Magyk
(The Septimus Heap series, Book 1)
Angie Sage
HarperTrophy
Fiction, YA Fantasy
*****
DESCRIPTION: Ten years ago, Septimus Heap - the omened seventh son of a seventh son - was born to the Ordinary Wizard Silas Heap (once in line to become the powerful
ExtraOrdinary Wizard of the great Castle) and his wife Sarah... only to be taken away, apparently dead, by the midwife. Coming home that winter evening, Silas happened upon an
infant girl abandoned in the snowy woods. The timing seems oddly coincidental, him losing a baby and finding one the same day, but the Heaps aren't the kind to turn away a
person in need.
Young Jenna was raised in the hectic Heap household, learning wizardry with her brothers. While their eyes turned a piercing shade of green like most gifted children
exposed to Magyk, her own remained violet, further proof of a question she hasn't yet found the words to ask. Now, on her tenth birthday, the time has come for the truth to
emerge. The Supreme Custodian, a petty, corrupt ruler, has slowly but surely pushed the once-venerated Wizards out of power, banning Magyk from the schools and turning the
lively Castle into a dark, oppressed, and joyless world. The current ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand, comes to collect young Jenna - who has royal blood in her veins -
and ends up on the run when agents of Darke Magyk close in for the kill. With her are the entire Heap family and a nameless boy from the Custodian's Young Army, whom they
saved from freezing to death on watch.
The Darke Magyk agents work for an old foe of the Castle and its Wizards. DomDaniel, once ExtraOrdinary Wizard of the Castle himself, has long been banished by the power of
the Wizards and the presence of the lost princess. Thanks to his spies and loyal servants, his plans to return are nearly complete - for he has with him a most extraordinary
Apprentice, a seventh son of a seventh son... the long-lost Septimus Heap himself.
REVIEW: Ever since Harry Potter cracked the bestseller charts, almost every young adult fantasy book on the market claims boldly to be "perfect for fans of Harry," some
even going so far as to claim to be the "next Harry Potter." This one is no exception: "Heads up, Harry, there's a new young wizard on his way up," warns one enthusiastic review
(Kirkus) on the back cover. I take these recommendations with several grains of salt; in my experience, the more times a blurb compares a book to another, far more popular story,
the less like that story (and the less original in general) the book is. This time, however, I must say that they hit fairly close. Magyk is not an attempted clone of
Harry Potter, but for some reason this book reminded me of Harry's first book, when magic was a fun, wild world to discover, yet with shadows to hint at
darker things to come. Both stories have distinctive characters, absorbing and fast-moving plots, fun incidentals, and a whimsical overtone to the magic mingled with shades of
true danger. The very fact that Sage isn't desperately trying to copy Rowling is why I can recommend her book to those who enjoy Rowling's style. Given the overall lighthearted
nature of the story, my only real complaint is that the illustrator had no idea what a wolfhound looks like and instead drew a wolf dog. I have no idea whether or not
Magyk will end up spawning as grand a tale as Harry Potter's first adventure did, but I thoroughly enjoyed this first book and look forward to future adventures.
This paperback edition includes several extras, including follow-ups on several incidental characters and a sneak-preview of the second Heap book, Flyte. I haven't read
the extras thoroughly, but the parts I've read are fun and maintain the feel established in the story.
You might also enjoy:
The Artemis Fowl series (Eoin Colfer, YA Fiction - A boy criminal mastermind pits his wits against the underground Fairy nation)
Bruce Coville's Magic Shop books (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - Children in trouble find their way to a mysterious magic shop)
The Shadow Children sequence (Margaret Peterson Haddix, YA Fiction - After a near-future famine collapses democracy, an illegal third child decides to fight back against the corrupt system)
The Glasswright's Apprentice (Mindy L. Klasky, Fiction - A girl discovers a dark conspiracy when her guild is persecuted after a royal assassination)
The Water Mirror (Kai Meyer, YA Fiction - A girl in an alternate, magical Venice discovers dark forces threatening to hand the city over to its enemies)
The Seventh Tower series (Garth Nix, YA Fiction - In a world of light magic and living shadow servants, a boy uncovers a web of corruption and a dark threat to all)
The Diadem series (John Peel, YA Fiction - Three children are plucked from three different worlds, united by magical gifts and a common destiny)
The Circle of Magic quartet (Tamora Pierce, YA Fiction - Four children learn they have powerful, undetected magical abilities)
Deltora Quest (Emily Rodda, YA Fiction - After dark magic destroys the land, a boy and his companions must search for the scattered magical gems that will save everything)
The Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowling, YA Fiction - An orphan learns of his wizardly heritage)
Wizard's Hall (Jane Yolen, YA Fiction - A boy of dubious talents enrolls at a magical school)
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Flyte
(The Septimus Heap series, Book 2)
Angie Sage
HarperTrophy
Fiction, YA Fantasy
***+
DESCRIPTION: Septimus Heap, seventh son of the seventh son Silas Heap (head of the wizarding Heap household), has been restored to his home and proper name, now working as the Apprentice to the Castle's ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand. The Heap's beloved adopted daughter Princess Jenna, in lieu of any surviving family, lives with them in the Palace, vacated by the flight of the cruel puppet-ruler Supreme Custodian and the death of his Necromancer string-puller, former ExtraOrdinary Wizard DomDaniel. But Necromancers aren't so easy to kill as it might seem, and a Heap boy with a bone to pick has struck a dark bargain with his earthly remains. One year after DomDaniel's disappearance and Septimus's restoration, the forces of Darkeness are once again poised to take another swipe at taking control of the Castle.
REVIEW: Much like the first book, this story is full of quirky characters, whimiscal wizardry, and fast-paced plot twists. An even larger cast of characters made it more difficult to pick out a name at first glance, and like most sequels the original thrill of discovering a new world has dulled in the revisit. The author seems to be all over the map in this story, without establishing the sort of direction and focus that a series needs. Some of her references seemed a bit too close to modern civilization to meld easily with her quasi-medieval magical world (would they really be familiar with baseball and modern-style tennis balls?) Her afterword, in which the origins of several apparently incidental characters are trotted out long after I'd forgotten where most of them appeared in the plot, felt entirely unnecessary. Still, it's a fun book, and I mostly enjoyed it, though unlike Harry Potter's adventures I don't find myself waiting on the edge of my seat for the next installment.
You might also enjoy:
The Artemis Fowl series (Eoin Colfer, YA Fiction - A boy criminal mastermind pits his wits against the underground Fairy nation)
Bruce Coville's Magic Shop books (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - Children in trouble find their way to a mysterious magic shop)
The Shadow Children sequence (Margaret Peterson Haddix, YA Fiction - After a near-future famine collapses democracy, an illegal third child decides to fight back against the corrupt system)
The Glasswright's Apprentice (Mindy L. Klasky, Fiction - A girl discovers a dark conspiracy when her guild is persecuted after a royal assassination)
The Water Mirror (Kai Meyer, YA Fiction - A girl in an alternate, magical Venice discovers dark forces threatening to hand the city over to its enemies)
The Seventh Tower series (Garth Nix, YA Fiction - In a world of light magic and living shadow servants, a boy uncovers a web of corruption and a dark threat to all)
The Diadem series (John Peel, YA Fiction - Three children are plucked from three different worlds, united by magical gifts and a common destiny)
The Circle of Magic quartet (Tamora Pierce, YA Fiction - Four children learn they have powerful, undetected magical abilities)
Deltora Quest (Emily Rodda, YA Fiction - After dark magic destroys the land, a boy and his companions must search for the scattered magical gems that will save everything)
The Harry Potter series (J. K. Rowling, YA Fiction - An orphan learns of his wizardly heritage)
Wizard's Hall (Jane Yolen, YA Fiction - A boy of dubious talents enrolls at a magical school)
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