The Necromancer by Michael Scott (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel: Book 4)

I was really pleased to get a chance to read this fourth book in Michael Scott's Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel series as I had the pleasure of reading the first three last year. When I picked the book up I did wonder if I should have had another look at the previous books to re-acquaint myself with the story and characters. I needn't have worried. As soon as I began to read it all came flooding back and it was as if I had just put the other books down. The book has sixty-six short sharp chapters but every one of them moves the story along and there isn' t a wasted word in the whole volume.

The twins, Josh and Sophie Newman, are still coming to terms with their new powers and desperate to find someone they can trust. With Nicholas and Perenelle, former immortals, getting older by the minute and Dr John Dee now being hunted by the very Elders he served in the previous books, everything seems darker and the battles so much harder. Michael Scott knows exactly how to keep his readers turning the page and the book is hard to put down. How can you stop when there's another chapter to read?

With time-travel and journeys to the Shadow Realms filling the book it is not always easy to keep track of who is where and when. But that helps you to relate to the twins who have been swept up into this new and dangerous world where things change at a moments notice The relationship between the twins is well written, mixing protectiveness and love with jealousy and sibling rivalry.

There is a huge cast of characters spread over the series and even more join in this book but it is never a problem remembering who is who. The only problem is figuring out who to trust. The story twists and turns with every page and you are never sure who should be trusted from one chapter to the next. Whatever you decide will probably change by the next chapter. As they seem to hold the traditional mentor/protector role, you know you should trust Nicholas Flamel and his wife Perenelle but the author drops little hints throughout the book that maybe they're not as good as we believe them to be. After all, there are those “secrets” mentioned in the series title.

All in all this is an excellent addition to the series and moves the story on to a completely different level. By the end of the book everything has changed again and the cliffhanger ending hooks you again and keeps you hanging on desperately for the next book.

9/10 Moves the story on to a completely different level.