Review of The Alchemyst
See review page at The Bookshelf

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The Alchemyst, a new novel by Irish fantasy author Michael Scott, is action-packed, mysterious, and superbly written. Being an avid Harry Potter fan, I had my doubts upon reading the name of the series on the cover: "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel." In my search for new books to tie me over between Potter releases, I'd found books by numerous authors that try to duplicate or extract some essence of Harry's success and make it "their own." The Alchemyst is different.

The cover of the book sports a unique design of presumably ancient symbols used in the ancient art of Alchemy. It radiates a feel of a book set in some ancient time period. Within the first 3 pages, Scott makes it perfectly clear its not. The setting: sunny San Francisco, modern day. Sophie and Josh, fraternal twins still in their teens, are swept up in a mystifying and ancient battle between the good and evil Elders over the control of Earth. The outcome of the battle is either the grim enslavement of humankind or the prevalence of good. The deciding factor is the Book of Abraham the Mage, an ancient Codex with an immense wealth of magical knowledge that banished the Elders from their positions of power in the human world.

The book has resided in the protection of Nicholas Flamel since sometime in the mid 1300s. Flamel, a mortal human, used the book to produce the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone to keep him and his wife, Perenelle, alive and comfortably wealthy. Believed dead for centuries by most, he owns a book store in San Francisco under the alias Nick Fleming. After Dr. John Dee, another human made immortal through his evil interaction with the Dark Elders, steals the Book and kidnaps his wife, Flamel and the twins must race against time to save Perenelle and recover the Book. Wereboars, Egyptian Gods, elemental magic, and a rich plethora of legendary characters ensue.

The most unique aspect of the novel is Scott's avid incorporation of mythology. He creates a world where Gods still exist, legends are based on truth, and everything has a back story. Being a fan of ancient mythology, this book constantly triggered my memory of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and even Mesopotamian myths from World History classes.

At 375 pages, the book is fairly lengthy and promises at least a few more hours of research into myths for those who enjoy a more thorough immersion. But, the fun doesn't stop there. The Alchemyst is merely the first in a series of six planned books following the exploits of the two twins as they grapple with evil. The suspenseful finish leaves many questions and, without doubt, a desire for more.

The next book in the series will be titled The Magician. Although there is no confirmed release date for it, the first chapter (which almost surpasses the end of the actual book in suspense) is included in the hardback version of The Alchemyst.

The Alchemyst was released in hardback by Delacorte Press (a division of Random House, Inc.) in May, 2007. The book has a cover price of $16.99 and is available at all major book stores and online at Amazon.com.

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Feel free to post your own review of the book or just discuss!

I thought it was a pretty good book, though I definitely like Harry Potter better. It was an okay book; some of the plot stuff was kinda weird and I kept getting confused with all of the Elder stuff. I think the author tried to make it suspenseful, but I don't think he quite succeeded. It kinda reminds me of Da Vinci Code. What do you think?

My mom read it and keeps bugging me to read it too xD I started it and it's pretty good so far, but then I got sidetracked by some other books and school work and stuff. I think I'll finish it when I have more time.

Ooops I saw this and thought it was the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, so I instantly gave it a 5. Sorry Fuoco next time I'll read your review first before posting!
I have never read the Alchemyst, never even heard of it.

But the Alchemist - that is fantastic!!! There are so many books out there which are great regardless of whether you are 12 or 20. The Alchemist by Paula Coelho is one of them!

Wow, Me too! I did the exact same thing! Instantly gave it a 5.

The Alchemist was really good but The Alchemyst seems confusing, it would mix up my Harry Potter knowledge with this books knowledge. If that makes sense.

I've read a free sample (up to where they met Scatty) that I got in Borders, and it was quite good, so I might buy the book and read the whole thing. I won't vote in the poll yet, because I haven't actually read the whole thing yet!

I loved it! I thought it was really well written and I really want to read The Magician now. I got it for my birthday, and will probably read it again.

I got it from the library and finally finished it a few days ago! It's brilliant, a very good book for people for are looking for things other than Harry Potter. I really enjoyed it.

I got it from my sister for a bithday preasant. I read it in a day. I thought it was pretty good, except for the whole clashing realities thing. I mean, one second you've got a magician's duel, and the next you've got cell phones and laptops. It reminded me a little of Atremis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer.(Don't ask me how to pronounce 'Eoin'. My mom said it's pronounced like You-an, but I'm not sure.)

'Eoin' is pronounced like O-in or o-wen. It's my brother's name.

Does anyone know when the next book will be out?

Thanks, chhermione. It's really been bugging me. haha. Is Eoin really that commom a name? It seems a bit unusual.

Ive seen this book at a bookshop here. It looks really good. I just have to land my hands on a copy

i got the book for my birthday and i loved it, i didnt read it for a while b/c i thot it would be stupid, but i got bored and i read the whole book in a day it was so good and cant wait for the magician to come out june 24 2008

so i guess thats why u cant judge a book by its cover lol

So the next book is out on June 24 2008? Woo can't wait!!

Yeah, like you said hotstuff, I read the back and thought it would be really bad and then I was so surprised when it turned out really good!

Eoin - well it's not common and it's not unusual here in Ireland. There's many different variations of it, like Owen and Eoghan. We should stop really stop talking about it in this thread!

Ive now read abot the first chapter or so and i adored it. It is awesomeness. I should really read the rest of it

I bought the second book yesterday, and I'm going to start reading it just as soon as I finish this other book I'm reading at the moment. I'll let you all know if it's as good as the first one the minute I finish it!

I just got done reading The Alchemyst and it was amazing! I can't wait to read the second one. The movie should be really good as well!

Are there really two books of the Alchemist? Are you talking about the Alchemist that i am talking about?? Alchemist by Paulo Coelho???

No, it's The Alchemyst by Michael Scott - an Irish author!! Lol.

I read The Magician and it is just as good. I recommend that you all read it!

I found the book recently at the library and I really liked it. It was interesting. I never quite knew what was going to happen. I'm going to be getting the second book soon, I hope. I'm very interested to see what will happen with Sophie. And I hope Josh doesn't turn evil. That wouldn't be good. I think Scatty was my favorite. She was pretty cool.

I would definitely recomend this book to a friend or anyone who is looking for an interesting fantasy adventure. I enjoyed it.

I read the Magician this summer, and it was pretty good. The funniest part about it is that my sister bought The Alchemyst for my birthday last year, The Magician for my birthday this year, and had no idea they were parts of the same series!!!Hahaha!

Oh hey that is book I was thinking about. I was about to get on here and start talking about how much I liked it. I guess I'll just have to go read the other book now, so I can come back and talk about it. lol