Review: The Necromancer

The Necromancer by Michael Scott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was looking at dates, and while it's January 1 and I'm writing my thoughts, this was actually the last book I read in 2010. Not a bad note to finish on.

I've been waiting for the point where the twins' relationship is tested and ultimately broken. This event has been foreshadowed with Josh's jealousy and in the way he constantly compared himself to Sadie since the beginning of the Alchemyst.

The entire novel has been set up so the reader questions the motives of Nicholas and Pernelle Flamel. Characters on both sides--the purported antagonists and protagonists--suggest information that makes the reader realize that no one really knows who Nicholas and Pernelle are, why Pernelle is so strong and how it is that no one knows, even Machiavelli who has extensive files on all immortals and Elders, who she is and where she came from.

I'm particularly interested in the hook-handed man, in whose Shadowrealm Scatty and Joan of got stuck. He has had his hand, so to speak, in the lives of everyone on the protagonist's side. Now he's taking Scatty, Joan, Saint Germain, William Shakespeare and Palamedes back to Danu Talis to save the humani.

I have to admit, while the story is fast paced, and the movement between characters keeps the reader's attention, there is a lot going on here. In the course of the series, I think readers have witnessed approximately a week's worth of time. I hope the fact that there is a soap opera's worth of characters and as many story lines doesn't mean the quality of the story will suffer in The Warlock.



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Review: The Sorceress

The Sorceress by Michael Scott

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I know I frequently reference Gordy from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie, but I have good reason for invoking the spirit of Gordy right now. I promise. The Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel is a series I'm going to have to read those three times that Gordy suggests. Right now, I'm still reading for the story. This story takes its characters all over the world. Scott stays true to the history of the sites he pulls into (and sometimes destroys).

The Sorceress has fantastic pacing. The story cuts between what's happening with Flamel and the twins, Machiavelli, Billy the Kid and Dr. John Dee in such a way that you can't stop reading because you want to know what the continued action is with one character while reading about another.

I'm honestly not sure if I haven't skipped all the way to the results of the third reading (if you've read Part-time Indian, you know what I'm talking about).



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Review: The Alchemyst

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Oh, wow.

This is a book my book buddy told me to read ages ago and I added it to my list on Goodreads, but didn't really put much priority on getting it read. Then I went to a conference on gifted students in Albuquerque last weekend, and the keynote speaker there said it was a must read. I probably wouldn't have picked it up so soon if I hadn't recognized the title as one of Book Buddy's recommendations.

Michael Scott does a beautiful job of putting mytholgies in a modern context. The fact that the book took place in modern times (I have a hard time with historical fiction most of the time) was surprising. Already vaguely familiar with Nicholas Flamel from The Sorcerer's Stone, I expected the novel to be set in the past. What I really loved is how Scott didn't limit himself to one mythology. I recognized the Greek and the Egyptian, but I know I'm going to have to do some research to find out who some of the other characters are. I love learning new things when I read fiction.

A colleague of mine left me a message today saying if I liked The Alchemyst, then I'll love the rest of the series--it gets more intense as it goes along. I'm also curious to see how some of my predictions will turn out--while I was wrong for the moment, there is a chance that I might be right.

I'm hoping my school library has the next book in the series--I don't know when I'm going to have a chance to get to the bookstore.



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