Adaptations are always difficult, be they for the screen, or in this instance, to a graphic novel format. I read the entire series about ten years ago, and I really enjoyed the world-building and adventure. The first novel, The Alchemyst, introduces the reader to the world of Nicholas Flamel (also of the Harry Potter universe), an immortal human who has been on the run for the last 700 years or so protecting an ancient codex that contains alchemical formulas and apocalyptic prophecies. Enter Josh and Sophie, teen twins who seem to be at the center of the aforementioned prophecies.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't enjoy this graphic adaptation as much as I enjoyed the original novel. I found the artwork stale. It stuck to a more traditional style with lots of panels and limited detail. I would have loved to see some two-page spreads and panels that flowed more organically across the page. I was also missing the world-building that I loved in the novel. All of the flashbacks into the history of characters were cut from the story. The dialogue bubbles didn't always flow well, and there was one section that seemed as if a page or two was out of order.

I hope this graphic novel brings new readers to Michael Scott's original novels, but I'm not sure if this adaptation did them any justice.

I probably first started this series when I was in middle school and to see what I saw in my mind on “paper” is such a weird and fascinating experience. Chalk perfectly captured what I saw as a kid and I can’t wait for him to illustrate the rest of the series!

If you've read the traditional novels, you know the story, but if you don't this graphic novel rendition does an excellent job putting it in colorful ink and imagery. By the end I couldn't remember what i had imagined when reading the story, vs. what were the images created by the artist. I loved how they conveyed each creature and it felt like a dark more grown up version of the middle years book. Looking forward to the rest in the series.

I have listened to the audiobook format of the The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel and this is a very accurate representation. Little is left out and the art shows the action described in the book very well. I will say the art style for this was not my favorite, but that might just be me. If you are looking to consume this is graphic novel format give it a try and enjoy.

I loved this so much! I really enjoyed the original book version years ago, but it was nice to reread it and have the imagery to go along with it. Fast paced, and action packed. A quick and wonderful read, I will absolutely be purchasing this one. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this one and give my honest opinion. I enjoyed it so much!

I really enjoyed this. The storyline was great. The graphics were beautiful. I was very engaged with the story, and I look forward to the next one.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


This is not the frail Nicholas Flamel we've seen in movies of recent years. No this Flamel is fighting evil forces on all sides with the help of a pair of twins and otherworldly beings. The graphics pull you in along with the storyline. Can't wait for the next installment.

I didn’t love this book but I didn’t hate it either… I think I’m going to read the actual book because there will be more explanation instead of having everything thrown at me. I wouldn’t read this again but I’m willing to try the actual novel

4.25/5 stars! I enjoyed reading this series a few years ago, so when I saw that it was coming out as a graphic novel, I was really excited to read it. The animation in this story was done so perfectly. Illustrator Chris Chalik did an amazing job. The storyline is as inviting and wild as it was as a written story. I think this graphic novel will usher the next generation of young readers into this phenomenal series.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

The Alchemyst gets a graphic novel and I'm here for it. The art work is great and the story is well written. I think young readers will really enjoy this version of the story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Fascinating. I've really become a fan of this style of graphic novel. I admit, I found it just a tad hard to follow at first, but that may be because I'm just recently dipping my toes in the waters of graphic novel retellings. My students are loving graphic novels of all genres, so I will likely be purchasing this one as well.

It's been over 10 years since I read the book this graphic novel is based on, but from what I can remember it's a pretty faithful adaptation. I wasn't a big fan of the art style, but that's a personal preference.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was very excited to read this since I remember loving The Alchemyst years ago when it first came out. Unfortunately, this fell a bit flat. This graphic novel is pretty faithful to the original novel, but some things got lost in transferring mediums that hurt the story a bit. In the original, there is more introspective to what the twins are feeling and thinking during the course of the book. They also took out a LOT of the twin's interactions with each other. Without those introspective moments and interactions between them, the twins feel a bit empty as characters. They're kind of just...there. You don't really connect with them, because you don't get to know them. The graphic novel seems to think that Nicholas is the main character. I know the book is named after him, but he's not the main character. The art style also felt a bit stale to me. Characters don't really emote that much, and there's pretty much no page flow. The magic scenes also felt lackluster, something about the way the effects were drawn just didn't look good. Also, who gave the character descriptions to the artists? They're sort of right but have some key elements wrong. This is technically nit-picky, but it was enough that I noticed. Nicholas's eye color is described as "so pale they were almost colorless". I would assume they are an insanely pale blue or a very pale gray. Why was his eye color the exact same shade of bright blue as the twins? Similar issues for Hekate and Dee. Hekate is described in the book as having "-lips so thin they were almost none existent. Her pupils were the color of butter." Yet in the book, she has large bright red lips (the way this is drawn, paired with her jet black skin is uh...not great. I don't mean as in badly done art, I mean in an "insensitive" way if you catch my drift) and the same shade of blue eyes as Flamel and the twins. Dee is described as a "small, rather dapper-looking man, dressed in a neat charcoal-gray three-piece suit-" and "His iron-gray hair was pulled back from an angular face into a tight ponytail, while a neat triangular beard, mostly black but flecked with gray, concealed his mouth and chin." In the graphic novel, he has no beard and his suit is a purple-ish blue. They're minor details that some people might not care about, but it was enough of a divergence from the book that it became annoying. If you want to experience this story in its best form, read the original novel This graphic novel is alright but pales in comparison.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this graphic novel as it brought back so many wonderful memories of reading this book back in high school. I loved the graphics and the story was a great representation of the original novel.

This graphic novel version of "The Alchemyst" is a fantastic edition to the series. It is well drawn and is a great adaptation of the text that adequately captures the emotions, drama, plot, and progression of the book. If a child, teen, or adult does not want to or physically cannot read the full-length novel or listen to the audiobook, this graphic novel is a great alternative.

I've been wanting to reread the novel for a while but never got the chance and thankfully i got approved on this graphic novel!

I remembered nothing from my first read on the novel so it was truly fascinating to dive into the myth-infused magic system once again, and to be finally able to see the setting & character's visual. But with the limited space, the story somehow felt a little bit anticlimax and moving too fast.

But I still enjoyed it nonetheless. When can I expect the next book's graphic novel? 😂

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I read this series around the time that it came out, so it was cool to see a childhood favorite pop up (but in graphic novel form)! The story has remained quite true to its source material, and as I read I could recall the scenes as they came up. The pacing of the story was good, and the story moved well across the pages. The layout of the text and graphics was easy to follow, and I didn't feel like my eyes were ping-ponging around the screen. Overall, my only issue with the novel is that the art style made it difficult to differentiate between the ages of the characters, and they all seemed to be the same basic form with different hair colors, skin tones and eye colors. I also think that in some of the fight scenes there could have been more differentiation between character movement and magic-wielding. The style appeared to be very traditional- like the DC and Marvel comics of decades past which was still very cool, but it would have also been cool to see a more modern approach to the illustrations.

A fun, enticing and intriguing novel that has some awesome characters, great moments of friendship and powerful, cutting edge twists.

This is the Graphic Novel adaptation of the first book of Michael Scott's Nicholas Flamel series, which I read back in the late 2000's around the time the book initially released. I enjoyed the story of the book so this review pertains mainly to the Art and adaptation of the original story. While I was excited to read this I found the Art style wasn't very much to my taste, and I don't think it worked particularly very well to the magical abilities and fight scenes through out the book. The dialog and narration remained fairly faithful to the original story and did convey the story fairly well. Overall the adaptation really wasn't for me, when reading a graphic novel the art is a very important part for me and the art style just didn't work for me.

Thank You to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.