Magyk (Septimus Heap, Book 1) [Student Edition] [Paperback]

Angie Sage (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2006

The Magyk Begins Here. Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, disappears the night he is born, pronounced dead by the midwife. That same night, the baby's father,Silas Heap, comes across an abandoned child in the snow-a newborn girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take her into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.; 2005 edition (2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439900115
• ISBN-13: 978-0439900119
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (203 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,530,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Angie Sage loves the sea, spooky old houses, and medieval England. Ms. Sage has created many books for children, including the Araminta Spookie series. You can visit her online at www.septimusheap.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

116 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Magykal, April 6, 2005

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Magyk (Septimus Heap, Book 1) (Hardcover)

After several picture books, Angie Sage makes a splash with her first novel. "Septimus Heap Book One: Magyk" treads familiar territory for fantasy fans, but it has enough humor and interesting magic to keep the story moving at a steady clip. As first-of-a-series books go, this is a keeper.

Ten years ago, Septimus Heap died in infancy. And on the same day, his father Silas Heap found a baby girl, and was instructed by the new ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia to raise her as his own. Ten years later, Marcia reveals that the girl Jenna is actually the future queen of that land. But she's in danger, and now a spy has found out where the girl lives.

Marcia tries to spirit Jenna to safety, but now nowhere is safe -- an Assassin, a Hunter, and the apprentice to an evil wizard are sent after them. Now Marcia, Silas, Jenna, the ghost of the wizard Althus, and a mysterious young boy are on the run. But not everyone is as they seem, and a boy claiming to be Septimus Heap may not be him at all...

The first few chapters of "Magyk" aren't too promising, since Sage's writing seems to be stuck in "picture book" mode. But when she gets to the present-day antics of the Heap family, she has settled comfortably into the writing groove. (Comfortable enough to even drop a blink-and-you'll-miss-it homage to J.R.R. Tolkien)

Sage's writing is solid enough, with enough details to keep the spare narrative from seeming colorless. Lots of goofy clothes, offhand humor, splashy magic and interesting characters are sprinkled throughout the book. Sage's style reminds one of Diana Wynne-Jones' early work, and her interesting magical (magykal?) systems and wizardly hierarchy seem to back that up.

Who's the main character? Hard to tell, since much of the action focuses on lost princess Jenna, but the focus shifts gradually to Boy 412 (as he is called until the last pages). Marcia is probably the most interesting character there -- dignified, a little haughty, very powerful, and sometimes overly concerned about how her clothes look.

"Septimus Heap Book One: Magyk" is a promising start for a new series, but is a good book when read on its own. Entertaining and a good novel debut for Angie Sage.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fun read, not entirely original, but enjoyable story, November 26, 2005

By 

Nathan Andersen "film lover, philosophy profe... (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Magyk (Septimus Heap, Book 1) (Hardcover)

I read this with my 10 year old daughter, and she loved it. For me it was drawn out a bit long, and lacked the originality and spontaneity of some of the best contemporary fantasy, including the Harry Potter series and the work of Diana Wynne Jones. The actual story begins by feeling grand but ends in a way that is a bit disappointing -- although it does pave the way for some interesting possible developments in sequels. The Heap family and Marcia and Alther and Aunt Zelda and Boy 142 are portrayed very well, and each of them has something that makes them interesting and worth spending time with. The villian, as someone else here has mentioned, is a bit lame, and not the real terror that he is painted as. He ends up seeming like a raving madman with a bit of power, who doesn't plan very well, rather than an evil genius. The Hunter is much more interesting, which makes the conclusion of his part in the ongoing story a bit disappointing. As someone else mentioned, the author's tendency to boldface every magical term (including "Magyk") doesn't have the effect I think she intends. What she wants, I think, is to make these terms seem special but they end up sounding like brandnames, or even generic products. Still, the characters are endearing, and the story is enjoyable, and holds enough promise that I look forward to reading the sequels with my daughter. I just look forward to them in the way that I used to look forward to seeing Disney movies with my children, not in the way I looked forward to seeing, say, the films of Hayao Miyazaki (and not in the way that I look forward to reading the next Harry Potter book with her).

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Great Fantasy Story, March 23, 2005

By 

Melinda Lundberg "Children's Lit-a-holic" (Duluth, GA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Magyk (Septimus Heap, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Ever since Harry Potter, the world of children's literature has been swarmed by wanna-bes, filling bookstore shelves with stories ranging from mediocre to absymal. This book breaks that mold. Magyk is filled with characters so real they practically leap off the pages. The plot is engaging, and the setting is, indeed, magykal. Kids who have been searching for another great fantasy world will love this book. I can't wait for the next one to come out. The only complaint I had about the book was that the font is different every time something magykal happens. That stylistic choice didn't add anything to the story for me. In fact, I found it a bit distracting. Not enough to knock it down to four stars though. It was still great.