Book Review: (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) The Sorceress

I just finished the 3rd book in Michael Scott's fantasy series, the Secrets of Nicholas Flamel. The book is once again loaded with very interesting mythological, folklore, and historical characters. The story however is more of the same, children learning their magical powers while they run away from villains. I enjoy how easy it has been to read this book series, but after the 3rd book I can start to understand why it hasn't been a successful franchise. The author clearly enjoys mythology (especially Celtic legends) and relies too heavily on this in his fantasy book. 

The plot has become quite similar to it's previous books and has become somewhat predictable. The heroes arrive at a new city on the run, meet some new legends to help them, while the enemies also enlist legends. They have some confrontations in various locations and then continue to run. The human twins coming to terms with their power no longer seems to carry the weight or interest it did in the first book. I think I'll stop after this book and maybe just read a summary of the final few books in the series for closure. What I did very much enjoy about the series however was all the historical and mythological characters. 

The Plot

The twins Josh and Sophie travel to London via train with their magical guide Nicholas Flamel. They are still on the run from John Dee and Machiavelli and seeking someone in England who can continue to train them. Sophie has learned two of the four elemental magics, while Josh has not learned any. Flamel plans to take them to the legendary king Gilgamesh to learn the magic of water. Meanwhile Perenelle Flamel is still stranded on Alcatraz Island accompanied by many wicked villains and monsters such as the Sphinx and the Morrigan. She survives an attack of poisonous flies from the newly recruited immortal Billy the Kid much thanks to the spider army of Areop Enap. 

After realizing they are being tracked by hooded spirits, Nicholas Flamel takes the twins to a refuge junkyard hosted by the heroic Saracen Knight, Palamedes and his companion William Shakespeare. Both immortals do not like Flamel, however they hate John Dee even worse and so decide to help them. They are able to make contact with Perenelle thru the magical practice of scrying. However their reunion is cut short, when the Dark Elders send the legendary Archon, Cernunnos and his Wild Hunt army to attack the stronghold. A battle ensues at the junkyard where Shakespeare's Gabriel-Hounds fight the Wild Hunt demons. Josh displays some magical heroic prowess and entraps Cernunnos before they escape the junkyard. 

Perenelle is once again assisted by the Spanish ghost Juan Manual de Ayala and the legendary spider Areop Enap. However the spider is weakened by the poisonous assault of flies and must go into slumber. Perenelle fights off the Sphinx once again and also the sea God Nereus and his army of Nereids. She is later able to enlist help from the defeated Morrigan who is locked in a cell. This time the Morrigan takes the shape of her twin sisters, Macha and Badb who decide to help Perenlle (as the Morrigan is triad persona). The cunning Machiavelli arrives to Alcatraz to meet with Billy the Kid and free all the ancient monsters locked up on the island. However Perenelle is finally able to escape the island by stealing Machiavelli's boat. 

The twins finally unite with the mysterious Gilgamesh, referred to as a mad king. They find refuge in a barn where Gilgamesh passes on his knowledge of the elemental magic of water. This session is again cut short however when Cernunnos arrives once again with his Wild Hunt army. Cernunnos is able to puncture Gilgamesh with several arrows, however the twins come to his protection with their new found magical powers. They once again escape with the help of Shakespeare and his Gabriel Hounds to drive to Stonehenge. Nicholas Flamel and the twins are able to use the ley-gates within Stonehenge to travel to San Francisco where they are awaited by the recently escaped Perenelle. 

New Historical Figures

• Billy the Kid (1859-1881): Henry McCarthy, also known as William Bonney or most infamously as Billy the Kid was an iconic criminal of the Old American West. It is believe he killed 21 people in his criminal dealings and gunfights. He died at the young age of 21.  
• William Shakespeare (1564-1616): The most famous of English playwrights his work has lived on as the pinnacle of poetry, and he is considered one of the greatest writers in history. His life is also one of intrigue and mystery since he published so much work and yet so little is known about his private life.

New Mythological Figures

• Palamedes: In the legends of King Arthur, he is a Knight of the Round Table. He is a Middle Eastern warrior from the Middle Ages referred to as a Saracen Knight. He is at odds with Tristan for his love of Iseult. 
  
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  Cernunnos: In Celtic Mythology he is referred to as the horned god with antlers. He is often associated with stags, dogs, bulls, and serpents. He has become a great symbol of neopaganism and Wicca practice, which often gives him the wicked villainous portrayal.  
• Gilgamesh the King: He is a central figure in Sumerian Mythology thru the famous writing of the Epic of Gilgamesh (believed to have been written in 2100-1200 BC). He is depicted as an ancient king of the city of Uruk who becomes a demigod and confronts various deities throughout his story. It is believed that this story influenced the iconic works and heroes of Greek Mythology.
• Nereus: In Greek Mythology he is referred to as the Old Man of the Sea, a water deity in he likes of Poseidon who has 50 sea nymph daughters referred to as the Nereids. 
• Genii Cucullati: In Celtic Mythology they are depicted as 3 hooded spirits, a triple deity in the likes of the Morrigan. 
• Gabriel Hounds: In Welsh Mythology they are referred to as Cwn Annwn a form of spectral hellhounds often associated with the Wild Hunt.