Synopsis: From the back cover of the Little, Brown & Co. ARC: "Real Magic is Dangerous Magic in this modern-day battle against the dark side of ancient alchemy... When siblings Pip and Tim move with their parents to an old English country estate and hear a strange knocking from within the walls of the ancient home, nothing can prepare them for what they find: A mysterious boy, the son of a medieval alchemist, emerges and claims that he has been asleep for nearly six hundred years. Sebastian reveals that his father's evil enemy, de Loudeac, has also arisen - and is determined to use the secrets of alchemy to create an humunculous, an artificial human made from dead matter, who can be commanded only by its creator. Soon Pip and Tim find themselves entangled in a web of magic, horror, and intrigue as they join Sebastian in his quest to foil de Loudeac's villainous scheme. An irresistible combination of history and fast-paced adventure, science and magic - enhanced by chants, herbs, and potions drawn from research and medieval texts - will keep young readers at the edge of their seats."