the magician

the magician
the secrets of the immortal nicholas flamel #2
michael scott
ya/fantasy/historical
ember
published 2008

After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for Nicholas Flamel. Only this homecoming is anything but sweet. Perenell is still locked up back in Alcatraz and Paris is teeming with enemies. Nicollo Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, is working for Dee. He’s after them, and time is running out for Nicholas and Perenell. For every day spent without the Book of Abraham the Mage, they age one year—their magic becoming weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophesy is becoming more and more clear.

It’s time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic: Fire Magic. And there’s only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel’s old student, the Comte de Saint-Germain—alchemist, magician, and rock star. Josh and Sophie Newman are the world’s only hope—if they don’t turn on each other first.

I'm starting to agree with other readers.  Josh IS super annoying.  He's so whiny that even his twin comments on it at one point.  While I still think that it's a part of being thrust in this crazy situation it's getting harder and harder to be understanding.  Sophie's not happy about the situation either, but she's not irritating....so much.

I loved the new characters.  I even found myself intrigued and almost liking Machiavelli.  He's still hanging onto his humanity, whereas Dee has nothing left.  Still, I am most interested in Perenell and what's happening on Alcatraz.

The action marches on in this second book as well although, there are moments of downtime where we get more and more bits of history revealing Nicholas & Perenell's parts in it.  It's hard to see how they can stop the events in motion, but I'm along for the ride.