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May 23, 2011

Stephen rated it:

2.0 stars. I did NOT like this book. The plot was derivative, the writing was passable AT BEST and the two teenage main characters annoyed me to the point of causing actual hair loss.

pulling out hair Pictures, Images and Photos

However, the book avoided the 1 star noose based solely on some crafty ideas and oh so unused potential that I will explore once I briefly explain the plot...which should not take long as we have all seen this tired old movie before.

BRIEF TIRED OLD PLOT SUMMARY:

Sophia and More...

11 comments like (57 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Kris rated it:

This book was awful. So awful, it warrants me actually putting in a review.

First of all, there isn't enough Nicholas Flamel. There is far too much of the twins that kind of become Nic's apprentices, and attatches way too much teenage exposition to them. And we don't need the two of them mentioning that their parents are archaeologists every other page. We got it the first time. Move on. And even if their parents are archaeologists, they're not necessarily going to know as much More...

19 comments like (24 people liked it)

Jun 10, 2011

Mike (the Paladin) rated it:

I'll try to be fair here, this is a "YA" book and it comes in telling us it's going to "play" with historical and mythological figures....and play it does. I found the book annoying and wonder at the damage we're doing to our "youths" and their knowledge of mythology, what we can learn from mythology, from the archetypal characters, thoughts, and ideas they contain.

Okay, part of rant over. There are different types of YA books. Some are more yA while ot More...

6 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2009

Grace rated it:

To be honest I would never have read this book had I not been given it for my birthday. It was obviously one of those books that was cranked out immediately after the Harry Potter phenomenon and was unabashedly aimed toward that audience. Now don't get me wrong, I adore Harry Potter and that's probably why this sort of book irritates me. I've picked it up in the bookstore before, interested by the title and catchy cover, but after flipping through it I always put it back.
It is very simila More...

5 comments like (18 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2010

Nenangs rated it:

I really liked it.
Begitulah tulisan kecil yang muncul dibawah empat bintang.
And I really liked it. And more. 4.5 deh...
0.5 bonus buat penerjemahan yang bagus.
Atau bisa juga dibilang diskon 0.5, karena bukan buatan bangsa indonesia *grin*.

Eeeeeniweeeei...buku pertama dari serial Nicholas Flamel karya Michael Scott ini memang luar biasa. Kemampuan pengarang menggabungkan beberapa sub-genre fantasy (ini istilah karangan saya aja, meneketehe & EGP bener apa sala More...

15 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 19, 2008

Luann rated it:

I enjoyed The Alchemyst more than I thought I would. It didn't sweep me away with the "must finish this book now" feeling, but I also was never bored. Fans of Harry Potter, Fablehaven, Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books, and even The Da Vinci Code will find interesting connections and similarities here. And yet Scott manages to bring something just a bit new to the table as well. I was interested to learn that many of the main characters (Nicholas Flamel, Perenelle Flamel, and Dr. J More...

7 comments like (11 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2010

Bunga Mawar rated it:

Buku tebal tercepat yang pernah saya baca.

Bagaikan Nick Fleming, eh, Flamel bersama Josh dan Sophie Newman yang dikejar-kejar John Dee, Morrigan hingga Bastet karena menyimpan dua lembar terakhir dari Codex, buku Abraham Sang Magus, saat The Alchemyst ini saya kuasai banyak orang di luar sana yang mengejar-ngejar saya. Ini karena saya ambil dari Mahbubi (kelas 5) yang belum selesai membacanya pada Jumat siang lalu. Padahal Mahbubi juga meminjamnya dari Faisal (kelas 2) yang telah m More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2008

Katie rated it:

I was first interested in this book for the same reason I'm sure it made the New York Times bestseller list...because it is about Nicholas Flamel, who is mentioned in the Harry Potter books, specifically in the first book about the Sorceror's Stone, as being a friend of Professor Dumbledore. Flamel was a real historical figure though who lived in the 1300's, was a scientist who practiced alchemy, and supposedly discovered the secret to eternal life (related to the sorceror's stone) as well as tu More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 11, 2008

Bonnie Gayle rated it:

Okay. I liked this book a lot more than most people who have written reviews. I feel that it's because I didn't go into it with many preconceived notions. I had hoped it would be related to Harry Potter, but when I realized it wasn't I moved on. I also didn't read the book because I was a huge fan of the real Flamel. If you read it for either of those reasons, you will most likely be disapointed.

15 year-old twins Sophie and Josh have gotten summer jobs in San Franciso. Josh works at More...

0 comments like (19 people liked it)

Mar 28, 2009

JoJo rated it:

I LOVED this book, although I read the second book, the magician, first. I work at a bookstore and we are allowed to loan hardcover books so long as we keep them in mint condition, to broaden our book knowledge. We didn't have this copy in hardcover, but we had the sequel in hardcover, and i didn't want to buy it if i wasn't sure if i would like it. Eventhough the second book picks up really fast, I was able to understand what was going on as the author subtly explains the plot continuation w More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 22, 2011

Stacey rated it:

I'm getting better at my new "don't read bad books" plan. Not that this one is "bad," exactly, so much as it is a little bit irritating. The two kids in the story are just too much. They know everything, can do everything, they're just too perfect.

And really Mr. Scott, did you have to attempt to borrow a story from every fantasy written in the last 2000 years and cram it into this one? I mean, really.

But what clinched it for me was a main character n More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 27, 2011

JG (The Introverted Reader) rated it:

Josh and Sophie Newman have settled into a summer in San Francisco, living with their elderly aunt as their parents work an archaeological dig, and working summer jobs to save up for a car. But one day, a very sinister man pays a visit to the bookshop where Josh is working. The man appears to be some kind of wizard and he attacks the owner of the bookshop, who fights back--with more magic. What is going on here? The bad guy gets away with a book that seems to be valuable, but not before Josh More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 29, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I did not enjoy this book very much. I felt as though it wasn't very well written, although it's very popular with the kids; in fact, book four, _The Necromancer_, came out recently and kids are asking for it. Because of this, I decided to listen to, at the very least, book one...and now I know that this series isn't for me.

Before I discuss the plot, I also want to mention that my dislike of the book also has to do with the reader on the audio book; I had a huge problem with him. Hi More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 20, 2011

Bryce rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 07, 2010

Uci rated it:

3,5 bintang.

Selama ini saya menganggap genre fantasi bukanlah prioritas saya saat memilih buku. Tapi ternyata beberapa buku bergenre fantasi sanggup membuat saya menunggu-nunggu jadwal membaca buku saya yang biasanya malam hari. Di antaranya buku ini.

Saya senang karena kisah dalam buku ini menggabungkan zaman modern dengan zaman dahulu kala yang terlupakan. Manusia masa kini dengan makhluk-makhluk dongeng dan mitos. Teknologi maju dengan teknologi kuno yang sama-sama can More...

9 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 07, 2010

Tyas rated it:

So here it is: a grand scheme to unify and explain all mythologies on Earth. Blame it all to a seemingly omnipotent race that has taught human virtually everything they needed to start a civilization, and has been taken as gods by some, but has been defeated so that most of them had to withdraw to other worlds, or continue living in a sorry state. But now some of them desire a comeback. That can bring dire consequences to the weaker human race. But fear not! Here comes some human beings, an More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2008

Lesli rated it:

I just finished The Alchemyst Book one in Michael Scott's series The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel. I can't wait for book two. In all seriousness, the book is not that fantastic, the beginning reads like a movie, and there are too many specific references to current pop culture, (for example, Green Day, blue tooth, iPod, etc,) but I really enjoyed reading it. I thought it brought up some interesting theories and mythology. First off its fiction, but according to the plot, every myth is More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2008

Mike rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 03, 2011

Emily2014 rated it:

Captivating cliff-hangers, mysterious magic, and...safe secrets? Who knows in Michael Scott's The Alchemyst; it's a crafty, creative book with many twists and turns. This classic fantasy has an exhilarating plot following Sophie and Josh Newman as they find themselves to be in the protective hands of the immortal Nicholas Flamel. They journey in search of The Codex, the most powerful book to ever exist, and if mishandled, has the ability to destroy the world. Now it's up to Josh and Sophie - the More...

14 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 12, 2009

Karin rated it:

This book was recommended to my 5th grader by his school librarian, who usually recommends great books. (Yes, Nicholas Flamel is mentioned in Harry Potter, but this has nothing at all to do with Harry. Flamel was a real historical character). Anyway, at first I think I was a little caught up in the similarities between this book and other YA fantasy I have read (Children of the Lamp, Percy Jackson, Fablehaven, etc.) but once I got into it, I think it was different enough that it held its own. More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 13, 2007

Jackie "the Librarian" rated it:

This is a serviceable fantasy that I plodded through. I liked the settings and descriptions - Scathach's dojo, Hekate's tree, the mix of characters from mythology, all very cool. But the story never grabbed me, I never had trouble putting the book down.
I think it suffers from a lack of focus - since we don't follow just one character, we don't get much character development, and so we don't care very much about what happens to them. And I was disappointed that we didn't get to a natural br More...

3 comments like (6 people liked it)

Feb 10, 2009

Jen rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 04, 2008

Natnat rated it:

Kelebihan dari buku Michael Scott ini adalah alurnya yang cepat, serta plotnya yang menantang (nah lho). Intinya, buku ini full-packed action! Settingnya di Amrik sono yang berlangsung selama 48 jam. Benar-benar mendebarkan. Ceritanya sendiri benar-benar unik. Mitologi kuno yang dikemas dalam setting kontemporer.

Yang saya kurang suka adalah penggambaran tentang teknologi masa kini semacam bluet00th, iPod, dll yang terasa mengganggu. Sebegitu pentingkah hal itu untuk dituliskan?
More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 17, 2011

Hilary rated it:

Promising-looking but ultimately rather blah YA fantasy featuring not only Nicholas Flamel (and the missus), but Dr John Dee too, both alive and well and living in modern San Francisco. Clunkily written I complain about clunky writing so often that I can only assume that nobody but me cares about it and rather too full of state-of-the-art technology that will look as quaint as anything out of Enid Blyton in a few years' time. The first few pages alone are littered with references to Blueto More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 17, 2009

Michael added it

This is a book intended mainly for young adults, but I couldn't help but pick it up, being passingly familiar with the historical exploits of the two warring alchemists between these covers, Nicholas Flamel and Dr. John Dee. In this book by Dublin author Michael Scott, two teenagers find themselves in the crossfire between these two powerful personalities over ownership of a codex that can possibly bring about a pagan armageddon. The twins take up with Nicolas Flamel, the Alchemyst, and More...

0 comments like

Mar 10, 2009

Julia rated it:

Sophie and Josh are two ordinary twins working summer jobs in San Francisco. Josh happens to be working for Nick & Perry Flemming in a bookshop. One day, Nick Flemming (a.k.a. the immortal Nicholas Flamel) is attacked in his shop. The attacker, Dr. John Dee - another imortal working on behalf of legendary creatures known as Elders - wants Flamel's "Book of Abraham the Mage" which contains all the ancient alchemical secrets, as well as prophecies. Dee manages to get the book, except More...

0 comments like

Dec 01, 2008

Bob rated it:

Author Michael Scott uses a scholar's background on myth and history to weave a contemporary tale of gods and goddesses interacting with mere humans--especially a pair of teenage twins--with the future of the world at stake. The twins and the novel's namesake, the immortal Nicholas Flamel, travel around northern California having adventures worthy of Middle Earth in this, the first of a planned trilogy.

Where Scott exceeds in erudition, however, he fails in story writing. There are al More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Rachael added it

I've heard good things about this series and it is certainly within the realm of books I typically enjoy. I borrowed the audiobook from my library, listened to the first hour or so and have decided that I just can't do any more. I'm finding the entire thing incredibly boring. Even in the middle of fight scenes or other events that should be exciting, everything seems to happen at half speed at best and there are no emotions coming out of the work. The main teenage characters are flat and unappea More...

0 comments like

Jan 11, 2012

07Loganj rated it:

Sophie and Josh Newman are fraternal twins who are enjoying their summer jobs in San Francisco: Sophie works at a coffee shop across the street from the independent bookstore where Josh works. When golems attack the bookstore and steal Flamel's most prized possession, it becomes clear very quickly that Nick and Perry Fleming are more than a nice couple that own the bookstore. In fact, they are the immortal Nicholas and Perry Flamel. Nicholas is the famous fourteenth century alchemist who has dis More...

1 comment like

Jan 08, 2012

Dyah added it

Sophie dan Josh Newman, remaja kembar berusia 15 tahun, tidak menyadari kalau mereka memiliki keistimewaan sampai mereka bertemu Nick dan Perenelle Flemming. Suami-istri tersebut rupanya manusia abadi pemegang buku Abraham the Magus. Dr. John Dee hendak merebut buku tersebut untuk menguasai dunia. Apa yang bisa si kembar lakukan untuk mencegahnya?

Plot semacam dapat kita temukan dalam beberapa cerita fantasi lain seperti Harry Potter, Star Wars, Naruto, hingga The Joshua Files. Tokoh u More...

0 comments like