The Warlock (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

"Follow your hearts. Protect one another, trust one another, because, at the end of the day, all of these people want something from you, or want you to do something for them, or be something that you are not. Your only responsibility is to one another." - Niten the Swordsman, also known as Miyamoto Musashi, to Josh and Sophie Newman in The NecromancerWhen Niten spoke to words to Josh and Sophie, the both agreed with him. For Josh, Niten's words echoed almost exactly what he had been thinking privately for days. Unlike his twin, Josh Newman had been mistrustful of the immortal humans, Next Generation and Elders almost from the moment, just a week ago, when he and Sophie discovered they existed. Yet a mere twenty-four hours after agreeing with Niten wholeheartedly, Josh would turn his back on his sister, leave her behind in favor of escape with the immortal humans John Dee and Virginia Dare - who have, up until now, been the twins' enemies. He may have chosen to leave of his own free will, or he may have been influenced by Dr. Dee's very persuasive lies and powerfully compelling spells (Dr. Dee is the Magician, after all). He might even be yet under the control of Mars Ultor, the Elder who awakened him. Josh's motivation is unclear, but the result is not. The struggle to determine the fate of humanity and the world is drawing perilously close and Josh and Sophie Newman, the gold and silver twins of legend, are standing on opposite sides.After six hundred years, it seems that Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel must surely fail. They have lost the Codex - the Book of Abraham the Mage - and with it the formula for immortality. With each passing day the Flamels age and weaken; the constant demand on their auras over the past week has only hastened their inevitable demise. Josh's betrayal, whether voluntary or not, spells doom for humanity and it is this blow, after the many risks and sacrifices, that has stolen the last of Nicholas Flamel's power. He now lies unconscious and it is unclear whether he will ever wake again.Perenelle Flamel must now face the horrors of Alcatraz - and the end of the human world - without Nicholas by her side. Before his failure to capture the Newman twins and kill the Flamels made him an outlaw with his Dark Elder masters, Dr. John Dee imprisoned a collection of monsters - creatures that represent the very darkest of humanity's fears - on Alcatraz Island in preparation for setting them loose on San Francisco and the rest of the world. Perenelle is determined to eliminate that looming threat before another servant of the Dark Elders can set the plan in motion. But she never expected to be so very alone.Scathach and Joan of Arc disappeared while passing through a leygate between Paris and San Francisco. Perenelle believes they were cast back in time, but in actuality they have travelled to a Shadowrealm created by the mysterious hook-handed man. After seeking assistance form Tammuz the Green Man - Palamedes's Elder Master - the Comte de Saint-Germain, Palamedes and William Shakespeare have been flung into the same Shadowrealm to be reunited with Scatty and Joan. The hook-handed man, who calls himself Marethyu (the ancient word for death) tells Scathach, Joan, St. Germain, Palamedes and Shakespeare that they must travel back in time, to the very battle that caused the destruction of Danu Talis. If the ancient island kingdom, which has also been known as Atlantis, does not fall, the world of humans will never have had the chance to exist.In the California of the present day, Perenelle's possible allies have fared no better. Aiofe of the Shadows, Scathach's twin, sacrificed herself to drive the Archon Coatlicue back into her Shadowrealm prison. The two are now locked in eternal combat, sealed in a world that holds only darkness. Prometheus, the Elder who taught Josh Newman Fire Magic, exhausted himself when he helped Nicholas and Perenelle track the boy into Dee's lair using an ancient crystal skull. He now has so little power left that his own Shadowrealm is disintegrating around him. So Perenelle fears she must fight the next battle alone, as she has always known she would. Almost seven hundred years ago, the hook-handed man foretold the child Perenelle's future, and with it, the future of the world. She has always known what she must do, now it only remains to do it.Events race toward what must surely be an explosive conclusion in this, the penultimate novel in Michael Scott's series, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. A combination of myth and legend and folktale with the very best of urban fantasy, this series has been exciting and compelling and surprising and all sorts of other `ings' right from the very start. The characters are rich and complex, it is virtually impossible to tell who, if anyone, is being entirely truthful. In The Warlock, Mr. Scott does a masterful job drawing all of the story threads - both major and minor - together, just in time for The Enchantress, the sixth and final novel, which is due for publication in the summer of 2012. The last time I waited this anxiously for a series finale, it was 2007 and the book was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

This is a very good book, though it has a few flaws in my opinion, but still worthy of 5 stars.Good:Strong cast of characters.Strong narrative.Interweaving series of events that really give the book depthDare and a few other characters really are a mystery based on some of their actions. They do some really evil things, then some good things. It makes you wonder what their motivations are and what they will really do.Meh:I dont like what is happening to my favorite character (josh)Nicholas only had like 4 lines throughout the entire book (2nd fav character)Why does every little thing make Sophie get an upset stomach??? seriously...Cliff hanger ending. I dont want to wait a year for the final book!The biggest gripe I have is that the book really couldnt stand on its own like some books in a series. It really felt purely like it was setting up for the final book where as most of the other books felt like they could stand on their own as a story.If you are a fan of the series, give it a go you wont be disappointed, and here is to a year wait for the final book!

I love this series of books. This is the second time I have read these stories. Reading them a second times makes me fall in love with the series all over again. I get up in the morning, grab my Kindle and I am doing what I fell in love with in my youth -- READING.

Front pages badly cut.

This is my favorite book in the series. Another reviewer said that the series is even more addictive than the Harry Potter series, I couldn't agree more. I loved everything about it, my only problem was that Scott finished where he did. I mean I like the surprise and all when, sorry I can't say who shows up, all I can say is that it is the biggest surprise of the series, so it should have been saved for the last book's begining. That's my opinion. But otherwise I loved it. Scott really makes you think about how perspective can define right and wrong in others eyes. He also makes you care about characters like Macciavelli and Billy. If he can make you care about all the characters that's the sign of a good author. And Dee's desent into madness makes you hopeful there arn't real people as crazy as him. He's almost as bad as Drake in the Gone series, another great series you have to read. When you find out how old Aunt Agnes really is your eyes will near about pop out of your head. And if you want to know what the surprise at the end is you'll have to read it from cover to cover. Cause if you are anything like me that's the only way you can read it. Ha Ha.

The Warlock is just one book of this remarkable series of books, and it is better to comment on the whole series as I just finished reading them all, back to back. I'm 76, been reading sci fi and fantasy since I was 12 or so, that is a slew of books. And that includes all the recent series of books that have been published as "young adult" literature, and I have found them all entertaining reading. And, I have to put this series by Michael Scott at the top of the list, more interesting characters, more twists and turns and surprize in the plot that you can imagine, and not a dull moment through the whole series. I really recommend them if you have any taste at all for this kind of literature. Just give yourself some space to read, once you start, it is very difficult to stop. Enjoy!

I really enjoyed the way the series way written. And the inter action between the characters.

I'm not a fan of reading a series of books part 1 to part 6. This was the very first series I've read with the fear that it might disappoint me. And I'd have to read a series of books I did not like. Well guess what I love this series it's the second time of me reading it from book 1 to book 6. I understood it better the second time around. I hope mr. Scott keeps on writing new books because I've become a fan to his books. Thank you Mr. Scott.

Was a great series to read. 6 books total. I enjoyed them all

Excelente calidad.

I am not exaggerating when I say this is the best book I have Ever read. And I have read so, so many books. I have two full shelves of books and yet out of all of them I choose this specific one. I would truly give it a 19/10

I'd read the first 4 books in spanish, had to move to english cus couldn't find the esp version anywhere but honestly reading it in the "original" language is a complete different experience, sadly Im onto the last one hopefully i'll find more titles as intriguing as this one.

Fantastic book all the stories are coming togetherThe twist in the tail keeps you turning every page Every character has their own tail