Review: The Alchemyst - Michael Scott

He holds the secret that can end the world...

Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris in 1330.  Legend has it that the Alchemyst discovered the secret of eternal life - and that his tomb lies empty.

The legend is true...

Nicholas has survived for almost seven centuries thanks to the elixir of life.  His secret lies within the pages of the book of Abraham the Mage - a secret that must be protected at all costs.  In the wrong hands the book would destroy the world.  Something that Dr John Dee and the Dark Elders know only too well.  Only two people have the power to stop him - the mythical twins of destiny...

Suddenly the lives of fifteen-year-old twins Josh and Sophie Newman are thrown into a whirlwind of dark magic and danger.

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series:
The Alchemyst
The Magician
The Sorceress
The Necromancer
The Warlock (due for release 2011)
The Enchantress (due for release 2012)

Visit Michael Scott's website for more information

Review:
Fifteen year old Sophie is spending the summer working in a coffee shop while her twin brother Josh works in the book shop over the road.  When she sees a strange car turn up outside the book shop she is worried for her brothers safety and goes over to check on him.  She soon realises that both she & Josh have stumbled into a world of magic and placed themselves in great danger.  It turns out that Josh's boss is the famous alchemyst Nicholas Flamel and he has been protecting a book that contains secrets that could cause the end of the world for almost seven hundred years.  Nicholas' enemy John Dee has finally caught up with him and when he escapes - with the book and Nicholas' wife Perenelle as a hostage - life will never be the same again.  Josh manages to keep hold of the last 2 pages of the book but now Dee is searching for them, wanting to steal the missing pages.  They are going to need to find powerful friends if they are going to keep the pages out of Dee's hands and survive his attacks.

The lovely publicist Corinne from Random House Children's Books spoke so highly of this series that I was really looking forward to giving it a try.  I'm so glad I did as I found The Alchemyst a really enjoyable fantasy adventure story.  Michael Scott has created a detailed world full of magic & myths with a bit of world history thrown in for good measure.  I loved the way he has woven legends alongside real events to create a fun adventure story that will be popular with both boys and girls.  Although I liked both Sophie and Josh it was Nick, Perry and Scatty who were my favorite characters and who really jumped out of the pages at me.

Sophie and Josh have been thrust into a secret world of immortals, Goddesses and mythological creatures that they never would have suspected existed.  It isn't an easy world to be introduced to and what they have seen has placed them in great danger.  Nick is very good at only telling part of the story so they can never be quite sure if he has told them everything they need to know and they are wary of trusting him fully.  It quickly becomes clear that Nick believes that the twins are the key to saving the world from the Dark Elders (immortals who want to take over the world, reducing humanity to their slaves) but it is going to take time to train them and for them to grow into their full powers.  Time that they may not have when Dee is on their trail and determined to destroy them.

Overall The Alchemyst is an enjoyable start to the series and will appeal to fantasy fans young and old.  Having both male and female main characters mean it will appeal to both boys and girls and I'd definitely recommend you give the series a try if you've yet to discover it.  I already have a copy of The Magician and after the cliffhanger ending of The Alchemyst it won't be long before I'm picking it up to continue the adventure.

Source: Thanks to RHCB for sending me this book for review

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.