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The Alchemyst
''The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'' (often shortened to ''The Alchemyst'') is the first installment in the six volume fantasy novel series, ''The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel''. It was written by Irish author Michael Scott (Irish author), Michael Scott and published in May 2007. ''The Alchemyst'' has been translated into 20 languages, and is available in 37 countries. Title character The "Alchemyst" refers to the historical character of Nicolas Flamel, a French scrivener and manuscript seller, although being referred to as "Nicholas Flamel" with an "h" in the name in the series. Flamel developed a posthumous reputation for being an alchemy, alchemist and for his search for the philosopher's stone and immortality. Plot summary Sophie and Josh Newman are 15-year-old twins who are working at their summer jobs in The Coffee Cup in San Francisco (Sophie works at The Coffee Cup, Josh works at the bookstore on the other side of the street) wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Scott (Irish Author)
Michael Peter Scott (born 28 September 1959) is an Irish people, Irish writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and, under the name Anna Dillon, romance novels. He is also a collector and editor of folklore. Scott is best known for his ''The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'' book series. Career Early Career Scott traveled across Ireland as a dealer of rare and antique books before beginning his writing and directing career. Writing Scott has produced over 100 books in more than 30 years of active writing. He has written short stories and novels for adults, young adults, and children, in many genres including science fiction, fantasy, horror, folklore, and romance. His first book (inspired by his fascination with Irish mythology), ''Irish Folk and Fairy Tales, volume 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 collection. The Irish Folk and Fairy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ley Lines
Ley lines () are straight alignments drawn between various historic structures, prehistoric sites and prominent landmarks. The idea was developed in early 20th-century Europe, with ley line believers arguing that these alignments were recognised by ancient societies that deliberately erected structures along them. Since the 1960s, members of the Earth Mysteries movement and other Western esotericism, esoteric traditions have commonly believed that such ley lines demarcate "Energy (esotericism), earth energies" and serve as guides for alien spacecraft. Archaeologists and scientists regard ley lines as an example of pseudoarchaeology and pseudoscience. The idea of "leys" as straight tracks across the landscape was put forward by the English antiquary, antiquarian Alfred Watkins in the 1920s, particularly in his book ''The Old Straight Track''. He argued that straight lines could be drawn between various historic structures and that these represented trade routes created by ancien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teleportation
Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction and fantasy literature. Teleportation is often paired with time travel, being that the traveling between the two points takes an unknown period of time, sometimes being immediate. An apport is a similar phenomenon featured in parapsychology and spiritualism. There is no known physical mechanism that would allow for teleportation. Some scientific papers and media articles describe "quantum teleportation", a scheme for quantum information transfer, which does not allow for faster-than-light communication. Etymology The use of the term ''teleport'' to describe the hypothetical movement of material objects between one place and another without physically traversing the distance between them has been documented as early as 1878. American writer Charles Fort is credited with having coined the wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hummer
Hummer (stylized in all caps) is an American brand of Pickup truck, pickups launched in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a model under GMC (automobile), GMC in 2020. In 1998, General Motors (GM) purchased the brand name from and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, Hummer H1, based on the military Humvee, as well as the new Hummer H2, H2 and Hummer H3, H3 models, which were based on smaller, civilian-market GM Automobile platform, platforms. By 2008, Hummer's viability in the Late-2000s recession, economic downturn was questioned. Rather than being transferred to the Motors Liquidation Company as part of the GM bankruptcy in 2009, the brand was retained by GM, to investigate its sale. No final deal was made, and in 2010, Hummer dealerships began shutting down. The nameplate returned to the marketplace for the 2022 model year, not as a separate brand but as an electr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Necromancy
Necromancy () is the practice of Magic (paranormal), magic involving communication with the Death, dead by Evocation, summoning their spirits as Ghost, apparitions or Vision (spirituality), visions for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events and discover hidden knowledge. Sometimes categorized under ''death magic'', the term is occasionally also used in a more general sense to refer to black magic or witchcraft as a whole. Etymology The word ''necromancy'' is adapted from Late Latin : a loan word from the Koine Greek, post-Classical Greek (, or 'divination through a dead body'), a compound of Ancient Greek (, or 'dead body') and (, or 'divination'). The Koine Greek compound form was first documented in the writings of Origen, Origen of Alexandria in the 3rd century AD. The Classical Greek term was (), from the episode of the ''Odyssey'' in which Odysseus visits the realm of the dead souls, and in Hellenistic Greek; in Classical Latin, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prophecy
In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or preternatural knowledge, for example of future events. They can be revealed to the prophet in various ways depending on the religion and the story, such as visions, or direct interaction with divine beings in physical form. Stories of prophetic deeds sometimes receive considerable attention and some have been known to survive for centuries through oral tradition or as religious texts. Etymology The English noun "prophecy", in the sense of "function of a prophet" appeared from about 1225, from Old French ''profecie'' (12th century), and from ''prophetia'', Greek language">Greek ''propheteia'' "gift of interpreting the will of God", from Greek ''prophetes'' (see prophet). The related meaning, "thing spoken or writt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witch Of Endor
The Witch of Endor (), according to the Hebrew Bible, was consulted by Saul to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel. Saul wished to receive advice on defeating the Philistines in battle after prior attempts to consult God through sacred lots and other means had failed. However, what was summoned (whether the actual ghost of Samuel or a spirit impersonating him) delivered a prophecy of doom against Saul and his army, who were defeated. This event occurs in 1 Samuel 28:3–25 and is also mentioned in the deuterocanonical Book of Sirach. Etymology The Hebrew Bible calls her "a woman, possessor of an ''ʾōḇ'' at En Dor," apparently a settlement around a spring. The word ''ov'' has been suggested by Harry A. Hoffner to refer to a ritual pit for summoning the dead from the netherworld based on parallels in other Near Eastern and Mediterranean cultures. The word has cognates in other regional languages (cf. Sumerian ''ab'', Akkadian ''âbu'', Hittite ''a-a-bi'', Ugaritic ''i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Arthur
According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the Sub-Roman Britain, post-Roman Britons in battles against the Anglo-Saxons in the late-5th and early-6th centuries. He first appears in two early medieval historical sources, the ''Annales Cambriae'' and the ''Historia Brittonum'', but these date to 300 years after he is supposed to have lived, and most historians who study the period Historicity of King Arthur, do not consider him a historical figure.Tom Shippey, "So Much Smoke", ''review'' of , ''London Review of Books'', 40:24:23 (20 December 2018) His name also occurs in early Welsh-language literature, Welsh poetic sources, such as ''Y Gododdin''. The character developed through Welsh mythology, appearing either as a great warrior defending Britain from human and supernatura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Excalibur
Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. Excalibur as the "sword in the stone" functioning as the proof of Arthur's lineage is an iconic motif featured throughout most works dealing with Arthur's youth since its introduction in Robert de Boron's ''Merlin''. The sword given to the young Arthur by the Lady of the Lake in the tradition that began soon afterwards with the '' Post-Vulgate Cycle'' is not the same weapon, but in '' Le Morte d'Arthur'' both of them share the name of Excalibur. Several similar swords and other weapons also appear within Arthurian texts, as well as in other legends. Forms and etymology The name ''Excalibur'' ultimately derives from the Welsh ( Breton , Middle Cornish ), which is a compound of , , and , . Caledfwlch appears in several early Welsh wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yggdrasill
Yggdrasil () is an immense and central sacred tree in Norse cosmology. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in the ''Prose Edda'' compiled in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that is central to the cosmos and considered very holy. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their traditional governing assemblies. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations; one to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the well Mímisbrunnr. Creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the dragon Níðhöggr, the squirrel Ratatoskr, the hawk Veðrfölnir, and the stags Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór. Scholars generally consider '' Hoddmímis holt'', ''Mímameið ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pocket Universe
A pocket universe or bubble universe, also called pocket dimension, is a concept in inflationary theory, proposed by Alan Guth. Description It defines a realm like the one that contains the observable universe as only one of many inflationary zones. Astrophysicist Jean-Luc Lehners, of the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, has argued that an inflationary universe does produce pockets. In his 2012 journal, Lehners wrote about how pocket universes can emerge as a result of eternal inflation. The mechanisms of inflation within these pocket universes could function in a variety of manners, such as slow-roll inflation, undergoing cycles of cosmological evolution, or resembling of the Galilean genesis or other 'emergent' universe scenarios. Lehners goes on to discuss which one of these types of universes we live in, and how that is dependent on the measurement of the regulation of infinities inherent in eternal inflation. But, Lehners continues, "the current leading m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
