Nicholas Flamel Series #5: The Warlock

This book was just released in late May. This review continues no spoilers and no plot information. After having read five books, I now consider the story to be as epic as Harry Potter, thus the importance of mentioning no plot details.

Right after I read the second Kane Chronicles book, I read the fourth installment in the Nicholas Flamel series, The Magician. I devoured the book in 24 hours. As with the previous book, I am eager to read the sixth and final story, The Enchantress, yet I will have to wait another year.

The Nicholas Flamel series includes a large number of historical figures as well as gods from all major mythologies. The series can be a bit confusing, particularly during the first couple of books. Each book in the series is more entertaining than the previous title, and the story continues to build.

Reading gets easier the further along one is in the series, since by books four and five, the reader is thoroughly familiar with the premise as well as the majority of the characters.

I thought the fourth book was outstanding, and the fifth book is just as good. At this point in the series, the reader is beginning to get an idea of how some of the plot will play out, but many questions remain. The fifth book ends with a major revelation in the final few sentences. The book ends abruptly with that cliffhanger, so the reader is left wanting more. That is what a really good story does.

I wanted to know about others' theories, so I searched for online discussions of the book. I found the Flamel's Secret forum, which is a site endorsed by the author, Michael Scott. I highly recommend this forum for fans of the series. Michael Scott is an active participant. He also posts a few messages in some of the fan discussions.

When I read some of the older threads, a certain theory was discussed. This theory shocked me, and I wondered if it would prove to be true. I wanted to find a certain passage in the fifth book in which a certain character was described. This is where I am fortunate that I decided to purchase the Kindle version for my iPad instead of the hardcover version.

I searched for a certain word and found the passage within a minute or so from the list of results. If I had purchased the hardcover, I probably would have spent at least 15 minutes trying to find the passage. Electronic texts have the distinct advantage of being searchable. How splendid!

I also am so intrigued by the series that I am now reading all five books again. Michael Scott has stated that all details are important to the plot and that nothing is coincidental. He has placed clues all through the books. Even a mundane detail such as a character's eye color is important! I am currently up to the third book in my second reading, and I have spotted many clues to future events.

I highly recommend this series. At this point in the progression, fans have just as many questions about the role of certain characters as Harry Potter fans did about those characters. The anticipation and speculation is most of the fun!

The Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire

I recently finished the second book in the Kane Chronicles series, The Throne of Fire. The Kane Chronicles series is written by Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series.

From the official Kane Chronicles website:

Ever since the gods of Ancient Egypt were unleashed in the modern world, Carter Kane and his sister Sadie have been in trouble. As descendants of the House of Life, the Kanes have some powers at their command, but the devious gods haven't given them much time to master their skills at Brooklyn House, which has become a training ground for young magicians. And now their most threatening enemy yet - the chaos snake Apophis - is rising. If they don't prevent him from breaking free in a few days' time, the world will come to an end. In other words, it's a typical week for the Kane family.

To have any chance of battling the Forces of Chaos, the Kanes must revive the sun god Ra. But that would be a feat more powerful than any magician has ever accomplished. First they have to search the world for the three sections of the Book of Ra, then they have to learn how to chant its spells. Oh, and did we mention that no one knows where Ra is exactly?

I enjoyed this book more than I did the first book. I still do not like these books quite as much as Percy Jackson, but I was kept interested from start to finish as I read this book.

My main complaint is that I am not very familiar with the Egyptian gods, so I have more trouble appreciating the gods and understanding their importance.

Above Standard or Standard Seller

I decided to check my Seller Dashboard on eBay. I know; checking the Seller Dashboard is never a good idea. I noticed that my performance standard has changed from Above Standard Seller to Standard Seller. I was mystified as to why the level changed. The Seller Dashboard has the following message.

We've recently added a new "Standard" level for sellers who meet our minimum performance standards, but who have fewer than 100 annual transactions or whose average detailed seller ratings are less than 4.60. Although your level has changed from "Above Standard" to "Standard", your performance remains in good standing.

Exactly what does that mean? I wanted more information, and it took multiple clicks to get to the full explanation (multiple clicks means more page views: see this post).

If you look at the Global standards preview in your dashboard right now, you may notice the addition of the "Standard" performance level. This will be coming to the main dashboard in May for US, UK, Germany and Global standards.

Both Above Standard and Standard seller performance levels have the same requirements for the rates or counts of 1s and 2s on DSRs. However, Above Standard also requires a minimum average DSR of 4.60 across all four DSRs, as well as 100 or more transactions over the past 12 months. Whether you have an "Above Standard" or "Standard" performance rating, you are meeting eBay's minimum selling standards and are in good standing. There are no consequences for moving from Above Standard to Standard.

Mmm, okay. The difference is that Above Standard has more than 100 transactions in the last year, and Standard does not. Furthermore, Standard can have lower DSRs. Somehow I am not reassured. I get why eBay has two classifications, yet at the same item, I do not get it. I have been through enough with eBay to be suspicious of any change in my performance standard.

On a related topic, it is crucial that sellers avoid getting low DSRs, since eBay has such high expectations. I have mentioned in the past my problems with other sellers of series books leaving me low DSRs on purpose—multiple times. I am not mistaken about it.

I have decided that if I am ever left low DSRs again by a seller of series books that I will place that person on a buyer block. Since I know that a buyer block would lead to a confrontation, I am attempting to avoid it by setting my prices slightly above what I think other sellers would be willing to pay.

This is why I am less likely to give away certain books. I would love to place some of my lots on eBay at very low prices, but at the same time, I am trying to avoid being hurt by another seller. It is unfortunate that eBay's DSR system is used to harm others, and my situation is a prime example of how the DSR system causes buyers to have to pay higher prices.

Keep in mind that I have no problem with people buying books from me to resell; just don't leave me low DSRs to hurt me.

An Assortment of Topics

I have several topics about which I would like to write, but I do not have enough for a cohesive blog post. Instead, I am writing this blog post which covers several unconnected topics and is just a sampling of the thoughts I have had during the last few weeks.

My comments are inspired by various discussions I have read on different message boards.
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Sooners Are Evil

One bewildering comment was an incomprehensible rant about eBay and Sooners and whether they had ever been "prosecuted by the feds." The rant ended with an entreaty not to buy from Sooners. Most respondents did not get the point of the message, and someone asked the original poster to speak in English.

Since I live in Oklahoma, I was relatively certain that the rant was a reference to the Oklahoma land run Sooners, but I wasn't for certain about what this had to do with eBay. The original poster came back to explain about the Sooners in the land run and how they had already claimed their lands before the land was open for settlement. The explanation ended with "first gets all i guess. unfair. someone tell the buyers."

Apparently, this person feels that eBay did the same thing as the land run Sooners and unfairly claimed the auction market before anyone else could. eBay is the most successful auction site because eBay was first. Nothing was illegal about it. This person apparently thinks that eBay should be prosecuted for being first.
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Too Many Clicks

eBay has deliberately made it more difficult to navigate its site in order to increase the number of page views. No doubt you have noticed that whenever I link to a completed eBay auction, you can no longer view the auction page without clicking on another link. Very clever! Now it takes two clicks when it would have taken just one.

Now eBay has removed some of the information from the main page of My eBay so that sellers have to click additional times in order to obtain the same information. This means that eBay is making its page views appear not to be on the decline. Which part of the site will eBay tamper with next in order to keep the views from showing a decrease?
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Listing on Multiple Sites

Many sellers list the same books on multiple sites. This can cause problems if the book sells on one site, and the seller fails to remove the listing from other sites. Furthermore, listing on multiple sites can cause problems with Google's product search, since listings on different sites for the same item violates Google's policy.

I have another take on this situation and why it best for sellers to try to avoid listing the same books on multiple sites. I have heard too many stories about buyers purchasing a book on a lesser known site and finding that the book had already sold on eBay. For this reason, I am paranoid about any listing that I know is up for sale on multiple sites. I am less likely to purchase a book when I know that it is up for sale on eBay as well as on other sites. Sellers should consider that some buyers might be reluctant to make a purchase when the book is available on several different sites.

Nancy Drew Clue in Diary Original Text PC

Nancy Drew #7, The Clue in the Diary, had only one original text picture cover printing.  The book is scarce but findable.  The problem is that most copies that surface are in rough shape.  I have owned the following book since 2003.

The book is in pretty good shape except for the water stains to the back cover and top edge.  The book is also slightly warped from the moisture exposure.  Every time I have acquired a 1932 text PC that is in approximately the same condition, it has had a flaw like a sticker scar to the front or back cover or has had significantly more wear to the edges.  I have opted to keep my book with the water stains, since my book has a nice front cover.

I always take notice when someone who has collected series books for many years decides to sell off his or her personal books.  When anyone who has collected for many years decides to sell books, some very good books come up for sale.  This person offered a 1932 text PC of Diary.  The seller mentioned a stain on the spine, but the book looked very nice in the photo.  I placed a bid and was pleased that I won the auction for less than my maximum bid and for within a price range that would allow me to sell the book if it turned out not to be better than my copy.

I was thrilled when I received my book and saw how nice it is.

The book has a water stain on the spine, but it is very minor.  The top edge of the book has a visible water stain right next to the spine, but it is also very minor.  Otherwise, the book has no flaws.  I am very pleased with this upgrade.

Nancy Drew Reverse Multi Endpapers

An anomaly that appears in some Nancy Drew books with blue multi endpapers is the reverse blue multi endpapers.

If you compare the above image to the usual blue multi endpapers, you will see what is different. All of the images are turned around in the reverse direction. This particular book is The Secret at Shadow Ranch listing to Fire Dragon on the back cover. It is an early picture cover printing, but not the first picture cover printing.

I have been told that this anomaly is generally found on early or first picture cover books.

Misquote in Listing

I do not usually mention listings while they are active, but I do not appreciate a seller seeking information from me and then appearing to deliberately misquote me in order to make a book appear more valuable.

Someone contacted me through Bonanza and asked me about the tweed book for Nancy's Mysterious Letter that has the title printed on the book as The Nancy's Mysterious Letter. I replied with the following statement.

It was a recurring anomaly that was on several printings during the 1950s. It is harder to find than the books that have the correct title. This makes it worth slightly more than the books with the correct title.

I received a response thanking me for the information. I was informed that the books were listed on eBay and that my information would be added to the description. It was not until the next day that I decided to check up on the listing. I found that my response had been changed slightly.

"RECURRING ANOMALY THAT WAS ON SEVERAL PRINTINGS DURING THE 1950'S. IT'S HARDER TO FIND THAN THE BOOKS THAT HAVE THE CORRECT TITLE AND THEREFORE IS WORTH A BIT MORE"

The statement was placed in quotation marks as though it was a direct quote. Not really, since the seller changed it slightly. The part that irks me is the final part. My comment about the book being "worth slightly more" was changed to "worth a bit more." That is a minor change, perhaps, but as a prospective buyer, I interpret it as implying that the book could be worth quite a bit more. Click here to view the listing.

Am I right or wrong about how I interpret the slight change in wording? Feel free to discuss. :)

A Nancy Drew Revised Text PC with Blue Multi Endpapers

All first printing Nancy Drew picture covers for #1-38 have the blue multi endpapers regardless of whether the books have the original or revised text. #1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 have the revised 20 chapter texts with the blue multi endpapers. All picture cover printings of these five books up into the early 1970s kept the blue multi endpapers.

Many other books switched to the black and white multi endpapers during the same time that those five books kept the blue and white multi endpapers. For instance, #7 was revised down to 20 chapters in the second picture cover printing, so all picture cover printings of #7, except for the very first one, have the black and white multi endpapers.

As other books were revised, the endpapers switched to the black and white multi endpapers.  As far as I know, the books always switched to the black and white endpapers during the same printing that the text switched to the revised text.  It would be rather unusual to find a revised text picture cover book, aside from #1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, that has the blue multi endpapers.

Last week I acquired a copy of The Whispering Statue which has the 1970 revised text and the blue multi endpapers.

The book lists to Mirror Bay on the back cover and matches the points for the 1972A-61 printing according to Farah's 12th edition.  One could conjecture that perhaps revised text printings of Whispering Statue kept the blue multi endpapers for a few printings.  However, I have another book that disproves this theory.

I have a Whispering Statue that lists to Crooked Banister and matches the points for the 1971A-59 printing.  This book has the black and white multi endpapers.  The above pictured book appears to be an unusual anomaly.

Nevertheless, I know from past experience that if one exists, others may very well exist.  Do any of you have one?