I meant to do the sequel of Karavans today, but I have to return this book to the library and I wanted to write about it before I did. Today I have another fantasy offering for you, and this time it’s from a New York Times Bestselling Author. Get ready for Michael Scott’s The Magician {The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel}.
The book mixes fantasy and a real-world setting, which I think is always fun. It’s really difficult to sum up this book, even though it’s another one where really not much happened in the grand scheme of things. Basically there are humans, immortals, and Elders. Humans can gain immortality on their own (it’s very rare for this to happen) or gain it from an Elder in return for undying devotion to that Elder (also rare). Of course, mythology fans will know about Nicholas Flamel, a French alchemist who is said to have lived a very long life thanks to his ability to create sorcerer’s stones/the elixir of life/whatever. There’s also magic, or power, and immortals tend to have it. Humans can, too.
Flamel gets his elixir recipe from a book called the Codex in the story, and the Codex has a lot of other stuff in it. Among this information is a prophecy predicting the coming of a pair of twins with a silver and gold aura. Their power will either save the world or end it (presumably by preventing or causing the return of the Elders to power on earth). The book is about Flamel traveling with the twins, training them and protecting them from men associated with the Elders. These dudes want to capture them for their own purposes.
Strengths:
The quality of the writing is sound, and the novel is action-packed, which makes for a great page-turner. However, the book is loaded with delicious mythology and contains everything from oni to Valkyries. I would like to read it again and just look everything up, even the things I’m familiar with to see if there are alternate uses. I get a kick out of seeing creatures and mythology in books. There’s also lots of history in there… in fact, Joan of Arc is one of the characters! The author also tries to get some science in, but it’s all rudimentary and seemed tacked on compared to the depth of the mythological and historical references. The magic/power system is also interesting.
Weaknesses:
The story is more about the plot than the characters, and other than being delighted with seeing Joan of Arc with magic, I didn’t really care about any of them. This is probably because the story was all action with very little breathing room. Hence, there were almost no “chill and build character” scenes. However, it’s important to note that this is apparently the second book of the series, something which is not to be found on the cover, spine, or back of the book (unless the library sticker is covering it). This means that the characters may have been the focus of the first book. Frankly the complete lack of trust in the group frustrated me, even though it was understandable and likely given the plot. However, as a trusting person I was a little repulsed by everyone agonizing over who to trust.
Overall it was an interesting read that could serve as a page-turner or a dense mythology lesson depending on the effort put forth by the reader. I might try to find the first and third of the series. Although I did not become emotionally invested in the story, the mythology references and interesting magic system may be enough to get me to read more.
~Jen
I saw Holmes today! I wanted to do a quick review.
Let me just throw out my general assessment: this was a fun movie, but nothing amazing. It’s worth seeing if you like action movies or are a big fan of Holmes, as I am. Even if you are, it’s not going to rock your world, but it will entertain you.
I’ve read most of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work (quite recently in fact, I went through a “complete collection” thing during my breaks at my job this summer) and I really enjoy it. My only complaint with Sherlock Holmes is the fact that you can rarely solve the mystery alongside him, as his powers of deduction are so strong that they are superhuman. He also doesn’t clue you in on things as he goes along, because he never discusses things until the end, and Watson is not as good at providing vital information to the reader as Sherlock would be if the stories were told from his perspective. Sadly, this carried into the movie, so I didn’t even think of it as a mystery.
In fact, the movie is presented as an action flick. There are even explosions, which I didn’t expect from a movie about Holmes. These sequences are visually entertaining, especially when Holmes plans things out ahead of time in his mind and then carries it out. On one hand, I was tempted to be discouraged by the fact that the Holmes story turned into an action one, but meh, it was fun.
I didn’t like the fact that the characters presented the case in the movie as a “Holmes, you must save the world!” kind of situation. Of course, the matter turned out to be much smaller than originally presented, but the whole time I was thinking “he’s an investigator, not a super hero.” Anyone who has read The Hound of the Baskervilles knows what will happen as soon as magic is brought up as being involved in the case.
Let’s see, Dr. Watson was a lot of fun, I enjoyed his presentation a lot. I don’t know if he would have really argued with Holmes as much as he did in the movie, but it was funny.
One last comment is that the movie added a romance between Irene (from A Scandal in Bohemia) and Holmes. In the case, Holmes does seem to be attracted to Irene, but insists that emotions get in the way of rational thought, so he never pursues her. However, the relationship was portrayed in a way befitting of Holmes- no trust, lots of comical give and take, and no real sense of permanence- so it wasn’t too unpalatable.
The acting was good and I really enjoyed the interactions between the characters. I did have trouble understanding Holmes when he spoke though. You had to sort of…adjust to his accent. After a while I got it, but I missed a lot of his dialogue in the beginning.
So yeah, it was a fun ride, but wasn’t the kind of movie you’ll remember forever. Go see it if you like Holmes though! Dr. Watson was just adorable <3
~Jen
