Michael Scott (1) (1959–)

I think I've just found my new Harry Potter! If the rest of Scott's Nicholas Flamel series turns out to be as good as this, I will be a very happy reader... It opens with Sophie and Josh, fifteen year-old twins living and working in San Francisco, being inadvertently caught up in a magical battle between a dapper stranger and Josh's usually laid-back boss, bookseller Nick Fleming. Nick's wife Perry is snatched away by the sinister man's unnatural henchmen, along with a mysterious book, and show more though they can hardly believe their eyes, the twins stand their ground to help their friend escape.

Fleeing the scene, Nick reveals his true identity to the twins. He is Nicholas Flamel, the famous alchemist, and he and his wife Perenelle are immortal thanks to the knowledge contained in the Book of Abraham the Mage, also known as the Codex. The evil man is John Dee, who has been searching for the book for hundreds of years. As well as the secrets of alchemy and immortal life, the book contains hundreds of other prophecies and spells, which Dee intends to use to bring back the Dark Elders, a fearful race of god-like beings exiled from the world centuries ago. The only hope for humanity - and Perenelle - is a pair of twins who appear in the book's prophecies, representing Sun and Moon, gold and silver. Sophie and Josh's lives are about to change forever...

It's really quite a complex story, and I loved it! The action never lets up for a moment, and as the novel goes on the reader is introduced to more and more characters, and more and more magical lore. Scatty, an ancient warrior who looks (and behaves!) like a feisty teenage girl, joins the group and becomes one of the main characters. Some of the Elders are introduced, including Hekate, an immensely powerful woman who lives in a giant tree and ages from a young girl to an old lady each day, and the Morrigan, also known as the Crow Goddess. All kinds of mythical heroes and creatures are woven into this new world, creating an entire alternate history of the Earth rich in philosophy and steeped in magic.

As I mentioned earlier, reading The Alchemyst reminded me very much of my first reading of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. After the initial chapter, where I wondered what on earth was going on, I was completely swept away. Like Harry Potter, a huge part of the book's draw comes from the revelation of the wonders of an entirely new magical world existing alongside our own, surprising the human protagonists and the reader alike. The plot is exciting and fast-paced, bringing new allies, adversaries and experiences at every turn. I can't wait to get started on the next book in the series, The Magician - and I highly recommend this to any of the post-Potter generation who fancy adding a little magic back into their lives! show less

Awful. Just terrible. Overly dramatic, preachy, boring, pointless, painful. Some of the themes sound like something from a cult, and not only is the writing crap but the "plot" is absolutely unoriginal too. I also can't get behind the whole meaning of the book- maybe this is because I'm not religious but it really just seemed to me like a devout, bible-thumping Christian went on an acid trip, and this was the result- a not-so-subtle sermon about the glory of religion disguised as a self-help show more book. For a book that said a lot of things, it wound up saying nothing at all.

Also, just as an aside, the phrase "Personal Legend" is mentioned 56 times in this relatively short book. Yes, I counted. The book was so damn boring I had nothing else to do. 56 fucking times, and it still smacks of complete bullshit to me.

EDIT 12/10/15: I was leafing through my copy of this for some reason, and I noticed how many angry notes I made in the margins when I read it. (I normally don't write in my books, but I purchased this one and hated it, so I figured it couldn't do any harm.) I found my scribblings immensely enjoyable to read and furious, so I've included some of them below, should you want to know what the experience of reading this book was like (besides being slowly and painfully disembowelled). My gripes seemed to know no bounds...

I was angry with the outright preaching.

I was frustrated at the cheesiness of the terms.

I got so bored with it all that I just snarkily mocked it.

I was curious.

But most of all, I was just pissed off at how many times Santiago mentioned his motherfucking sheep, and you can see my slow buildup of fury.

In the end, I suppose the ludicrous amount of times sheep were mentioned in this book is fitting; after all, people seem to flock to it like a herd of them. For the time being, though, I'll just try to purge this stinking turd of a book from my mind forever. show less

Fifteen-year-old fraternal twins Sophie and Josh Newman, living with an elderly aunt in San Francisco while their parents are on an archaeological dig in Utah. They have found great summer jobs: Sophie works for Perry Fleming at a coffee shop across the street from the independent bookstore where Josh works for her husband, Nick. When a small, well-dressed man named Jonathan Dee enters the bookstore and attacks Fleming—with magic - it becomes clear very quickly that their bosses are more show more than a nice couple that run local businesses.
Nick is actually Nicholas Flamel, a 14th-century French alchemist and magician; Perry is Perenelle, his wife of nearly 600 years and a skilled sorcerer. Dee, an astrologer, was once Flamel’s apprentice, but he went over to serve the Elder Race, incredibly ancient beings who preceded the rise of humankind, form the basis-in-fact of all gods and goddesses, and who were banished to the margins of reality after they mucked up their own age in what humans have mythologized as the sinking of Atlantis.
Flamel is the guardian of an ancient mystical text, The Codex of Abraham the Mage, which contains the secret of the Philosopher’s Stone, a recipe for eternal youth, and prophecies regarding the end of the present age, the return of the Elders, and—of course—the enslavement of humankind. In the wrong hands, the book can destroy the world. The Flamels have been on the run from the Elder Race to keep the Codex safe for centuries.
In the battle, Perenelle is kidnapped and the precious Codex is taken. Dee grabs the book, but not before Josh, holding on for dear life, is left with the last two pages in his grasp.
Sophie and Josh are powerful magicians, but their powers haven't been awakened. Now Dee is on their trail as well. In no time, they find themselves fleeing the city in a stolen SUV, with Nick and an ancient Celtic warrior named Scathach—who looks like a 17-year-old girl, are pursued by a horde of crows and ravens.
Scott’s considerable craftsmanship is exceeded by his craftiness. Every major character, except for Josh and Sophie, is a figure from history, religion or mythology.
In his bravest gambit of all, Flamel is referenced in no less a work than the Potter books, where he is honored as a significant magician of earlier times. However, where Rowling’s books are intentionally archaic, The Alchemyst takes place in a world of laptops, cell phones and MP3 players.
Extremely well written, the action positively bounces from page to page with new surprises constantly in store. The book ends just as they reach Paris, Flamel’s ancestral home.
Whilst this is positioned as a teenage read, like the Potter series it is just as attractive for adults. If I had the second volume, The Magician, I’d start it right this second. show less

[This is a review I wrote in 2009]

**In a class of its own, brilliant**

I am bound to cause controversy when I claim that this series is better than Harry Potter; better than the Northern Lights trilogy; better than Abhorsen; better by far than a whole host of similar genre novels - all of which I have thoroughly enjoyed, but I haven't enjoyed anything quite as much as this unputdownable series from Irish author, Michael Scott. You won't find even the smallest amount of space-filling or show more extraneous writing here - it is all fantastic. And, no, I don't know the author, I don't work for the publishing house, I just really love these books and would like to see the author receive the recognition he deserves. He's right up there with J. K. Rowling, with Philip Pullman, and a whole host of other world class fantasy writers in my opinion.

Josh and Sophie Newman, twins, ordinary American teenagers until their latent magical powers were recently recognised by six-hundred-year old Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel; these two are absolutely vital in the quest to save civilisation and prevent the Dark Elders from seizing ultimate power and destroying vast swathes of the world and its inhabitants. Josh and Sophie are the world's last and only hope.

'The Magician' is book two of the series, following on from 'The Alchemyst'. The Codex is the key - the ancient book of Abraham the Mage - Nicholas and Perenelle need the book to enable them to keep renewing their spell of immortality but the book has already been snatched from their grasp by Dr. John Dee, working on behalf of his dark masters, some of the most powerful Dark Elders in the universe. However, Nicholas and the twins managed to hold onto the last two pages and these are vital to unlocking the secrets of the book and the Dark Elders cannot act without them. Sophie's magical powers have been awakened but Nicholas now hopes to find a way to have Josh's powers awakened too. These two, he is convinced, are the twins of legend; twins with auras of gold and silver which together makes them pretty nigh invincible. This brother and sister, it is written in the ancient Codex, will have the power to either save or destroy the world, but they are new to this underworld of magic, their powers are yet young and they will need to be trained in the elemental magics and learn a lot very quickly. Can Nicholas and the extremely ancient (yet still youthful) vampire warrior Scatty teach them enough to protect themselves? Not only are they fighting against the magic of the powerful Dee, but now sly and cunning Niccolo Machiavelli has combined forces to capture the missing last pages of the Codex. Will it be too little too late for Perenelle who has been captured and is held prisoner by magical beasts on the island of Alcatraz? Will Josh and Sophie put their trust in Nicholas, or will his limited revelations and his lack of openness lead the twins to question their faith in the ancient Parisienne?

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Start with 'The Alchemyst'. For ages 11+ but can be enjoyed by all ages. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. show less