Book Review: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

By Michael Scott
A Review by Danielle

The first book of the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, titled the Alchemyst, starts at a bookstore in the heart of San Francisco. Working there is a normal boy named Josh, who’s fraternal twin sister Sophie works across the street. A man comes into the shop and inquires about a book, which normally wouldn’t be an odd thing to do in a bookstore. Except that this book is in fact the Codex, which holds all of life’s prophecies within its pages and the man isn’t about to take no for an answer. Suddenly a battle between the man, who reveals himself to be Dr. John Dee, and the storekeeper, who is actually Nicholas Flamel. During the squabble, Josh accidentally rips out the last two and most vital pages of the Codex, which Dee escapes with along with Flamel’s wife, Perenelle. Now Josh and Sophie must retrieve the Codex, for they are the Chosen Twins foretold in a prophecy in the Codex where they must prevent the Dark Elders from taking over the modern world and many other realms with it. In order to aid them and get back his wife, Flamel must take the twins across the globe so that they can awaken their powers and learn the four elemental magicks: fire, wind, water, and earth. Unfortunately for them, the Dark Elders want the twins so that they can use them for their own personal gain


In the second book, titled The Magician, the twins find themselves in Paris, France where they seek refuge with Comte de Saint Germain and Joan d’Arc. Dee is not the only one on the Dark Elders’ side, however, and they soon come across Niccolò Machiavelli. It doesn’t take long for Dee to arrive in Paris and when he does, he and Machiavelli team up and release Níðhöggr to wreak havoc on the streets of Paris. In all of the confusion, Dee and Machiavelli manage to convince Josh to join them for a time. They then take him deep into the catacombs that lie beneath Paris to meet the Roman god of war Mars to have his powers awakened.

Meanwhile, Perenelle Flamel, an incredibly powerful sorceress is being held prisoner on the island of Alcatraz. There, the Dark Elders have place creatures that have only been seen in fairy tales, mythology, and nightmares. Yet another precaution to keep Perenelle on the island is taken and the Dark Elders send the Morrigan, one of the three Celtic goddess sisters of battle, after her should she try to escape. Perenelle must use her wits to survive and flee Alcatraz.

Will the world be saved and the Dark Elders defeated? Or will the Dark Elders conquer and rule our world once again? Read and find out!