Fans of Lightning Thief, pick this up.
Michael Scott (who also writes by several aliases) delivers a fun ride with this series. Alchemyst has been around for a while and my students kept asking me to read it so I finally picked it up in Hawaii and realized that you can always count on a book to be read-worthy if a bunch of 9th grade boys are recommending it.
At first I thought Scott's inspiration was a spin off of J.K. Rowling's Flamel in Harry Potter, but in truth Rowling and Scott's source is the same. Flamel was real... or shall I say IS real. Rumors indicate that this famous alchemyst from the 1400's is still alive and thriving. Flamel is a major French legend whose mysterious sudden wealth, generosity, and disappearance has warranted street names on his behalf.
Since Scott is an expert on mythology, the book reeps its plot and characters from ancient Greek folklore. It reads like Lightning Theif with hints of the fun magical devices found in Harry Potter. Alchemyst is borderline Childrens/Young Adult. It might not be a page turner for those of us over 14, but it is a good ride and even better, a solid series.
1 comment:
OKAY, you convinced me. Gotta finish Battle of the Labyrinth, etc. Then the American Plague, then I'll check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.
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