sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

August 3, 2011


into the stacks: the warlock
posted by soe 1:44 am

once upon a time challengeThe Warlock by Michael Scott (Book 5 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series)

From the jacket: “The twins of prophecy have been divided — the end has begun.”

My take: Honestly! I finished this book way back at the end of May and then couldn’t figure out a way to review the fifth of a six-book series without giving away key plot points.

Let’s just say that this mythology-driven series continues to be a strong one.

Twins Josh and Sophie, whose auras glow gold and silver respectively, turn out not to be the normal teenagers they’d always assumed they were, nor is anyone else quite what they seem. The elderly owners of the bookstore where Josh works turns out to have been Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, two gifted sorcerers. The Flamels’ yoga instructor friend is a vegetarian vampire who (along with her twin sister) was born in Atlantis before it fell. The aunt they have been staying with while their archaeologist parents are on a dig is thousands of years old — literally.

It’s only been a few weeks since the twins’ world started falling apart, but everything they thought that they knew, that they could trust, has disappeared. Is it any surprise that the one thing they’ve always leaned on to keep them out of trouble — their connection to one another — also is tested?

If you’ve read earlier parts of the series, you’ll know where the storyline is taking us. I admit I was surprised to learn author Michael Scott would be stopping at six books, as the traditional fantasy schema would dictate seven, and he’s got an awful lot of loose ends still to pull together.

I admit that about halfway through this novel, a plot device was introduced and I groaned because it was such an obvious out for where book six would go that I couldn’t believe Scott had availed himself of it. But then, on the last page, he pulled off a second twist that I totally didn’t see coming, which immediately required that I give him credit that he may yet pull a peacock out of his top hat instead of the expected rabbit. And I read it straight through, start to finish, in one sitting, which speaks worlds of any book these days.

If you haven’t read the series, start at the beginning, because it’s a very linear story chronologically, except that it’s not linear nor is it chronological. It is, however, a masterful work of storytelling, and Scott, whom I met when he read at Politics and Prose this spring, seems both genuinely nice and remarkably knowledgeable.

Michael Scott at Politics and Prose

And if you’re a returning reader, know you’re in for a good yarn that will keep you turning the pages.

Pages: 380


This was my third book for this spring’s Once upon a Time Challenge. Also, I reviewed books three and four on the blog as part of last year’s challenge.

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