A review by _onemorechapter_
The Warlock by Michael Scott
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
๐ญ"The Warlock" is the fifth installment in Michael Scott's "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel" series. It was the most interesting read and one of my favorites in the series.
Did it include new mythological/historical characters that made me jump to Wikipedia to learn more? Yes.ย
Did the plot undergo significant development? Yes.ย
Did any of my predictions come true? 1 or 2ย
So did it live up to my expectations? Definitely. ย
Many things are still left in the dark so don't expect to get answers to the mysteries that Scott has been laying out since Book 1. You will find instead a myriad of clues, which could further deepen the mysteries instead of answering them. In short, The Warlock continues the adventure but does not explain anything.
This is one strangely formatted book. Plot-wise, it's very complicated. And, continuing the trend that the author started in Book 4, there are more separate storylines in The Warlock, which makes reading it requires more concentration than usual. And not just separate storylines, there are two separate timelines as well.
Also, Nicholas is missing for over half the book. This marks another departure for The Warlock from previous books but in a more obvious way. Although I'm wary of Nicholas, I pretty much like his point of view, so I miss him a lot. I hope there'll be more of him in the next - and final - book. He is after all whose name is being used for the series in general. There should be more of him, period.
I love the surprising revelation of Niccolo Machiavelli and Billy The Kid's decision to turn against Dee and Dare(Both of them showed tremendous strength here and I can't wait to see where they stand come the next book.). The Macchiavelli/Kid moments in the book make for a delicious read - especially if you are a fan of bromance because there are plenty of those in these scenes.
Josh, oh my gosh he is still just plain stupid. Some of his decisions, justifications, and rationalizations are just so dumb.ย Josh still buys everything Dee tells him. His words always override whatever Josh has witnessed him doing. No one is that stupid. Josh was by far the weakest character though there was supposed to be some kind of special powerful thing about both him and his sister. It worked for her. He did not fill the role. Can anyone please hit Josh over the head with a stick? Anything to get him thinking sane again.
I loved Machiavelli(I knew from the start that I was going to like Machiavelli, but I was surprised by how much) and the Billy the Kid character. Theyโre my kind of bad guy. Theyโre not good, I wouldnโt want people like them around in real life, but theyโre not all bad and Billy the Kid is just downright hilarious.
And for the ending - Best cliffhanger ending ever!! (can't say more, you seriously don't need a spoiler for this one)
๐.๐ I canโt believe this series is almost done, and yet, WOW!ย
Be prepared for some intense reveals throughout this book, and have The Enchantress ready to read after you finish it because youโre going to want to read it right away.
๐ธ๐ด๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: โญโญโญโญ
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: 4.18 (57,712)ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐: Fantasy and Thriller
๐ธ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐: The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Book 5
๐ธ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: Yess!!ย
Same for the entire series, if youโre reading them for the first time Iโm sure you will LOVE them! The myths and legends Scott brings to life throughout the series are so well crafted and have such great personalities they stay with you.ย
๐ธ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐:
โImagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.โ
โThe strong survive, but the courageous triumph.โ
โThe day we stop learning is the day we die.โ
โWe always find it easier to visualize what we fear; it's what keeps us afraid of the dark."
โKnowledge itself is never dangerous, it is how that knowledge is used that is dangerousโ
โThe promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present"
โAh. In my experience, when people say they don't know whether they love someone, they usually mean no."
โThere is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.โ
โMy father taught me and Sophie that we had to follow our hearts and do what we knew was right.โ
"Immortality was a curse.โ
โImmortality is what you make of it,โ Niten said. โA curse or a blessingโyes, it can be both. But if you are brave and curious, then there is no greater gift.โ
"The price of love was anything โฆ and everything."
"humani waste too much time worrying about things that will never happen."
โI respect a man who keeps his word. Just make sure youโre keeping it for the right reason.ย
โNo, you must make sure youโre breaking it for the right reason!โ
"All great empires are destined to collapse.โ
โWhen those we love are threatened, we find we can do the unthinkable.โ
"It is better that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."
Did it include new mythological/historical characters that made me jump to Wikipedia to learn more? Yes.ย
Did the plot undergo significant development? Yes.ย
Did any of my predictions come true? 1 or 2ย
So did it live up to my expectations? Definitely. ย
Many things are still left in the dark so don't expect to get answers to the mysteries that Scott has been laying out since Book 1. You will find instead a myriad of clues, which could further deepen the mysteries instead of answering them. In short, The Warlock continues the adventure but does not explain anything.
This is one strangely formatted book. Plot-wise, it's very complicated. And, continuing the trend that the author started in Book 4, there are more separate storylines in The Warlock, which makes reading it requires more concentration than usual. And not just separate storylines, there are two separate timelines as well.
Also, Nicholas is missing for over half the book. This marks another departure for The Warlock from previous books but in a more obvious way. Although I'm wary of Nicholas, I pretty much like his point of view, so I miss him a lot. I hope there'll be more of him in the next - and final - book. He is after all whose name is being used for the series in general. There should be more of him, period.
I love the surprising revelation of Niccolo Machiavelli and Billy The Kid's decision to turn against Dee and Dare(Both of them showed tremendous strength here and I can't wait to see where they stand come the next book.). The Macchiavelli/Kid moments in the book make for a delicious read - especially if you are a fan of bromance because there are plenty of those in these scenes.
Josh, oh my gosh he is still just plain stupid. Some of his decisions, justifications, and rationalizations are just so dumb.ย Josh still buys everything Dee tells him. His words always override whatever Josh has witnessed him doing. No one is that stupid. Josh was by far the weakest character though there was supposed to be some kind of special powerful thing about both him and his sister. It worked for her. He did not fill the role. Can anyone please hit Josh over the head with a stick? Anything to get him thinking sane again.
I loved Machiavelli(I knew from the start that I was going to like Machiavelli, but I was surprised by how much) and the Billy the Kid character. Theyโre my kind of bad guy. Theyโre not good, I wouldnโt want people like them around in real life, but theyโre not all bad and Billy the Kid is just downright hilarious.
And for the ending - Best cliffhanger ending ever!! (can't say more, you seriously don't need a spoiler for this one)
๐.๐ I canโt believe this series is almost done, and yet, WOW!ย
Be prepared for some intense reveals throughout this book, and have The Enchantress ready to read after you finish it because youโre going to want to read it right away.
๐ธ๐ด๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: โญโญโญโญ
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: 4.18 (57,712)ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐: Fantasy and Thriller
๐ธ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐: The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Book 5
๐ธ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: Yess!!ย
Same for the entire series, if youโre reading them for the first time Iโm sure you will LOVE them! The myths and legends Scott brings to life throughout the series are so well crafted and have such great personalities they stay with you.ย
๐ธ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐:
โImagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.โ
โThe strong survive, but the courageous triumph.โ
โThe day we stop learning is the day we die.โ
โWe always find it easier to visualize what we fear; it's what keeps us afraid of the dark."
โKnowledge itself is never dangerous, it is how that knowledge is used that is dangerousโ
โThe promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present"
โAh. In my experience, when people say they don't know whether they love someone, they usually mean no."
โThere is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.โ
โMy father taught me and Sophie that we had to follow our hearts and do what we knew was right.โ
"Immortality was a curse.โ
โImmortality is what you make of it,โ Niten said. โA curse or a blessingโyes, it can be both. But if you are brave and curious, then there is no greater gift.โ
"The price of love was anything โฆ and everything."
"humani waste too much time worrying about things that will never happen."
โI respect a man who keeps his word. Just make sure youโre keeping it for the right reason.ย
โNo, you must make sure youโre breaking it for the right reason!โ
"All great empires are destined to collapse.โ
โWhen those we love are threatened, we find we can do the unthinkable.โ
"It is better that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."