The Necromancer and The Warlock by Michael Scott are the fourth and fifth books respectively in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. The first three books were good, but in truth they were merely a warm up for the complicated, winding, explosive penultimate books.

And there is still more to come...

Note: If you are new to The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, please read our review of the first 3 books.

In the Necromancer things start to fall into place. We learn more about our mysterious host of characters - from The Witch of Endor to the mysterious hook handed man - and also of the path of destiny they follow. It is a pretty complicated storyline, certainly far more complicated than I originally expected when I started reading this YA book, but it is all the better for it. What Scott does so well is create this vast, expansive story, with various arks and an ever growing cast, but manages to keep his writing simple, to the point and highly effective.

Scott is unafraid to draw in more and more characters. Some die off quick, others stick around. Some seem to die off quick only to come back with a vengeance. The more we and the twins learn about the people they meet, the less we can trust them. Although many are hugely likeable, they all have their own secret agendas, which are beginning to be revealed.

The Warlock is the strongest book in the series so far. It is the penultimate and kept me glued from page one. It is hard to go into detail about a story so late in the series, but it is safe to say that secrets are being revealed, promises broken and battles are being fought.

And the ending to The Warlock. Well, I didn't see it coming until it was punching me in the face. I can't remember the last time a cliff hanger and plot reveal surprised and pleased me as much as this one.

When I was first sent the first few books in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series I was dubious. I put off reading them for months and months, but as soon as I did I was hooked, and they just keep getting better.

Highly recommended.

JA

Read a review of the first three books in the series here.

Order your copy of The Necromancer from Amazon UK

Order your copy of The Warlock from Amazon UK

Note: Thanks to Lisa Hayden and Rosi Crawley at Random House for sending the books for review.