Michael Scott: The Warlock

In the first four books in Irish author Michael Scott’s series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, twin siblings Sophie and Josh Newman have been caught up in a centuries-old battle for magical power in which they encounter everyone from Joan of Arc and Gilgamesh to Machiavelli and Billy the Kid. But no matter how challenging the situation, at least they had each other.

That dynamic has changed in the fifth installment, The Warlock. While Sophie remains with the dangerously weak Flamel and his wife Perenelle, Josh has joined their antagonist, Dr. John Dee, now in possession of the formula for immorality that has kept the Flamels alive for hundreds of years. While a group of warriors attempt to destroy Danu Talis—you know it as Atlantis—to help humanity survive, a scourge of monsters is about to be set loose from Alcatraz to destroy everything. Scott’s rich tangle of folklore and history builds toward the conclusion that will come in the sixth and final book—but enjoy this one with the author this week. (Scott Renshaw)

Michael Scott: The Warlock @ Barnes & Noble, 7157 S. Plaza Center Drive, West Jordan, 801-282-1324, June 7, 6 p.m., free