The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
Encyclopedia
The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel (often shortened to The Alchemyst) is the first novel in the six book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
. It is written by Irish author Michael Scott
and was published in May 2007. The Alchemyst has been printed in 20 languages and is available in 37 countries, The film rights to the series have been sold to Lorenzo di Bonaventura
.
.
st Nicholas Flamel being kept alive by making the elixir of life (a secret from the Codex
) for him and his wife Perry (Perenelle). Both he and Perenelle can use magic
. Nicholas needs the Codex back to make the elixir of life again, or he and Perenelle will age rapidly and die before the month's end. Also, if Nicholas does not retrieve the Codex, Dee will summon the Dark Elders to destroy the world and return to an age in which humans are but slaves and food.
Flamel quickly takes them to a secret hideout to enlist the aid of Scathach, a powerful Next Generation Elder. There they are forced to run, threatened by rats sent by Dee, which are thwarted by Flamel and Scathach. Chased again almost immediately by hundreds of thousands of birds, Flamel then leads the twins and Scathach to attempt to secure the aid of Hekate, who can awaken the twins' magical potential. Dee discovers this, and enlists the aid of Bastet, and the Morrigan
. The trio mount a massive assault on Hekate's shadowrealm, attempting to destroy the Yggdrasill that is the heart of Hekate's power.
While the Yggdrasill is attacked, Hekate awakens Sophie, but does not have time to awaken Josh, as the Yggdrasill has been lit on fire during the attack. While she rushes to defend her home, Scathach, Flamel, and the twins make an escape from the Shadowrealm. While escaping, they encounter Dee, and witness the power of the ancient Ice Elemental sword known as Excalibur
. They see him transform a wereboar into pure ice, then shatter the statue. Scathach remarks that she thought that Excalibur had been lost when Artorius
died.
The twins, Scathach, and Flamel escape the shadowrealm, shortly before the destruction of Hekate, the Yggdrasill, and the entire shadowrealm. As they escape, Dee uses Excalibur to freeze the Yggdrasill, and Hekate, whose life and power is linked to the tree, transforms to ice as well. As this occurs, Dee is informed that Flamel and Scathach have escaped with the twins. In his rage, he shatters the Yggdrasill, which crushes Hekate into dust, killing her. Flamel, Scathach, and the twins travel to Scathach's grandmother, the Witch of Endor
(also called "The Mistress of Air"), who teaches Sophie her magical secrets quickly by giving the girl all her memories and the power to know how to use air magic.
While they are there, Dee has found out that a prophecy
in the Codex speaks of Sophie and Josh. He tempts Josh to join him, while using necromancy
to raise thousands of corpses to assault the Elders and Sophie with. Josh almost agrees, but at the last moment he realizes he will lose Sophie if he agrees, and attempts to hit Dee with a Hummer
distracting Dee long enough to escape with Scathach, Sophie and Nicholas using a leygate (lines of energy, ley lines that cross the world) to escape to Paris
, where the book ends.
The Alchemyst will be released as part of a special edition boxed 3 book set called The First Codex in the USA on September 28, 2010.
. The ISBN numbers for the audiobook are: ISBN 0-7393-5032-3 (UK), ISBN 978-0-7393-5032-4 (U.S.A).
and Mark Burnett Productions. The film is currently in pre-production. This has been reported at IMDb. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the writer hired to pen the script is Eric Bress. He is well-known for writing the scripts for the popular television show Kyle XY
. It has been reported the producer is Mark Burnett
and that he bought the rights to the book in an auction many months before the book was published. The movie is TBA 2011 (To Be Announced) so most likely another year.
On November 19, 2009 it was announced in Variety Magazine that Lorenzo di Bonaventura
had bought the film rights to the series. Michael Scott
and Barry Krost will be the executive producers. The script writer has yet to be announced.
which was released in the UK on June 5, 2008 and on June 24, 2008 in the US. The third book The Sorceress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
was released on May 26, 2009 in the U.S. and on June 25, 2009 in the UK The Necromancer
followed with its USA release on May 25, 2010. Most recently, the fifth book, The Warlock: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
was released on May 24, 2011. The final book in the series,The Enchantress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, will be released during the summer of 2012.
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel will be a series of six fantasy novels written by Irish author Michael Scott when complete. Completion is due to be in 2012. The first book in the series, The Alchemyst was released in 2007, the sequels are scheduled to follow at the rate of one per year,...
. It is written by Irish author Michael Scott
Michael Scott (Irish author)
Michael Scott is an Irish author.Michael Scott is a seasoned and prolific writer of over 100 books during his 25 plus years of writing thus far...
and was published in May 2007. The Alchemyst has been printed in 20 languages and is available in 37 countries, The film rights to the series have been sold to Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Lorenzo di Bonaventura
-Life and career:He spent the 1990s as an executive at Warner Bros. Pictures, eventually rising to President of Worldwide Production. His production company di Bonaventura Pictures is based at Paramount Pictures. His tenure at Warner Bros. included discovering and shepherding The Matrix into...
.
Titular Character
The book's title, The Alchemyst, refers to the historical character of Nicholas FlamelNicholas Flamel
Nicolas Flamel was a successful French scrivener and manuscript-seller who developed a posthumous reputation as an alchemist due to his reputed work on the philosopher's stone....
.
Plot summary
Sophie and Josh are working at their jobs when a very mysterious man named John Dee comes for a book called the Codex. Sophie and Josh witness Nick and Perry, the owners of the store, using magic, and discover that Nick is not a bookseller, but is the ancient alchemyAlchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
st Nicholas Flamel being kept alive by making the elixir of life (a secret from the Codex
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
) for him and his wife Perry (Perenelle). Both he and Perenelle can use magic
Magic (fantasy)
Magic in fiction is the endowing of fictional characters or objects with magical powers.Such magic often serves as a plot device, the source of magical artifacts and their quests...
. Nicholas needs the Codex back to make the elixir of life again, or he and Perenelle will age rapidly and die before the month's end. Also, if Nicholas does not retrieve the Codex, Dee will summon the Dark Elders to destroy the world and return to an age in which humans are but slaves and food.
Flamel quickly takes them to a secret hideout to enlist the aid of Scathach, a powerful Next Generation Elder. There they are forced to run, threatened by rats sent by Dee, which are thwarted by Flamel and Scathach. Chased again almost immediately by hundreds of thousands of birds, Flamel then leads the twins and Scathach to attempt to secure the aid of Hekate, who can awaken the twins' magical potential. Dee discovers this, and enlists the aid of Bastet, and the Morrigan
Morrígan
The Morrígan or Mórrígan , also written as Morrígu or in the plural as Morrígna, and spelt Morríghan or Mór-Ríoghain in Modern Irish, is a figure from Irish mythology who appears to have once been a goddess, although she is not explicitly referred to as such in the texts.The Morrigan is a goddess...
. The trio mount a massive assault on Hekate's shadowrealm, attempting to destroy the Yggdrasill that is the heart of Hekate's power.
While the Yggdrasill is attacked, Hekate awakens Sophie, but does not have time to awaken Josh, as the Yggdrasill has been lit on fire during the attack. While she rushes to defend her home, Scathach, Flamel, and the twins make an escape from the Shadowrealm. While escaping, they encounter Dee, and witness the power of the ancient Ice Elemental sword known as Excalibur
Excalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
. They see him transform a wereboar into pure ice, then shatter the statue. Scathach remarks that she thought that Excalibur had been lost when Artorius
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
died.
The twins, Scathach, and Flamel escape the shadowrealm, shortly before the destruction of Hekate, the Yggdrasill, and the entire shadowrealm. As they escape, Dee uses Excalibur to freeze the Yggdrasill, and Hekate, whose life and power is linked to the tree, transforms to ice as well. As this occurs, Dee is informed that Flamel and Scathach have escaped with the twins. In his rage, he shatters the Yggdrasill, which crushes Hekate into dust, killing her. Flamel, Scathach, and the twins travel to Scathach's grandmother, the Witch of Endor
Witch of Endor
The Witch of Endor, sometimes called the Medium of Endor, was a woman who called up the ghost of the recently deceased prophet Samuel, at the demand of King Saul of the Kingdom of Israel in the First Book of Samuel, chapter...
(also called "The Mistress of Air"), who teaches Sophie her magical secrets quickly by giving the girl all her memories and the power to know how to use air magic.
While they are there, Dee has found out that a prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
in the Codex speaks of Sophie and Josh. He tempts Josh to join him, while using necromancy
Necromancy
Necromancy is a claimed form of magic that involves communication with the deceased, either by summoning their spirit in the form of an apparition or raising them bodily, for the purpose of divination, imparting the ability to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge...
to raise thousands of corpses to assault the Elders and Sophie with. Josh almost agrees, but at the last moment he realizes he will lose Sophie if he agrees, and attempts to hit Dee with a Hummer
Hummer
Hummer was a brand of trucks and SUVs, first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. In 1998, General Motors purchased the brand name and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the Humvee; and the H2 and H3 models that were...
distracting Dee long enough to escape with Scathach, Sophie and Nicholas using a leygate (lines of energy, ley lines that cross the world) to escape to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where the book ends.
Special Editions & Cover Variations
On August 5, 2010 in the UK The Alchemyst was re-released featuring this style cover.The Alchemyst will be released as part of a special edition boxed 3 book set called The First Codex in the USA on September 28, 2010.
Audio book
The Alchemyst is also available as an unabridged audiobook. It was released by the Listening Library on May 22, 2007 and narrated by Denis O'HareDenis O'Hare
Denis O'Hare is an American actor noted for his award winning performances in Take Me Out and Sweet Charity as well as the HBO television show True Blood. He is also known for his supporting roles in the films Charlie Wilson's War and Milk...
. The ISBN numbers for the audiobook are: ISBN 0-7393-5032-3 (UK), ISBN 978-0-7393-5032-4 (U.S.A).
Award Nominations
- Irish Book of the Year - 2008
- Kentucky Bluegrass Book Award
- Maine Student Book Award - ranked 10th
- Nevada Young Readers Award
- NCSLMA YA Book Award - 2010
- Rhode Island Teen Book Award - 2008 (Winner)
- Bisto Book Of The Year Award - 2008
- CBI Shadowing Award - 2008
Online Games
The first related online game to be launched was The Codex Master The game is to guess a secret code composed of a sequence of coloured orbs by inputting various sequences and using logic. When a sequence is entered, indicators show when the player has the right colour and also when a colour is in the right or wrong position to enable them to apply logic and guess the correct sequence.Film Adaptation
Film rights for this book have been sold to New Line CinemaNew Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
and Mark Burnett Productions. The film is currently in pre-production. This has been reported at IMDb. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the writer hired to pen the script is Eric Bress. He is well-known for writing the scripts for the popular television show Kyle XY
Kyle XY
Kyle XY is an American television series with a science fiction premise and mystery-drama style. The central character is a teenage boy who awakens naked in a forest outside Seattle, Washington, with no more knowledge or abilities than a newborn. He is taken in by a family and given the name Kyle...
. It has been reported the producer is Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett is a British television producer and executive producer, based in the United States. He currently is the executive producer of five network television series with seven hours of network programming. Works with which Burnett is associated have won multiple awards and recognition...
and that he bought the rights to the book in an auction many months before the book was published. The movie is TBA 2011 (To Be Announced) so most likely another year.
On November 19, 2009 it was announced in Variety Magazine that Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Lorenzo di Bonaventura
-Life and career:He spent the 1990s as an executive at Warner Bros. Pictures, eventually rising to President of Worldwide Production. His production company di Bonaventura Pictures is based at Paramount Pictures. His tenure at Warner Bros. included discovering and shepherding The Matrix into...
had bought the film rights to the series. Michael Scott
Michael Scott (Irish author)
Michael Scott is an Irish author.Michael Scott is a seasoned and prolific writer of over 100 books during his 25 plus years of writing thus far...
and Barry Krost will be the executive producers. The script writer has yet to be announced.
Give Away
In April 2009 American publisher Random House offered free copies of the book online as a PDF, but this offer was only valid for one month and has since expired.Sequels
The series continues in the sequel The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas FlamelThe Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Magician is the second installment in the six-book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, and is the sequel to The Alchemyst. It was released on 5 June 2008 in the United Kingdom, and on the 24 June 2008 in the United States...
which was released in the UK on June 5, 2008 and on June 24, 2008 in the US. The third book The Sorceress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Sorceress: The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Sorceress is the third installment in the six-book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel written by Michael Scott and is the sequel to The Magician. It was released on 26 May 2009 in the U.S.A, 1 June 2009 in Australia and on 25 June 2009 in the UK.-Plot Summary:Flamel and...
was released on May 26, 2009 in the U.S. and on June 25, 2009 in the UK The Necromancer
The Necromancer: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Necromancer is the fourth book of the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel written by Irish author Michael Scott. The novel was released in the USA on May 25, 2010, published by Delacorte Press, which is an imprint of Random House...
followed with its USA release on May 25, 2010. Most recently, the fifth book, The Warlock: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Warlock: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Warlock is the fifth book of the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel written by Irish author Michael Scott. The novel was released in the USA on May 24, 2011, published by Delacorte Press, which is an imprint of Random House...
was released on May 24, 2011. The final book in the series,The Enchantress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, will be released during the summer of 2012.
External links
- Author's website
- Publisher's website
- Official Flamel Forum Author endorsed fan forum visited daily by the author.