 |
Shur'tugal Staff Book Reviews
(Back to main)
The Magician
By Michael Scott
Review by Mike Macauley
Staff Rating:   (4.5/5)
User Rating:  (4/5 - 210 Votes)
Purchase this book (and save over $5)!
The Magician is the sequel to The Alchemyst, the first book in the The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flemel series by Michael Scott (not from The Office). I reviewed The Alchemyst last summer and absolutely loved it. I had heard through friends that The Magician was even better, so I had a positive head going into it.
The thing that really captivates me about this series is the connection you feel to the characters while reading the book. Though it had been a year since I had read The Alchemyst, I immediately felt reconnected to the characters in The Magician (same characters from The Alchemyst, mind you). The characters are lovable, funny, and quirky and all have that one unique characteristic that contributes well to the story. However, Scott doesn't leave us relying on old characters for entertainment, throwing even more interesting characters into the twist.
Filled with just as much, if not more action than the first book, The Magician is a thrill from the start. We're also introduced to more characters from real-life history, such as Niccolò Machiavelli, Comte de Saint-Germain, and Joan of Arc. Scott's knowledge of history as well as his ability to weave it into his stories sets the series far apart from others of its kind.
The story starts out where The Alchemyst left off: Sophie's powers had just been Awakened by the Witch of Endor and their enemy, Dr. John Dee was hot on their heels. After narrowly escaping Dee, the Twins, along with Flamel and Scatty head to Paris to seek out someone who can train Sophie.
Almost immediately, we're thrust back into action when Niccolò Machiavelli, a colleague of Dee's, corners the four. Sophie is able to use her newly-Awakened powers to conjure a distraction for the group's escape, however, Machiavelli remains hot on their tails.
So why Paris? With Sophie's powers relatively untrained, Nicholas knows they need to train Sophie and fast. Still determined that Sophie and Josh are the Twins in the prophecy, Nicholas turns to his old friend, Comte de Saint-Germain. Saint-Germain, now a famous rock star, is able to teach this fire magic to Sophie but it isn't long before Dee, Machiavelli, and other horrors catch up with the Twins.
Josh soon finds himself facing touch decisions revolving around his jealous and envy toward his sister and his longing to be the same as her again... to be Awakened.
The rest of the book is a swarm of adventure, tough decisions, worry, and some fighting which can only be properly enjoyed by reading the book for yourself.
The new characters introduced in the second novel in the series fill the series with even more rich ties to history as well as a larger attachment and love for the interesting characters Scott has developed entirely originally or around historical figures. The book is a fantastic read and easily one of my top favorites.
Have you read this book? Rate it now!
|
 |
RSS Feeds
Email Alerts & Newsletter
