''The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'' (often shortened to ''The Alchemyst'') is the first installment in the six volume

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novel series, ''

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel ''The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'' is a series of six fantasy novels written by Irish author Michael Scott, completed in 2012. The first book in the series, '' The Alchemyst'', was released in 2007, and the sequels were released ...

''. It was written by Irish author

Michael Scott Michael Scott, Michael Scot, or Mike Scott may refer to: Academics * Michael Scot (1175 – c. 1232), mathematician and astrologer * Michael L. Scott (born 1959), American academic and computer scientist * Mike Scott, British linguist and designer ...

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 Nicolas Flamel (; 1330 – 22 March 1418) was a French ''écrivain public'', a draftsman of public documents such as contracts, letters, agreements and requests. He and his wife also ran a school that taught this trade. Long after his death, ...

, a French

scrivener A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who, before the advent of compulsory education, could literacy, read and write or who wrote letters as well as court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying w ...

and

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...

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

alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

and for his search for the

philosopher's stone The philosopher's stone is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold or silver; it was also known as "the tincture" and "the powder". Alchemists additionally believed that it could be used to mak ...

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) when a mysterious man,

John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, ...

, comes into the bookstore for a book, the ''

Codex The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

'' – or ''Book of Abraham the Mage''. Josh witnesses both Nick and Perry using

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

. He discovers that Nick is not an ordinary bookseller, but is the medieval and the legendary alchemist, Nicholas Flamel, being kept alive by making the

elixir of life The elixir of life (Medieval Latin: ' ), also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker Immortality, eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to Panacea (medicine), cure all diseases. Alch ...

(a secret from the ''Codex'') for him and his wife, Perenelle. Dee also uses magic and takes the ''Codex'' by force while Josh is holding it – resulting in two pages being left behind; "The Final Summoning" pages that Dee needs to raise the Dark Elders, the beings whom Dee serves, and who have kept him immortal for several hundred years. 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 Sophie and Josh 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 is 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 Hecate ( ; ) is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. She is variously associated ...

, a powerful three-faced Elder, who can awaken the twins' magical potential. Dee discovers this, and enlists the aid of

Bastet Bastet or Bast (), also known as Ubasti or Bubastis, is a goddess of ancient Egyptian religion, possibly of Nubian origin, worshipped as early as the Second Dynasty (2890 BC). In ancient Greek religion, she was known as Ailuros (). Bastet was ...

and the Morrigan. The trio mount a massive assault on Hekate's shadowrealm, to destroy

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 t ...

– 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, Flamel, and the twins attempt to escape the shadowrealm. While escaping, they encounter Dee and witness the power of the ancient Ice Elemental sword,

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''. E ...

. 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 Flamel 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. Flamel, Scathach, and the twins travel to Scathach's grandmother, the

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 a ...

(also called "The Mistress of Air"), who teaches Sophie her magical secrets quickly by giving the girl all the witch's knowledge and the power to know how to use air magic. While they are there, Dee has found out that a

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 di ...

in the ''Codex'' speaks of Sophie and Josh. He tempts Josh to join him while using

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 ...

to raise thousands of corpses to assault the Elders, Flamel, and Sophie. Josh almost agrees, but at the last moment, he realizes he will lose Sophie if he agrees. Dee brings all the dead in a nearby cemetery alive and they start to attack them, Josh hits Dee with their

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 (automob ...

, distracting Dee long enough to escape with Scathach, Sophie and Nicholas Flamel by using a (a

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 tim ...

device where two or more lines of energy,

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 recognis ...

, cross each other) to go to Paris which is Nicholas Flamel's old home. The book ends when Dee surprises them.

Special editions and cover variations

On 5 August 2010 in the UK, ''The Alchemyst'', was re-released featuring an alternate cover. ''The Alchemyst'' was released as part of a special edition boxed 3 book set called ''The First Codex'' in the US on 28 September 2020

Audio book

''The Alchemyst'' is also available as an

unabridged An abridgement (or abridgment) is a condensing or reduction of a book or other creative work into a shorter form while maintaining the unity of the source. The abridgement can be true to the original work in terms of mood and tone, capturing th ...

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

. It was released by the Listening Library on 22 May 2007 and narrated by

Denis O'Hare Denis Patrick Seamus O'Hare (born January 17, 1962) is an American actor noted for his award-winning performances in the plays '' Take Me Out'' and '' Sweet Charity'', as well as portraying vampire king Russell Edgington on the HBO fantasy serie ...

. The audiobook ISBN numbers are: (UK), (US).

Award nominations

* Irish Book of the Year – 2008 * Kentucky Bluegrass Book Award * Rhode Island Teen Book Award – 2008 (Winner) *Bisto Book of the Year Award – 2008 * CBI Shadowing Award – 2008 * Maine Student Book Award – ranked 10th * Nevada Young Readers Award * NCSLMA YA Book Award – 2010

Online games

The first related online game to be launched was ''The Codex Master''. The object is to get money and 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 adaptation

Film rights for the book were originally sold to

New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...

and Mark Burnett Productions in 2006.

Eric Bress Eric Bress is an American screenwriter, film director and producer, best known for his work on the ''Final Destination'' series and ''The Butterfly Effect''. He frequently collaborates with J. Mackye Gruber. His most recent project, '' The Alch ...

was confirmed as the writer in 2007. In November 2009 it was announced that

Lorenzo di Bonaventura Lorenzo di Bonaventura (; born January 13, 1957) is an American film producer and the founder and owner of Di Bonaventura Pictures. He is best known for producing the ''G.I. Joe (film series), G.I. Joe'' and Transformers (film series), ''Transfo ...

had bought the film rights to the series. Michael Scott and Barry Krost were set to be the executive producers, with the script writer being unannounced. On 20 June 2012 it was announced that the Australian company AMPCO Films had optioned the film. Michael Scott would write the screenplay. Production was due to start in early 2013 and filming would take place in Australia and New Zealand. Dick Cook Studios had boarded the production of the film by October 2019 with expectations that the film would start production as its second project in early 2021.

Sequels

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 the fourth book was released 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. The fifth book, '' The Warlock: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'' was released on 24 May 2011 in America. The final book in the series,'' The Enchantress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'', was released 24 May 2012.

References

External links

Author's website

Publisher's website

Official Flamel Forum
Author's fan forum. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alchemyst: The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel 2007 American novels Young adult fantasy novels American young adult novels American fantasy novels Novels by Michael Scott (Irish author) 2007 fantasy novels Novels about alchemy Delacorte Press books Doubleday (publisher) books Novels set in San Francisco Celtic mythology in popular culture Greek and Roman deities in fiction Norse mythology in popular culture Bastet Hecate Witch of Endor