So, after finishing The Necromancer on July 2, I picked up The Warlock, by Michael Scott. This is the fifth book in this series. I think I started this on or around July 2 and finished on or around July 11.
The Warlock picks up immediately where The Necromancer leaves off. If the shit was hitting the fan in The Necromancer, it really hits the fan in The Warlock. I found myself repeatedly saying "Wait, what?" and, "Holy Crap!" to myself when reading this book because I couldn't believe what was happening. There are so many angles and story arcs in this (and most of Scott's books). And, it is so suspenseful waiting for everything to get sorted out. Characters don't seem to be who they are. People have motives and counter-motives and allegiances and counter-allegiances, and you never really know how things will shake out until they shake out, and then re-shake out.
Sophie and Josh are separated, and it really appears as though Josh is going to pick the "wrong" side. But the "right" and "wrong" sides seem to blur frequently. Each believes and questions whether they are on the "right" side. Goes back to the motives and allegiances and how those seem to be playing out at that moment. Josh and Sophie both have moments where they question what they are doing, who they are working with, and who they believe.
Here's a conversation between Billy the Kid and Josh:
"Never thought I'd get to meet a legend," Josh said. He suddenly found himself grinning like a fool, and he made a desperate attempt to keep calm. He'd only vaguely known about Dare and Machiavelli before he met them, and had never heard of Dee, but Billy the Kid was different. This was a genuine American legend. Someone he'd grown up hearing stories about.
The Kid looked almost embarrassed. "I'm not that much of a legend, really. Now, Wild Bill, Jesse James, Geronimo or Cochise, on the other hand - they were legends."
"Well, I think you're a legend," Josh insisted.
Billy Grinned. "Well, you're a bit of a legend yourself, aren't you. One of the legendary twins - one to save the world, one to destroy it," he drawled. "Which one are you?"
"I have no idea," Josh said seriously. Although he'd never really stopped to consider the words. One to save the world, one to destroy it. He hoped he was the one to save it...but that would mean that his sister destroyed the world. The thought left him stunned.
And, a conversation between Sophie and Tsagaglalal:
..."Magic is nothing more than imagination. Look down," she [Tsagaglalal] commanded.
Sophie looked at the ground between her outstretched legs.
"Visualize the earth covered in blue flowers..."
Sophie started to shake her head, but Tsagaglalal squeezed her fingers painfully. "Do it."
The girl struggled to create the image of the blue flowers in her head.
Two tiny bluebells appeared.
"Excellent," Tsagaglalal said. "Now do it again. See them clearly. Visualize them. Imagine them into existence."
Sophie focused. She knew what bluebells looked like. She could see them clearly in her mind's eye.
"Now imagine the grass turning to bluebells. Change it in your head...force it to change...believe it will change. You have to believe, Sophie Newman. You will need to believe, to survive."
Sophie nodded. She firmly believed the grass was now covered with bluebells.
And when she opened her eyes, it was.
Tsagaglalal clapped her hands in delight. "See. All you had to do was have faith."
"But is it earth magic?" Sophie asked.
"That is the secret of all magic. If you can imagine it, if you can see it clearly, and if your aura, your qi, is strong enough, then you will achieve it."
Tsagaglalal attempted to stand. Sophie got easily to her feet and helped the old woman up. "Now why don't you run on up to the house and get changed. Put on heavy janes and hiking boots and wear something warm."
"Where am I going?"
"To see your brother," Tsagaglalal said.
Nothing sounded better to Sophie at that moment. She kissed Tsagaglalal on the cheek before darting off through the garden.
"And I don't think it is going to be a happy reunion," Tsagaglalal murmured.
The ending of this book - WOW - that was another "What the hell?" moment for me. When I finished the last page, closed the book, and said again, out loud ,"What the hell?" the husband kept asking me what happened. He asked me several questions, none of which I answered. I told him, just as I'm writing here, no spoiler alert, you'll just have to read it.
Right after finishing this one, I started Grey by E L James.
So, still behind, though not as woefully now. I have this write up, and one other, and then I'm all caught up. I started The Necromancer (the fourth book in the series) on June 23 and finished it on July 2. I pretty much started this one immediately after finishing The Sorceress. These books really don't disappoint. Yeah, some shit goes down. It goes down in all of the other books, but it is really starting to go down in this book.
From what I understand, the sixth book in this series tells the tale, and the tale ends with the last book. So, with The Necromancer being the fourth book in the series, there isn't a whole lot of time to drag things out, so of course shit goes down.
Nicholas, Perenelle, Sophie, and Josh return to San Francisco and temporarily part ways. The Flamels go check out their book store, and Sophie and Josh go to check in with their Aunt Agnes. When Josh and Sophie arrive at their Aunt's house, they see someone with her and become suspicious. The person runs into the house, and Josh makes chase. The person comes tearing out of the house, past Josh, and approaches the waiting car. Meanwhile, Sophie is talking to the person waiting in the car - an exact match to Scatty, only it isn't Scatty. The mysterious person and the Scatty look-alike take Sophie and disappear. Josh is somewhat distraught and needs to come up with some story to tell his Aunt Agnes as to why Sophie has gone missing. Obviously, Josh sneaks away from Aunt Agnes and goes to find the Flamels to enlist their help. Which, obviously, he gets. They track Sophie to a houseboat in Sausalito and catch up with her there.
Turns out the Scatty look-alike is her twin sister, Aoife. Her companion is a Japanese man called Niten. Aoife is looking for Scatty, and thinks Sophie might know where she is. Unbeknownst to all of them, she is trapped in the Pleistocene era...
Not surprisingly, Dee is screwed... The Dark Elders basically have a contract out on him to find him (and to do some not so nice things to him) because of his repeated failures at capturing the Flamels and the Twins, and getting the last two pages of the Codex. Dee, ever the schemer and planner, enlists the help of Virginia Dare, and they make their way back to San Francisco by a leygate. Of course he has a plan to outwit the Dark Elders and show them who really is in charge. But this scheme has a lot of twists and turns, and dependencies on others, so there are many variables he and Virgina have to contend with - and yes, there are a lot of variables.
We find out what really happened to Joan of Arc and Scatty. Yes, they are in the Pleistocene, sort of. I don't want to give too much away here, but some others join them, and then they leave the Pleistocene to do some other things. Yes, I'm purposefully being vague here.
Billy the Kid and Machiavelli get into their own trouble, and we meet Billy's Elder Master - that was interesting. If you know anything about Billy the Kid (fictionally or biographically), you know he is a lunatic and a character (watch Young Guns I, II, or III). You will understand what I mean.
Josh, Sophie, and the Flamels make their way to a nearby shadowrealm so that Josh can learn the magic of Fire. Of course, some shit goes down with that... And with a bunch of other things.
Read this book and the series. It's awesome!
Next, onto book 5 - The Warlock. Man, it was GOOD!
So, again, I'm woefully behind on my writing, and again, the start and finish dates for this book escape me. I picked up this book, the third in Michael Scott's series right after I finished The Magician. And, this book picks up right where The Magician leaves off.
Midway through The Magician, Josh gets awakened at the behest of Dee and Machiavelli. Mars Ultor does the awakening and leaves a little "gift" with Josh, much like Sophie received from the Witch of Endor. Mars Ultor and his satyr guardians, Phobos and Deimos, two creatures I wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, or any alley really, play a big role in this book.
After their trouble with the gargoyles and grotesques at Notre Dame, Nicholas, Josh, Sophie, and Joan escape to London. This is a risky place to be, because just as Paris is Nicholas' home turf, London is Dee's. With all that is going on with the Codex, the Dark Elders being hot to trot to rid this world of Nicholas and Perenelle, and you know, the rest of the plot by the Dark Elders to destroy and then take over the world, things are really starting to heat up. They only wish it would be so easy to make their plot a reality...
Some new historical characters appear in this book - Palamedes (the Saracen Knight), good ole' William Shakespeare, Billy the Kid, Gilgamesh the King (who is insane). It is amusing to see what historical characters will appear next. Shakespeare, in this book, is an immortal and lives with Palamedes in a junkyard in London with some creatures called Gabriel Hounds - part man, part hound.
Twists and turns in the interactions of Dee, Machiavelli, Flamel, Billy the Kid, and the twins abound in this book. Loyalties are called into question, and there are times when you don't know what is going to happen. Scott is great at weaving together a very engaging and enthralling story that is action packed. I really like being able to envision many of the places Scott uses in the books - Alcatraz, Paris, San Francisco, and London. The Pleistocene Era makes an appearance too - I wonder what it would have been like in that Era in the Bay Area. Scott is able to describe them in such a detailed way that even though you may not have been to a place, you can imagine the place - and the people too.
The end of this book, of course, leaves you wanting more... About 100 pages before I finished this, I requested the next book (# 4 in the series), The Necromancer, from the library. I knew that I'd want to start that one immediately. And, of course I did want to, and actually did start it immediately. Great book, quick read, entertaining. Pick it up!
