Meet the Cast
Josh Newman
Just Your Average Teen Magician What we love best about Josh is that he's a totally normal teen: He was a normal high school sophomore, not too brilliant, but not stupid either. He played foot...
Sophie Newman
The ThinkerYou might think of Sophie as Josh's foil. They're opposite sides of the same coin. Sure, they're twins, and the two have a ton in common. But when they're different, boy, are they differ...
Nicholas Flamel
Nicholas Flamel is the Alchemyst. Yep, the book's named after the dude, so we're thinking he's got a pretty big role to play. At first, things seem pretty simple: Flamel is a mentor and guide to th...
Dr. John Dee
Dr. John Dee is one of the most famous magicians and necromancers (a sorcerer with the ability to raise the dead) of all time. Oh, and he's also Nicholas Flamel's enemy, and the major antagonist of...
Scathach
Scatty is the coolest sidekick. Seriously, we wish we had her on Shmoop's team. She's got awesome martial arts moves, her very own dojo, and—oh yeah—she's a vampire, too. Her full name is Scath...
Hekate
Imposing ElderWhen the twins meet Hekate, the Greek and Roman goddess of witchcraft and magic, they are awed by her imposing stature:Tall and broad, the woman looked as though she had been carved f...
Perenelle Flamel
This tall Frenchwoman has some fantastic magical powers, not the least of which is being able to conjure and talk to the dead. Yeah, she's awesome. Despite her tremendous intellectual and supernatu...
The Morrigan
From the corner of his eye, Dr. John Dee watched as pointy-toed, stiletto-heeled black boots came into view. And he knew then the answer to his question. The day was about to get worse: much worse....
Bastet
Meow. This ancient Egyptian Goddess has the body of the beautiful young woman and the head of the cat. Quite the combo. She is the Morrigan's aunt, Hekate's sister, and is so powerful that Perenell...
The Witch of Endor (Dora Witcherly)
Dora Witcherly is a feisty old lady who owns an antique shop in Ojai. Oh yeah, and she's also the Witch of Endor, or the original Witch. And it's lucky she is, too, because she arrives in the novel...
Abraham the Mage
We don't know too much about Abraham. But one thing we do know is super essential: he created that VIB (Very Important Book) the Codex, also known as the book of Abraham the Mage. We also know that...
Aunt Agnes
Aunt Agnes, or "Aunt Agony," as the twins lovingly call her, is Sophie and Josh's 84-year-old aunt with whom they are spending the summer while their parents are on an archaeological dig. Agnes is...
Sarah and Richard Newman
Sarah and Richard Newman are Sophie and Josh's parents. Or at least we think they are. To be honest, they're totally M.I.A. for the entire book. Mr. and Mrs. Newman dump the twins with their Aunt A...
Torc Allta
Torc Allta, or wereboars, are part of an ancient clan of shape-shifters from the time of the Elder Race. Scatty tells the twins that humans worshipped the clan as gods, and that's why the statues o...
Elle
Sophie's BFF makes a brief cameo in the very beginning of Chapter One, but drops out of the action for the rest of the book. She's got a crush on Sophie's brother, Josh, which makes Sophie a little...
Jefferson Miller
Jefferson Miller used to work as a security guard at Enoch Enterprises. We say "used to" because he's dead, but he still haunts the place as a ghost. He proves to be super helpful to Perenelle when...
Senuhet
Senuhet has served as Bastet's servant for the past hundred years. He ushers Dee down to meet Bastet at her Bel Air estate, speaks ancient Egyptian, and rushes into battle for his mistress. And tha...
Sphinx
A Sphinx is a creature from Egyptian mythology that has the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a beautiful woman. Because they absorb auric energy, Dee uses a Sphinx to guard Pe...
Pterosaurs
A pterosaur is a creature that is "neither bird nor serpent, but something caught in between" (19.57). They are about the size of a tall child, have bat-like wings, clawed feet, and huge mouths fil...
Golems
The golems are men made out of clay. Dee conjures up golems to imprison Perenelle, and to attack the twins. They're not too intelligent, and dry up in the sun. Check out the awesome passage in Chap...
Bernice
Bernice is the owner of The Coffee Cup, which makes her Sophie's boss. We never meet her in person, but we know that Sophie cares enough about her to leave a note explaining her disappearance from...