The Sorceress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2009)

Plot spoiler if you haven't read The Alchemist or The Magician.

I am tired now, so tired.
     And I am aging fast.  There is a stiffness in my joints, my sight is no longer sharp and I find I have to strain to hear.  Over the past five days I have been forced to use my powers more times than I have used them in the entire previous century, and that has speeded up the aging process significantly.  I estimate that I have aged by at least a decade - perhaps more - since last Thursday.  If I am to live, I have to retrieve the Book of Abraham, and I cannot - I dare not - risk using my powers again.

Josh, Sophie and Nicholas are now in London, the heart of Dr. John Dee's powers.  There are more Elders in London than in any other place in the world.  All are aligned with the Dark Elders.

There are also more ley lines that meet and converge over the British Isles than over any place in the world.  Nicholas needs to find a specific ley line that will take them back to San Francisco.

But first the twins need to learn as many elemental magics as possible.  Sophie has already learned the Magic of Air and the Magic of Fire.  Nicholas doesn't have any friends in London, but he knows there is one person in London who could teach the twins the Magic of Water.  He's the oldest immortal human in the world:  Gilgamesh the King.  He has lived so long that he is insane.  And he is very angry with Flamel.

Dr. John Dee, the agent of the most dangerous of all the Dark Elders, is still hunting Flamel and the twins.  His failures are noticed by the Dark Elders.

"We were assured that all was in readiness...we were assured that Flamel would be captured and slain...we were assured that Perenelle would be disposed of and that the twins would be apprehended and delivered into our hands...And yet Flamel remains free...Perenelle is no longer imprisoned in a cell, though she is trapped on the island.  The twins have escaped.  And we still donot have the complete Codex.  We are disappointed."

Dee has been collecting monsters on Alcatraz Island. 

Sophie is forced to rely on the Witch of Endor's memories, which are essential for their survival.  But she risks losing her own memories, and she and Josh realize that there have been other twins in Nicholas and Perenelle's past, few who have survived.

Palamedes, the Sarcen Knight who fought with King Arthur, and William Shakespeare help Flamel and the twins continue their fight against the Dee.  Joan of Arc and Scathach attempt to use the ley line on Point Zero in front of Notre-Dame de Paris to help Perenelle, but Dee again interferred and they are lost.

Machiavelli joins Billy the Kid in San Francisco.  They have one mission:  to kill Perenelle Flamel.

Will Nicholas and Perenelle survive?  Can the Codex be retrieved from the Dark Elders?  And what will happen to Sophie and Josh?  The Sorceress is yet another exciting read, packed full of history and adventure.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Next up: 

The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott (2008)

*PLOT spoiler if you haven't read The Alchemist.

I am dying.
     Perenelle, too, is dying.
     The spell that has kept us alive these six hundred years is fading, and now we age a year for every day that passes.  I need the Codex, the Book of Abraham the Mage, to re-create the immortality spell; without it, we have less than a month to live.


The morning of May 31st Sophie and Josh led quiet lives.  Two days later, everything has changed.  Hecate awakened Sophie's powers, Perenelle has been imprisoned on Alcatraz, and the most dangerous magician in the world is chasing them, determined to do anything to get the last two pages of the Codex.

Traveling through a leygate, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scathach are now in Paris.  And not only is Dr. John Dee chasing them, Niccolo Machiavelli, the most powerful man in France, is joining in the chase.

"Find Flamel and the twins," Dee demanded.  "Capture them.  Kill Scathach if you can."

Flamel is able to find a friend in Paris, the Comte de Saint-Germain and his wife.  The Comte, Francis, and his wife, Joan (Joan of Arc), can offer the much-needed rest and food the group desperately needs. 

Josh can't help but feel jealous because his powers have not yet been awakened, and he sees the tremendous distance growing between him and Sophie.  He is not convinced that Flamel is to be trusted.

"Sis, we know next to nothing about these people...Flamel, Perenelle and Scathach.  The only thing we do know is that they've made you different - dangerously different.  They've taken us halfway across the world, and look where we are now...We can't trust them, Soph.  We shouldn't."

To try to earn Josh's trust, Nicholas gives him two gifts:  the last two pages of the Codex and the infamous Clarent - the sword of fire.  Using the sword, Josh realizes he'll do anything for his powers to be awakened.

Dr. Dee and Machiavelli are forced to fight the twins, Scatty and Flamel in Paris, and Dee will do anything to get what he wants.  Usually what Dee wants, Dee gets.

Meanwhile, Perenelle is held prisoner on Alcatraz.  

Can Sophie, Josh, Scatty, and Joan fight off the terrible monsters Dee and Machiavelli call upon to kill them?  Can Josh and Sophie stay united? 

I loved this book for a bunch of reasons.  It's packed with really interesting history, takes place in Paris, and the characters are easy to connect with.  There are parts of the book where you can't help but yell out, NO!  And feel the adrenaline of battle, the thrill of victory. 

After I graduated from college, I backpacked through western Europe.  I visited Paris three times.  The first time was a huge disappointment.  The second time was bitterly cold, but my third visit was everything I'd imagined.  I spent three weeks scouring all of the sights of the city, including the famous Ossuary of Denfert Rochereau (before it was remodeled).  My guide book said that I needed a flashlight for my visit to the catacombs, but I was traveling very light and on a tight budget.  And since it was a tourist sight, I figured how bad could it be?  I have never been so scared in my entire life!  A mile below the streets of Paris, water dripping from the curved ceiling, a low-watt bulb every 100+ feet, no one in sight, and millions of bones.  I loved that part of the story took place in one of the creepiest places I've ever seen.

I also loved when Nicholas went to visit his home in Paris.  Here are a couple of pictures of his house, which are cool to see after you read that part of the book.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Next up in the series:

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, by Michael Scott (2007)

I am legend.
     Death has no claim over me, illness cannot touch me.  Look at me now and it would be hard to put an age upon me, and yet I was born in the Year of Our Lord 1330, more than six hundred and seventy years ago.

Nicholas Flamel is the greatest alchemist of all time.  He can turn ordinary metal into gold, common stones into jewels, and he discovered the secret of eternal life.  Living in San Francisco with his wife, Perenelle, Nicholas Flamel will be 677 years old in September.

"There will come a time when the Book is taken..."

Fifteen-year old twins Sophie and Josh Newman are spending the summer working in San Francisco.  Sophie works at a coffee house and Josh works across the street at The Small Book Shop.  Unbeknownst to the twins, the owners of the book shop, Nick and Perry Flemming, are really the legendary Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. 

"...And the Queen's man is allied with the Crow..."

Nicholas and Perenelle are guardians of the most powerful book, the Book of Abraham the Mage.  The Codex holds ten thousand secrets.  In the wrong hands, the Elder Race would finally reclaim the earth and destroy humanity. 

"The the Elder will step out of the Shadows..."

Dr. John Dee, one of the most powerful and dangerous men in the world, wants the Codex.  And he'll do anything to get it. 

"...And the immortal must train the mortal. The two that are one must become the one that is all."

Now with the help of a 2,517-year old vampire, the Goddess with Three Faces, and the Witch of Endor, Nicholas, Sophie, and Nick must run for their lives and try to save the Codex from falling into the wrong hands. 

The Alchemyst is an exciting read if you enjoy fantasy, history, or action/adventure reads with great fighting scenes!  What I really enjoyed is how easy to connect to many of characters.  I also loved all of the history that is packed into the novel.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

To check out this book at NOLS, click HERE!

Next up:

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery, by Steve Sheinkin (2010)

It was a beautiful place to die.  The sky above the woods glowed blue, and the leaves on the trees were a riot of fall colors: sunshine yellow, campfire orange, blood red.

Benedict Arnold grew up in one of the richest families in Norwich, Connecticut.  But after a family tragedy, Arnold's father turned to alcohol and soon the family was deeply in debt.

The old man finally died in 1762, leaving his son with nothing but debts and a fouled family name. 

Arnold dedicated his life trying to recover his family name.

That was how Benedict Arnold lived his life.  There were long periods of hard work, occasionally interrupted by explosions of temper.  The work part was paying off - his business was thriving.

As one of the first volunteers, Arnold was elected to be the leader of the New Haven militia.  It was the first of many steps he thought he needed to take to restore the Arnold name.

Everyone still remembered the long decline of Arnold's family, still talked about his father's public drunkenness, his own wild youth.  This is what made the coming war with Britain so important to Arnold.  Yes, he believed in the cause of American independence, but there was much more to it.  War would be a heaven-sent chance to wipe out the marks against him, to soar up and over everyone who'd ever dared to judge him.

Benedict Arnold was a brilliant strategist and courageous on the battlefield.  He solved the problem of finding cannons and led (with the help of the Green Mountain Boys) the ten-minute attack on the British fort, Ticonderoga.  He captured the British warship George without firing a shot.  He led the attack to Quebec, marching his troops hundreds of miles in winter temperatures.  He built America's first naval fleet and he led the Battle for Valcour Island.

Benedict Arnold's little navy was gone.  But it had kept the American Revolution alive.

As talented as he was on the battlefield, Benedict Arnold was tormented by free time and politics.  And he wasn't the only man who had military ambitions.  Along the way, Arnold made enemies.

What led Benedict Arnold, once the greatest hero of the American Revolutionary War, to become the greatest villain in American history?  The Notorious Benedict Arnold is a good read for anyone who has an interest in American history, historical fiction, nonfiction, or fascinating reads about real heroes and villains.

Rating:  9 out of 10 stars

To check out this book at NOLS, chick HERE!

The Watch that Ends the Night, by Allan Wolf (2011)

THE SHIP RAT -
          follow the food
     follow the rats
               scuttle, scuttle
          follow the rats
                    scuttle, scuttle
               follow the food

Following 22 different voices - each from a different class and station - this novel shares the experience of the Titanic, the largest and most luxurious ship in the world.  Various people, such an immigrant, a millionaire, a gambler, a socialite, a dragon hunter, a tailor, a refugee, and an undertaker, share their story of the Titanic.  Others that worked for the White Star Line, such as a shipbuilder, a navigator, a spark, a wireless man on Carpathia, the bagpiper, a lookout, a stoker, a businessman, a junior officer, an entree cook, Captain E. J. Smith, and a postman describe their experiences.

Everyone was so confident that the Titanic was unsinkable.

I will say this with the certainty my thirty years at sea allow:
any absolute disaster involving the passengers is inconceivable.
Whatever happens, there will be time enough
before the vessel sinks to save the life of every person on board.
I will go a bit further: I will say that I cannot imagine
any condition that would cause the vessel to flounder.
Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that.

So he captained the maiden voyage with 606 people in first and second class, 710 people in third class, and 890 crew members across the North Atlantic Ocean.

Despite receiving several wireless transmissions about an immense ice field, the Titanic continued her fateful straight line to New York.

"Another ice message.  Enough with the bloody ice. 
I've got messages to send!"

No binoculars, on a moonless night.

As I speak up, I keep my eyes fixed
on the monster emerging from the night.
A monster that has already doubled in size.
No mistaking it now.

"Iceberg," I say.

"Iceberg, straight ahead!"

The world was stunned on the night of April 14, 1912.  The unsinkable Titanic. 

"My God."

The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them.
The clinometer showed a five-degree list to starboard.
The toothpick fell from my mouth to the wheelhouse floor.

Titanic was taking on water.

The Watch that Ends the Night is a good read if you enjoy reading historical fiction, if you like learning about early 20th century, if you're interested in learning more about the Titanic.  It's written in free verse, so it's a quick read, but there are parts that I thought were a bit awkward.  Even the iceberg and rats have a voice in this book.  It might be difficult for young teens to figure out the metaphor and I think these two things might distract several readers.

Rating:  7 out of 10 stars

*Not available at NOLS...yet!

Adios, Nirvana, by Conrad Wesselhoeft (2010)

"Hey, man, get down!"
     "Dude, don't be an idiot!"
     "It's my thicks calling to me.  They're standing just off the bridge, in the little park with the totem pole.  The one that looks out over Elliott Bay and downtown Seattle.

Sixteen-year-old Jonathan lives in Seattle with his "thicks," friends since preschool.  Their leader was Telly, Jonathan's twin brother.

Jonathan finds himself standing on the railing of a bridge during a snowy night in Seattle.  He's drunk.  He slips and falls, landing twenty feet below. 

"Jonathan, Jonathan,

when are you gonna fix your life?"

Telemachus (or Telly) got hit by a Metro bus on April 17 and died 27 days later.  Weeks later, one of Jonathan's teachers at Taft High School entered one of Jonathan's poems in the Quatch, Washington State's best young poet competition.  In October, Jonathan won, the youngest recipient in the history of the contest.

...I do have a friend: Dr. Robert Bramwell (a.k.a. "Birdwell").  He's my champion.  But he's also a hemorrhoid.  Because of him, I'm famous.  Because of him, people think I'm a prodigy.  They expect me to pull a rabbit out of a hat.  Part the Red Sea. 

Win the Nobel Prize.

But a letter from Dr. Jacobson (a.k.a. "Gupti the Witch") and a song request that changes everything.

"Here is one hard fact to consider:

on your present course,

you will not be promoted to

the twelfth grade in June."

Birdwell, the only one who isn't disappointed by him, finds Jonathan a job - writing .  A compensatory project equal to all the work he's missed.

An award-winning journalist and World War II veteran, David Cosgrove, wants Jonathan to write about his life.  David is dying in hospice care.  Reluctantly, Jonathan agrees to write the book.  David gives Jonathan a suitcase filled with pictures, letters, notebooks, and journals, his life during the war.

"For a long time, Jonathan,

I've needed to make peace with something. 

That's where you can help."

Adios, Nirvana beautifully illustrates how Jonathan heals from the loss of his twin brother.  It's poetic, raw, delicious.  It's a great book for guys, but I think most will love this book. 

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

*Language, sexual references

To check out this book at NOLS, click HERE!

Epitaph Road, David Patneaude (2010)

Charlie frowned as muted sunlight leaked through the ragged umbrella of evergreen boughs overhead.  Someone had discarded a red plastic Coke pouch in the middle of the trail.  Under his breath, he gave that someone a name: 'Pig.'  He stomped the pouch flat and stuffed it in his backpack.  Two days into the hike and already one big compartment was crammed with trash.

Monday, August 8, 2067 - 1 billion dead

Tuesday, August 9, 2067 - 2 billion dead

Thursday, August 11, 2067 - 3 billion dead

Ten days later, more than 4 billion people are dead.  Ninety-seven percent of the male population.

A terrible virus runs its deadly course in less than 24-hours.

Charlie, his sister, Paige, and his mom were hiking deep in the wilderness on the Olympic Peninsula when the virus hit.  They were waiting for Charlie and Paige's dad to join them, but he never did.  Instead Elisha's Bear took him, and 4 billion males, away.

Thirty years later, fourteen-year old Kellen lives in Seattle with his mom and Aunt Paige.   Kellen's dad, Charlie, is a loner, a fisherman near Afterlight, formerly Port Angeles.  His mom, Dr. Heather Dent, works for PAC, Population Apportionment Council.  PAC controls society by restricting male births: no more than five percent of the population should be male.

Kellen and his classmates are about to take the trials which will determine what they were able to do as an adult - if they'd have an education, career, and citizenship opportunities. 

According to everyone I'd talked to, the main thing to do when I underwent my trials - the oral parts anyway - was to impress the examiners with my knowledge and sensitivity, to look sincere when I was doing it, and to exhibit my awareness of how EVERYTHING (almost) HAD IMPROVED SINCE WOMEN TOOK OVER THE WORLD. 

Males don't do as well as females on the trials.  On average 87% of females pass, whereas 72% of males pass.  Males have very limited choices, even if they do pass. 

After Elisha's Bear, women quickly realized the world and its inhabitants were much better off without men.  Wars, crimes, illegal-drug demand, gangs, prostitution, pornography disappeared.  The United Nations gained power and countries merged.  Laws were created to prohibit men from holding positions of power or influence in the public or private sector.

This is the world Kellen is forced to live in.

Epitaph Road is an entrance to a park in Seattle.  It was created after Elisha's Bear.  Millions are buried there.

epitaph

1. an inscription on a monument, as on a gravestone.

2. a short piece of prose or verse written in honor of a dead person.

Kellen and his two new housemates, Tia and Sunday, uncover a theory about Elisha's Bear.  In an effort to save Kellen's dad, the teens discover a dark and terrifying secret.

You're a skeptic.
If you've heard certain things - conjecture, conspiracy theories, wild-eyed accusations - over the years, you've mostly snickered at them and hurried back to the comforts of what passes for reality.  But maybe one rumor - that die-hard, far-fetched, alternate-universe one about the origin of Elisha's Bear, about someone purposefully unleashing it - haunts you.  Maybe you're skeptical instead about the so-called truth you've been spoon-fed from an early age - the idea that the Bear just showed up on its own and targeted only males.
You should be.

Epitaph Road is an exciting read if you like action, adventure, suspense, and stories that take place in Seattle and on the Olympic Peninsula.

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Rating:  8 out 10 stars
*Mild language (about 6 swear words)