The Alchemyst

maddy4205 - ' "Okay - answer me this: why would anyone want to wear an overcoat in San Francisco in the middle of summer?" Sophie Newman pressed her fingers against the Bluetooth earpiece as she spoke. On the other side of the continent, her fashion - conscious friend Elle inquired matter - of - factly, "What sort of coat?" Wiping her hands on the cloth tucked into her apron strings, Sophie moved out from behind the counter of the empty coffee shop and stepped up to the window, watching men emerge from the car across the street. "Heavy black wool overcoats. They're even wearing black gloves and hats. And sunglasses." She pressed her face against the glass. "Even for this city, that's just a little too weird." ' (Quoted from book) 'The Alchemyst' by Michael Scott is for those who love constant action and suspense. The book is mainly a fantasy, but there are historical figures, such as Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, weaved into the story. In fact, Nicholas Flamel's name on the cover (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) is what drew me to select this book. I've read a few books in which he was mentioned, and soon came to realize that Flamel was not a character in a singular story, but a real person, and I selected the book to find out what personality this author gave him. In the book he is deceptive, and yes, immortal. His deceptiveness is most prominent at the beginning of the story, where he and his wife are disguised as Nick and Perry Fleming. They own a local bookstore at which Josh Newman is employed. Josh's twin sister, Sophie, works across the street at a coffee shop. When Perry visits Sophie at the coffee shop, there is a disturbance in the bookstore, and they both hurry over to see what's wrong. When they enter, they are met with havoc. Dr. John Dee, an ally of the Dark Elders, seeks Flamel's secret to immortality: The Codex. Josh and Sophie realize that the Flemings are not who they say they are while Flamel and Dee are speaking to one another, Dee using magic to pull the book from where it was hidden. Josh seizes the book in a moment of confusion, but then Dee takes the book and Perenelle and leaves. What he doesn't realize, though, is that when he snagged the book from Josh's grasp, two very important pages were ripped from the book, and he is left with only part of what he wants. Nicholas, Sophie and Josh are being hunted, and they don't know who to trust. Flamel has helped them so far, but what exactly are his motives? An exciting part in the story was when Nicholas, Sophie, and Scathatch are struggling to fend off the skeletal army Dee has awakened. Josh is seperated from them, and the fog makes it impossible for them to find each other. It is very suspenseful. My favorite passage, though, was as follows: ' "The girl has one of the purest silver auras I've encountered in many an age. She needs to be taught some spells of personal protection if she is to survive the rest of the Awakening process. The fact that she's still sane and whole these many hours later is testament to her strength of will." ' I liked this passage because it shows just how mentally strong Sophie is, and portrays her as a tough character. I can understand what Josh feels like when Sophie gains her powers. He feels alone, abandoned. I can relate to this because whenever my sisters spend the night at a friend's house, it feels wrong in the house. It just doesn't feel right, and I can imagine how Josh feels through this connection. I highly recommend 'The Alchemyst' by Michael Scott to those who enjoy reading...

March 5, 2007
Twin 15-year-old siblings Sophie and Josh Newman take summer jobs in San Francisco across the street from one another: she at a coffee shop, he at a bookstore owned by Nick and Perry Fleming. In the vey first chapter, armed goons garbed in black with "dead-looking skin and... marble eyes" (actually Golems) storm the bookshop, take Perry hostage and swipe a rare Book (but not before Josh snatches its two most important pages). The stolen volume is the Codex, an ancient text of magical wisdom. Nick Fleming is really Nicholas Flamel, the 14th-century alchemist who could turn base metal into gold, and make a potion that ensures immortality. Sophie and Josh learn that they are mentioned in the Codex's prophecies: "The two that are one will come either to save or to destroy the world." Mayhem ensues, as Irish author Scott draws on a wide knowledge of world mythology to stage a battle between the Dark Elders and their hired gun—Dr. John Dee—against the forces of good, led by Flamel and the twins (Sophie's powers are "awakened" by the goddess Hekate, who'd been living in an elaborate treehouse north of San Francisco). Not only do they need the Codex back to stop Dee and company, but the immortality potion must be brewed afresh every month. Time is running out, literally, for the Flamels. Proceeding at a breakneck pace, and populated by the likes of werewolves and vampires, the novel ends on a precipice, presumably to be picked up in volume two. Ages 12-up.