The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel facts for kids
First Edition USA cover of The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
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| Author | Michael Scott |
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| Cover artist | Michael Wagner |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Doubleday (UK) Delacorte Press (US) |
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Publication date
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| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 461 |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-73358-8 |
| 823.914 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.S42736Mag 2008 |
| Preceded by | The Alchemyst |
| Followed by | The Sorceress |
The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (often called The Magician) is a fantasy novel by Michael Scott. It is the second book in the six-part series, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. This book continues the story from The Alchemyst. It was released on June 5, 2008, in the United Kingdom and June 24, 2008, in the United States. The book was nominated for an Irish Book of the Year Award.
Contents
Who is The Magician?
The title of the book, The Magician, refers to the main villain, John Dee. He works for powerful beings called the Dark Elders. John Dee wants the Dark Elders to return and rule Earth.
Michael Scott, the author, once said that John Dee was very talented. He could have been the hero of the series. In his own time, John Dee was mostly known as 'The Magician'.
What Happens in The Magician?
Twins Face New Dangers in Paris
Sophie and Josh Newman are 15-year-old twins. They are in Paris with the alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel, and his friend, Scathach. They now face two new enemies: Niccolò Machiavelli and John Dee. Both work for the Dark Elders.
Machiavelli plans to capture the twins and Flamel. He wants to use the missing pages of the Codex, also known as the Book of Abraham the Mage. He wants to do this before Dee arrives in France.
Learning New Powers
The twins look for a friend of Nicholas, Comte de Saint-Germain. He was once a student of Flamel. Saint-Germain teaches Sophie how to use the elemental magic of Fire.
Saint-Germain's wife, Joan of Arc, helps Sophie. Joan teaches Sophie to control her magical aura. She also helps Sophie sort out memories from the Witch of Endor that are now in her mind.
Nicholas gives Josh a special stone sword called Clarent. This sword is a twin to the famous Excalibur. Clarent is an ancient sword with Fire magic.
Battles and Captures
Josh, Joan, and Scathach meet three Disir, also known as Valkyries. The Disir are old enemies of Scathach. They bring a monster called Nidhogg, which eats souls. Nidhogg was once trapped in the roots of Yggdrasil, the world tree.
Nidhogg was freed after Dee destroyed Yggdrasil. The monster attacks Scathach but cannot kill her. Instead, it grabs Scathach and flies away when Josh wounds it with the sword Clarent. Meanwhile, Nicholas's wife, Perenelle Flamel, is captured and taken to Alcatraz.
Fighting in Paris
While Josh fights Nidhogg, Joan of Arc and Sophie battle two of the Disir. Sophie manages to freeze them in an iceberg. They then chase Nidhogg. Dee, Machiavelli, and Dagon (Machiavelli's helper) watch. They are upset that the Disir failed.
Machiavelli lets Dagon chase Nidhogg. Dagon's job is to kill Scathach if Nidhogg fails. The monster runs through Paris, causing much damage. One of the Disir and Josh follow it. They reach the Seine River. With Dee's help, Josh stops the Disir and escapes. He then leaves with Dee and Machiavelli.
Sophie, Joan, and Nicholas arrive and defeat the Disir and Nidhogg. As they talk to Scathach, Dagon bursts from the river. He drags Scathach into the water. She is not seen again in the book.
Perenelle's Escape on Alcatraz
On Alcatraz, Perenelle gets help from the ghost of Juan Manuel de Ayala. He is a Spanish sailor. She explores Alcatraz and finds old monsters in cells. The Morrigan attacks her because Dee wants her dead.
Underground, Perenelle meets Areop-Enap, a spider-like Elder. The Elder explains that Dee could not kill Areop-Enap. Other Elders would have investigated. Together, they stop the Morrigan and her many crows.
New Powers and Escapes
Sophie, Joan, and Nicholas decide to find Josh. Using Sophie's aura, they track Dee and his friends to the catacombs of Paris. There, Josh's magic awakens with the help of Mars Ultor. Josh gets a special "gift," like Sophie's from the Witch of Endor. Josh now has Mars's military knowledge.
When Sophie, Josh, and the others escape the catacombs, Dee and Machiavelli have set a trap. They make the gargoyles and statues of Paris come to life. Josh, Sophie, Saint-Germain, and Joan of Arc combine their powers to destroy the statues. Flamel and the twins escape on a train to London. Perenelle is still on Alcatraz and fears being caught again.
New Characters in The Magician
- Niccolò Machiavelli – An immortal Italian. He tries to find the missing pages of the Codex with Dee. He leads the French secret service. He is much smarter and more dangerous than Dee. His aura is grayish-white and smells like snakes.
- Comte de Saint-Germain – A former student of Nicholas Flamel. He is immortal. Saint-Germain is a master of Fire magic. He taught this magic to Sophie. He is also a famous rock star. His aura is red and smells like burnt leaves. He is married to Joan of Arc in this series.
- Joan of Arc – Also known as the Maid Of Orléans. She is good friends with Scathach, who saved her from death. Joan became immortal after Scathach gave her a blood transfusion. Scathach also taught Joan how to fight. Joan helped Sophie sort through the Witch of Endor's memories. She also taught Sophie how to shape her aura. Joan's aura is pure silver, like Sophie's, and smells like lavender.
- Areop-Enap – A Spider-like Elder. Dee imprisoned her deep in Alcatraz. Perenelle later sets her free.
- Juan Manuel de Ayala – The ghost of a Spanish sailor. He discovered and named Alcatraz Island. He is now its guardian. He helped Perenelle escape her cell by making noises. This distracted the Sphinx, which could absorb magic and keep Perenelle weak.
- Dagon – A creature that looks like a fish. His race existed before the Elders. Scathach destroyed the rest of his kind. He is Machiavelli's helper and friend. He was last seen dragging an unconscious Scathach into the Seine River, seeking revenge.
- Mars Ultor – Mars the Avenger. He lives in the catacombs of Paris. He awakened Josh's magic and gave him a gift. Josh does not know what it is yet. His aura, which is red-violet, was made solid by the Witch of Endor. It is now like a stone coating.
- Nidhogg – Also called "The devourer of corpses." A giant monster that loves to eat flesh. It was freed from its prison in the roots of the world tree, Yggdrasill, when Dee killed Hekate and the tree. It caused a lot of damage in Paris. It fell into the Seine River while trying to escape attacks from Josh and the magical sword Clarent.
- Disir – Also known as the Valkyries, the Shieldmaidens, or the Choosers of the Dead. The Disir are three immortal warrior women. They are sent to hunt Flamel and his group. They make a deal with Machiavelli. They can claim and kill Scathach, who is their enemy. Machiavelli and Dee will continue to hunt for Nicholas Flamel, the last pages of the Codex, and the twins.
Book Editions and Audio Versions
Special Editions and Covers
On August 5, 2010, in the UK, The Magician was re-released. It had a new style cover.
The Magician was also part of a special three-book set. This set was called The First Codex. It was released in the US on September 28, 2010.
Audiobook Version
The Magician is available as a full unabridged audiobook. The Listening Library released it on June 24, 2008. Erik Singer narrated the book. The audiobook ISBN numbers are: ISBN: 0-7393-6491-X (U.K) and ISBN: 978-0739364918(U.S.A).
Awards and Future Books
Award Nomination
- In 2009, The Magician was nominated for an Irish Book of the Year Award. It was for The Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children's Book of the Year – Senior Category.
Next in the Series
The next book in the series is The Sorceress. It was released on May 26, 2009, in the US and in June 2009 in the UK.
See also
In Spanish: El mago: Los secretos del inmortal Nicolas Flamel para niños
