Covers of the first four novels. |
|
| 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.
Contents |
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.
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 Greco-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]
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 Josh
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]
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.
In published order:
Side stories:
"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.
The Alchemyst
To win the Rhode Island Book Award the Alchemyst had to beat 200 other titles that were entered.[25]
The Magician
The Sorceress
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 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!"
|
|||||||||||