Series: Book 1 in the The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series
Rating: ****
Tags: Fiction, General, West, Travel, Alchemy, Other, Supernatural, Siblings, Flamel; Nicolas, Brothers and Sisters, Dee; John, San Francisco (Calif.), Alchemists, Magic, Body; Mind & Spirit, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, United States, Mysteries & Detective Stories, People & Places, Magick Studies, Legends; Myths; Fables, Action & Adventure, Family, Pacific, Twins, Lang:en
Summary
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.
(May)
Starred Review. Grade 6-9–Scott uses a
gigantic canvas for this riveting fantasy. The well-worn
theme of saving the world from the forces of evil gets a
fresh look here as he incorporates ancient myth and legend
and sets it firmly, pitch-perfect, in present-day California.
At the emotional center of the tale are contemporary
15-year-old twins, Josh and Sophie, who, it turns out, are
potentially powerful magicians. They are spoken of in a
prophecy appearing in the ancient Book of Abraham the Mage,
all but two pages of which have been stolen by evil John Dee,
alchemist and magician. The pursuit of the twins and Flamel
by Dee and his allies to get the missing pages constitutes
the book's central plot. Amid all this exhilarating action,
Scott keeps his sights on the small details of character and
dialogue and provides evocative descriptions of people,
mythical beings, and places. He uses as his starting point
the figures of the historical alchemist Nicholas Flamel and
his wife, who have found the secret of immortality, along
with mythical beings, including the terrifying Scottish
crow-goddess, the Morrigan; the three-faced Greek Hekate; the
powerful Egyptian cat-goddess, Bastet; and Scathach, a
legendary Irish woman warrior and vegetarian vampire. While
there is plenty here to send readers rushing to their
encyclopedias of mythology and alchemy, those who read the
book at face value will simply be caught up in the
enthralling story. A fabulous read.–_Sue Giffard,
Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City_
From Publishers Weekly
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of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From School Library Journal
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division
of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.