THE ALCHEMYST

Book Title: The Alchemyst 

Author: Michael Scott
Genre: Thriller
Total Pages: 380
Time I took to read: 3 hours

INTRODUCTION

In November 2015, I finally finished my last book of the Harry Potter Series.  I think it is one of the best series ever written and I simply love it. 

Now it was time to pick another book.  I went to the bookshop but could not find anything good enough to read.  Finally, I noticed ‘The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel’ Series written by Michael Scott.  The first book of the series is called “The Alchemyst.’  The name kind of sounded weird but I thought of reading the summary at the back.  And, guess what, I found the kind of book I was looking for.  Then I remembered that it is the Nicholas Flamel mentioned in the Harry Potter books for inventing the philosopher’s stone.  I was so excited to start reading it.

SYNOPSIS

Alchemyst is about the twins Josh and Sofie who lead a normal life until they arrive at their summer job.  It was supposed to be just like any other job, but guess what, it wasn’t. 

After a series of unexpected events, there was a war.  On one side, there was Hacket, Nicholas Flamel, the twins and their army.  The other side included three strangers (with Codex) and their army: Bastet, Morrigan and Dr. John Dee (with the codex).  Codex is an ancient book which was written by Abraham and holds the recipe to Philosopher Stone and Exceller of Life.  It also contains a number of predictions made by Abraham about the future. 

After losing the war, Flamel and his team escape to France through a Laygate in Ojai. 

MY ANALYSIS

I feel it is a very well written book with a lot of details.  It contains a number of interesting concepts like Codex, Philosopher Stone, Aura’s, the Sight, etc.  It is not only fun to read but also helps one increase their knowledge, expand their imagination and go beyond the normal life.

It is very important that we understand what the word Alchemyst means.  ‘The word alchemist comes from alchemy, which has origins in the Greek word khemeia, meaning "art of transmuting metals." Active since ancient times, alchemists could be considered very early chemists because of their work trying to transform base metals into gold.’ Explains vocabulary.com

In this book, Nicholas Flamel is the Alchemist because he could turn stone into gold and transform common things into precious jewels. 

I like Josh’s character the most because he has very human emotions.  He cries, laughs, makes mistakes, gets brainwashed, etc.  His character shows all sides of a man.  He is very loyal to his relationships which can be seen through his love for his sister.     

I dislike Dr. John Lee’s character the most because he is the main villain of the story.  I specially don’t like the scent of his aura which smells like ‘rotten eggs.’

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, The Alchemyst is a very well written book.  For those who love thriller like myself, I would recommend them all to read it. 

I am now looking forward to my next read: BOOK 2: THE MAGICIAN

I would be sharing my views on it as soon as I am done reading it.  So, keep coming for more.  Thanks!