The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

fascinating story..!

This is a terribly nice book. Josh and Sophie were twins, and worked opposite each other peacefully... that was before Dr. John Dee attacked Josh's workplace, and Josh's boss, who claimed to be Nick Flemming was actually the great Alchemyst, Nicolas Flammel. Dee was after Flammel for the book that reveals the secrets of having eternal life for his own selfish uses. In the small battle, Dee got...more

This is a terribly nice book. Josh and Sophie were twins, and worked opposite each other peacefully... that was before Dr. John Dee attacked Josh's workplace, and Josh's boss, who claimed to be Nick Flemming was actually the great Alchemyst, Nicolas Flammel. Dee was after Flammel for the book that reveals the secrets of having eternal life for his own selfish uses. In the small battle, Dee got the book, but in wrestling with Josh, the final two pages which talked about the final summoning was torn... and Dee will stop at nothing to get it back.   hide

it's amazing plots! old mr. flamel lives in mellenium century!

good fun

might as well check the characters on the net..

Pretty captivating story. I liked it, and I have been trying to analyze what makes a successful fantasy book because I liked Harry Potter more. The orphan appeal, the "general" modern time sense (ie: no Blackberries in HP), the fact that Harry is as clueless as us (Sophie and Josh's parents are anthropologists), familial abuse (our feelings towards the Dursleys mirror those towards Cinderella's...more

Pretty captivating story. I liked it, and I have been trying to analyze what makes a successful fantasy book because I liked Harry Potter more. The orphan appeal, the "general" modern time sense (ie: no Blackberries in HP), the fact that Harry is as clueless as us (Sophie and Josh's parents are anthropologists), familial abuse (our feelings towards the Dursleys mirror those towards Cinderella's steps), and the fact that there are silly poems and rhymes (Roald Dahl-like) are what this story lacks. But it's still a pretty good book and I'll be reading the second one in the series.   hide

As an obsessive Harry Potter fan, with the publication of the final book, I felt my life was lacking something. Then I found this book. I've just got through reading it, and I'm already desperate for the next in the series. I loved the combination of real historical figures, and mythology Scott has wonderfully woven together in the action-packed first of the series, and I hold high hopes that...more

As an obsessive Harry Potter fan, with the publication of the final book, I felt my life was lacking something. Then I found this book. I've just got through reading it, and I'm already desperate for the next in the series. I loved the combination of real historical figures, and mythology Scott has wonderfully woven together in the action-packed first of the series, and I hold high hopes that the following six books will be just as good. Even though The Alchemyst is intended for younger/teen readers, at twenty-four years old, I found myself shuddering at some of the horrors Dee unleashes in his quest to secure to Codex and find the twins. I also loved how the story is set in the modern world we're all familiar with, and it was an interesting twist on the fantasy genre to see Sophie and Josh talking about IPods, computers and cell phones. Each of the characters are wonderfully written, and memorable in their own special way. I particularly liked how each magical being had their own distinct coloured aura and scent. Over all, an absolutely wonderful book for any fantasy fans, young or old.   hide

I thought this story was great, with the blending of fantasy, legends, magic,and history. It was clear and easy to read and understand. The first book takes place in only two days ... hard to believe eh? But Scott makes it believeable and you just want to keep turning the page to find out what happens. There's more I can say, but the last thing I'll mention is...give it a read, it's worth it.

I picked this up because I needed a quick, easy read, and it stood out on the shelf of new best-sellers. I got pretty much what I was looking for - it took me about a day to read and was very light and entertainting. I liked that he used actual historical characters, such as Dee (Queen Elizabeth's doctor) and Nicholas Flamel (the famous alchemist), but there seemed to be an overall feeling in...more

I picked this up because I needed a quick, easy read, and it stood out on the shelf of new best-sellers. I got pretty much what I was looking for - it took me about a day to read and was very light and entertainting. I liked that he used actual historical characters, such as Dee (Queen Elizabeth's doctor) and Nicholas Flamel (the famous alchemist), but there seemed to be an overall feeling in the book which bothered me and I can best describe it as "trying." It seemed to lack depth and character development, and fell into the use of jaded plot devices, such as the "to think that just yesterday I was a normal kid..." type of thing - which was used about once a chapter it seemed, and felt to me like it was pushing the idea of an escape story on the reader a bit too much. Perhaps this only bothered me because I'm not really part of the intended audience (being somewhat older than the actual average reader), but I have read all the Harry Potter books also (and they seem to be for the same age group) and that didn't seem to bother me with them. All in all though, I did enjoy it.   hide