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The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1-5
Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series Collection Set 1-5
The first five books in the series!
An ancient book is lost. The modern world could be ripped apart at the seams!
The Alchemyst is a contemporary fantasy which opens in modern day San Francisco when brother and sister, Josh and Sophie discover that the owner of the bookstore where Josh works is the immortal French alchemist, Nicholas Flamel. Flamel and his wife, Perenelle, are the guardians of the Book of Abraham which they have protected for centuries. This is a collection of the most powerful spells in the world. When Dr John Dee discovers the Flamels whereabouts, he attacks and snatches the book. Josh and Sophie intervene to help Flamel, but now they too are being hunted by Dee and creatures that predate humanity.
An ancient book is lost. The modern world could be ripped apart at the seams!
The Alchemyst is a contemporary fantasy which opens in modern day San Francisco when brother and sister, Josh and Sophie discover that the owner of the bookstore where Josh works is the immortal French alchemist, Nicholas Flamel. Flamel and his wife, Perenelle, are the guardians of the Book of Abraham which they have protected for centuries. This is a collection of the most powerful spells in the world. When Dr John Dee discovers the Flamels whereabouts, he attacks and snatches the book. Josh and Sophie intervene to help Flamel, but now they too are being hunted by Dee and creatures that predate humanity.
389 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2008
18 people are currently reading
801 people want to read
About the author
Michael Scott
179 books6,819 followersIrish-born Michael Scott began writing over thirty years ago, and is one of Ireland's most successful and prolific authors, with over one hundred titles to his credit, spanning a
variety of genres, including Fantasy, Science Fiction and Folklore.
He writes for both adults and young adults and is published in thirty-seven countries, in over twenty languages.
Praised for his “unparalleled contribution to children’s literature,” by the Guide to Children’s
Books, Michael Scott was the Writer in Residence during Dublin’s tenure as European City of Culture in 1991, and was featured in the 2006 edition of Who’s Who in Ireland as one of the 1000
most “significant Irish.”
variety of genres, including Fantasy, Science Fiction and Folklore.
He writes for both adults and young adults and is published in thirty-seven countries, in over twenty languages.
Praised for his “unparalleled contribution to children’s literature,” by the Guide to Children’s
Books, Michael Scott was the Writer in Residence during Dublin’s tenure as European City of Culture in 1991, and was featured in the 2006 edition of Who’s Who in Ireland as one of the 1000
most “significant Irish.”
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
December 20, 2011
It is amazing how Michael Scott has already written 5 fantastic books and yet, I still feel like the little girl that first picked up The Alchemist. The imaginative setting still takes my breath away and there is always the right amount of action. I really don't want The Enchantress to come out because that would mean the end. How I wish series never ended. (Well, my favourite series, anyways). Now that is a scary thought. What if Twilight never ended....? O____O
May 20, 2017
Mandy & I listened to these on audio book years ago, and I just started going through them again. I find it fascinating how the author weaves together magic, mythologies, spiritualities and more . . . so fascinating. Yes, it's fiction, but I really enjoy having different angles to view things. It helps me think about them differently and explore my own beliefs in a different way. There are references to monsters, immortals, gods, historical belief systems, gilgamesh, evolution, auras and magic and more . . . . . definitely interesting for those who like to go on explorations inside their heads :)
September 6, 2013
Instead of writing individual book reviews... I decided to write one for the whole series including the last book... The Enchantress...
So lets keep it short n simple.
Pros:
1) Short books.
2) Very Interesting storyline with each book telling you more about one character but keeps the pace of the whole story at the same time.
3) Details about the historical places and object used/depicted is provided, giving you deeper knowledge about the same.
4) Story really comes together in the last book.. and whatever every character does is justified in the end and for whatever they thought was right....
So lets keep it short n simple.
Pros:
1) Short books.
2) Very Interesting storyline with each book telling you more about one character but keeps the pace of the whole story at the same time.
3) Details about the historical places and object used/depicted is provided, giving you deeper knowledge about the same.
4) Story really comes together in the last book.. and whatever every character does is justified in the end and for whatever they thought was right....
May 6, 2024
You’re telling me every main character and villain are pale and has colored eyes? I’m currently on the fourth book but the main characters have lived in big major cities with huge diverse crowds of people, they even went to Paris (WHICH HAS SO MANY DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS) and the most none white person is the italian villain they encounter. This series so far has been incredibly white washed and I hope to god later on in the series the pacing and the diversity becomes way better.
August 16, 2017
THE BOOK WAS NICE
February 14, 2018
This series is a fiction story with magic.
To anyone with interested in fiction.
To anyone with interested in fiction.
June 3, 2021
Favourites of my siblings and I. My kids are gonna read these
August 11, 2022
One of my favorite fantasy reads!
July 23, 2023
Really good book
June 23, 2024
So so good... the characterization, the plot, the magic system...chef's kiss..
Sometimes the story is a little slow paced..and Sometimes very fast..but definitely recommend.
Sometimes the story is a little slow paced..and Sometimes very fast..but definitely recommend.
June 20, 2023
Loved this series - miss the characters! I read them long ago before keeping this list and still remember how much I enjoyed the adventure.
July 18, 2025
The use of historical figures like Machiavelli and Dee as villains and as heroes, with character arcs and everything, was super fun. This book temporarily tricked me into thinking historical fantasy was my thing, until I tried to write it myself. Solid writing, with excellent sensory descriptions and changing characters.
December 4, 2012
Atlantis wasn’t really Atlantis. The Roman Gods weren’t really gods, just really powerful… beings. The greatest figures in our history are still around today. William Shakespeare orders a hotdog, Gilgamesh the King jots down a note, and Nicholas Flamel runs his bookshop. How are they still alive? They’re immortal, and over a thousand years, you collect a lot of secrets.
The story introduces Josh and Sophie Newman. Sophie and Josh Newman are twins, and they live in San Francisco. Their lives are normal until Josh goes downstairs into the bookshop’s storage, and then smells mint and rotten eggs. As Josh heads back up to investigate the strange combination of smells, chaos breaks loose. His boss is standing in the bookshop, facing a man with two hulking men wearing all black behind him. Nicholas Flamel, the Alchemyst, hurls a ball of magic at his foe and pulls Josh out the door with him. “I knew he’d find me eventually,” Flamel mutters as he runs out of the shop. I can’t tell you more; it’s not my secret to tell.
Nicholas Flamel is the opposite of Dr. John Dee, or so it seems. Nicholas runs about protecting valuable information from Dr. Dee, who would destroy the world with it. Dr. Dee believes in his cause, and Flamel believes in his. As the story progresses each character tells stories of their enemy, and slowly, Josh and Sophie must wonder if they really are so different. Even Flamel and Dee begin to see their similarities. Dee and Flamel are as fit a foil as can be found. Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty, these two could have had their roles reversed if Dr. Dee was the one with information that Flamel wanted.
The settings are beautiful, from ancient scenes to Michael Scott’s vision of the not entirely lost city of Atlantis. The characters travel all around the globe, Paris, Stonehenge, San Francisco, back in time, then VERY back in time. Scott’s mind thinks of world after world to throw the characters into, all based on fact, myth, or history.
The series is in six books, The Alchemyst, The Magician, The Sorceress, The Necromancer, The Warlock, and The Enchantress. Each book is around 400 pages, with the last being 500+. (Page total depends on which version you get.) The books are a huge success, and a box set is out now. I would recommend reading these as soon as you can get your hands on them, because with no fictional characters (excluding Josh and Sophie) the books are educational, fun, and a GoodRead.
The story introduces Josh and Sophie Newman. Sophie and Josh Newman are twins, and they live in San Francisco. Their lives are normal until Josh goes downstairs into the bookshop’s storage, and then smells mint and rotten eggs. As Josh heads back up to investigate the strange combination of smells, chaos breaks loose. His boss is standing in the bookshop, facing a man with two hulking men wearing all black behind him. Nicholas Flamel, the Alchemyst, hurls a ball of magic at his foe and pulls Josh out the door with him. “I knew he’d find me eventually,” Flamel mutters as he runs out of the shop. I can’t tell you more; it’s not my secret to tell.
Nicholas Flamel is the opposite of Dr. John Dee, or so it seems. Nicholas runs about protecting valuable information from Dr. Dee, who would destroy the world with it. Dr. Dee believes in his cause, and Flamel believes in his. As the story progresses each character tells stories of their enemy, and slowly, Josh and Sophie must wonder if they really are so different. Even Flamel and Dee begin to see their similarities. Dee and Flamel are as fit a foil as can be found. Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty, these two could have had their roles reversed if Dr. Dee was the one with information that Flamel wanted.
The settings are beautiful, from ancient scenes to Michael Scott’s vision of the not entirely lost city of Atlantis. The characters travel all around the globe, Paris, Stonehenge, San Francisco, back in time, then VERY back in time. Scott’s mind thinks of world after world to throw the characters into, all based on fact, myth, or history.
The series is in six books, The Alchemyst, The Magician, The Sorceress, The Necromancer, The Warlock, and The Enchantress. Each book is around 400 pages, with the last being 500+. (Page total depends on which version you get.) The books are a huge success, and a box set is out now. I would recommend reading these as soon as you can get your hands on them, because with no fictional characters (excluding Josh and Sophie) the books are educational, fun, and a GoodRead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2013
Well the series was full of excitement I have to say, after reading the series I thought to myself "why not write a book review?"
So here I am.
The series was pretty interesting, the author used a variety of myths and legends to create this series. The good thing about this series is that the series was very exciting, there are many thrilling moments when I would be chanting things the character should do it makes me feel like I am right there in the story even though i could do nothing. The characters in the stories often led me off into researching and let me find a lot of interesting stories and tales.
Now on to the flaws. (These are all my personal opinion) The author's technics on writing books sometimes just drive me crazy, there are many times he used this "XXX was talking on the phone and from some french language to a mysterious lost language", seriously, I have seen people do that (sometimes i do that too) but almost every character talking to someone this is what he used. This really drives me crazy because it just happens so repetitive! Second thing that this technic drives me crazy is that the author never gives us a clear description on what the language is and everything is just in English, I would love to have mysterious language replaced with different or made up english words or maybe even just some random symbols, it just sounds like the author is slacking off. And then here is the thing that drives me nuts the most: "You don't want to know what is in there or who it is", seriously? This is obviously slacking, what if I want to know what is in it? I hate it when he do that, but what is worse? This is so repetitive, it just gets annoy. Next, I think the author used too much allusion (the author expects the reader to know things ex: myths, legends and stories.) How am I supposed to know every characters in there? And yet the author never gave a brief description or background information, so I have to constantly going on my computer to do some research, making the stories not really continuos for me. Furthermore, I think that the myths are kind of just stick together and some of the timeline are confusing like the birth of humanity and et cetera. Lastly I just think that all the myths are just stuck together, it just gives me a feeling that it wasn't planned.
Overall this series is still a great series, it's just that I pointed out flaws doesn't make this series a bad series.
So here I am.
The series was pretty interesting, the author used a variety of myths and legends to create this series. The good thing about this series is that the series was very exciting, there are many thrilling moments when I would be chanting things the character should do it makes me feel like I am right there in the story even though i could do nothing. The characters in the stories often led me off into researching and let me find a lot of interesting stories and tales.
Now on to the flaws. (These are all my personal opinion) The author's technics on writing books sometimes just drive me crazy, there are many times he used this "XXX was talking on the phone and from some french language to a mysterious lost language", seriously, I have seen people do that (sometimes i do that too) but almost every character talking to someone this is what he used. This really drives me crazy because it just happens so repetitive! Second thing that this technic drives me crazy is that the author never gives us a clear description on what the language is and everything is just in English, I would love to have mysterious language replaced with different or made up english words or maybe even just some random symbols, it just sounds like the author is slacking off. And then here is the thing that drives me nuts the most: "You don't want to know what is in there or who it is", seriously? This is obviously slacking, what if I want to know what is in it? I hate it when he do that, but what is worse? This is so repetitive, it just gets annoy. Next, I think the author used too much allusion (the author expects the reader to know things ex: myths, legends and stories.) How am I supposed to know every characters in there? And yet the author never gave a brief description or background information, so I have to constantly going on my computer to do some research, making the stories not really continuos for me. Furthermore, I think that the myths are kind of just stick together and some of the timeline are confusing like the birth of humanity and et cetera. Lastly I just think that all the myths are just stuck together, it just gives me a feeling that it wasn't planned.
Overall this series is still a great series, it's just that I pointed out flaws doesn't make this series a bad series.
Read
December 6, 2017Well, *cracks knuckles* let's get down to business....
I started reading this series in fifth grade, around the same time as I got into the Riodan books (aka Percy Jackson). And the best way I can describe the series as a whole is if the Percy Jackson books had a much older cousin, this would be it.
Even Rick Riodan himself really enjoyed this series.(I looked at his recommended book list a while back....)
So why is this series isn't as talked about as the Riodan books?
These books were originally published in Europe, so not many American that I've encountered have heard of this series. The covers themselves may not be the most colorful or striking. but as you progress, you'll notice which symbols are significant. and how they are woven into the plot.
And here's the kicker; the main protagonists don't have significant Romances! what ?!? some may not think would be a great idea for a YA novel, but the characters are still so developed towards the end
This series has gods, historical/mythical characters and creatures from not only Greek and Roman mythology, but also Egyptian, Norse, Aztec, Celtic and more Those who know their historical figures and literature see many recognizable names (the title character, Nicholas Flamel, was briefly mentioned in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series).
When I was listening to this series on a train from Colorado to Michigan with my dad, I got so excited that I started commenting out loud. the woman kitty-corner from us noticed my excitmemt and asked us what book we were listening to. turns out that she had the book already on her kindle. I'm sure she's finished all six books by now......
Although, towards the end of the series we had to write down the characters and where they were in the story.
I started reading this series in fifth grade, around the same time as I got into the Riodan books (aka Percy Jackson). And the best way I can describe the series as a whole is if the Percy Jackson books had a much older cousin, this would be it.
Even Rick Riodan himself really enjoyed this series.(I looked at his recommended book list a while back....)
So why is this series isn't as talked about as the Riodan books?
These books were originally published in Europe, so not many American that I've encountered have heard of this series. The covers themselves may not be the most colorful or striking. but as you progress, you'll notice which symbols are significant. and how they are woven into the plot.
And here's the kicker; the main protagonists don't have significant Romances! what ?!? some may not think would be a great idea for a YA novel, but the characters are still so developed towards the end
This series has gods, historical/mythical characters and creatures from not only Greek and Roman mythology, but also Egyptian, Norse, Aztec, Celtic and more Those who know their historical figures and literature see many recognizable names (the title character, Nicholas Flamel, was briefly mentioned in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series).
When I was listening to this series on a train from Colorado to Michigan with my dad, I got so excited that I started commenting out loud. the woman kitty-corner from us noticed my excitmemt and asked us what book we were listening to. turns out that she had the book already on her kindle. I'm sure she's finished all six books by now......
Although, towards the end of the series we had to write down the characters and where they were in the story.
August 3, 2017
Just as a mother with her own life
Protects her child, her only child, from harm,
So within yourself let grow
A boundless love for all creatures.
Such an inspiring collection. It baffles me that every single religion on the planet can offer the same message, strive for the same sense of peace, kindness and calmness, and yet somehow find hatred for one another. Anyone who claims to be religious or spiritual but resents another individual's practice isn't spiritual at all. And they need to read this book.
Ace.
Protects her child, her only child, from harm,
So within yourself let grow
A boundless love for all creatures.
Such an inspiring collection. It baffles me that every single religion on the planet can offer the same message, strive for the same sense of peace, kindness and calmness, and yet somehow find hatred for one another. Anyone who claims to be religious or spiritual but resents another individual's practice isn't spiritual at all. And they need to read this book.
Ace.
December 1, 2021
Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel is a short stories book collection which is written by Michael Scott (Nope. Not 'The Office' one). It contains 8 short stories that are filled with all these mythical characters like dwarfs, vampires, werewolves, etc.
The stories were fun to read as well as short, so they made quick reads. I enjoyed dwelling into the Nicholas Flamel realm and this book surprisingly for me surpassed my expectations. Each story has a well-developed plot that made sense and was not rushed. Overall enjoyed it.
*Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC*
The stories were fun to read as well as short, so they made quick reads. I enjoyed dwelling into the Nicholas Flamel realm and this book surprisingly for me surpassed my expectations. Each story has a well-developed plot that made sense and was not rushed. Overall enjoyed it.
*Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC*
October 8, 2015
The imagination in writing this series is just amazing. The way each book keeps you enthralled till the last page, way each character is described, author's notes at end of each book, and the grand climax of the series is breathtaking. " Today I'm become death, destroyer of worlds! - Bhagvad Gita/ Oppenheimer/Mratheyu"
An epic ending quote to an epic series.
An epic ending quote to an epic series.
January 3, 2016
I read the first few books a few years ago and was getting frustrated because they weren't coming fast enough! I waited until they were all published. I like the different characters and how they can be good or bad depending on whose perspective you are viewing them through. I am reading The Enchantress and can't wait to see which side the twins choose.
Read
July 28, 2011This is a book I will go to again & again. It's perfect for moments when you don't have a whole lot of time, but could use some inspiration & words of wisdom to ponder. This is a very refreshing read that left me feeling like there's so much more to life than what meets the eye.
September 16, 2016
Fun to read, albeit massively predictable plot with not much making it memorable. I picked it up because I didn't have anything else to read this weekend and wouldn't bother to keep a copy for a re-read.
December 29, 2019
Meh. It’s an anthology of spiritual poems/verse, and not really the stuff I’m into (weirdly, I bought it 10+ years ago but never read it, so...?). Obviously, a lot of other people liked it, so my review is purely subjective.
August 14, 2014
Serial bertema fantasy yang lumayan seru dan juga membuat kita dapat mengenal nama tokoh2 terkenal yang (mungkin) pernah hidup di dunia dengan kelebihan dan kekurangannya masing-masing.
December 2, 2014
I know its sposed to be a kids book but I loved it :)
January 31, 2015
This series is a great tale of interwoven myths and legends. It has an amazing ending that once finished, makes me want to read the whole thing over again immediately. A must read!
May 7, 2015
This was a fun book series that wove together multiple mythologies as well as historical figures!
June 2, 2015
Kept me on edge, loved them!
November 17, 2015
awesome !!!!
December 27, 2015
I enjoy this modern fantasy
January 24, 2016
Discover a passage from any number of the world's great saints or sages quoted here. When you meditate upon this passage, you may find a kind of peace.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews