Julian Nunez

Book Review #2

Period 4

11 December 2016

 

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

Michael Scott

Fantasy/Fiction

375 Pages

Rhode Island Teen Book Award

 

            In the novel, The Alchemyst, by Michael Scott, is about twins Sophie and Josh Newman, who find themselves in a magical battle between good and evil. The story starts off with Sophie texting her friend while hanging out in a coffee shop, while Josh is working at Nick Flamel’s Book Store. Some suspicious looking guy in an overcoat walks into the book store and a magical battle occurs between the Nick and the guy. Josh tackles the guy and tries to steal an important looking book, but the guy wins. Sophie and Perry, Nick’s wife, run to the scene. The guy, whose name is Dee, who is actually a magician and necromancer, a sorcerer who can raise the dead, runs off with Perry. Turns out Nick and Perry are actually Nicholas and Perenelle, are hundreds of years old. They found out the secret to eternal life, which was in the book that Dee stole. Thankfully when Josh tried to take it, he ripped out a few pages. But without the book, Nicholas and Perenelle will age and die within a month. If they were to die, the Elder Race, who ruled Earth before humans, would take over Earth again. The gang goes to meet up with the Goddess with the Three Faces, Hekkate, in the Shadow Realm. Turns out, Josh and Sophie have untapped magical powers, so Hekkate agrees to unlock these powers. Hekkate unlocks Sophie’s powers, but then Dee shows up and kills Hekkate. Knowing Josh has untapped powers, Dee tires to sway him to his side, while an army of skeletons head to the rest. Dee fails to convince Josh to his side, and Josh ran him over with his car. The gang heads to Nicholas’s house in Paris, but Dee survived and tried to convince Josh to his side again. However, Sophie reminds Josh that she will never leave him, and together they jump through a mirror.

            Overall, I think this book is great. I like how it shows how magical beings were living among humans, makes you wonder if they were real. An example of that would be how Nicholas owned a book store and secretly was a magician that had magic spell books. I also liked the bond between Sophie and Josh. When Dee tried to convince Josh to his side, Josh didn’t turn even when he was jealous of his sister’s powers. And Sophie would also be right by his side when Dee tried to turn him. “You. Leave. My. Brother. Alone. Sophie Newman brought the broom down five times on Dee’s back one time for every word.”  However, I thought the ending wasn’t so good, jumping together through a mirror isn’t really satisfying. It is a book in a series, but the ending still could have been better. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy books. If you are not into magic or spells, then I wouldn’t recommend it since that’s the whole basis of the plot. I would also recommend the second book, The Magician, which takes place after The Alchemyst. These are my thoughts on the novel The Alchemyst, by Michael Scott.