My son really enjoyed this book, but I had a hard time getting into it. Like the first it is filled with famous and mythological figures and I'm sure took an extensive amount of research. Good book for middle grade readers.

Awesome. This book starts running and never stops. Super entertaining and I loved it. Can't wait to get book 3.

This book is even better than the first. I love the new characters and can't wait to see what Machavelli has up his sleeve. Also while certain parts of the book are certainly predictable there was enough unexpected twists (or just plain lack of the expected) to keep me interested.

The fast paced descent into fabled realms of myth and legend juxtaposed with contemporary venues continues. Occasionally moralistic, the writing continues to enthrall and challenge the imagination. Fascinating plot, yet the individuals lack any real depth. Too many words spent rehashing the previous volume.

These books are just like a Netflix series. 1 season, 7 episodes with a plan and each episode reaching a new step.

The dismay doesn't feel real, with everything you just know it is going to be alright soon.

But like with every bad series, i need to know how it ends

Title: The Magician
Author: Michael Scott
Rating: 3/5

Summary: After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for Nicholas Flamel. Only this homecoming is anything but sweet. Perenell is still locked up back in Alcatraz and Paris is teeming with enemies. Nicolo Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, is working for Dee. He’s after them, and time is running out for Nicholas and Perenell. For every day spent without the Book of Abraham the Mage, they age one year—their magic becoming weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophesy is becoming more and more clear.
It’s time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic: Fire Magic. And there’s only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel’s old student, the Comte de Saint-Germain—alchemist, magician, and rock star. Josh and Sophie Newman are the world’s only hope—if they don’t turn on each other first.


Review: This book started out with so much promise, so many expectations, but ultimately it kinda fell short of what I was hoping for, to cause me again to drop my rating by a star in retrospect. My favorite part of this particular book was the introduction of Machiavelli with the Kabuki masks. After that, the book unfortunately began to become predictable in nature. Sophie continues her training, learning magic this time from Saint Germaine, who had stolen it from Promethius and is married to Jean d’Arc (Joan of Arc), the last person, prior to Sophie, to have a silver aura. Josh is still jealous, but ultimately gets his awakening by the God of War, Mars, before he is killed by Dee. Dee, of course, kills everyone. Flamel is continuing to age, Perenelle escapes Alcatraz, traps Morrigan in a deep, dark cave, with no exit.

This series didn’t need a second book, or at least needed more time between the first and the second because this sounded forced. The Alchemyst was good, I liked that one. This book droned on and on and had a predictable storyline. After the introduction of Machiavelli, the only other part that actually held my interest and shocked me was when Scatty got dragged into the lake by Dagon. The introduction of Jean d’Arc could have been a lot less awkward, and while I do love her she was not the best character addition to this story, and I do kind of find myself liking Machiavelli.

I am somewhat of a book snob in my addiction to books, but in this case I was feeling somewhat generous and give this book three stars, even though it is down from my initial four star rating. I tend to use a policy that my teachers in the past have embraced, if there is effort there you at least get half a point even if the result isn’t exactly what it was supposed to be. I do have to admit, I like the cover art of the book a bit more than I like the story on the pages.


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My reviews can be found here:
Confessions of a Bibliophile
Idle Musings and Random Things
Smashwords Reviews

The continuing adventures of Nickolas Flammel brings us to Paris. The twins, Nick, and Joan are playing a cat and mouse game with Machiavelli and Dee.

The best parts of the book are the ones in which they describe the feelings of what it is like to have an awakened aura. The details of memory and sensory perception really allow you to get a sense of what it feels like to be a sense-heightened human. There is also some interesting characters and a dash of historical trivia thrown in.

The bad is the repetitive nature of the dialog and narration. Topics are being retreaded often making it very slow and unrealistic. It as if the author feels he must educate the reader on the historical significance of each and every location and mythical figure (which actually turns out to be a real living creature some how). Additionally, the consistent use of smell as a narrative device wears thin. How many time must we be reminded that Nickolas' magic evokes the smell of mint? I know this device is supposed to recall other sensory feelings about the character, but it is often at odds with the action. Smell that comes from another realm has little to no effect on the action or plot.

This series is shaky, but I'm going to stick with it. The storytelling is alright, and the book seems well researched for fiction. The serialized nature of this series makes it hard to put down, despite how much you dislike the process. I will endure, since there are moments that keep my interest.