The black warlock

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Cover of the German first edition

The black sorcerer (original title: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - The Warlock ) is a fantasy novel by the Irish author Michael Scott from 2011 and forms the fifth part of the series The Secrets of Nicholas Flamel . The German edition was translated by Ursula Höfker and was published by cbj- Verlag on March 19, 2012 .

construction

The book is 432 pages long and consists of a foreword by Perenelle Flamel (“from the diary of Nicholas Flamel, Alchemyst”), 56 chapters (dated Wednesday 6 June), an “author's note” in which Michael Scott talks about Vimanas and the story of flying (both play an important role in the book), and an acknowledgment. In addition, the foreword of the sixth volume was inserted before the acknowledgment . The dedication of the book reads:

"For Anna this is
sapientia et eloquentia "

" Wisdom and Oratory "

- Michael Scott

title

Niccolò Machiavelli is the title character of the book

Although the literal translation of Warlock is actually sorcerer or sorcerer, the author uses the (now obsolete) meaning oath breaker in this book . Therefore, the translation of the title as The Black Hexenmeister (initially the planned German title Der Hexer ) is incorrect. The title refers to Niccolò Machiavelli , who breaks the oath he took on his master.

"As you know, I used the original meaning of the word Warlock, wǣrloga, which comes from Old English and means" oath-breaker ".
When the Witch of Endor calls Mars Ultor “Warlock”, she is, of course, referring to the last time he broke his oath and betrayed the humani. But […] Mars is NOT The Warlock of the title. The book is filled with oath-breakers, people changing sides, changing their minds. We have Billy and Machiavelli of course, but also Aten who may be betraying his world and Anubis who is betraying his brother. Then Josh betrays Sophie and of course Dee betrays everyone. And what about The Witch of Endor - what are her motives? [...]
The Warlock - the oath-breaker - of the title refers to a character who has made the biggest change, the biggest decision and acts out of character.
And that is… Niccolò Machiavelli. "

“ As you know, I used the original meaning of the word warlock, wǣrloga, which comes from Old English and means“ oath breaker ”.
When the witch of Endor Mars Ultor referred to as "Warlock", she naturally refers to the last time he broke his oath and betrayed the Humani. But Mars is NOT The Warlock from the title. The book is full of oath breakers, people who change sides, who have a change of heart. We have Billy and Machiavelli, of course, but also Aten, who may be betraying his world, and Anubis, who is cheating on his brother. Then Josh betrays Sophie, and of course Dee cheats on everyone. And what about the Witch of Endor - what are the reasons? [...]
The Warlock - the oath breaker - of the title refers to a character who has experienced the greatest change, has made the greatest decision and is behaving differently than usual.
And that is… Niccolò Machiavelli. "

- Michael Scott

In German, the impression arises that Mars Ultor is the title character, since he is the only character who is addressed as sorcerer . The other characters originally referred to as Warlocks are simply called Oath Breakers in German (without reference to the title).

prehistory

The plot follows on from the previous volume .

action

The story takes place in the present and the past simultaneously (the time before the fall of Danu Talis).

present

At the Embarcadero , Prometheus, Niten and the Flamels fight the Lotan

The older Isis and Osiris leave at the request of the Witch of Endor out to her realm of shadows and look in the Catacombs the imprisoned there Mars Ultor on. There they meet the witch who freed Mars, her husband, from his curse again, so that he hunted down Dr. John Dee can do.

Nicholas Flamel , Perenelle and Prometheus leave the shadowy kingdom of Hades , which is falling because Prometheus is very weak. They make their way to Tsagaglalal, where they meet Niten and Sophie. Sophie has just discovered that her aunt Agnes is the mysterious Tsagaglalal. Nicholas Flamel, meanwhile, is dying. Following an ancient prophecy of Marethyus, Perenelle casts a spell to save her husband from death. In doing so, she transfers a day of her life to Nicholas, which also means that both of them will die after one day.

Josh, Dee, and Virginia Dare flee Telegraph Hill to Alcatraz , pursued by Torbalan and Nereids . Once there, they want to support Niccolò Machiavelli and Billy the Kid in their mission to unleash the monsters of Alcatraz on San Francisco . While Dee is now working out the plan to travel to Danu Talis with the help of the swords of the elements and defeat the elders, Machiavelli and Billy decide not to carry out their masters' mission and thus prevent the destruction of their world. But they are captured by the others; these release the Lotan, a seven-headed water dragon, on San Francisco. Virginia Dare then teaches Josh aerial magic.

Elderly Hel , who wants revenge on Dee, and her uncle Odin , who still wants revenge for the death of Hecate , go in search of the magician. They meet Mars Ultor, who is also on the hunt. Black Hawk brings the three elders to Tsagaglalal on Quetzalcoatl's behalf so that everyone can take action against Dee. Tsagaglalal presents her nine guests with letters written on emerald tablets, which her husband Abraham wrote ten thousand years ago and in which he left instructions. Then Mars Ultor, Odin, Hel and Black Hawk make their way to Alcatraz to stop Dee; Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, Niten and Prometheus go to the Embarcadero to fight the Lotan. Tsagaglalal teaches Sophie earth magic.

Before the Lotan reaches the city, Nicholas Flamel manages to transform it back into an egg through an alchemical process. Sophie goes straight to her brother in Alcatraz through her emerald tablet. There Dee has freed the monsters, but he is immediately attacked by Mars, Odin, Hel and Black Hawk. Dee uses the elements swords to create a time gate to Danu Talis, through which he, Virginia Dare, Josh and Sophie step.

past

On Danu Talis, a volcanic crater serves as an escape-proof prison

Under the guidance of Marethyu, Scathach , Johanna von Orléans , the Count of Saint-Germain , Palamedes and William Shakespeare came to Danu Talis, in the time before the fall. But they are immediately captured by vimanas , disk-shaped aircraft manned by Anpu warriors, and locked in a volcanic crater, the Huracan. Marethyu is brought before Aten , the lord of Danu Talis, whom he brings to release him so that he can carry out his mission. But Aten's brother Anubis , who leads the Anpu warriors, decides, together with his mother Bastet , to depose Aten, as he apparently betrays Danu Talis to Marethyu; the two want to seize power.

Abraham the Magician sends his confidante Prometheus to the Huracan to free Scathach, Johanna, Saint-Germain, Palamedes and Shakespeare. They flee to the tower of Abraham in a rukma, a battle vimana. The tower, called the King's Tower , is besieged by Anpu, but Gilgamesh and Tsagaglalal have taken over the defense. When the fight is almost lost, Marethyu shows up and saves her. Then Abraham orders them all to destroy the island, otherwise the known world would cease to exist.

John Dee, Virginia Dare and Josh and Sophie finally arrive at Danu Talis, where Isis and Osiris await them. Dee recognizes his masters in them and asks for forgiveness, Josh and Sophie recognize in them their parents.

characters

Tsagaglalal, the guardian

New in the fifth volume are:

  • Isis and Osiris : The two elders live in a shadowy realm, which is modeled on the lost island of Danu Talis, but rule over a multitude of other realms. You are aunt and uncle of Aten and Anubis .
  • Hel : The older one was once beautiful and lived in an ornate realm of shadows made of metal. Through the fault of John Dee , her world was destroyed and she turned into an almost dog-like being. She sends the Torbalan on Dee's trail and teams up with her uncle Odin to kill Dee.
  • Tsagaglalal or The Guardian: She is Gilgamesh's sister and was the wife of Abraham the Magician. She watched the twins from birth in the form of Aunt Agnes. She gets the various characters to band together against Dee and gives them messages from her husband from the past. She trains Sophie in earth magic. The smell of her aura is jasmine .
  • Torbalan (Sackmen; Boggarts ): These creatures are sent by Hel to hunt Dee. In doing so, they appear as cyclists who carry a backpack whose dangerous contents are known only to few.
  • The Lotan: It is a seven-headed water dragon that Nereus Machiavelli gave to let loose on San Francisco . He withdraws the aura from beings in his environment and eats them on it. When a newly hatched Lotan comes into contact with water, it immediately grows to a huge size.

The following characters appear in her past:

  • Abraham the Wise: It is unknown what kind of being he is. He lives in a crystal tower on Danu Talis, where he prophesies the fate of the world. Over time, his aura hardened and he turned into a golden statue, which is why he wrote down all his knowledge in the Codex beforehand.
  • Prometheus and Gilgamesh : They are allies of Abraham.
  • Tsagaglalal: She is the wife of Abraham and sister of Gilgamesh.
  • Aten or Akhenaten: the elder succeeded his father on the throne of Danu Talis, but eventually allied himself with Marethyu.
  • Bastet : She is the mother of Aten and Anubis and, together with Anubis, wants to overthrow Aten, who in her eyes is a traitor.
  • Anubis : His mother Bastet orders him to kill Aten, Marethyu and the other prisoners.
  • Anpu: The warriors with jackal heads, red eyes and saber teeth are under the command of Anubis. You are responsible for the defense of Danu Talis.
  • Isis and Osiris: They support Anubis and Bastet's plan and receive Josh, Sophie, Dee and Virginia Dare on Danu Talis. Dee addresses them as "masters", for Josh and Sophie they prove to be mother and father.
  • Megalodons : They are huge, shark- like creatures that live in the waters of Danu Talis.

reception

Reviews

Jan Chapman gave the book the highest rating of five points in Voice of Youth Advocates magazine . Scott brought new energy to the series with this tape; the conflict between the twins enriches the action-packed story with tension, and the characters appear more developed than before. The accumulation of mythological beings is a little confusing, as always, but increases the fun and excitement. The subplot with the journey back in time to Atlantis is skilfully staged and very entertaining. The short and very clear sentences drove the reader further and complemented the great pace of the plot. The series goes well with the books by Rick Riordan .

Alissa LeMerise reviewed the audiobook in the School Library Journal and described it as a "must-have" and an "edge-of-the-seat" adventure: It is the next "exciting, action-packed" part of a series that is probably one of the most notable representatives of modern fantasy could be counted. None of the characters is who they pretend to be, and there are big surprises. The cliffhanger at the end increases expectations for the last part.

In the Main-Echo it was judged that the series fits perfectly into the portfolio of the fantasy genre. The story of the book is "captivating and full of black magic, beyond the realities of young readers and precisely because of that so fascinating". Both male and female readers would be addressed.

Placements

The book reached on the book report bestseller list No. 21 (Hardcover / Fiction) and No. 5 (youth books), on the financial newspaper bestseller list 10th place in the bestseller list of USA Today , the original edition reached number 13; The Secrets of Nicholas Flamel rose to number two on the New York Times youth series bestseller list .

Literary references

In chapter 47, Tsagaglalal quotes the line In itself there is nothing neither good nor bad. Thinking makes it so. from Hamlet by William Shakespeare .

Book editions

  • Michael Scott: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - The Warlock . Delacorte Press, New York 2011, ISBN 978-0-385-73533-9 .
  • Michael Scott: The Secrets of Nicholas Flamel - The Black Warlock . cbj, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-570-15433-5 (hardcover).
  • Michael Scott: The Secrets of Nicholas Flamel - The Black Warlock . cbj, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-570-40208-5 (paperback).

Audio book

No German audio book was published .

The English audio book is unabridged and will be read by Paul Boehmer. It was released on May 24, 2011 by Listening Library. Alissa LeMerise praised Boehmer in the School Library Journal for the use of characteristic accents and tones with which he portrayed the most varied of characters in a remarkable way and brought the story to life.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The books on the official website . September 14, 2008. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved on August 10, 2012.
  2. ↑ Michael Scott: Revealing the Identity of Warlock (s) , Flamel's Secret Forum. August 9, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2014. 
  3. ↑ Jan Chapman: The Warlock: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel . In: Voice of Youth Advocates . Vol. 34, No. 3 , August 2011, p. 297-298 .
  4. ↑ a b Alissa LeMerise: The Warlock: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flamel, Book 5 . In: School Library Journal . Vol. 57, No. 9 , September 2011, p. 73 ( online [accessed October 26, 2012]).
  5. ↑ Simone Bartz / Martina Jordanr: From Another World . In: Main-Echo . September 14, 2012 ( online [accessed November 12, 2012]).
  6. ↑ Book on the book report bestseller list . buchreport.de. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved on April 20, 2012.
  7. ^ Book on the Börsenblatt bestseller list . boersenblatt.net. March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ The book on USATODAY ( en ) USATODAY. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  9. ↑ The book on nytimes.com ( en ) New York Times. June 13, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  10. ^ English audio book ( s ) Random House USA. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
The Secrets of Nicholas Flamel
Author: Michael Scott
Books

The Immortal Alchemyst  (2007) • The Dark Magician  (2008) • The Mighty Sorceress  (2009) • The Eerie Spirit Caller  (2010) • The Black Warlock  (2011) • The Silver Magician  (2012)

Spin-offs

Lost Stories  (2015)