The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

Covers of the first four novels.
The Alchemyst The Magician The Sorceress The Necromancer The Warlock The Enchantress
Author	Michael Scott
Cover artist	Michael Wagner
Country	Ireland
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy, Thriller, Young-adult fiction
Publisher	Random House
Published	22 May 2007
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback) Audiobook

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel will be a series of six fantasy novels written by Irish author Michael Scott when complete. Completion is due to be in 2012. The first book in the series, The Alchemyst was released in 2007, the sequels are scheduled to follow at the rate of one per year, concluding with the release of The Enchantress in 2012. The cover artist for the series is Michael Wagner. English language versions are printed by Doubleday (hardback) & Corgi (paperback) (imprints of Random House) in the UK and Australia, and by Delacorte Press (hardback & paperback) (an imprint of Random House) in the USA. As of November 2009, the book translation rights have been purchased by 37 countries and they have been translated into 20 languages.^[1] Each of the four titles released to date has featured in the top ten of the New York Times Best Seller Children's Books list, The Alchemyst reached #2 on 26 August 2007^[2] and as of 24 March 2008 it had sold in excess of 150,000 copies.^[3] The Magician reached #4 on 13 July 2008.^[4] The Sorceress reached #5,^[5] and The Necromancer reached #3.^[6] The first box set, titled The First Codex containing paperback versions of the first three books in the series was released on 28 September 2010 in the USA. The books have been nominated for various Teen literary & reader's awards. A collection of online games based upon the series added an unusual twist to their promotion. The film rights to the series have been bought by Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

Plot overview

The main story arc charts the adventures of fifteen year old twins Sophie and Josh Newman, whose regular lives working at their summer jobs (Sophie works in a coffee shop, Josh works in a bookstore) are turned upside down by the arrival of Dr. John Dee. Dr. Dee engages the bookstore owner Nick Fleming in a battle of magic in an attempt to steal an ancient book, The Book of Abraham the Mage (aka the Codex) from him. Dr. Dee snatches the book from Josh's grasp but Josh manages to retain two pages. Dr Dee also kidnaps Nick's wife Perry in the melee and imprisons her on Alcatraz Island.

After the battle Nick Fleming confesses to Josh and Sophie that his real name is Nicholas Flamel, that he is the French alchemist from history, that he is also immortal, and that the twins, himself and Perry (his immortal wife, Perenelle Flamel) are in grave danger. Nicholas tells the twins that he believes them to be mentioned in a prophecy within the Codex, and that the fate of the world as they know it could depend on his success in getting their latent magic awakened. He also tells them that without the Codex, both he and Perry will die within a month, as their immortality depends on a recipe for a special elixir found only within its pages.

Meanwhile Dr. Dee has found out that he is missing two very vital pages from the Codex. The pages are the Final Summoning, needed by him to return his masters, the Dark Elders, to the face of the earth ... and so begins a fast paced race as Dee pursues the twins, Nicholas for the pages of the Codex, whilst Nicholas aided by Scathach and others race to get the twins' latent magical auras awakened, to get them schooled in the use of the elemental magics, and to rescue his beloved Perry.

The stories criss-cross the globe featuring well known places and sites, such as San Francisco, London, the Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge and the Golden Gate Bridge. Many characters from history and mythology help both sides pursue their goals. In the first four books alone, Scathach, Hekate, Prometheus, the Witch of Endor, Gilgamesh, Niccolò Machiavelli, Bastet, Odin, William Shakespeare, Joan of Arc and Mars Ultor were just some of the characters that had entered this series.

Development

The idea for the series as a whole began in May 1997. Initially the series had Dr. Dee in the leading role,^[7] a historical character that Scott knew well having featured him in three of his other titles; Image, Reflection and The Merchant Prince. He wanted to bring Dr. Dee into the 21st Century and introduce him to a young audience that may not have heard of the historical doctor before,^[8] but he decided that Dr. Dee was too sinister and had dubious motivation. Inspiration struck one night when Scott took a wrong turn whilst wandering around Paris and happened upon Nicholas Flamel's house in the Rue du Montmorency.^[9] Having decided that he'd found the perfect mentor for the twins, Scott began plotting the series in earnest. He soon decided that it would be a six book series which would allow him to introduce many figures from history and mythology. In the five books released thus far, readers have been introduced to characters from Roman, Egyptian, Norse and Celtic mythologies and historical characters from the Elizabethan, Renaissance, Egyptian and Gilded eras. He has plotted the whole series to such an intricate level that his plot script is currently in excess of 80,000 words, equivalent to a book itself and that he even knows what the last words to the series will be.^[7]

Titles' significance

Each book in the series has a title character and there has been much speculation as to their identities. On 30 June 2010 the author issued this statement naming the titular characters so far.

"So, to lay this to rest, here's who the first four titles relate to.

The Alchemyst is Nicholas Flamel

The Magician is Doctor John Dee

The Sorceress is Perenelle Flamel

The Necromancer is (well, I'll not say it here until the book comes out in the rest of the world, but it's not Dr Dee!)"

Michael Scott As posted on his Flamel's Secret Fan Forum.^[10]

On 20 September 2010 Michael Scott identified the titular character of The Necromancer as Josh Newman.^[11]

Michael Scott revealed the identity of the titular character for The Warlock as Niccolo Machiavelli in a post on his forum on 9 August 2011.^[12]

Special editions & cover variations

On 5 August 2010 in the UK Necromancer was released featuring a new style cover, it was joined by The Alchemyst, The Magician and The Sorceress which were re-released with new covers in the same style.

The alternative covers, for the UK editions.

The Alchemyst, The Magician and The Sorceress were released as a special edition boxed set called The First Codex in the USA on 28 September 2010.

The First Codex, USA box set.

The series

In chronological order:

• The Alchemyst - Was released on 24 May 2007 (UK), 22 May 2007 (USA)
• The Magician - Was released on 5 June 2008 (UK), 24 June 2008 (USA)
• The Sorceress - Was released on 25 June 2009 (UK), 26 May 2009 (USA)
• The Necromancer - Was released 25 May 2010 (USA), 5 August 2010 (UK)
• The Warlock - Was released on 24 May 2011 (USA), 2 June 2011 (UK)
• The Enchantress - Will be released on 22 May 2012

Side stories:

• The Death of Joan of Arc - Released 24 August 2010 in eBook format^[13]
• Billy the Kid and the Vampyres of Vegas: A Lost Story from the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Will be released on 22 November 2011 in eBook format^[14]

Online games

"The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" series has spawned online games, the first related online game to be launched was The Codex Master^[15] The game is to guess a secret code consisting 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.

To celebrate the release of The Sorceress an online game was created.^[16] It was called The Challenges of the Elder^[17] and launched on 21 April 2009. Players are guided through the game, which is a set of four challenges, by video scenes featuring Michael Scott. The first task, the Alchemyst's challenge, required players to assemble a moving jigsaw of the series' logo against a countdown clock. The second task, the Magician's challenge, required players to turn over two books from a series of books and find matching symbols, when a matching pair was found both books burst into flames and disappeared. The task was complete when all the books had been matched. The third task, the Sorceress' challenge was a colour sequencing game where players chose coloured flasks and would have to repeat the sequence that they were shown in. Players then advanced to meet The Elder, who asked them a set of knowledge questions about the books and were given a 'coloured aura ranking' calculated from their scores and time taken to complete the tasks. To promote the USA release of The Necromancer Random House released an online game, The Quest for the Codex^[18] players were presented with a grid containing numbered squares and had to click on the squares to uncover hidden rewards, playing pieces and mini-games. When they completed the game they received online access to the first 6 chapters of The Necromancer.

Award nominations

The Alchemyst

• Irish Book of the Year 2008^[19]
• Kentucky Bluegrass Book Award^[20]
• Maine Student Book Award^[21]
• Nevada Young Readers Award^[22]
• NCSLMA YA Book Award - 2010^[23]
• Rhode Island Book Award 2008- (Winner)^[24]

To win the Rhode Island Book Award the Alchemyst had to beat 200 other titles that were entered.^[25]

The Magician

• 2009 Irish Book of the Year Award - The Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children's Book of the Year - Snr Category.^[26]

The Sorceress

• Amazon - Best Books of 2009,Top 10 Children's Books: Middle Readers.^[27]
• Cybills (Children and Young Bloggers Literary Awards) - 2009 Nominations, fantasy & science-fiction: Elementary/Middle Years.^[28]

Audiobooks

The five titles released so far have all been recorded as unabridged audiobooks.
The Alchemyst was narrated by Denis O'Hare.
The Magician was narrated by Erik Singer.
The Sorceress was narrated by Paul Boehmer.
The Necromancer was narrated by Paul Boehmer.
The Warlock was narrated by Paul Boehmer.

Film adaptation

Film rights for this book were initially sold in 2006 to New Line Cinema and Mark Burnett Productions with Mark Burnett being named as the producer at that time, and Eric Bress named as the script writer. The film was listed as in pre-production and reported at IMDb. Mention of the deal can still be found in the BBC archives^[29] The rights reverted back to Michael Scott and on 19 November 2009 it was announced in Variety Magazine^[30] that Lorenzo di Bonaventura had bought the film rights to the series. Michael Scott and Barry Krost will be the executive producers. The script writer has yet to be announced.

"Well, I have been promising news of the Flamel movie. Here's the press release. The movie was set up with New Line, but New Line were absorbed by Warner and the rights reverted to me. There has been tremendous interest in the series and eventually, it went to Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who is the man responsible for bringing Harry Potter to Warner when he was there. He genuinely loves this series. The next step now is to attach a writer - I will not write it, I have 3 more books to do!"

—Michael Scott As posted on his Flamel's Secret Fan Forum.^[31]

References

1. ^ Michael Scott. "Michael Scott-The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel-The Alchemyst". Dillonscott.com. http://www.dillonscott.com/the-secrets-of-the-immortal-nicholas-flamel/books/the-alchemyst.htm. Retrieved 24 November 2009. 
2. ^ Staff writer (26 August 2007). "Children's Books-New York Times 2007". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/books/bestseller/0826bestchildren.html?_r=1. Retrieved 10 July 2010. 
3. ^ Roback, Diane (24 March 2008). "Publisher's Weekly". Publisher's Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6543965.html?q=Michael+Scott. Retrieved 24 November 2009. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Staff writer (13 July 2008). "Children's Books-New York Times 2008". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/books/bestseller/0713bestchildren.html?_r=1. Retrieved 10 July 2009. 
5. ^ Staff writer (5 June 2009). "Children's Books-New York Times 2009". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/books/bestseller/bestchildren.html?_r=2. Retrieved 10 July 2010. 
6. ^ Staff writer (4 June 2010). "Children's Books-New York Times 2010". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/books/bestseller/bestchildren.html?_r=1. Retrieved 10 July 2010. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Staff, Writer (June 2008). "Author411 Q&A with Michael Scott". Random House. http://www.randomhouse.com/teachers/librarians/Author411_TheMagician_MichaelScott_June2008.html. Retrieved 25 November 2009. 
8. ^ Staff, Writer (28 August 2009). "eBookG-Interview with Michael Scott Q&A". eBookG. http://www.ebookg.com/The_Sorceress_The_Secrets_of_the_Immortal_41061. Retrieved 25 November 2009. 
9. ^ Goodnow, Cecilia (10 June 2007). "'The Alchemyst' could be the start of something Harry big in young-adult fantasy". Seattle PI. http://www.seattlepi.com/books/319116_alchemyst11.html. Retrieved 25 November 2009. 
10. ^ Quoted from http://flamelssecret.9.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=284&view=findpost&p=62292
11. ^ Scott, Michael (20 September 2010). "The identity of the Necromancer". http://flamelssecret.9.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=284&view=findpost&p=80287. Retrieved 24 September 2010. 
12. ^ Scott, Michael (9 August 2011). "The identity of The Warlock". http://flamelssecret.9.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=284&view=findpost&p=119579. Retrieved 9 August 2011. 
13. ^ "The Death of Joan of Arc". Amazon.com. 24 August 2010. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Z4JK9U/. Retrieved 5 September 2010. 
14. ^ http://www.randomhouse.com/book/217225/billy-the-kid-and-the-vampyres-of-vegas-a-lost-story-from-the-secrets-of-the-immortal-nicholas-flamel-by-michael-scott
15. ^ Random House, Teens (2007). "The Codex Master Game". Random House, U.S.A. http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/alchemyst/. Retrieved 25 November 2009. 
16. ^ Maughan, Shannon (30 April 2009). "The Sorceress’ Heats Up with Marketing Muscle". Publisher's Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6655416.html. Retrieved 25 November 2009. ^{[dead link]}
17. ^ Asylum, Creative (22 April 2009). "The Challenges of the Elder". RHCB. http://www.alchemystgame.com/. Retrieved 25 November 2009. 
18. ^ Random House, Teens (2010). "The Quest for the Codex". Random House, U.S.A. http://www.questforthecodex.com/. Retrieved 1 July 2010. 
19. ^ Staff writer (27 March 2008). "Book Award Shortlist". RTE.ie. http://www.rte.ie/arts/2008/0327/bookawards.html. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
20. ^ Staff writer. "2009 Master List @ The Kentucky Bluegrass Award". K.B.A. http://kba.nku.edu/lists/2009.shtml. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
21. ^ Staff writer. "Maine Student Book Award 2008-2009". MSBA. http://efolio.umeedu.maine.edu/~masl/msba/0809.html. Retrieved 27 November 2009. ^{[dead link]}
22. ^ Staff writer. "Nevada Library Association - Nevada Young Readers' Award". NYRA. http://www.nevadalibraries.org/Divisions/NYRA/. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
23. ^ Staff writer. "NCSLMA YA BOOK AWARD - 2010 High School Voting Ballot". NCSLMA. http://sites.google.com/site/ncslmayabookaward/high-school/voting-ballot-high-school. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
24. ^ Staff writer (19 March 2009). "2009 RI Teen Book Award Winner". O.L.I.S. http://www.olis.ri.gov/rhodarian/?p=528. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
25. ^ Staff writer (17 March 2009). "2009 RI Teen Book Award Winner - Press Release". R.I.T.B.A. http://www.olis.ri.gov/news/2009/ritbawinner.pdf. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
26. ^ Staff writers. "Irish Book Awards Category page". http://www.irishbookawards.com/AwardDetails.aspx#cat132883. Retrieved 22 November 2009. 
27. ^ Staff writers. "Best Children's Books of 2009". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&plgroup=2&docId=1000446391. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
28. ^ Staff writers. "2009 Nominations, fantasy & science fiction". Dadtalk.typepad.com. http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/2009-nominations-fantasyscience-fiction.html. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
29. ^ Arendt, Paul (21 November 2006). "High Noon-New Line Immortalises Flamel". BBC.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2006/11/21/high_noon_november_21_2006_news_article.shtml. Retrieved 24 November 2009. 
30. ^ McNary, Dave (18 November 2009). "DiBonaventura sets up 'Secret' Company to produce 'Nicholas Flamel' series". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011546.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 22 November 2009. 
31. ^ Quoted from http://flamelssecret.9.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=29&st=90

External links

• Authors site Author's website
• Publishers Website Publisher's website
• Approved fan site Author endorsed fan site featuring monthly podcasts.
• Approved Flamel Forum Author endorsed fan forum visited daily by the author.