The Alchemyst

By Michael Scott

BOOK REPORT:
Character and Plot Analysis
A Project in English
Submitted by:
Steven TL, Secondary 3
Submitted to:
Mr. Rey Bunuan, Teacher, English
November 19, 2014

Fast Facts
Title of Book

The Alchemyst

Genre

Fantasy

Author

Michael Scott

Year of Publication

2007

Place of Publication

United States

Publisher

Random House

Characters

Brief Description

Nicholas Flamel

An alchemist who possessed the Codex and learnt

its knowledge that made him a magician

Perenelle Flamel

Nicholas Flamels wife, who studied magic with

her husband

Josh Newman

A teenager who works with Nicholas but doesnt

know his true identity

Sophie Newman

Josh Newmans twin sister who also works with

the Flamels

John Dee

An apprentice of Nicholas who turned out to

betray him and fought for the Codex

Glossary:

The following words and

Meaning

phrase used in this Book Report are

further defined for further understanding.
Codex

An ancient book that contains knowledge about magic, its

history and also its prophecised future

Elders

Inhuman creatures with supernatural powers that existed

before humans and were worshipped by humans as gods,
they were driven away from earth and sought to be back

Aura

The life force that surrounded every being and the ability
to manipulate it is thought to be magic

Awaken

To enable a human to have enhanced senses and

manipulate ones aura, it can only be done by some Elders

Elements

The five powers, fire, earth, wind, water and time which
can be manipulated by Elders or Awakened humans

Shadowrealm

A world of a different dimension than the earth which is

created by an Elder

Final Summoning

The part of the Codex that is critically important and is

able to return all Elders back to this world

Excalibur

An ancient powerful sword of ice that was once used by

the elders, now in the hands of John Dee

Ley Lines

Lines of energy that runs across the globe

Leygate

A point where multiple ley lines meet, it can be used to

teleport from one leygate to another

Part 1 Introduction

Glancing at thousand of words in hundreds of pages may be increasing their stress levels for
most people. This is because they did not even scratch the surface of its secrets and mysteries.
Reading is a fun and thrlling adventure as it stacks up the imagination in our minds.
Writing a book report does not only refine my knowledge, it is a chance to share the
wonderful word beyond its pages. I would like to share my experience I had while reading this book
and I hope it would help readers to decide on which book to read.
The Alchemyst is written by Michael Scott in 2007. It is then published by Random House
in the United States. This book is classified as fantasy and is entirely fiction, although all characters
except the main characters, Josh and Sophie, are based on real historical figures and mythological
beings. This encourages readers to explore its story as it blends facts and fiction.

The story has clearly distinguished its protagonists from antagonists. Nevertheless, there
may be changes in the characters behavior and twists in the story where a character changes from
good to bad or vice versa. Although the message of the story may not be obviously shown, the
moral of this story may be seen from a general point of view such that it talks about attitude, the
rewards for being good and the consequences for being bad.

Part 2 Summary

Sophie and Josh Newman are twins who are working their summer jobs with Nick Fleming.
Then some creatures, later known to be golems and a peculiar men in business attire, Dr. John Dee
and his servants, show up at the twins place of work. Nick Fleming is revealed to be Nicholas
Flamel, an alchemyst who should have died in 1418, as Flamel unexpectedly battles Dee with
magical powers, yet Dees powers are too strong for Flamel to resist. Dee kidnaps Perenelle Flamel
and steals a book. However, Josh ripped of two pages from the book and hid it just before Dee
snatched it from his hands. As the fight ended, Nicholas could see Sophie and Josh flickering with
silver and gold auras.
The book was later described as the Codex, an ancient book written by Abraham the Mage,
an unknown being who exists in legend. Nicholas admitted that he have been alive by using the

knowledge in the Codex that made him immortal for a short period of time. The book also says of
twins of gold and silver aura who are destined to save the world. Nicholas realised that Sophie and
Josh must be the prophecised twins and decided to train them immediately. The two pages that Josh
ripped turned out to be the Final Summoning, the most important part of the book, which Dee
desperately need for his mission to bring back the Elders. Now that Dee knows about this, Dee
gathers his allies to hunt down Nicholas.
Nicholas asks advice from a trusted Elder, Scathach. She is an Elder who created martial arts
and trained thousands of warriors, Scathach is known as the Shadow. Meanwhile, Dee combines
forces with Morrigan, an elder who can control crows and is widely known as the goddess of crows.
Together Dee and Morrigan unleash forces of golems and crows, attempting to kill Flamel and the
twins, yet Scathach is able to withstand the attack with the help of Flamel.

As Dee knows their location, Flamel must find a place to secure them, while avoiding
Morrigans fast approaching crows. They decided to go to Hekate, one of the most powerful Elders
with the power to control nature and life forces. Hekate had created her own Shadowrealm which
conisists of a large tree in its centre, and her life is tied to it. The Shadowrealm also contained
strange but trustworthy creatures that protect the tree. Nicholas successfully persuaded Hekate to
awaken Josh and Sophie and also to train them.
As Nicholas seek refuge, Dee managed to ally with Bastet, the cat goddess. They prepared
their army of felines and birds, racing towards Hekates Shadowrealm.
Hekate started the awakening with Sophie, the older twin. Sophie encountered an
extraordinary feeling as her senses are enhanced, her silver aura flickering with intensity. Just as
Hekate finished the process, thousands of crows and cats head towards Hekate, covering the sky
and the ground.

The battle began as Morrigan and Bastet faced Scathach and Hekate. Dee came with a sword
of ice, Excalibur, killing anything in his way, transforming them into statues of ice. Flamel did all
he could to stop Dee, but his efforts just slowed him down. In the last moments of the enduring
fight, Dee plunged the sword deep down the roots of Hekates tree, killing her and destroying her
Shadowrealm.
Nicholas, Scathach took the chance to escape and went to the Witch of Endor, an Elder and a
master of wind. The Elder decided to give her knowledge to Sophie. Dee managed to chase them
and raise an army of dead by necromancy. The powers Sophie just learned quickly dissolved into
nothing and were no match against Dees necromancy.
The Witch opened up a leygate as skeletons pushed Nicholas back. Instantly they stepped
into the leygate as Dee entered the empty room, furious realizing that Nicholas had escaped from
his clutches once again.
This ends The Alchemyst, its hanging conclusion continued in the next book of the series,
The Magician.

Part 3 Plot and Character Analysis

Plot Analysis
The plot was well thought of as it provides a smooth transition between events. It is well
planned as the characters blend in with the events and there is a flow of suspense. However, there is
need for background information and the setting of the story to be further evaluated, as there are
occurring terms which may need explanation.

Character Analysis
Sophie Newman One of the twins. Sophie worked with the Flamels before Dee attacked.
Her aura is silver, very rare aura.
Josh Newman Younger than his twin sister, Josh's gold aura is slightly rarer than Sophie's
aura. He worked with Nicholas Flamel before the encounter with Dee.

Nicholas Flamel Disguised as "Nick Fleming", Nicholas owned a book shop while he
protected the Codex. He had learnt the Codexs knowledge for almost his entire life and gained his
alchemy skills and also the secret to eternal life.
Perenelle Flamel Disguised as "Perry Fleming" until she was kidnapped by Dee, she had
trained sorcery magic with her husband.
Dr. John Dee Dee had been Nicholass apprentice until he betrayed him and turned evil.
For centuries, Dee has been chasing Nicholas and Perenelle to get his hands on the Codex and
awaken the evil Elders. His master is unknown.

The characters had their own distinct roles. Protagonists and antagonists can be clearly
distinguished, as the writer uses vivid images and sensory descriptions to describe them. Characters
can be further refined by showing their personalities through their actions.

Part 4 Conclusion

The ending was really satisfactory. This book is enjoyable and I had a great time reading it.
It is a wonderful moment as this is one of the best books I have ever read. It had expanded my
imagination in the fantasy world, I recommend this book for everyone to enjoy as I believe that
anyone will be able to benefit from this experience.