This
week, I read the Alchemyst, by Michael Scott. It is the first book in the
Nicholas Flamel series, and it is about twins name Sophie and Josh who discover
they have magical powers that can save or destroy the world. Their main goal is to keep the evil Dr. Dee
from getting the Codex and to learn how to control their powers and to use them
for good. As I read this book, it
reminded me of the many fantasy books I have read that seem to have a similar
storyline and theme. I thought of the many books where this is true. The Harry Potter series, the Percy Jackson
series, and The Nicholas Flamel series are all basically the same book with
different characters and slightly different plots.
In
all of these books, there is a battle between good and evil. The main character is good, brave, and
strong, is always a kid, and usually doesn’t know what his special role or
magical ability is. The main character
in all of these books was a teenager.
None of them knew that they had special powers until something
unfortunate happened to them and their elders had to tell them. Harry Potter,
Percy Jackson, and Sophie and
Josh were all very naïve and innocent, and they only wanted to do what was
right. Also in all of these books, there
is an evil character that wants to take over the world to increase his
power. In the Harry Potter series, it
was Voldemort, in the Percy Jackson series, it was Cronus, and in Nicholas
Flamel series, it was Dr. Dee. In each
of the books, there is an adventure or a mystery that has to be solved, and the
kids are the ones that solve it. There
is always a character that starts off good and turns to the dark side during
the series. In the end in all of these
books, the good guys win, and they usually win because they have the love and
support of their family and their friends that is strong enough to see them
through.
Even
though these books all have basically the same storyline, I love them all. I have read the Harry Potter series many
times, and I see and learn new things every time. I have enjoyed the Percy Jackson series just
about as much and have read it numerous times too. I haven’t finished the Nicholas Flamel series,
but I enjoyed the first book and plan on reading the rest of the series.
Reading Times:
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
9/9- page 1-120 2 hours
9/10- 120-213 1.5 hours
9/11- 213-309 1.5 hours
Aimee Claire, I have read all but the last in that series and loved them all! I'm excited that you're reading these because they are very good, in my opinion. I agree with what you said about Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, good job!:)
ReplyDeleteAimee Claire, you've pointed out some interesting similarities here and a significant literary phenomenon. These narratives all follow a common pattern we can call an archetype--in this case, an updated version of something called "The Hero's Journey," which can be traced back thousands of years and exists in cultures around the world. There's a lot to explore there if you are interested!
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