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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Das war so geil mit Nicolas Flamel, der Stein der Weisen, die Prophezeiung, die Zwillinge und die Auren!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
You can also find this review on Tea, Books and Fun.
After hearing my boyfriend talking about this series for two years, I finally gave in and read it. It totally felt like this book had been written almost ten years ago, so I feel like my younger self would have loved it so much more than my twenty years old self did, but it was still a good book. This book was written like YA was back in the day, but my expectations have changed, here was the problem.
Starting with the plot, this book was quite predictable, because it’s the type of book we’ve all read a thousand times before, with teenagers finding out our world is bigger than they thought and they’re special snowflakes meant to save it. I don’t think many things happened, it really felt like an introduction to this world, but it has so much potential for the rest of the series. As The Alchemyst was more of a set-up, the main storyline was pretty cool and I’m eager to see where the author is going with it. I enjoyed that this book had multiple points of view, especially with John Dee’s one, which was interesting, as he was the antagonist of the series and it’s rare to have it.
The world was interesting, because it was based off every lore of ever, which means the author has infinite possibilities, so I’m excited for this. He talked about Egyptian mythology, but also Celtic’s with the Morrhigan, which reminded me, in that aspect, of The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney. However, I was annoyed at the amount of info-dump there was during the book, which led to irritation and boredom while reading it. There was so much information I couldn’t process all of it, so it’s likely I’ll have forgotten most of it by the time I read the second book. Because of that, Nick’s point of view was one of the hardest to get through, because he was explaining the world All. The. Time.
I never understood how Nicolas had escaped Dee for so long, as his alias was “Nick Fleming”. It was so obvious that it was ridiculous. I think the author didn’t dwell too long on that, but because of it, I felt so convenient that Dee found him just when Josh and Sophie were there THAT summer. But whatever. I still need to give this book a bonus point because the author remembered his characters had parents and thought an excuse for them, because it rarely happens, you know? Nevertheless, I found the magic system to be amazing and I cannot wait to read more on that (but please, no more infodump).
While the main characters were deeply annoying, I think that Scott portrayed realistic teenagers. They felt hot-and-cold, being real clever at times and totally dumb at others, but well, I could understand it. It prevented me to care for them though… But maybe it’ll be better in the sequels. Nevertheless, I liked the situation the author put the twins in, because it will lead to so much tension in the next books. I cared more about the secondary characters, because they were mythical beings, which made them so much more interesting.
Overall, I took way too long to read this and because of that, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. I still went through it pretty quickly, so it still had an addictive quality to it, but it was predictable and had tons of info-dump, even though the world was interesting. This book must be aimed at middle schoolers, even though the characters are fifteen, in my opinion. I have hopes the sequel will improve a lot, because the characters will get through some development, and the plot will be more exciting.
After hearing my boyfriend talking about this series for two years, I finally gave in and read it. It totally felt like this book had been written almost ten years ago, so I feel like my younger self would have loved it so much more than my twenty years old self did, but it was still a good book. This book was written like YA was back in the day, but my expectations have changed, here was the problem.
Starting with the plot, this book was quite predictable, because it’s the type of book we’ve all read a thousand times before, with teenagers finding out our world is bigger than they thought and they’re special snowflakes meant to save it. I don’t think many things happened, it really felt like an introduction to this world, but it has so much potential for the rest of the series. As The Alchemyst was more of a set-up, the main storyline was pretty cool and I’m eager to see where the author is going with it. I enjoyed that this book had multiple points of view, especially with John Dee’s one, which was interesting, as he was the antagonist of the series and it’s rare to have it.
The world was interesting, because it was based off every lore of ever, which means the author has infinite possibilities, so I’m excited for this. He talked about Egyptian mythology, but also Celtic’s with the Morrhigan, which reminded me, in that aspect, of The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney. However, I was annoyed at the amount of info-dump there was during the book, which led to irritation and boredom while reading it. There was so much information I couldn’t process all of it, so it’s likely I’ll have forgotten most of it by the time I read the second book. Because of that, Nick’s point of view was one of the hardest to get through, because he was explaining the world All. The. Time.
I never understood how Nicolas had escaped Dee for so long, as his alias was “Nick Fleming”. It was so obvious that it was ridiculous. I think the author didn’t dwell too long on that, but because of it, I felt so convenient that Dee found him just when Josh and Sophie were there THAT summer. But whatever. I still need to give this book a bonus point because the author remembered his characters had parents and thought an excuse for them, because it rarely happens, you know? Nevertheless, I found the magic system to be amazing and I cannot wait to read more on that (but please, no more infodump).
While the main characters were deeply annoying, I think that Scott portrayed realistic teenagers. They felt hot-and-cold, being real clever at times and totally dumb at others, but well, I could understand it. It prevented me to care for them though… But maybe it’ll be better in the sequels. Nevertheless, I liked the situation the author put the twins in, because it will lead to so much tension in the next books. I cared more about the secondary characters, because they were mythical beings, which made them so much more interesting.
Overall, I took way too long to read this and because of that, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. I still went through it pretty quickly, so it still had an addictive quality to it, but it was predictable and had tons of info-dump, even though the world was interesting. This book must be aimed at middle schoolers, even though the characters are fifteen, in my opinion. I have hopes the sequel will improve a lot, because the characters will get through some development, and the plot will be more exciting.
WOW. Great book. I love it. Really, this is the next best fantasy! Combines folklore, myths, and fantasy with a fast moving plot. Lovely.
I had high hopes for this (my judge-a-book-by-its-cover principle still works) because I've really been eyeing this series for a long time because I really liked the cover and the story was interesting. Throw me some myths and legends any time and I'll gobble it up!
After finally reading the first book, I have mixed reviews for this and not sure whether to give it 2.5 or 3. Maybe 2.5. Those familiar with Percy Jackson will find similarities in terms of writing style and plot but with... less likeable main characters. I don't know if it's just me but the twin brother sounds like 1000x more angsty than the angsty teen Harry we get in book 5 so I really wanted to smack the twin brother a lot of times. I adored the supporting characters more especially Scatty, Flamel and even John Dee! The middle part of the book started to pick up and I actually like Scott's action scenes. It was vivid and very creative. The book felt a bit predictable though somewhere in the end and I wish the other books would be better. Now I'm having second thoughts whether to collect this series.
It's still readable! I'd recommend to borrow these instead of buying it but... of course those who love the cover like me can still opt to buy it! :D
After finally reading the first book, I have mixed reviews for this and not sure whether to give it 2.5 or 3. Maybe 2.5. Those familiar with Percy Jackson will find similarities in terms of writing style and plot but with... less likeable main characters. I don't know if it's just me but the twin brother sounds like 1000x more angsty than the angsty teen Harry we get in book 5 so I really wanted to smack the twin brother a lot of times. I adored the supporting characters more especially Scatty, Flamel and even John Dee! The middle part of the book started to pick up and I actually like Scott's action scenes. It was vivid and very creative. The book felt a bit predictable though somewhere in the end and I wish the other books would be better. Now I'm having second thoughts whether to collect this series.
It's still readable! I'd recommend to borrow these instead of buying it but... of course those who love the cover like me can still opt to buy it! :D
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fun kid's book. i had wanted to read this so badly as a kid but couldn't manage to get through it. listened to an audiobook while doing some cleaning and had a good time. not interested in reading the whole series though lol
12/11 - I liked all the mythology and historical figures woven into the story and have already Wikipediaed the Flamels, Scathach, and Hecate. I'm not sure about Sophie and Josh (Josh, more than Sophie) and I didn't like Flamel. I felt like Flamel was way too casual with the twins lives and the effect his presence has had on them. I didn't feel like he cared about them one way or another, except in how they could help him get Perenelle and the codex back. If he has to put them in danger or physically/psychologically harm them to achieve his ends I believe that he would be fine with that.
Regarding the twins: Sophie was fine, pretty non-offensive, but Josh was a bit whiny and I worry that that trait is only going to get worse as he feels more and more left out by his unAwakened state. I will probably continue with the series, but I won't be getting a hold of the next book ASAP, there are more important/interesting books that I want to read first.
Regarding the twins: Sophie was fine, pretty non-offensive, but Josh was a bit whiny and I worry that that trait is only going to get worse as he feels more and more left out by his unAwakened state. I will probably continue with the series, but I won't be getting a hold of the next book ASAP, there are more important/interesting books that I want to read first.
Definitely a quick and absorbing read with nonstop action! I loved how legends came to life but did not love the twins as much. Why do I always end up hating main characters?
Still a good read. I can't wait to read the next one.
Still a good read. I can't wait to read the next one.
I actually picked this book up by mistake, but decided "what the heck" I would go ahead and read it and I am glad I did! This was a great little read. I will defiantly check out the other two books in the series!