Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #233966 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

From the Inside Flap
He holds the secret that can end the world.

The truth: 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 dicovered the secret of eternal life.

The records show that he died in 1418.

But his tomb is empty.

The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. 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.

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.

From the Back Cover
An ancient book is lost.

The modern world could be ripped apart at the seams.

About the Author
Dublin-born Michael Scott began writing eighteen years ago, and has published such diverse works as a critically-acclaimed fantasy trilogy entitled Tales of the Bard, the best-selling historical novel, Seasons, the non-fiction An Irish Herbal, the definitive Irish Folk and Fairy Tales series, and a number of highly successful books for children. He writes for all ages, from very young readers (Fungie and the Magical Kingdom) to Teenagers (Judith and the Traveller and Vampyre). Michael was a writer in Residence during Dublin's tenure as European City of Culture in 1991, and has conducted workshops and writing courses in libraries and schools in Ireland and America. He is a Trustee of the Children's Book Trust, sits on the Board of Governors of the Irish Writers Centre and is chairman of the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency.

Customer Reviews

Astonishingly Good
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott opens with Sophie Newman working in the Coffee Cup across the street from her twin brother, Josh, who is working in the book shop. Sophie is talking on the phone when a car pulls up out front and some unusual-looking men step out of it. They enter the bookshop and neither her, nor her brother's, life will ever be the same again. They enter the world of magic for the better or for the worse... They soon find out which.
I went into this novel with very high expectations. It had been highly praised in the media before its release, and they were not wrong to do so. It far exceeded my expectations. The writing is easy to focus on and very cleanly composed for the most part. There were some paragraphs and techniques that aren't typical of modern prose that took me a few minutes to adjust to, but they serve the story really well in the long run.
The references to mythology history are lovely touches. They really help make the world seem real and drew me in.
It's a great novel. I highly recommend it in every way.

Better than expected
I was quite scepitcal when I first picked up this book, I only wanted a bit of easy reading to while away the hours. I didn't expect it to be particularly good and the opening chapters confirmed my original suspicion; The beginning of this novel is quite clunky, the author tries to throw us into the action almost immediately and it doesn't quite work. However as the story developed I found myself being pulled into the world, I was intrigued, I was hungry for the end. Imagine my dismay then when on the last page I discover that I was reading the first book in a series. I actually yelled with frustration. I shall be eagerly waiting the next installment!!

"I am legend. Death has no claim over me, illness cannot touch me. . . For I am the immortal Nicholas Flamel".
THE ALCHEMYST is the beginning of a new children's series with magic firmly at its heart.

Sophie and Josh Newman are twins who are staying in San Francisco during the summer while their parents are on an archeological dig. Josh has a job at a small bookshop, Sophie works in a coffee shop directly across the road. On May 31st, their life changes forever as they are drawn into a battle that has been going on for more than a lifetime. For Josh's boss, Nick Fleming, is really Nicholas Flamel, the famous alchemyst who discovered the secret to eternal life. For centuries, Nicholas has been guarding the sacred book The Book of Abraham the Mage, as this book enables him and his wife to stay youthful, but also because the power it contains could destroy the world if in the wrong hands. For years, Dr. John Dee has been trying to steal this book, and on May 31st, he does just that. Now nothing will ever be the same again.

That is basically the plot. Sounds pretty good, and the action starts straight away. However, I came away from this book feeling slightly disappointed. For me, the writing was not as exciting as it could have been. Whilst the beginning was brilliant, in the middle the pace did slow down quite dramatically. And I don't feel that Scott did a very good job of developing his characters - I cannot really say that I cared for either Josh or Sophie particularly. However, what I did love about THE ALCHEMYST was Scott's use of mythology and science as well as magic. It gave the book a little extra something, rather than just relying on magic to excite.
Still can't say that I was enthralled by it though - and I'm not sure if I'm going to bother checking out the next installment.