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The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
- By Michael Scott
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Magical twins take on Paris in exciting sequel.
Parents say
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this second book in the series has about the same amount of sword fighting and monster battles as the first -- all of it is suspenseful but not gory. The teen twins with magical powers who are at the center of the story are in almost constant danger. There are some scary scenes in underground caves with giant spiders and creatures that feed off fear and panic. One main character vanishes and is feared dead. Two others can control fire.
What's the story?
Suddenly finding themselves in Paris thanks to a magical gateway, California twins Sophie and Josh, the immortal alchemist Nicholas Flamel, and the vampire warrior Scathach must face a new enemy: Machiavelli. He's to collect the magical twins on behalf of the powerful magician Dee. Looking for any ally they can find in Flamel's home city, they run across Saint-Germaine, a former student of Flamel's who's versed in fire magic and currently tops on the techno music charts. But Germaine's house is known to Machiavelli, and it isn't long before scary creatures are unleashed to bring them in.
Is it any good?
THE MAGICIAN is just as fun and exciting as the first book, maybe more so because now Sophie's powers have been awakened and she gets to try them out -- and she's really got some neat tricks up her sleeve, especially after she trains in Saint-Germaine's fire magic. Twin Josh is brooding over not having his powers awakened yet -- and makes some "what were you thinking?!" decisions because of it -- but he still gets a heroic warrior moment with a particularly nasty monster.
The book takes readers all over Paris -- even below it into the creepy catacombs -- where all sorts of historical and mythological figures pop up. The author, an authority on mythology and folklore, really unleashes some fascinating creatures on readers and barely restrains himself from delving into each character's complex history -- which is why the book, which takes place over just a couple of days, is close to 500 pages. No matter. This world is fun and exciting enough to let a little extra learning slip in.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about all of the historical and mythological characters and objects in the story. What is Machiavelli famous for? What else do you know about Excalibur? The Valkyries? Also, many characters in this book are immortal. Do you think this is a gift or a curse? How do other books portray it differently?
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AGE
A little difficult to get into, but a good book
I'm not sure if it was just me, but this book was kind of hard to get into. I might have had too many expectations of this book. everything was moving so fast sometimes I had no idea what was going on, and I often found myself going back and reading a page or too again. *SPOILERS* I find it annoying that Sophie learns the elemental magics in all of two minutes, and suddenly knows what to do. I'm missing what the magic is really all about. This really had the potential to be a great book, but the plot has fallen short. I will read the next book, though, just not right away.
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AGE
Great
Very innovative and original. Extremely exciting. Violence is not really an issue, especially not if the kid has read Harry Potter. Real science fiction, very thrilling.
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Kid, 12 years old
August 14, 2009
AGE
GREAT SECOND BOOK
I LOVED THIS!!!!!!!!!!!! I believe this is a GREAT book for ages 10 and up! This book is equally good for both boys and girls. What I really enjoyed about it is that the female characters are strong and just as important as the males.
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AGE
awsome for teenagers
Absolutly amazing book can't wait to read the next one in the series
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AGE
too fast
love reading it, but it seems like everything is moving so fast....
i had to read it twice to get the entire thing
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AGE
The book is great and good for most readers
Takes a about 10-20 pages to actually get into it and then its a great book
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| Topics: | magic and fantasy |
| Author: | Michael Scott |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Delacorte Press |
| Publication date: | June 24, 2008 |
| Number of pages: | 496 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 12 - 12 |
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