Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Enchantress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Enchantress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel is the final novel in the six book series: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.[1] It is written by Irish author Michael Scott and will be published by Random House Inc on May 22, 2012 in the USA,[2] and by Doubleday Publishing an imprint of Random House UK on May 24, 2012 in the UK and Ireland. The series has been printed in 20 languages and is available in 37 countries,[3] and features in the Top Ten on the New York Times Children's Best Selling Series list.[4] The film rights to the series have been sold to Lorenzo di Bonaventura.[5]

The Enchantress picks up where its predecessor, The Warlock left off. Two of its central characters, the fifteen year old twins, Sophie and Josh Newman, have been re-united after being briefly separated. They now have to choose to either stand by each other's side or to separate for good by allying themselves with either protagonist Nicholas Flamel or Dr.John Dee. If the twins choose to ally with antagonist Dr Dee the fate of humanity could be doomed as he seeks total world domination now that he has acquired all four swords of power. The choice to ally with Nicholas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle, is not a clear cut choice either, as the Flamel's motives appear to have grown ever more dubious to the twins. The only thing that is clear to the Newman twins, is that they need to choose well and that they need choose fast. Nicholas and Perenelle have only a day left to live, while Dr Dee grows more dangerous by the hour. The welfare of humanity hangs in the balance as all the central characters converge for a show-down on the ancient island of Danu Talis.

The identity of the titular character in The Enchantress has not yet been confirmed by the author. However, on his website he did have this to say to fans who wanted to guess at the character's identity.

"The Warlock (The Warlock's cover) was printed on a gold paper – and if you’re reading the series, you’ll know why. So, it should come as no surprise you discover that this (The Enchantress' cover) will be on silver foil. And if you can’t guess who the Enchantress is by now, you’ve not been paying attention."

-Michael Scott[6]

The Enchantress will also be available as an unabridged audiobook. It will be released by the Listening Library on 22 May 2012. The narrator has yet to be confirmed. The ISBN number for the audiobook is: ISBN 978-0-307-99095-2.[7]

In published order:

* The Alchemyst
* The Magician
* The Sorceress
* The Necromancer
* The Warlock
* The Enchantress

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.[1] The UK release date was June 2, 2011,[2] and it made its debut on the USA Today Best Selling List at #13 on the same day.[3] It is preceded by four other titles (in order of release): The Alchemyst, The Magician, The Sorceress and The Necromancer and will be followed by the release of The Enchantress which will be released on 22nd May,2012.

At the end of The Necromancer, twins Sophie and Josh Newman were separated. Sophie left with the now very weak protagonist Nicholas Flamel, his wife, Perenelle Flamel and Niten, an immortal Japanese swordsman; while Josh exited with the main antagonist Dr.John Dee and his accomplice Virginia Dare. Mars Ultor, the Avenger, sees Sophie, accompanied by Niten, seeking a way to reclaim her brother. Nicholas Flamel is unable to help her in the search as he lapsed into unconsciousness after the battle against Dr. Dee, Virginia Dare and the Archon, Coatlicue. Perenelle and Prometheus escapes from Hades, Prometheus's long drawn out punishment shadowrealm, which crumbles into nothing, because Prometheus uses most of his aura to feed the crystal skull.

Meanwhile, in the Catacombs underneath Paris the previously imprisoned and very powerful Elder, Mars Ultor has a conversation with the Egyptian Elders; Isis and Osiris and his wife, the Witch of Endor. The witch has come there to free him while Isis and Osiris are hunting down Dr. John Dee. In San Francisco, Niten leads Sophie to Tsagaglalal, She Who Watches, who is in reality Sophie's Aunt Agnes. Perenelle, Nicholas, and Prometheus join them shortly. Nicholas is set to die within the day and Perenelle two days later, but the mysterious Hook-Handed Man told Perenelle long ago that she could give her husband one more day of life in exchange for one of her own. Through a ritual that requires Tsagaglalal and Sophie's auras, Perenelle is able to keep Nicholas alive for another day as well as awaken him from his coma. In Danu Talis, Scathach, Saint Germain, Palamedes, Shakespeare, and Joan of Arc are captured and sent to a volcano prison. Marethyu, is captured and taken to the ruler of Danu Talis, Aten. Aten is facing betrayal from his brother, Anubis and mother Bastet. He fears the destruction of Danu Talis but also reaches an epiphany that if Danu Talis is not brought down, future civilizations will never be created. He asks the Hook-Handed Man for advice. Marethyu advises that Aten become an oath breaker, or a warlock, and turn the city over to Marethyu. He agrees but Anubis arrives to arrest Aten. Aten allows himself to be captured to let Marethyu escape in a crystal vimana (flying saucer).

In the presence Odin, Hel, Black Hawk and Mars Ultor arrive at Tsagaglalal's home to seek her wisdom. Tsagaglalal then gives everyone jade tablets that Abraham the Mage(who was her husband) wrote personally for them. Mars, Hel, and Odin then go to Alcatraz to kill Dee. Nicholas, Perenelle, Niten, and Prometheus go to the Embaracadero to stop The Lotan, a seven-headed sea monster released by Dee with the help of the elder Nereus. Sophie spends time with Tsagaglalal who teaches her the Magic of Earth. To her surprise, however, Sophie is taught that all magic is one; there is no true division, it is just pure imagination. Tsagagalal takes Sophie to reunite with Josh on Alcatraz. While spending time together on Alcatraz, Machiavelli bonds with Billy the Kid and they decide to break the oaths made to their Elder masters, and becoming warlocks. This angers Dee, who nearly allows the Sphinx to kill Billy, but he is stopped by Dare, who knows Billy from years past. Under the influence of Dee and the sword Clarent, Josh helps Dee release the wild and dangerous beasts being kept in the prison as a part of Dee's newest and most desperate scheme--he not only wants to destroy the Elders and rebuild the Earth, but also claim the other Shadowrealms and Danu Talis. Sophie reaches Alcatraz by leygate through her jade tablet and refuses to leave Josh. Dee, using the swords of power, forms a leygate to the past. Him, Dare, Josh and Sophie go back and time to Danu Talis where they meet Isis and Osiris. Josh and Sophie recognize them as their parents Sara and Richard Newman. Dee reveals that Sophie and Josh's parents were his masters.

The books titular character has been confirmed to be Niccolò Machiavelli.

"The Warlock - the oath-breaker - of the title refers to a character who has made the biggest change, the biggest decision and acts out of character. And that is ............... Niccolo Machiavelli."
— Michael Scott As posted on the series' official Fan Forum.[4]


Anubis - Brother of Aten, seeking to rule Danu Talis as his own.

Aten - One of the last rulers of Danu Talis. Brother of Anubis. Machiavelli's master.

Hel - Niece of Odin, seeking revenge on Dr Dee.

Isis - Goddess worshipped by the Ancient Egyptians. Revealed as Sophie and Josh Newman's mother and one of Dee's masters.

Osiris - God worshipped by the Ancient Egyptians. Revealed as Sophie and Josh Newman's father and one of Dee's masters.

Tsagaglalal - "She Who Watches" Previously appeared in the series as Aunt Agnes. Gilgamesh's sister. Abraham's wife.

The Warlock will be followed by the concluding installment to the series; The Enchantress. The Enchantress is due to be released on the 22nd of May 2012.[5]

The Warlock was released on 2nd June 2011 in the UK with a different cover.[6]

The Warlock audio book is narrated by Paul Boehmer.[7]

In published order:

* The Alchemyst
* The Magician
* The Sorceress
* The Necromancer
* The Warlock
* The Enchantress (Will be released 22 May, 2012)

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.[1] It was released in the UK on August 5, 2010 when it appeared (along with the three prior titles in the series) with a different cover.[2] The Necromancer entered The New York Times Best Seller List (Children's) at #3 on its first week of release.[3] The audio book version (released at the same time in the USA) is read by Paul Boehmer.

Nicholas Flamel, Sophie, and Josh return to San Francisco. The Flamels go to their book store while Josh and Sophie head for their Aunt Agnes' house. When they approach they see a limousine waiting outside and a stranger talking to their Aunt. They approach with caution but in the following scuffle on the doorstep Sophie is dragged into the car by a female looking exactly like their lost friend Scathach, but who is in fact her twin, Aoife. Josh races to the book store to alert Nicholas and Perry and together, they set out to rescue Sophie who has been taken to a houseboat in Sausalito owned by Aoife's companion, the Japanese immortal, Niten.

Dr. Dee has been declared utlaga (a wanted man) for his failure to capture the missing pages of the Codex by his Dark Elder masters. Not wanting to experience their wrath, he flees. He makes his way across England from Salisbury Plain to his London office with the last two legendary swords, now fused together, in his possession. Once in London he enlists the help of an old acquaintance, Virginia Dare, and after an encounter with some cucubuth bounty hunters the pair escape to Dee's home in San Francisco, where he prepares to call back the Archon Coatlicue -Mother of the Gods- to help him with his plans to conquer planet Earth and take revenge on The Dark Elders that outlawed him.

Joan of Arc and Scathach are joined in their exile by William Shakespeare, Palamedes and the Comte de Saint-Germain after they seek out Lord Tammuz's help. Shortly after they are re-united they are joined by the mysterious, hooded, hook-handed man who tells them that he has a pre-destined mission for them. He takes them through Xibalba and several other shadow realms to the Earth ten thousands over years ago, when Danu Talis still existed and they have to fight in the battle that meant its downfall.

Niccolò Machiavelli and Billy the Kid get off the monster filled Alcatraz Island with the help of Billy's Dark Elder Master who sends the immortal Black Hawk to retrieve them and bring them both back to his house. After a fraught meeting with Billy's master they count themselves lucky to be alive as they had failed to accomplish the missions given to them by their masters: to kill Perenelle and loose the monsters trapped on the island onto San Francisco. The pair set out to return to Alcatraz and make amends by achieving what they were tasked with doing.

After their initially tense meeting, Aoife, Niten, Josh, Sophie, Nicholas, and Perenelle agree to travel to Point Reyes so that Josh can be taught the magic of fire by Prometheus, the Master of Fire. Josh is separated from the others shortly after learning the magic of fire and finds himself walking into Dee's home, Sophie wakes up and realizes that Josh is missing. After alerting the others about his disappearance they track Josh to Dee's home. Sophie, Aoife and Niten race to stop him from unwittingly helping Dee complete his plan to summon the fearsome Coatlicue who Dee plans to turn loose on the Dark Elders, while Nicolas and Perenelle stay with Prometheus, following what they do. Josh, still under enchantment, turns against his sister and escapes with Dr. Dee and Virginia Dare, while Aoife pushes Coatlicue back into the shadowrealm it came from, but leaving herself trapped with it. This leaves the end of the book on a cliff hanger. The Flamels are very weak, the twins are divided, and the Dark Elders are gathering in anticipation of the Final Summoning at Litha, when they hope to return to power and dominate the world.

* Aoife - Scathach's twin sister.

* Niten - An immortal Japanese swordsman.

* Coatlicue - Mother of All, a fiendish Archon.

* Quetzalcoatl - The Feathered Serpent, Billy's master.

* Prometheus - Master of Fire. Trains Josh in the Magic of Fire and Aoife's and Scathach's uncle.

* Lord Tammuz - The Green Man and Palamedes' master.

* Virginia Dare - Immortal, dangerous human; joins Dee, owns a flute with the power to render animals and humani unconscious .

* Black Hawk - Immortal Native American who assists Billy the Kid.

* Marethyu - The hook-handed man who translated the Codex. Marethyu means "Death" in the ancient language that was spoken on Danu Talis. Created a Pleistocene Shadowrealm.


The book's title, The Necromancer, refers to Josh Newman. Michael Scott would not name the Necromancer online until the book had been released around the world, merely saying that "The Necromancer is not Dr Dee." [4] He later stated: "So clearly, Dee "makes" Josh a Necromancer..." [5]

On August 5, 2010 in the UK The Necromancer was released featuring a new style cover.

The Necromancer is also available as an unabridged audiobook, narrated by Paul Boehmer. It was released by the Listening Library on May 25, 2010 in the USA and on August 5, 2010 in the UK. [6]

For The Necromancer release a new game was launched on May 5, 2010. It was called The Quest for the Codex.[7] Players were presented with a map, divided up into a grid, they were then allowed 10 clicks per day to find hidden rewards, playing pieces and to unlock 3 mini-games. Players were awarded a key for each mini-game that they completed. When they completed all 3 mini-games and had all 3 keys they received online access to the first 6 chapters of The Necromancer.

On November 19, 2009 it was announced in Variety Magazine[8] 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. Imdb now lists The Alchemyst film as "in production"[9]

The Warlock was released on May 24, 2011.[10]

In order of release:

* The Alchemyst
* The Magician
* The Sorceress
* The Necromancer
* The Warlock
* The Enchantress (Will be released 22 May, 2012)

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.

Flamel and Palamedes take the twins to Stonehenge, where they enlist the help of Gilgamesh. While the twins are adjusting to the powers Gilgamesh has taught them, Cernunnos returns with the Wild Hunt and attacks the twins and Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is wounded by the Archon, but the twins use their newly found powers to protect the King. But what Nicholas Flamel withholds from the twins is that Gilgamesh the King is insane. Though he has no aura - and hence cannot use his powers - he can still pass on his knowledge to the awakened human twins. If Gilgamesh refuses to teach the twins, they will be unable to escape back to San Francisco using the Ley Lines and will be trapped in Dr. John Dee's city, his hometown of London, where he is at his strongest. Flamel uses Francis to enlist Palamedes, the Saracen Knight, to help them.

Palamedes takes them to his home, a junkyard in London, and they manage to work together to contact Perenelle. Perenelle is trapped on Alcatraz with the friendly but untrustworthy spider elder, Areop-Enap, after narrowly escaping the Sphinx and defeating the Morrigan. Morrigan had been suppressed sufficiently by the Words of Power that resided on the island that her body was retaken by her two sisters, Macha and Badb. Perenelle also makes fleeting contact with Scathach and Joan of Arc by scrying. Areop-Enap and its spider army are then attacked by an onslaught of poisoned flies, killing most of the spiders and wounding Areop-Enap. Billy the Kid has joined forces with Machiavelli in an attempt to kill the sorceress, but Perenelle, aided by Macha and Badb, tricks the pair and steals their boat, travelling back to the mainland with her new ally, the Crow Goddess.

Unfortunately, the Dark Elders have awakened an ancient being even more powerful and mysterious than them: an Archon. The Archon, named Cernunnos, is known as the Horned God and is the leader of a pack of wolf people called the Wild Hunt. Cernunnos, the Wild Hunt, and Dr Dee engage Shakespeare,the Gabriel Hounds, Palamedes, the twins, and Flamel in a vicious battle. While making their escape, Josh loses Clarent, and Dee grabs the sword, reuniting it with its twin, Excalibur. The two swords fuse together to make a new sword. They activate the ley lines at Stonehenge and are greeted by Perenelle at the other end.

Meanwhile, Scathach and Joan of Arc try to get to Alcatraz to help Perenelle but are trapped in a prehistoric era by Machiavelli, who had deliberately set the trap to snare them. They do not know how to return to their time and must try to survive while they wait for Flamel and the others to find and rescue them.

* Palamedes - Hired by Francis to assist Flamel and the twins. He is an immortal Saracen knight and had watched King Arthur fall in battle. He has the unusual ability to move freely throughout the Shadowrealms without suffering any ill effects. His aura is dark green and smells like cloves.

* William Shakespeare - The immortal human also known as the Bard. He trained under Nicholas Flamel and Dr. Dee . Some members of the Torc madra, or Gabriel Hounds/ Ratchets are loyal to him. Lived with Palamedes in a junkyard until Flamel and the twins showed up. His aura is yellow and smells of lemon.

* Billy the Kid - Real name "Henry McCarthy". Sent to Alcatraz to kill Perenelle Flamel. Owns a Thunderbird convertible. His aura is a deep purple-red and smells of cayenne peppers.

* Gilgamesh the King - The oldest immortal human, also known as the "Ancient of Days". Gilgamesh knows all the Magics, but is unable to use them as he has no aura. The centuries have taken their toll on his mind often rendering him forgetful and confused, bordering on insane. Gilgamesh promised to remember Sophie after she shed a tear for him when he said that he could not even remember most of things that happened in his life.

* Cernunnos - The Horned God. An Archon from the time before the Elders walked the earth. Master of the Wild Hunt. Sent to repay a debt to Dee's master by helping destroy Nicholas, Josh, Sophie and the others in the junkyard. Killed King Arthur and Mordred with Clarent.

* Nereus - "Old Man of the Sea". He and his daughters prevent Perenelle from leaving Alcatraz. Has eight tentacles rather than two legs.

* Genii Cucullati - Shape shifting flesh eaters sent to meet Flamel and his group in London by John Dee.

* Gabriel Hounds - Also known as Torc madra and Ratchets. These are the dog-men loyal to William Shakespeare. They help defend the junkyard castle against the attack from Cernunnos and his Wild Hunt.

The book's title, The Sorceress, refers to Perenelle Flamel

"The Sorceress is Perenelle Flamel."
— Michael Scott As posted on his Fan Forum.[1]

The Sorceress was released as part of a special edition boxed 3-book set called The First Codex in the USA on 28 September 2010.

The Sorceress is also available as an unabridged audiobook. It was released by the Listening Library on 26 May 2009 and narrated by Paul Boehmer. The ISBN numbers for the audiobook are: ISBN 0-7393-8055-9 (UK), ISBN 978-0-7393-8055-0 (U.S.A).[2]

* Amazon - Best Books of 2009,Top 10 Children's Books: Middle Readers.[3]
* Cybills (Children and Young Bloggers Literary Awards) - 2009 Nominations, fantasy & science-fiction: Elementary/Middle Years.[4]

To celebrate the release of The Sorceress an online game was created.[5] It was called The Challenges of the Elder[6] and launched on 21 April 2009. Players are guided through the game, which is a set of four challenges, by video scenes featuring Michael Scott. The first task, the Alchemyst's challenge, required players to assemble a moving jigsaw of the series' logo against a countdown clock. The second task, the Magician's challenge, required players to turn over two books from a series of books and find matching symbols, when a matching pair was found both books burst into flames and disappeared. The task was complete when all the books had been matched. The third task, the Sorceress' challenge was a colour sequencing game where players chose coloured flasks and would have to repeat the sequence that they were shown in. Players then advanced to meet The Elder, who asked them a set of knowledge questions about the books and were given a coloured aura depending on their scores and time taken in the tasks.

The sequel to The Sorceress, The Necromancer: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, was released on 25 Mayth 2010 in the USA.[7] and was released on 5 August 2010 in the UK.[8]

In order of publishing and selling:

1. The Alchemyst

2. The Magician

3. The Sorceress

4. The Necromancer

5. The Warlock

6. The Enchantress Will be released on 22 May 2012.

The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (often shortened to The Magician) is the second novel in the six book fantasy fiction 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 24 June 2008 in the United States. It was nominated for an Irish Book of the Year Award, The Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children's Book of the Year – Senior Category.[1]

Sophie and Josh Newman – 15 year-old twins – are in Paris with the alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel, and his friend, Scathach. They now face Niccolò Machiavelli and his colleague, but also rival, John Dee, both work for the Dark Elders. Machiavelli is plotting to capture the twins and Flamel with the missing pages of the Codex - or Book of Abraham the Mage – before Dee can arrive in France from San Francisco. The twins seek out a friend and student to Nicholas, Comte de Saint-Germain, who teaches Sophie to use the elemental magic of Fire. Saint-Germain's wife, Joan of Arc, helps Sophie to learn to control her aura and to sort out the Witch of Endor's memories from her own. Josh is given the legendary stone sword Clarent, twin blade of Excalibur, by Nicholas. Clarent is an ancient Fire Elemental sword. Josh, Joan, and Scathach encounter three Disir, more commonly referred to as Valkyries. The Disir are ancient enemies of Scathach and bring along the soul-devouring Nidhogg, a ferocious monster once trapped in the roots of Yggdrasil – the world tree. The monster was freed after Dee destroyed Yggdrasil and attacks Scathach but fails to slay her. Instead, it captures Scathach in its claws, but flees with Scathach when the ancient sword Clarent, wielded by Josh, wounds it. Meanwhile, Nicholas' wife, Perenelle Flamel, who had been captured, is taken to Alcatraz as a prisoner.

While Josh is fighting Nidhogg, Joan of Arc and Sophie are busy fighting two of the Disir. After a lengthy battle, Sophie manages to freeze the two in an iceberg. They chase after Nidhogg. As Nidhogg flees, Dee, Machiavelli and Dagon (Machiavelli's assistant), who are watching, express remorse at the Disir's failure. Machiavelli then allows Dagon to chase Nidhogg and kill Scathach if the beast fails to do so. The monster escapes through the streets of Paris, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. One of the trio of Disir, as well as Josh (who is still trying to save Scathach) follow. They arrive on the banks of the Seine and, with the help of Dee, Josh manages to stall the Disir and escape. He then leaves with Dee and Machiavelli. Sophie, Joan, and Nicholas arrive, defeat the Disir and Nidhogg, and save Scathach. On Alcatraz, Perenelle is helped by the ghost of Juan Manuel de Ayala, a Spanish sailor.

Sophie, Joan, and Nicholas are talking to Scathach when Dagon erupts out of the river and drags her back in with him. The group miss Scathach, but decide to go after Josh, and, by using Sophie's aura, they track Dee and his comrades to the catacombs of Paris. There, Josh's magical ability is awakened by Mars Ultor and he is given a special "gift" similar to what Sophie received from the Witch of Endor – Josh now has Mars' military knowledge. When Sophie, Josh, and the rest escape from the catacombs, Dee and Machiavelli have set a trap, making the gargoyles and statues of Paris come to life and attack. Josh, Sophie, Saint-Germain, and Joan of Arc combine powers to destroy the statues. Flamel and the twins escape via a train and head for London. Perenelle is still stuck on Alcatraz and fears recapture.

* Niccolò Machiavelli – An Italian immortal who tries to retrieve the missing pages of the Codex alongside Dee. He is the head of the French secret service and is described as infinitely more cunning and dangerous than Dee. His aura is grayish-white and smells like snakes.

* Comte de Saint-Germain – A former apprentice to Nicholas Flamel. He is immortal. Saint-Germain is a master of the Magic of Fire and taught that magic to Sophie. He is a well known rock star. His aura is red and smells of burnt leaves. He is married to the immortal, Joan of Arc, in this series.

* Joan of Arc – The Maid Of Orléans aka Jeanne d'Arc. Very good friends with Scathach after being saved from near-death at her "execution". Joan became immortal after receiving a blood transfusion from the vampire Scathach. Joan was tutored in fighting by Scathach. Joan taught Sophie how to sort through and organise the Witch of Endor's foreign memories, as well as how to shape her aura. Joan's aura is pure silver like Sophie's and smells like lavender.

* Areop-Enap – A Spider-like Elder, who was imprisoned deep in Alcatraz by Dee, before being set free by Perenelle.

* Juan Manuel de Ayala – A Spanish sailor's ghost, who had discovered and named Alcatraz Island. He is now its guardian and helped Perenelle escape her prison cell by slamming cell doors and other noises, distracting the Sphinx, which is able to absorb magical auras thus keeping Perenelle weak.

* Dagon – A fish-like creature from before the Elders. The rest of his race were destroyed by Scathach. He is Machiavelli's manservant and friend and was last seen dragging an unconscious Scathach into the Seine, set on revenge.

* Mars Ultor – Mars the Avenger. Lives in the catacombs of Paris. Awakened Josh. His aura, which is red-violet, was solidified by the Witch of Endor and is now like a stone coating.

"Directly in front of him, close enough to touch, was the Elder the Romans had worshipped as the God of War. Josh had never heard of Hekate or the Witch of Endor, and because he knew nothing about them, they hadn't had the same effect on him. This Elder was different. Now he knew what Dee had meant when he said that this was the Elder remembered by humankind. This was Mars himself, the Elder with a month and a planet named after him"
—Michael Scott, The Magician

* Nidhogg – aka "The devourer of corpses". A giant monster with a ravenous hunger for flesh. It was released from its prison in the roots of the world tree, Yggdrasill, when Dee killed both Hekate & the tree. It then leaves a swathe of damage through Paris as it runs amok, until it plunges into the Seine whist trying to escape attacks from Josh using the magical sword, Clarent.

* Disir – aka the Valkyries, the Shieldmaidens, the Choosers of the Dead. The Disir are a trio of immortal warrior women sent to hunt after Flamel and his group. They make a deal with Machiavelli that they may claim and kill Scathach (who is their mortal enemy) if they can catch her while Machiavelli and Dee continue their hunt for Nicholas Flamel, the last pages of the Codex and the twins.

The book's title, The Magician, refers to the villain, John Dee, who works for the Dark Elders and their return to dominance on earth.

"Dee had so many talents, he could have been any of the characters - indeed, I have written elsewhere that he was the original hero of this series. He was The Alchemyst of the title. In his own time, he was always principally known as The Magician."
—Michael Scott, Posted by him, on his Flamel's Secret Fan Forum. "Link to his post". http://flamelssecret.9.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=19&st=450&#entry20504. Retrieved November 22nd, 2009.

The Magician was also released as part of a special edition boxed 3 book set called The First Codex in the US on 28 September 2010.

The Magician is available as an unabridged audiobook. It was released by the Listening Library on 24 June 2008 and narrated by Erik Singer. The audiobook ISBN numbers are: ISBN 073936491X (U.K), ISBN-13: 978-0739364918(U.S.A)[2].

2009 Irish Book of the Year Award – The Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children's Book of the Year - Snr Category.[1]

The sequel to this book, The Sorceress was released on 26 May 2009 in the US and in June 2009 in the UK.

In order of publishing:

* The Alchemyst
* The Magician
* The Sorceress
* The Necromancer
* the Warlock
* The Enchantress Will be released on 22 May 2012.

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (often shortened to The Alchemyst) is the first novel in the six book fantasy fiction series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.[1] 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.[2] The film rights to the series have been sold to Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

The book's title, The Alchemyst, refers to the historical character of Nicholas Flamel, a French scrivener and manuscript-seller. Flamel developed a posthumous reputation for being an alchemist and for his search for the philospher's stone.

"The Alchemyst is Nicholas Flamel."
— Michael Scott As posted on the series' official Fan Forum.[3]

Sophie and Josh Newman are 15 year-old twins who are working at their summer jobs in San Francisco when a mysterious man, John Dee, comes into Josh's workplace for a book, the Codex – or Book of Abraham the Mage. Sophie and Josh witness Nick and Perry, the book store's owners, using magic. They discover that Nick is not an ordinary bookseller, but is the medieval alchemist, Nicholas Flamel, being kept alive by making the elixir of life (a secret from the Codex) for him and his wife, Perry (Perenelle). Dee also uses magic and takes the Codex by force while Josh is holding it – resulting in two pages being left behind. Both Flamels need the Codex to make the elixir of life, or they will age rapidly and die within a month. Also, if they do 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 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 tens of thousands of birds, Flamel then leads the twins and Scathach to secure the aid of Hekate, an Elder, 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, to destroy Yggdrasill – the world tree – that is the heart of Hekate's power.

While Yggdrasill is attacked, Hekate awakens Sophie's magic abilities, but does not have time to awaken Josh, as the tree has been set on fire by Dee. While she rushes to defend her home, Scathach, the Flamels, and the twins attempt to escape the shadowrealm. While escaping, they encounter Dee, and witness the power of the ancient Ice Elemental sword, Excalibur. They see Dee 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 Flamels escape the shadowrealm, shortly before the destruction of Hekate, Yggdrasill, and the entire shadowrealm. As they escape, Dee uses Excalibur to freeze the tree, and Hekate, whose life and power is linked to it, transforms to ice as well. As this occurs, Dee is informed that the Flamels and Scathach have escaped with the twins. In his rage, he shatters Yggdrasill, which crushes Hekate into dust, killing her. The Flamels, 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 the witch's 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, the Flamels and Sophie. Josh almost agrees, but at the last moment he realises he will lose Sophie if he agrees. Dee brings all the dead in a near by cemetary alive and they start to attack them, josh hits Dee with a Hummer distracting Dee long enough to escape with Scathach, Sophie and Nicholas Flamel by using a leygate (a teleportation device where two or more lines of energy, ley lines, cross the world). However, Perenelle is captured by Dee as the rest escape to Paris, where the book ends.

The Alchemyst was released as part of a special edition boxed 3 book set called The First Codex in the US on 28 September 2010.

The Alchemyst is also available as an unabridged audiobook. It was released by the Listening Library on 22 May 2007 and narrated by Denis O'Hare. The audiobook ISBN numbers are: ISBN 0-7393-5032-3 (UK), ISBN 978-0-7393-5032-4 (US).[4]

* Irish Book of the Year – 2008 [5]
* Kentucky Bluegrass Book Award [6]
* Rhode Island Teen Book Award – 2008 (Winner)[7]
* Bisto Book of the Year Award – 2008 [8]
* CBI Shadowing Award – 2008[9]
* Maine Student Book Award – ranked 10th[10]
* Nevada Young Readers Award[11]
* NCSLMA YA Book Award – 2010[12]

The first related online game to be launched was The Codex Master.[13] The object 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 rights for the book were originally sold to New Line Cinema and Mark Burnett Productions.[14] The film is currently in pre-production. This was reported at IMDb. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the writer hired to pen the script was Eric Bress, who has written scripts for the television show, Kyle XY. It was reported that the producer would be Mark Burnett and that he bought the rights to the book in an auction months before it was published.[14]

In November 2009 it was announced in Variety Magazine[15] 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.

"Well, I have been promising news of the Flamel movie. Here's the press release. The movie was set up with New Line, but New Line were absorbed by Warner and the rights reverted to me. There has been tremendous interest in the series and eventually, it went to Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who is the man responsible for bringing Harry Potter to Warner when he was there. He genuinely loves this series. The next step now is to attach a writer - I will not write it, I have 3 more books to do!"
—Michael Scott, Posted by him, on the Flamel's Secret Fan Forum. "Link to his full post". http://flamelssecret.9.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=29&st=90.

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.

The series continues in the sequel The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel which was released in the UK on 5 June 2008 and on 24 June 2008 in the US. The third book The Sorceress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel was released on 26 May 2009 in the US and on 25 June 2009 in the UK The Necromancer: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel followed with its US release on 25 May 2010. Most recently, the fifth book, The Warlock: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel was released on 24 May 2011.[16] The final book in the series,The Enchantress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, is scheduled for release in mid-2012.

In published order:

* The Alchemyst
* The Magician
* The Sorceress
* The Necromancer
* The Warlock
* The Enchantress (Will be released 22 May, 2012)

Michael Scott (Irish author)

Michael Scott (born 28 September 1959) 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. He has written short stories and novels for adults, young adults and children, in many genres including, but not limited to; science fiction, fantasy, folk lore and romance. His first book (inspired by his fascination with Irish mythology), Irish Folk and Fairy Tales v.1, was published in 1983 and became part of a trilogy documenting a large number of Irish Folk tales that had, in some cases, only been told verbally prior to his publication. The Irish Folk and Fairy Tales volumes were the culmination of his extensive travels all over Ireland whilst working as a dealer in rare and antique books documenting the tales he found along the way.

When reviewing The De Danann Tales, the Irish Times described him as "the King of Fantasy in these Isles," and the Irish Children’s Book Trust in their Definitive Guide to Children’s Books recognized him, for his "unparalleled contribution to Children's Literature". The De Danann Tales was scheduled to be a series of five books but only three were ever published. The two titles that were never published were Sealord and Overlord.

Michael Scott is also an experienced scriptwriter for stage and screen, having written for a diverse number of projects including documentaries and drama. He once headed up the drama department in Tyrone Productions, the creators of Riverdance. Whilst working there he scripted high profile events such as the 2003 Special Olympics[1] which were held in Ireland, and the Irish Film and Television Awards. Michael Scott was the Writer in Residence during Dublin's tenure as European City of Culture in 1991[2] he featured in the 2006 edition of Who's Who in Ireland as one of the 1000 "most significant Irish".

Michael Scott has written a number of drama/romance novels under the pseudonym Anna Dillon. He is sometimes confused with author Michael Scott Rohan, Irish architect Michael Scott and more recently, in the U.S.A with the character Michael Scott from the television show The Office.

The first book in his The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel six book series, The Alchemyst, reached #2 on the New York Times Best Seller, Children's list on 26 August 2007[3] and as of 24 March 2008 it had sold in excess of 150,000 copies.[4] The second book in that series, The Magician, reached #4 on the New York Times Best Seller list on 13 July 2008.[3] The series has to date been printed in 20 languages and is available in 37 countries.[5]

Scott's first love is mythology. He says that his background, growing up in Ireland with its rich mythology, led him to be naturally drawn to myths. Irish mythology emerged through history relatively unscathed and uninfluenced as they were not invaded by the Romans or Greeks. History also has a strong impact on his style, as it was his favourite subject in school. However, while he has a special taste for mythology, Scott writes what purely interests him, which has led him to write across many genres and styles. He doesn't restrict himself with genre labelling - he says is only interested in being a writer, not a writer of any specific genre.[6]

"The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" series has spawned online games, the first related online game to be launched was The Codex Master[7] The game is to guess a secret code consisting 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.

To celebrate the release of The Sorceress an online game was created.[8] It was called The Challenges of the Elder[9] and launched on 21 April 2009. Players are guided through the game, which is a set of four challenges, by video scenes featuring Michael Scott. The first task, the Alchemyst's challenge, required players to assemble a moving jigsaw of the series' logo against a countdown clock. The second task, the Magician's challenge, required players to turn over two books from a series of books and find matching symbols, when a matching pair was found both books burst into flames and disappeared. The task was complete when all the books had been matched. The third task, the Sorceress' challenge was a colour sequencing game where players chose coloured flasks and would have to repeat the sequence that they were shown in. Players then advanced to meet The Elder, who asked them a set of knowledge questions about the books and were given a 'coloured aura ranking' calculated from their scores and time taken to complete the tasks.

When the fourth book, The Necromancer, was realised a new game called Quest for the Codex was made. In this game you get 10 moves a day for however long you choose to play as you search for the pieces of codex, mini-games, video clips etc... http://www.questforthecodex.com/

The film rights to The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series became available in late 2009, and on 19 November 2009 it was announced in Variety Magazine[10] 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. Imdb now lists The Alchemyst film as "in production"[11]

"Well, I have been promising news of the Flamel movie. Here's the press release. The movie was set up with New Line, but New Line were absorbed by Warner and the rights reverted to me. There has been tremendous interest in the series and eventually, it went to Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who is the man responsible for bringing Harry Potter to Warner when he was there. He genuinely loves this series. The next step now is to attach a writer — I will not write it, I have 3 more books to do!"
—Michael Scott, Posted by him, on his Flamel's Secret Fan Forum. "Link to his full post". http://flamelssecret.9.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=29&st=90.

Scott's The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series has thus far garnered him 10 literary award nominations. The Alchemyst was the winner of the 2008 Rhode Island Book Award (Teens) after beating 200 other nominated titles.[12]

The Alchemyst was nominated for:

* Irish Book of the Year 2008[13]
* Kentucky Bluegrass Book Award[14]
* Maine Student Book Award[15]
* Nevada Young Readers Award[16]
* NCSLMA YA Book Award - 2010[17]
* Rhode Island Book Award 2008- (Winner)[18]

The Magician was nominated for:

* 2009 Irish Book of the Year Award — The Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children's Book of the Year — Snr Category.[19]

The Sorceress was nominated for:

* Amazon - Best Books of 2009,Top 10 Children's Books: Middle Readers.[20]
* Cybills (Children and Young Bloggers Literary Awards) - 2009 Nominations, fantasy & science-fiction: Elementary/Middle Years.[21]


Young readers

Illustrated

* The Piper's Ring (illustrated by Ian Deuchar, 1992) ISBN 0460881302; ISBN 978-0460881302
* Fungie and the Magical Kingdom (illustrated by Steve Simpson, 1994) ISBN 9781899565009; ISBN 1899565000

[edit] Young adult books

Fantasy

* Tales from the Land of Erin 1: A Bright Enchantment (1985) ISBN 0722176430; ISBN 978-0722176436
* Tales from the Land of Erin 2: A Golden Dream (1985) ISBN 0722176449; ISBN 978-0722176443
* Tales from the Land of Erin 3: A Silver Wish (1985) ISBN 0722176457; ISBN 978-0722176450
* The De Danann Tales 1: Windlord (1991) ISBN 0863272967; ISBN 978-0863272967
* The De Danann Tales 2: Earthlord (1992) ISBN 0863273432; ISBN 978-0863273438
* The De Danann Tales 3: Firelord (1994) ISBN 0863273858; ISBN 978-0863273858
* The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2007) ISBN 0552557099; ISBN 978-0552557092
* The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2008) ISBN 0552557234; ISBN 978-0552557238
* The Sorceress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2009) ISBN 0385613121; ISBN 978-0385613125
* The Necromancer: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2010) ISBN 0385735316; ISBN 978-0385735315
* The Warlock: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2011) ISBN 0385735332; ISBN 978-0385735339
* The Enchantress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2012)

Folk Tales

* Song of the Children of Lir (1983) ISBN 0946860009; ISBN 978-0946860005
* Children of Lir (1986) ISBN 0749708883; ISBN 978-0749708887
* The Quest of the Sons (a.k.a. The Seven Treasures, 1988) ISBN 0749700068; ISBN 978-0749700065
* Green and Golden Tales: Irish Hero Tales (collection, 1988) ISBN 0853428689; ISBN 978-0853428688
* Green and Golden Tales: Irish Fairy Tales (collection, 1988) ISBN 0853428662; ISBN 978-0853428664
* Green and Golden Tales: Irish Animal Tales (collection, 1989) ISBN 0853428670; ISBN 978-0853428671
* Saint Patrick (1990)
* Last of the Fianna (1992) ISBN 0862783089; ISBN 978-0862783082
* Magical Irish Folk Tales (collection, 1995) ISBN 1856351106; ISBN 978-1856351102

Teen Adventure

* Judith and The Traveller (as Mike Scott, 1991) ISBN 0863272991; ISBN 978-0863272998
* Judith and Spider (as Mike Scott, 1992) ISBN 0863273475; ISBN 978-0863273476
* Good Enough for Judith (as Mike Scott, 1994) ISBN 0863273963; ISBN 978-0863273964

Illustrated

* The Story of Ireland (illustrated by Hemesh Alles) (collection, 1990) ISBN 0460880926; ISBN 978-0460880923

Adult books

Horror

* October Moon (1992) ISBN 0862783003; ISBN 978-0862783006
* Wolf Moon (1995) ISBN 0862784204; ISBN 978-0862784201
* House of the Dead (1993) ISBN 0862783399; ISBN 978-0862783396
* Vampyre (1995) ISBN 185371545X; ISBN 978-1853715457
* Vampyres of Hollywood (with Adrienne Barbeau, 2008) ISBN 0312367228; ISBN 978-0312367220
* 19 Railway Street (with Morgan Llywelyn, 1996) ISBN 1853716421; ISBN 978-1853716423
* Banshee (1990) ISBN 0749301112; ISBN 978-0749301118
* Image (1991[22]) ISBN 978-0747408840 ISBN 074740884X
* Reflection (1993) ISBN 978-0751500479; ISBN 075150047X
* Imp (1993) ISBN 0749301112; ISBN 978-0749301118
* The Hallows (Creed) (1995) ISBN 0451183797; ISBN 978-0451183798

Fantasy

* A Celtic Odyssey (a.k.a. The Voyage of Maildun, 1985) ISBN 0722176422; ISBN 978-0722176429
* Tales of the Bard 1: Magician's Law (1987) ISBN 0722177755; ISBN 978-0722177754
* Tales of the Bard 2: Demon's Law (1988) ISBN 0722177763; ISBN 978-0722177761
* Tales of the Bard 3: Death's Law (1989) ISBN 0722177771; ISBN 978-0722177778
* The Culai Heritage (collection of the Tales of the Bard novels, 2001) ISBN 1892065177; ISBN 978-1892065179
* The Arcana 1: Silverhand (with Morgan Llywelyn, 1996) ISBN 0671877143; ISBN 978-0671877149
* The Arcana 2: Silverlight (with Morgan Llywelyn, 1996) ISBN 0671877909; ISBN 978-0671877903
* Etruscans (with Morgan Llywelyn, 2000) ISBN 0312866275; ISBN 978-0312866273

Folk Tales

* Irish Folk & Fairy Tales 1 (collection, 1983)
* Irish Folk & Fairy Tales 2 (collection, 1983) ISBN 0722176406; ISBN 978-0722176405
* Irish Folk & Fairy Tales 3 (collection, 1984) ISBN 0722176414; ISBN 978-0722176412
* Magical Irish Folk Tales (collection, 1985) ISBN 1856351106; ISBN 978-1856351102
* Irish Folk & Fairy Tales Omnibus (collection, 1989) ISBN 0751508861; ISBN 978-0751508864
* The Navigator (with Gloria Gaghan, a.k.a. The Voyage of St. Brendan, 1988) ISBN 041317350X; ISBN 978-0413173508
* River Gods (collection, 1991) ISBN 0946887217; ISBN 978-0946887217
* Irish Myths and Legends (collection, 1992) ISBN 0751512427; ISBN 978-0751512427
* Irish Ghosts & Hauntings (collection, 1994) ISBN 0751501549; ISBN 978-0751501544

Adventure

* The Quiz Master (2004) ISBN 1904301509; ISBN 978-1904301509

Science fiction

* The Merchant Prince (with Armin Shimerman, 2000) ISBN 0671036130; ISBN 978-0671036133

Non-fiction

* The Book of Celtic Wisdom (1999) ISBN 0340765631; ISBN 978-0340765630
* Celtic Wisdom for Business (2001) ISBN 0717131742; ISBN 978-0717131747
* Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? (2001) ISBN 075226141X; ISBN 978-0752261416
* Ireland (Photopocket) (2004) ISBN 3832790012; ISBN 978-3832790011

Illustrated

* Ireland — a Graphic History (graphic novel, with Morgan Llywelyn, illustrated by Eoin Coveney, 1995) ISBN 1852306270; ISBN 978-1852306274

As Anna Dillon

* Seasons (1988) ISBN 184223126X; ISBN 978-1842231265
* Another Time, Another Season (a.k.a. Another Season, 1989) ISBN 0747401837; ISBN 978-0747401834
* Season's End (1991) ISBN 0747406588; ISBN 978-0747406587
* Lottery (1993)
* Lies (1998) ISBN 1873748051; ISBN 978-1873748053
* The Affair (2004) ISBN 1842232045, ISBN 978-1842232040
* Consequences (2005) ISBN 1842232312; ISBN 978-1842232316

As editor

* Hall's Ireland (1984)
* An Irish Herbal (1986)

Contributions to other books

* The BFI Companion to Horror
* Ireland
* Making Contract
* Lifelines 3
* The Lion and the Unicorn
* Maths 100 Odyssey 1
* Maths 100 Odyssey 2
* Maths 100 Odyssey 3
* Irish Buildings
* Irish Pubs
* Irish Castles
* Ireland
* Ulster Medicine
* Trinity College Portfolio