The Enchantress (The Secrets of the
Immortal Nicholas Flamel) by Michael Scott.
Series: The Secrets of the
Immortal Nicholas Flamel (Book 6)
Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Ember;
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel edition (May 14, 2013)
ISBN-10:
0385735367
Review by
Goodreads:
The two
that are one must become the one that is all. One to save the world, one to
destroy it.
San Francisco:
Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel have
one day left to live, and one job left to do. They must defend San Francisco.
The monsters gathered on Alcatraz Island have been released and are heading
toward the city. If they are not stopped, they will destroy everyone and
everything in their path.
But even with the help of two of the greatest
warriors from history and myth, will the Sorceress and the legendary Alchemyst
be able to defend the city? Or is it the beginning of the end of the human
race?
Danu Talis:
Sophie and Josh Newman traveled ten thousand
years into the past to Danu Talis when they followed Dr. John Dee and Virginia
Dare. And it’s on this legendary island that the battle for the world begins and
ends.
Scathach, Prometheus, Palamedes, Shakespeare, Saint-Germain, and Joan
of Arc are also on the island. And no one is sure what—or who—the twins will be
fighting for.
Today the battle for Danu Talis will be won or lost.
But
will the twins of legend stand together?
Or will they stand apart—one to save
the world and one to destroy it?
I finished reading the last
book from this series of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel yesterday.
I couldn't sit and write about it until today.
During the book Michael
Scott gave Billy the Kid a sense of humor, which made me chuckle at various
times. But the fact that the series was coming to an end and my love for all
the characters in this series was weighing on me. And I wound up crying.. a
good hard cry, mind you.. when I set the book down . So I waited for today to
tall everyone, "Don't miss this series". It "may be written for young adults"
but it's really a book for all ages.
The first time I read
these books, Michael Scott was still writing them. I believe he had the first 3
out for the public, and then I had to wait each year for the other 3 to come
out. Of course they were worth waiting for!
I have to admit that
although I remembered quite a bit as I read the books again, that I believe I
blanked out the last half of The Enchantress. It was like I never read it.
But, I know I did. So the ending hit me like a brick. Some things happened
and I'd find myself saying out loud, "nooooo don't do this Michael!".. sigh..
but, I am sure he knew his ending well before he wrote it down.
I will never be sorry I
read them (and reread them). I am glad I got to know Michael Scott and his
fabulous ability to write such a series. I know he has written much more, but,
we always have favorites.. and this one is mine.
If you have read the series
I hope you also read the two novellas about the Death of Joan of Arc and Billy
the Kid and the Vampires of Vegas. I wish Michael would do more novellas about
many more of the characters in these books and put them all together in one more
book and add it to the series... (hint hint).
Thank you, Michael Scott,
for writing these books and for making them so darn good!
Biography
"Some stories wait
their turn to be told, others just tap you on the shoulder and insist you tell
them."
By one of those
wonderful coincidences with which life is filled, I find that the first time the
word alchemyst--with a Y--appears in my notes is in May 1997. Ten years later,
almost to the day, The Alchemyst, the first book in the Nicholas Flamel series,
will be published in May.
Every writer I know
keeps a notebook full of those ideas, which might, one day, turn into a story.
Most writers know they will probably never write the vast majority of those
ideas. Most stories wait their turn to be told, but there are a few which tap
you on the shoulder and insist on being told. These are the stories which simply
will not go away until you get them down on paper, where you find yourself
coming across precisely the research you need, or discovering the perfect
character or, in my case, actually stumbling across Nicholas Flamel's house in
Paris.
Discovering Flamel's house was the final piece I needed to put the
book together. It also gave me the character of Nicholas Flamel because, up to
that point, the book was without a hero.
And Nicholas Flamel brought so much
to the story.
Nicholas Flamel was one
of the most famous alchemists of his day. He was born in 1330 and earned his
living as a bookseller, which, by another of those wonderful coincidences, was
the same job I had for many years.
One day he bought a
book, the same book mentioned in The Alchemyst: the Book of Abraham. It, too,
really existed and Nicholas Flamel left us with a very detailed description of
the copper-bound book. Although the book itself is lost, the illustrations from
the text still exist.
Accompanied by his wife Perenelle, Nicholas spent more
than 20 years trying to translate book. He must have succeeded. He became
extraordinarily wealthy and used some of his great wealth to found hospitals,
churches, and orphanages. Perhaps he had discovered the secret of the
Philosopher's Stone: how to turn base metal into gold.
Of course the greatest
mystery linked to Nicholas Flamel is the story of what happened after he died.
When his tomb was opened by thieves looking for some of his great wealth, it was
found to be empty. Had Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel been buried in secret
graves, or had they never died in the first place? In the months and years to
follow, sightings of the Flamels were reported all over Europe. Had Nicholas
also discovered that other great mystery of alchemy: the secret of
immortality?
What writer couldn't
resist a story that combined magical books, an immortal magician and grave
robbing and, even more excitingly, that had a basis in fact? It begged the
questions: if he was still alive today, where would he be and what would he be
doing? Obvious really--he would be running a bookshop in San
Francisco.
The Alchemyst was a
tough book to write, probably the toughest of all the books I've done so far. It
is the first in a series, and because the story told across all six books is so
tightly integrated, keeping track of the characters and events means that I have
to keep extensive and detailed notes. A minor change in book one could impact
dramatically book three. There are tiny clues seeded into the first book that
pay off in later books. The time frame for the entire series is very tight--The
Alchemyst, for example, takes place over two days--so I too need to keep an
hour-by-hour breakdown of events.
For people who like to
know the practicalities, I write every day and sometimes all day and often long
into the night. Nights really are the best time for writing. It's that time the
conscious side of the brain is starting to shut down and the unconscious takes
over. The following day I'll read what I've written the previous day, then edit
and rewrite. I work on two computer screens; the story on one screen, notes and
research on the second screen.
And now let me answer
the question you are about to ask me because, sooner or later, everyone asks,
"What is the secret of writing?"
A comfortable chair. A
really comfortable chair--because if you're a writer, you're going to spend a
lot of time sitting in it.
