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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I began this book with high expectations but was ultimately disappointed. The plot moves fast enough and has some interesting turning points, but the simplicity of the characters and their dialogue is intolerable. There are definitely some great books meant for young readers that can hold up to the most sophisticated scrutiny but this is not one of them. I found the characters were far too explicit and long-winded to be realistic. Any book that makes me question the dialogue takes me out of the story and ruins the experience.
Maybe it's just meant for a reader who would simply be too distracted by the sparkly magic flying around to notice the crappy characters.
Maybe it's just meant for a reader who would simply be too distracted by the sparkly magic flying around to notice the crappy characters.
actually it's two and a half star. I didn't like it like I liked other books. It reminded me too much of The Mortal Instruments and Harry Potter.
Josh works for Nick Flemming in a old bookstore and his twin Sophie works across the street from him at a tea shop. The twins were going about their day when a limo shows up and their world as they know it is turned upside down. It turns out that Nick Flemming is THE Nicholas Flamel - the alchemyst that supposedly died in the 1400s. This is a fun fantasy and I can't wait to read book two - "The Magician"
adventurous
medium-paced
An interesting story of magic and power and good versus evil. The first book ended on a real cliffhanger. Now I have to read the rest of the books in the series because I'm intrigued.
Uninteresting protagonists. Poorly defined magic system. Outdated technology references (iPod, blogs, etc.).
Most fantasy series with a messianic coming-of-age storyline feature a long learning period in which the protagonist laboriously gathers the skills and knowledge needed to fulfill their destiny. The struggle to gain this knowledge makes the payoff at the end feel earned. Michael Scott took his story a different direction, and it felt cheap. So far, Sophie hasn’t had to work for her powers at all. Flamel takes her to Hekate, who Awakens her power without asking for anything in return. Then he takes her to the Witch of Endor, who gifts Sophie with all her knowledge and power, again without asking anything in return. This feels more like a cheap scavenger hunt than an arduous journey of personal growth.
So Nicholas Flamel loses the Codex, and now can’t create his immortality potion, meaning he’ll die within a month. Did he never bother creating a copy of any of the information in the Codex? It seems like a good idea to create a backup copy of something that one’s life literally depends on.
Minor point that bothered me: near the end of the book, John Dee animates a number of corpses from a nearby mass grave, including the corpses of Civil War soldiers...in Ojai, California. I may be wrong here, but I wasn’t aware of any battles between Union and Confederate soldiers in California.
Most fantasy series with a messianic coming-of-age storyline feature a long learning period in which the protagonist laboriously gathers the skills and knowledge needed to fulfill their destiny. The struggle to gain this knowledge makes the payoff at the end feel earned. Michael Scott took his story a different direction, and it felt cheap. So far, Sophie hasn’t had to work for her powers at all. Flamel takes her to Hekate, who Awakens her power without asking for anything in return. Then he takes her to the Witch of Endor, who gifts Sophie with all her knowledge and power, again without asking anything in return. This feels more like a cheap scavenger hunt than an arduous journey of personal growth.
So Nicholas Flamel loses the Codex, and now can’t create his immortality potion, meaning he’ll die within a month. Did he never bother creating a copy of any of the information in the Codex? It seems like a good idea to create a backup copy of something that one’s life literally depends on.
Minor point that bothered me: near the end of the book, John Dee animates a number of corpses from a nearby mass grave, including the corpses of Civil War soldiers...in Ojai, California. I may be wrong here, but I wasn’t aware of any battles between Union and Confederate soldiers in California.
Really glad that I finally got around to ready this series! Very interesting read and it's nice to see Flamel in a more positive light after the last novel I read that featured him. I am curious to see if there is some validity in Dee's words about Flamel and see how good his intentions are toward the twins!
If you’re looking for good literature, if you’re looking for high art, this is not it, my dude. The characters are inconsistent and there are way too many books (I read this assuming that it was limited to just the one). However, its target audience is not discerning adults such as myself, and for the people it’s intended for, it’s fun, and cute, and if you suspend disbelief it can distract you from life for a bit. So rock on, kids, hope you defeat the looming fantastical issues in your world (we know you will).
Sincerely, reader who understands this is way too similar to Percy Jackson to be chill with copyrights, but would have enjoyed it a lot in middle school
Sincerely, reader who understands this is way too similar to Percy Jackson to be chill with copyrights, but would have enjoyed it a lot in middle school