I picked up this book at the library because we own the 3rd in the series , and I wanted to start at the beginning. not sure how we ended up with the 3rd in our library, but anyway...I thought I would love this series, but unfortunately, I couldn't wait to get to the end of this book. The storyline dragged on, and this was only the first book! I imagine that the whole series should be crammed into one solid book. I'm not going to try the rest of the series at this time. With an hour drive to and from work, each way, I've been listening to audio books to pass the time and perk up my commute. One thing that I have learned during this endeavor is that the person who reads the text can almost make or break the story, elevating a mediocre story and reducing tolerance for what might be good. In the case of Michael Scott's The Alchemyst, Denis O'Hare takes, what was for me, a so-so book and turns it into near-magic. O'Hare's depiction of Nicolas Flamel is much more interesting than a lot of the other characters. I think had there been another person reading it, I would have thrown in the towel before finishing the book. Unfortunately, I think that this was not the book for me and it probably had to do with nothing more complicated than that I am not the target audience.Although I was very interested in Flamel and his wife, the twins Josh and Sophie, who are the other key protagonists in this book, were much less fascinating. If anything, really, I found them rather annoying. Josh was a pretty typical, knee-jerk, inattentive 15-year old boy. Sophie, although less annoying, was flat and one-dimensional. I get the feeling that a younger teenager might be better able to connect and appreciate the adventures that Sophie and Josh tackle.The characters surrounding the two, Scott's inclusion of mythological, historical, and literary figures was probably the most interesting thing about the book. He created a rich mythology, tying things into a really colorful tapestry. The bits that worked the best, unfortunately, were the really brief things. Perenell, the Witch of Endor, Hekate, Bastet. O'Hare did a good job of giving all the characters distinctive voices; Flamel was my favorite.So, although a diverting read for a long drive, it wasn't captivating enough to inspire me to plow through the remaining six books.
What do You think about De Alchemist (2008)?
Well, the next Artemis Fowl wasn't available at the library, so I decided to give this a try. It's ok for juvenile lit, but has neither the wit of Colfer (Fowl) nor the tremendous storytelling of the Harry Potter novels. In fact, I hate to compare to HP, but there's one common problem with both: My least favorite HP novel was #5 because Harry spends most of it wallowing in a childish, insecure, self-centered depression. And unfortunately, one of the main characters here, perhaps by virtue of being a mid-teenaged boy, does the same. No question, the teenage years are exceedingly tough and filled with identify defining insecurity and whatnot. But it seems like too much of the plot hinges on that here. That said, I'll definitely give the next one in the series a read.
—MetalPandaHead
If I would have read the author's notes before reading the book, I may have liked the book a bit more. So much research went into this book and it showed... sometimes too much. There were some points--maybe three or four times--where I felt like the story almost stopped to share some facts that didn't quite relate directly to the story. To be clear, the facts were interesting, just slowed down my reading a lot.One more not-quite complaint: I wish the book would've been as good through the first 2/3 of the story as it was during the final.Still I enjoyed the plot and seeing how legends, myths, and historical figures fit into the world iis very interesting. I'll definitely continue the series.
—poeleary
