again are being put to their limits as well as Nicholas. They are in Paris for this book and a couple new characters are introduced, interestingly Joan of Arc. Josh will be shown his potential power when wielding the sister sword to Excalibur. Scatty will face old enemies and faces death. Pernelle is held prisoner on Alcatraz but makes a ghost friend who helps her to escape and allies with an old enemy. Dee and Mackavelli call upon an Elder to awaken Josh's powers but bite off more than they can chew.

This is a page turner, like the first book and I can't wait to read the next book. I was excited to hear this isn't a trilogy and there is a fourth book in the works. This is series is a must read for all ages and holds a permanent spot on my bookshelf.


Customer Rating:
Summary: Masterful storytelling
Comment: Brilliant! A blend of many world mythologies in a modern day setting. Action, suspense, mystery for readers 10-80. The sequels are wonderful also. Waiting anxiously for the fourth book.

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