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Shur'tugal Staff Book Reviews
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The Alchemyst
By Michael Scott
Review by Mike Macauley
Staff Rating:   (4.5/5)
User Rating:  (4/5 - 970 Votes)
Purchase this book!
Recently, a copy of The Alchemyst by Michael Scott made its way on to my desk, and on to my favorite books list shortly thereafter.
The first question that may come to your mind is: “Wait, isn’t Nicholas Flamel a character from Harry Potter?” The answer is yes, but no. Nicholas Flamel is a famous alchemist character in both fiction and non-fiction history. J.K. Rowling borrowed this character for the first book in the Harry Potter series, and now Michael Scott has created an entire series around the person.
The Alchemyst is a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy which takes place “today” in California. The story starts off like any good fantasy book should – Scott wastes no time beating around the bush and jumps right into the action. Sophie and Josh Newman are ordinary (or so they think) twin siblings, working summer jobs across the street from each other, when their lives are suddenly disrupted by a thousand year old prophecy made by one of the Elder Race, a race now regarded in myths and legends as gods.
Their adventure begins when Dr. John Dee, a notorious magician, necromancer, evil-doer, and associate of the Dark Elders, finally tracks down Nicholas Flemel and succeeds in stealing the Codex, the book of Abraham the Mage, which contains not only the secrets to life eternal, but also reveals the dark secrets which will bring the Dark Elders back to reign over the world. However, in his rush to leave the scene, Dee fails to realize that Josh was able to rip the last few pages from the book.
Now, Flemel and the twins are thrust on a wild adventure to keep the last remaining pages out of Dee’s hands, while trying to take back the Codex and Flemel’s wife, Perenelle, who was also taken by Dee. The three are aided along their journey by characters such as the Hekate, the Goddess with Three Faces, and her World Tree, the Yggdrasill, Scathach, a brilliant warrior, and the Witch of Endor.
However, things become even more difficult for Sophie and Josh when they realize they’re the center of a prophecy spanning back thousands of years… a prophecy that lays the fate of the world as they know it in their hands.
From the minute I picked this book up, I had an exceptionally tough time putting it down. The characters are easily likeable and Scott makes them incredibly easy to relate to. The writing style of Michael Scott sucks you into the book, making you feel like you’re a character of your own, watching the characters develop from ordinary teenagers into powerful beings.
Scott makes the story fun and original by answering mysteries of today with legends and lore invented for the world of The Alchemyst. Various people and places, from Nicholas Flemel himself, to the lost land of Atlantis, to famous mythological characters such as Egyptian Goddess Bastet, play key roles in the story, which make it both easier to understand and more fun to read. Scott’s ability to take well-known legends and incorporate them into his own fantastic world and plot gives the book its own unique design, yet allows a reader to easily recognize names and immediately feel that they have been a part of this world before.
The people, places, and abilities (both physical and magic) are a world of their own. Michael Scott takes his book above and beyond the realm of stereotypical fantasy to a whole new level, one which is bound to capture the love and imagination of anyone who picks up his books.
Never fret, however, because a second book is on its way! Included at the back of the book is a sneak peak at the next book, The Magician, book two of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.
Have you read this book? Rate it now!
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