The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

The character is based on the legend of the greatest Alchemist who owns the stone that changes all metals to gold, and can be used to make an elixir that makes the drinker immortal. In this series he is the protector of “the Book of Abraham the Mage”, the most powerful book on earth, which has the recipe for making the elixir of life, and many other powerful prophecies and magical knowledge.

The story has great historical facts about the Flamels and Dr. John Dee but I did not care for it and I am not moved to read the rest of the series. I felt it was choppy, forced and repetitive. The magical characters are not interesting and I don’t like the heroes: twins Sophie and Josh Newman who have the power to save the world. I must say young adult readers might disagree with me because the book is a New York Times best seller and has an average of 4 stars on Amazon.

A little history- The real Nicholas Flamel was born in France and lived in Paris around 1330-1418 and was married to Perenelle (an alchemist herself). He started out as a scriber and manuscript salesman but became known for his research as an alchemist devoted to finding the secrets of the Philosopher’s Stone. It is rumored that he discovered the secrets in an old copper-bound book he bought: “the Book of Abraham”.  Flamel was extremely wealthy when he died in 1418. The house he lived in still stands in Paris at 51 rue de Montmorency, and is the oldest stone house in the city. There is a street named after him near the Louvre Museum.