The Enchantress

The end of the world as we know it could be at hand. Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel have only the energy for their auras to survive one more day and unless help comes from other immortals and the world of Danu Talis, the human world will be destroyed and taken over by monsters.

Throughout this book, the reader is naturally rooting for the good guys, but they have been changing. In the previous installments of this series we have seen the Flamels, the Newman twins, and friends like Joan of Arc and St Germain joining together to fight against the immortals that have been on the wrong side. But now we see that the bad guys understand more fully the devastation that may be at hand and so Machiavelli, Dr. Dee, Virginia Dare and others are now with the Flamels and trying to save the world.

The ending of a series is always somewhat of a letdown because the reader realizes that the characters that have become friends will no longer be there with new adventures, but the adventures that we did share were definitely worth the ride. ( )

Overall, a great end to a good series. Let me get some of the problems out of the way first. All of the series books were fast-paced and appropriate writing for young adult level. While I certainly read and enjoy plenty of YA, I did find that the author's writing style was both wordy and often uncomplicated. To serve the plot I'm not sure an average of 500 pages was required of each book. My biggest criticism though is the characters. Again, being YA I'm not expecting very complex characters (which can actually annoy me in more adult literature), but there was some amount of emotional heart missing. I found myself not caring about the fates of some of the large number of total characters, by the time several were added in each book. Even though the ending was strong, it also tended to go on and on as we visited the situation of multiple groups of characters in different places.

Now the good stuff. I spent a few delightful hours on the likes of Wikipedia learning about the historical immortal characters. As I had picked up from the first book, the author has deep knowledge of mythology and history from around the world. This is an aspect that I also really liked about Harry Potter, and in fact the whole reason I took a closer look at the Alchemyst was that I recognized the name Nicholas Flamel from that series (among other historical sources of course). The author also has done a stellar job in world-building. How the immortal characters have used their long lifespans. The details of Danu Talis [Atlantis] (though a lot of the social/political details of this book came to be borderline boring--and I have a degree in history!). The cover designs that showcase very well on the bookshelf, especially after finding out the reason behind the switch to gold and silver foil for the last two.

I really enjoyed reading this series, I can only imagine how much I would have loved even more to have had it when I was younger. All these mythological creatures, people and stories! ( )

What an ending! It left me with some questions, though, so hopefully Scott visits with these characters again (maybe in his new series?). I've never gotten around to completing a full review for this story, which is a shame because it is an INCREDIBLE ending to the series - very different feel from the rest of the books but so well done! I did begin to suspect the secret behind the mysterious hook-handed stranger before the reveal, but it didn't matter; the journey that led to the revelation was so worth it. Michael Scott is on my must-read list after this series. ( )

BEST ENDING TO A SERIES EVER

Ok, so I took a while to read this. About 2 weeks I think. Now all I
have to say is that this book is amazing. I am totally in love with Josh in this book and overall in the series. He is an AMAZING character. And yes if you are wondering he does destroy the world. but it is not what you think. He had to destroy the world of Danu Talis in order for Sophie to help begin the Modern World and for the Modern world to rise. See it even makes sense. It wouldn't have made sense if Josh completely destroyed the world because then how can you save it if it destroyed

I was completely taken aback when Josh became Death (Marethyu) Destroyer of worlds and when he got the hook which was the four swords fused together. I was like WHOAH !!!

Everything about this book was amazing !!!

I am also happy that John Dee is not a villian anymore. Amazing how death can change your perception of things and your actions.


End of Discussion.
( )

A somewhat lackluster end to a generally successful series. Scott doesn't think through his time travel sufficiently--he's outside his genre here. The ending isn't as strong as it could be because too many of the main characters live. And what happened to the tension about Josh's intentions from the other books in the series? I was disappointed in the unconvincing, flabby non-resolution of this important character and plot element. It may be that there are too many people, places, and things for Scott to bring together in a satisfactory manner. ( )