Saturday, June 28, 2014

Tasha's review: The Alchemyst

The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott
Publication Date: May 22, 2007
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 369



Summary

He holds the secret that can end the world.
The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 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 protects—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 legends are true.
And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time.

I liked the book more than I thought I would when I started it. It never completely gripped me, and I will admit I was bored sometimes, but I did enjoy it for the most part.

The book starts at a pretty good pace but slows as the book goes on. It just felt like there was a lot of padding and not enough movement on the main plot. And there was a lot of elements that felt shoehorned in and made the book feel a little crowded. With all that being said, I actually really liked the world that was being created. It felt big even though most of the book took place in only a few places. It felt like a world I would want to know more about.

One of the biggest problems with the book was the twins. Josh got annoying after while. And Sophie was a little too perfect. And they both were somewhat bland. They're just not characters I can root for. The better characters were the side ones. Nicholas and his wife, Perry, were pretty well rounded. And Scatty was someone I wanted to know more about. 

Overall, I wasn't thrilled with the book, but I did like it. And I will probably will check out the next one. 


1 comment:

  1. Sorry this didn't wow you. I've had that experience before, where the secondary characters steal the story. Maybe they will play a prminent role in the next books.

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