Títle: Saga “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel”
Author: Michael Scott
Editorial: Doubleday
PVP (per book): 17€ aprox (hardcover) / 5€ aprox (e-book)
Mark: 9.5/10
ABSTRACT OF THE FIRST BOOK
Nicholas Flamel was born in
Paris on 28 September 1330. Nearly seven hundred years later, he is
acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he
discovered the secret of eternal life. The records show that he died in 1418.
But his tomb is empty and Nicholas Flamel lives. The secret of eternal life is
hidden within the book he protects - the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the
most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy
the world. And that's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it.
Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy
is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the
world as we know it. Sometimes legends are true. And Sophie and Josh Newman are
about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time
PERSONAL VALORATION
Justification
This is without a doubt one of my favorite book sagas
of all time. It is a saga composed of six books -The Alchemist, The
Magician, The Sorceress, The Necromancer, The Warlock and The
Enchantress- in which the first was published in 2007 and the last was
published in 2012. It belongs to the young-adult juvenile, fantasy and suspense
genres, and it deals with topics related to mythology, history and magic. All
the books that make up the saga have been nominated for various teen
literary and reader's awards.
Plot
The story revolves around Sophie and Josh Newman, two
15-year-old twin brothers with normal lives (American-style) whose life changes
completely and irrevocably on any given day in July while they work -in a
bookstore, Josh, and in the opposite cafeteria, Sophie- by the arrival of
Dr. John Dee. Dr. Dee starts a battle of auric magic (yes, there are auras
involved and they smell and have colour) with the owner of the bookstore, Nick
Fleming trying to steal an old book, The Book of Abraham the Magician or Codex.
Dr. John Dee snatches the book from Josh, but Josh manages to retain two pages.
Dr. John Dee also kidnaps Nick's wife, Perry Fleming, and imprisons her on
Alcatraz Island.
In this way, the two siblings travel throughout the
different places around the world (San Francisco, London, Paris, among others)
while they are involved in a new reality in which myths, prophecies, legends
and historical figures come to life and where there are two rival sides,
although perhaps not so different from each other.
Characters
There are many important characters that appear in the
saga (whether real and fictional) but I will focus on those that have a real
correspondence with the titles of the books to make their analysis.
- Nicholas Flamel is
"The Alchemist": it is based on a historical character: a French
alchemist who is said to have discovered the Philosopher's Stone and was able
to convert any metal into gold. In this case, in the book he also
discovered the secret of immortality and lived together with his wife,
Perenelle Flamel for nearly 700 years and while guarding and protecting
the Codex. Does it say the whole truth? Are your intentions as pure as you
see?
- Dr. John Dee is
"The Magician": it is also based on a historical character: the
spy, personal assistant and English counsellor of Queen Elizabeth I. In
this saga he is the main antagonist, a magician at the service of the Dark
Elders, that has been looking for the Codex for centuries and this is the
first time that he has managed to catch it. Is he as evil as the Flamels say?
- Perenelle Flamel is
"The Sorceress": she is also a real historical figure and in
this book, like her husband, she has been protecting the Codex for
hundreds of years. She presents herself as a powerful sorceress: she is
the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter and has the ability to see dead
people. When Dee kidnaps her and locks her in Alcatraz, will she be able
to face alone what lies there?
- Josh Newman is
"The Necromancer": he is a normal American teenager of 15 years
and twin brother of Sophie. After being involved in the magic fight
between Dr Dee and Nick Flamel (a.k.a. Nicolas Flamel), the owner of the
bookstore where he works, his life changes completely. Are he and his
sister on the right side allying with the Flamel?
- Niccolo Machiavelli is
"The Warlock": it is a character based on the Italian
philosopher and author of "El Principe". In the book he plays a
similar role as Dr Dee and eventually they both join forces, at the
request of their masters, to stop the Flamel. Is he as insensitive as he seems?
- Sophie Newman is
"The Enchantres": she is a normal American teenager of 15 years
and twin sister of Josh. Like his brother, he is involved in the magical
world of myths and legends. Is it a coincidence that this happens to them
or not?
Atmosphere
The world Michael Scott
creates in his books is identical to the current contemporary world with the
exception that it in also inhabits historical figures (such as those already
mentioned before or Joan of Arc, Billy The Kid, The Count of Sant Germain, William
Shakespeare, Virginia Dare, Juan Manuel de la Ayala or Black Hwak),
mythological figures (such as Hekate, Scáthach, Bastet, Morrigan, Mars,
Prometheus, Coatlicue, Quetzalcoatl, Odin, Hel, Isis, Osiris, Aten, Anubis,
Areop-Enap, Palamedes, Genii, Cucullati or Huitzilopochtli) and mythological
creatures (vampires, valkyries, minotaurs, anpus, unicorns, nereids ...). In
this way, we have current references and historical references throughout the
book that respond to a great research and historical foundation (since Michael
Scott is a historian and is specialized in myths and Celtic folklore) and a
great effort of integration.
Another aspect to highlight is
the presence of different scenarios throughout the different novels. In this
case cities and real locations (San Francisco, Alcatraz, Paris, London ...)
also coexist with fictional sites (Danu Talis or the Shadow worlds) that are
interspersed throughout the books and that allow a great dynamism to the plot.
It is a real pleasure to
(re)discover books that deal with other types of relationships (between
brothers, between allies, between friends, between enemies) and where romantic
love is not the only kind of feeling that allows the creation of ties between
individuals.
Writing style
Michael Scott’s writing style
makes the narration very fluid: the action happens in short periods of time.
However, the fact that historical and mythological themes are treated makes
explanations a necessity, personally, I appreciate it but initially they can be
it (there are so many gods, kings, powers, friends and enemies that it is
difficult to draw clear conclusions).
In this sense, the
descriptions and dialogues are slightly resented by the writer's desire to be
exact and to provide as much information as possible. Many times, with the aim
of not making the descriptions heavy, the dialogues are used to explain
historical data, which takes away naturalness from them. After having read the
saga recently I realized that the writing style evolves, it becomes fluid and
loses the artificiality of the first books.
GENERAL COMMENT
The saga of "The secrets
of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel" raises a story of adventures, that
engages, that integrates myths and reality, past and present. Although it is a
saga for a young audience anyone interested in history, prophecy, magic, auras,
myths, stories, action ... can enjoy and devour it. It is worth giving a chance
to this series of books that is so complete, with an impeccably plot and
well-constructed characters
-R.
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