The Magician (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
by Michael Scott
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael ScottBrand: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-04-28
ISBN: 0385737289
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780385737289
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Magician (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
Book Review: An Adult's Critique
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Magician" is a sequel to "The Alchemist". More accurately, it is a continuation. I strongly suggest reading "The Alchemist" first.
In the series, the American teenage twins Sophie and Josh Newman are trained in magic by Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, aided by vampire Scathach, Joan of Arc, and many other characters. They are opposed by John Dee, Niccolo Machiavelli, and others acting as agents of the "elders".
Unlike many reviewers, I do not find the historical characters, taken completely out of historical context to be appealing. In this series, aimed at an adolescent audience, most readers will encounter the fictional John Dee, Francis Bacon, Joan of Arc, and many others, long before they encounter the real historical characters (if they ever do). As a historian, I detest t the corruption of history.
Comparisons to the Harry Potter novels are inevitable. The Scott books are unrelentingly fast-paced--essentially one long chase scene, with little left to the imagination. The hundreds of monsters (of every description) are nightmares of no substance.
The Rawlings novels create a universe in the mind of the reader, quite independent of the story, per se. In many ways, the vivid "world of magic" Rawlings creates is more engrossing than the stories. Her plots are repetitive and predictable--but who cares? You can read a Rawlings novel to the end, and start again at page one, and it is just as good the second time, or third time.
The "magical world" of the Rawlings novels is roughly 17th-18th Century English in technological terms, on the premise that the modern world has nothing to offer to the magical world. Obviously, that has limits which are sometimes glaringly obvious. In a real world--the world in which most Rawlings readers are growing in which technology has exceeded the science fiction of a few decades ago, the question of what magic is, and whether it is of (even imaginary) value, is highly pertinent.. Rawlings neatly sidesteps the question. In contrast, in the fully modern world of the Scott novels, in which even the monsters blog, the magic is "primitive" --mostly just raw largely-undefined power, mostly superceded by technology. As such, the magic is less appealing.
The magical world of Rawlings is a tightly defined world, albeit expanding in every novel, which is actually appropriate as the real world expands at the same time for the young readers. In part, this allows readers to "grow" with Harry, to encourage him, to perceive danger approaching, and to anticipate possible solutions to problems. In the Scott novels, "anything goes". The reader is not a participant.
I would not be surprised to learn that the premise of Scott's series was created as a thesis for a "Marketing 101" course, a proposal for a novel to appeal to 13 year old boys and girls. You want marshal arts?--we've got marshal arts. You want monsters?--we've got over 200 kinds. Do you like vampires?--a major character is a vampire. Want a female hero?--the most powerful characters in this series are female. Do spiders creep you out?--we've got spiders. Are you a Joan of Arc fan?--she's a major character. Do you like magic swords?--we've got Excalibur. Does Paris sound romantic to you? How about San Francisco? Parts of the story are set in both. Scott might have been advised to study Rawlings and Tolkien in greater detail.
That said, the books are very entertaining and worth a read.
Recommendation: buy Rawlings novels in hardcover, Scott novels in paperback.
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