Parents' Guide to

The Necromancer: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Book 4

By Carrie R. Wheadon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Popular fantasy series has lots of plots to keep track of.

The Necromancer: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, Book 4 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 10+

Want to get your older child interested!

It's a great way to introduce ancient mythology into modern understanding. Often these characters are really 2-D.

This title has:

Educational value
age 9+

ideal summer reading! great book for tweens, teens and adults!

When my thirteen year old couldn't stop talking about this book, my nine year old read it and was equally enthusiastic. It's hard to find a book which appeals to both boys and girls and Michael Scott's Necromancer certainly did the trick. The exciting book follows twins Sophie and Josh on a twisting tale of adventure and , frankly, I loved it as well...and I'm in my late thirties! This book is great for kids because it features strong heroines and heroes who take their audience on a masterful ride.

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (8):

If you can't follow the book summary above, you already know that skipping ahead in this series just isn't an option -- too many characters populate this world. It combines historic figures as immortals, gods of the past as Elders, older beings called Archons, whole shadowrealms parallel to our world, and magic that binds everything together. In fact, it will probably help to re-read the third book to keep up with this one. If readers love the characters, they won't mind the split-screen viewing of all their revelations here. But Josh is tougher to love -- it's not clear why he's so suspicious of Flamel but not nearly wary enough of Dee. Perhaps he'll find a way to redeem himself. ...

Splitting the story also splits the action ... and wrecks some of the momentum. At least all the complex storylines are worth following, and that's what will keep the pages turning. There are the occasional flashbacks to whole other eras, however, that are enough to make an impatient reader exclaim, "let those beasts loose on San Francisco already!" When -- well, if -- that happens, then the series will go beyond "pretty intriguing" right into "riveting" territory.

Book Details

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