In the forth novel of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, twins Sophie and Josh Newman find that their adventures with the alchemyst Nicholas Flamel and his sorceress wife Perennelle. Less than a week has gone by since the twins first met the immortal couple, yet they have found themselves transported from San Francisco to Paris to London and back. In the process Sophie and Josh have learned they may be the powerful twins fated to save the world. Their powers are clearly awesome, but they are just now learning about them and are finding out how to use them.

After barely escaping from London, Sophie and Josh have made it back to San Francisco and have reconnected with their aunt, who is less than thrilled at their disappearance. Before they have a chance to settle back in with their family, Sophie is nabbed by Aoife (pronounced Efa), this sister of their dear friend and Celtic warrier Scathach. Josh quickly finds himself chasing after Sophie with the hopes of rescuing her. In the process, he finds himself reconnected with the Flamels. He continues to have more and more doubts about whether they are really the good guys.

Nicholas' archenemy, John Dee, is in major trouble with his master and the other Dark Elders. He had been set with the mission to capture the twins ... something he failed gloriously. The result is a new view about his goals. Dee, who finds a new ally in Virginia Dare, decides that he is going to try to get rid of the Dark Elders and rule the world himself. Josh may just be the perfect tool to accomplish that since the young man may have the power to raise Coatlicue, the Mother of All the Gods. The problem is that she is also a mistress of destruction.

This is definitely a great addition to the series, but it is also a book that requires you to read the earlier novels if you are going to have any clue as to what is happening. There is a lot of action and adventure, and the tale is filled with figures from history and mythology. I had a hard time putting this one down because I really wanted to see what was going to happen. This is another one of those series that I can't wait for the next volume to come out. My understanding is that there will be 6 titles to the story.

The previous volumes in the series include:
1. The Alchemyst
2. The Magician
3. The Sorceress