The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
Encyclopedia
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel will be a series of six
Hexalogy
A hexalogy is a compound literary or narrative work that is made up of six distinct works, just as a trilogy is made up of three works, and a tetralogy of four. The word apparently first appeared in English as a borrowing from German, in discussions of August Bungert's Wagnerian opera cycle...

 fantasy novels written by Irish author Michael Scott
Michael Scott (Irish author)
Michael Scott is an Irish author.Michael Scott is a seasoned and prolific writer of over 100 books during his 25 plus years of writing thus far...

 when complete. Completion is due to be in 2012. The first book in the series, The Alchemyst
The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel is the first novel in the six book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. It is written by Irish author Michael Scott and was published in May 2007...

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) (imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...

s of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...

) 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. 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 and as of 24 March 2008 it had sold in excess of 150,000 copies. The Magician
The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Magician is the second installment in the six-book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, and is the sequel to The Alchemyst. It was released on 5 June 2008 in the United Kingdom, and on the 24 June 2008 in the United States...

reached #4 on 13 July 2008. The Sorceress
The Sorceress: The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Sorceress is the third installment in the six-book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel written by Michael Scott and is the sequel to The Magician. It was released on 26 May 2009 in the U.S.A, 1 June 2009 in Australia and on 25 June 2009 in the UK.-Plot Summary:Flamel and...

reached #5, and The Necromancer
The Necromancer: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Necromancer is the fourth book of the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel written by Irish author Michael Scott. The novel was released in the USA on May 25, 2010, published by Delacorte Press, which is an imprint of Random House...

reached #3. 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
Lorenzo di Bonaventura
-Life and career:He spent the 1990s as an executive at Warner Bros. Pictures, eventually rising to President of Worldwide Production. His production company di Bonaventura Pictures is based at Paramount Pictures. His tenure at Warner Bros. included discovering and shepherding The Matrix into...

.

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
John Dee (mathematician)
John Dee was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy....

. 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
Nicholas Flamel
Nicolas Flamel was a successful French scrivener and manuscript-seller who developed a posthumous reputation as an alchemist due to his reputed work on the philosopher's stone....

, 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
Perenelle Flamel
Perenelle Flamel was the wife of the famous 15th century alchemist Nicholas Flamel. Perenelle is believed to have been a widow when she married Nicolas Flamel at the age of 30. Perenelle was also an alchemist in her own right and assisted her husband in his experiments. Some believe she was...

) 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
Scáthach
Scáthach is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn in the arts of combat...

 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
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...

, Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...

 and the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...

. Many characters from history and mythology help both sides pursue their goals. In the first four books alone, Scathach
Scáthach
Scáthach is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn in the arts of combat...

, Hekate, Prometheus
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...

, the Witch of Endor
Witch of Endor
The Witch of Endor, sometimes called the Medium of Endor, was a woman who called up the ghost of the recently deceased prophet Samuel, at the demand of King Saul of the Kingdom of Israel in the First Book of Samuel, chapter...

, Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh the King
Gilgamesh the King is a 1984 fantasy novel by Robert Silverberg presenting the Epic of Gilgamesh as a novel.- Plot introduction :The novel is told from the point of view of Gilgamesh, and is primarily ambivalent about the supernatural elements of the epic...

, Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...

, Bastet, Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

, William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

, Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...

 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, 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, 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. 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
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

, Norse
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

 and Celtic mythologies and historical characters from the Elizabethan, Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

, Egyptian and Gilded eras
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...

. 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.

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.



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

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.

Special editions and 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 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 series

In chronological order:
  • The Alchemyst
    The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
    The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel is the first novel in the six book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. It is written by Irish author Michael Scott and was published in May 2007...

    - Was released on 24 May 2007 (UK), 22 May 2007 (USA)
  • The Magician
    The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
    The Magician is the second installment in the six-book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, and is the sequel to The Alchemyst. It was released on 5 June 2008 in the United Kingdom, and on the 24 June 2008 in the United States...

    - Was released on 5 June 2008 (UK), 24 June 2008 (USA)
  • The Sorceress
    The Sorceress: The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel
    The Sorceress is the third installment in the six-book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel written by Michael Scott and is the sequel to The Magician. It was released on 26 May 2009 in the U.S.A, 1 June 2009 in Australia and on 25 June 2009 in the UK.-Plot Summary:Flamel and...

    - Was released on 25 June 2009 (UK), 26 May 2009 (USA)
  • The Necromancer
    The Necromancer: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
    The Necromancer is the fourth book of the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel written by Irish author Michael Scott. The novel was released in the USA on May 25, 2010, published by Delacorte Press, which is an imprint of Random House...

    - Was released 25 May 2010 (USA), 5 August 2010 (UK)
  • The Warlock
    The Warlock: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
    The Warlock is the fifth book of the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel written by Irish author Michael Scott. The novel was released in the USA on May 24, 2011, published by Delacorte Press, which is an imprint of Random House...

    - Was released on 24 May 2011 (USA), 2 June 2011 (UK)
  • The Enchantress
    The Enchantress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
    The Enchantress: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel is the final novel in the six book series: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel...

    - Will be released on 22 May 2012


Side stories:
  • The Death of Joan of Arc - Released 24 August 2010 in eBook format
  • 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

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 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. It was called The Challenges of the Elder 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
Aura (paranormal)
In parapsychology and many forms of spiritual practice, an aura is a field of subtle, luminous radiation surrounding a person or object . The depiction of such an aura often connotes a person of particular power or holiness. Sometimes, however, it is said that all living things and all objects...

 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 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
  • Kentucky Bluegrass Book Award
  • Maine Student Book Award
  • Nevada Young Readers Award
  • NCSLMA YA Book Award - 2010
  • Rhode Island Book Award 2008- (Winner)

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

The Magician
  • 2009 Irish Book of the Year Award - The Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children's Book of the Year - Snr Category.


The Sorceress
  • Amazon
    Amazon.com
    Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

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

Audiobooks

The five titles released so far have all been recorded as unabridged audiobooks.
The Alchemyst was narrated by Denis O'Hare
Denis O'Hare
Denis O'Hare is an American actor noted for his award winning performances in Take Me Out and Sweet Charity as well as the HBO television show True Blood. He is also known for his supporting roles in the films Charlie Wilson's War and Milk...

.
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
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...

 and Mark Burnett Productions with Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett
Mark Burnett is a British television producer and executive producer, based in the United States. He currently is the executive producer of five network television series with seven hours of network programming. Works with which Burnett is associated have won multiple awards and recognition...

 being named as the producer at that time, and Eric Bress
Eric Bress
Eric Bress is an American screenwriter, film director and producer, probably best known for his work on the Final Destination series and The Butterfly Effect. He frequently collaborates with J...

 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
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 archives The rights reverted back to Michael Scott
Michael Scott (Irish author)
Michael Scott is an Irish author.Michael Scott is a seasoned and prolific writer of over 100 books during his 25 plus years of writing thus far...

 and on 19 November 2009 it was announced in Variety Magazine that Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Lorenzo di Bonaventura
-Life and career:He spent the 1990s as an executive at Warner Bros. Pictures, eventually rising to President of Worldwide Production. His production company di Bonaventura Pictures is based at Paramount Pictures. His tenure at Warner Bros. included discovering and shepherding The Matrix into...

 had bought the film rights to the series. Michael Scott
Michael Scott (Irish author)
Michael Scott is an Irish author.Michael Scott is a seasoned and prolific writer of over 100 books during his 25 plus years of writing thus far...

 and Barry Krost will be the executive producers. The script writer has yet to be announced.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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