SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
English DepartmentAdvanced Reading 0990-003
Jitao Tang
Book Review Signature Assignment
Michael Scott
The Alchemyst
The Secret Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel
General Information
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel is a series of six fantasy novels written by
Irish author Michael Scott, it is the first book in the series.
My Summary
The story centers around Sophie and Josh a set of twins who find themselves thrown
into a world were magic rules all. This all happens after they try and help Nicholas
Flamel, a very powerful alchemyst, after he is attacked by Dr. John Dee in the bookstore
that Josh works in. Josh and Sophie find out that they are in the Codex, a book written
thousands of years ago, and while all they learn is that there is a prophecy written about
them we the reader find out that one of them will save the earth while the other will try
and destroy it. Nicholas and his wife, who is kidnapped by John Dee in the early part of
the book, have kept this book safe for many years and they have been using it to help
them stay young, but without this book they will start aging one year for everyday.
I feel that The the Alchemyst is a fast paced action book, the setting of the book was
historic and full of lore, I realized that this book was aimed at young adults. But I must
say that Scott's series are for older audience. Although I love the theme and appropriate
for my age, I try to find lessons and wisdom in this kind of series, in which it lacks deep
ideas like poitics, life, and philosophy and dwells on the fundamental lessons like family,
friends, and courage.
Plot
Chapter1~6
When the necromancer and immortal magician Dr. John Dee steals the ancient book the
Codex from its keeper, Nicholas Flamel, two teenagers named Sophie and Josh Newman
are caught up in the danger and magic. Dee also captures Nicholas Flamel's wife,
Perenelle. Flamel takes the twins to a magical warrior Next Generation Elder named
Scathach, who travels with them to another Elder's shadowrealm. This Elder is known as
Hekate and has remarkable magical power. Hekate is over 10,000 years old.
Chapter7~14
Sophie and Josh are working at a bookstore and a cafe when Dee comes for the Codex.
Here, they witness Nicholas and Perenelle using magic, and discover that Nicholas is not
a bookseller, but is indeed an ancient alchemyst being kept alive by making the elixir of
life for him and Perenelle. He can use magic. He needs the Codex back to make the elixir
of life again, or he and Perenelle will die before the month's end. Also, if Nicholas does not
retrieve the Codex, Dee will summon the Dark Elders to destroy the world and return to an
age in which humans are but slaves and food.
Chapter15~25
Flamel quickly takes them to a Dojo to enlist the aid of Scathach, an extremely powerful
ally. Dee assaults the Dojo, but is thwarted by Flamel and Scathach. Flamel then leads
the twins and Scathach to attempt to secure the aid of Hekate, who can awaken the twins'
magical potential. Dee discovers this, and enlists the aid of Bastet, and the Morrigan. The
trio mount a massive assault on Hekate's shadowrealm, attempting to destroy the
Yggdrasill that is the heart of Hekate's power.
Chapter26~32
While the Yggdrasill is attacked, Hekate Awakens Sophie; she does not Awaken Josh, as
the Yggdrasill is then lit on fire and she rushes to defend her home. After a long, grueling
battle, Scathach clears a path for the twins and Flamel. While escaping, they encounter
Dee, and witness the power of the ancient sword known as Excalibur, which he draws.
They see him transform a wereboar into pure ice, then shatter the statue. Flamel remarks
that he thought that Excalibur had been lost when ing Arthur died.
Chapter33~38
The twins, Scathach, and Flamel escape the shadowrealm rapidly after, shortly before the
destruction of Hekate, the Yggdrasill, and the entire shadowrealm. As they escape, Dee
uses Excaliber to freeze the Yggdrasill, and Hekate, whose life and power is linked to the
tree, transforms to ice as it does. As this occurs, Dee is informed that Flamel and
Scathach have escaped with the twins. In his rage, he shatters the Yggdrasill, which
crushes Hekate into dust, killing her. At this point, they travel to Scathach's grandmother,
the Witch of Endor who teaches Sophie her magical secrets.
Chapter39~41
While they are there, Dee has found out that the prophecy in the Codex speaks of Sophie
and Josh. He tempts Josh to join him, while practicing necromancy and raising thousands
of corpses to assault the Elders and Sophie with. Josh almost agrees, but at the last
moment he realizes he will lose Sophie if he agrees, and distracts the necromancer long
enough to escape with Scathach, Sophie and Nicholas using a leygate to escape to Paris,
where the book ends. The book ends with the conclusion that the Witch has survived and
Dee is still searching. Perenelle smiles when she realizes that Nicholas, the twins, and
Scatty are in paris, where there are other Elders who can Awaken Josh. The Sphinx tells
her that the end is coming, and Perenelle responds with, "This is only the beginning." The
book ends
Main Characters
Sophie Newman - One of the twins. Sophie worked at a coffee shop - The Coffee Cup
- before Dee attacked. Her aura is silver (very rare aura).
Josh Newman - Younger than his twin sister by only 28 seconds. Josh's gold aura is
slightly rarer than Sophie's aura. He worked at a book store - The Small Book Shop with Nicholas Flamel before the encounter with Dee.
Nicholas Flamel - Disguised as "Nick Fleming", Nicholas owned a book shop while
he protected the Codex.
Perenelle Flamel - Disguised as "Perry Fleming" until she was kidnapped by Dr.
Dee.
Dr. John Dee - For centuries, Dee has been chasing Nicholas and Perenelle to get his
hands on the Codex and awaken the Dark Elders. His master is unknown
.
Scathach - Nicknamed "Scatty". Scathach has trained many warriors over the past
millennia. She is also a vegetarian vampire. She is commonly known as the Warrior
Maid or the Shadow.
Hekate - The Elder whose life depended on an ancient tree that grew in her
shadowrealm. She Awakened Sophie's powers. She was also one of the most powerful
elders until Dee turned her into ice and shattered her with the ancient and mythical
sword of Ice Excalibur.
The Witch of Endor - A Witch who lives in Ojai (pronounced Oh-hai) and was alive
for millennia. She gave all her knowledge to Sophie after Sophie was Awakened.
Also Scathach's 'grandmother'