Title: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel: The Alchemyst
Author: Michael Scott
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Fantasy
Page Count: 369
Rating: 2.9 out of 5
Cover Rating: 4.5 out of 5. I love the font and all the symbols, since it gives it an aura of magic and mystery.
Inside flap:
He holds the secret that can end the world.
The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 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.
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 protests--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 the legends are true.
And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.
My expectations: I wanted to love this book. The cover was great, I'd seen this series all over in libraries and bookstores, and it sounded like a really well-written MG/YA Fantasy.
Sadly, I cannot say I really enjoyed it.
Sadly, I cannot say I really enjoyed it.
About the book: The Alchemyst had a lot of things going for it--a good set of characters, it played on some interesting ideas, and was fairly original, but I found there were a lot of problems and things that bugged me. The writing style was one of them: there wasn't really anything I could pinpoint and say "Aha! There's your problem". It was more like the whole thing disagreed with me.
- Plot:
It felt too discombobulated and muddled; it was either moving too fast or too slow or things were all too confusing. Even the beginning had me skeptical, since at that point a.) I was not invested in the characters b.) It felt like I'd been dropped into the middle of a series, which was especially disappointing since this is the first book and c.) People weren't making sense decision-wise.
- Characters:
I never got a sense of urgency from these characters. They ran for their lives, they went through a lot of action, but I never felt my heart speed up at their predicament. Mostly I just felt mild irritation that they were gallivanting off on some other scheme which didn't make sense to me. Furthermore, I couldn't get attached to the characters themselves--the brother in particular. I kept wanting to smack him. The antagonist also felt unrealistic.
- Setting/Elements:
I would have liked more backstory. In some places there were infodumps meant to help give the characters information about what was happening, but many of them were infuriating because they sounded improbable, or because the main characters reacted to them strangely. I did like the world the story is set in, though; it had potential.
Other: I can't recall anything. There's a bit of violence here and there, but it's not gory or anything.
Do I recommend this book? Unfortunately, no. While the setting was interesting and the concept was unique, the execution was not as well done. I'd suggest trying another Fantasy series if you want a really good read.
