پرواذ

Septimus Heap #2

by Angie Sage, مهرداد مهدویان (Translator)

دست نگه‌دار! مي‌خواهي همه‌ي ما را به كشتن بدهي؟

اسكلتي از يك جادوگر سطح آب را مي‌شكافد و بلم‌ران با اين كه از ترس مي‌لرزد، اجازه مي‌دهد اسكلت، سوار قايق شود. بلم‌ران قول مي‌دهد تلاش كند تا اسكلت به زندگي برگردد و اسكلت هم قول مي‌دهد او را به كارآموزي‌اش بپذيرد.

اما اين بلم‌ران مرموز كيست و چرا خواهر خوانده‌اش جينا را دزديده‌اند؟

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Adventure

584 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2006

About the author

Angie Sage (born 1952) is the author of the Septimus Heap series which includes Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren, Darke and Fyre. She also wrote the Todhunter Moon series, and the Magykal Papers, an additional book with extra information about Septimus' world. She is also the illustrator and/or writer of many children's books, and is the new writer of the Araminta Spookie series.

Angie Sage grew up in Thames Valley, London and Kent. Her father was a publisher. He would bring home blank books that she could fill with pictures and stories. Sage first studied medicine, but changed her mind and went to Art School in Leicester. There she studied Graphic Design and Illustration. She began illustrating books after college. Then she progressed to writing children stories, including toddler books and chapter books. Her first novel was Septimus Heap: Magyk. Angie Sage is married and has two daughters, Laurie and Lois.

Reviews

[Dalia Nourelden · Rating 4 out of 5]

عودة مرة أخرى للرحلة الساحرة مع سبتيموس هيب الابن السابع للابن السابع والذى عاد اخيرا لمكانه بين عائلته بعد ان كانوا يظنون انه توفي يوم مولده . وأصبح يتعلم السحر على يد مارشا الساحرة العظمى التى أخيرا وجدت التلميذ الذي يستحق ان يكون تلميذها بعد ان كان السحرة قد فقدوا الأمل ان تعين تلميذا لها .
لكن مارشا ايضا مشغولة فى محاربة الظل الذي يتبعها وتخطط للتخلص منه لكنها مهمة شاقة وتحتاج لكثير من الوقت والمجهود .

جينا تعود هى ايضا بين عائلتها التى عاشت معها عشر سنوات لكن هذه المرة أخذتهم الى القصر .

لكن تبدأ المفاجئات فها هو أحد ابناء سايلاس هيب يبدأ فى تعلم وممارسة السحر الأسود بإتقان ويحاول اعادة التواصل مع النيكرومانسر دومدانيال الساحر الشرير وليس ذلك فحسب بل يرغب فى تنفيذ خططه الشريرة ليكون ساعده الأيمن



وبسبب شعوره بان سبتيموس هيب قد أفقده فرصته ليكون تلميذ الساحر الأعظم فى الوقت الحالى ليكون يوما ما هو الساحر الأعظم تمكنت منه الغيرة والرغبة فى الانتقام فهو لايصدق ان هذا هو أخيه من الأساس . فيختطف جينا أخته بالتبنى ويحملها معه على حصانه رعد



فماذا سيحدث هل سيستطيع التخلص منها ؟ ام ستنجح جينا فى الهرب؟ ام سينقذها سبتيموس ؟

من هو الرجل الغامض طويل القامة الذى يبحث عن الأميرة ؟

نستمر فى هذا الجزء مع جينا وسبتيموس ونيكو وباقى العائلة والعمة زيلدا ومارشا ونعود لنلتقى بالمركب التنينى الذى سيغوض مغامرة جديدة مشوقة 🤩.



وستانلى الجرذ الرسول قد تولى عمل جديد هذا الجزء ( الكاتبة متوصية قوى بالجرذان الصراحة 😁)

نعود مرة اخرى للغابة و ساحرات ويندرون لتخبرهم مورورينا الساحرة ببعض التنبؤات . كما سنعود لنلتقي بباقى ابناء سايلاس هيب. ونلتقي ايضا بعضو اخر من العائلة سيكون له موقف مهم فى مساعدة سبتيموس ونيكو في الغابة .

وظهرت مفاجئة جديدة من خلال صخرة كانت أهدتها جينا الى سبتيموس في الجزء السابق . مفاجئة مثيرة أشعر ان سيكون لها تأثيرات أكبر فى الاجزاء القادمة .

نلتقى ايضا بشخصيات جديدة مثل الفتي الذئبي ونعرف ماحدث لتلميذ دومدانيال .

أندمجت وأحببت هذا الجزء أكثر من السابق الذى أشعر انه كان تمهيدا وتعريف بالشخصيات وبناية علاقتهم ببعض ربما لهذا أطالت الكاتبة فى وضع الكثير من المواقف فيما بينهم . شعرت ان الاحداث بشكل ما أسرع . اسلوب السرد ممتع . الرسومات التى فى بداية كل فصل جميلة .

متشوقة للجزء الثالث الطب 🤩🤩

وشكر موصول لصديقتي سارة على مشاركتي لهذه الرحلة الساحرة 😘 وشكرا انها شجعتنى على الخوض فيها 🤩

١١ / ٢ / ٢٠٢٠

[سارة سمير · Rating 4 out of 5]

رواية سحرية من عالم أخر لا يعرف بعده الزمني او المكاني حتي
تأخذنا "ساج" في رحلة ممتعه وتعاويذ كثيرة وعالم يشبة عالم "هاري بوتر" ولكن بأحداث مختلفة تماما

نقوم بمغامرة كبيرة مع "سبتيموس هيب" التلميذ النجيب للساحرة العظمي حيث يحاول فيها أن ينقذ أخته بالتنبي "جينا" والتي هي أميرة البلاد من براثن أخية "سايمون" تلميذ السحر الأسود والذي يحاول التخلص منها ومن الساحرة العظمي وإعادة سيده النيكرومانسر "دومدانيال" للحياة مرة أخري



تظهر الكثير من الشخصيات أثناء الأحداث .. يساعد البعض منها "سبتيموس" والبعض الآخر يساعد السحر الأسود وسيده
الرواية في شخصياتها تشبة توزيع شخصيات "هاري بوتر" ولكن مع إختلاف كبير جدا في الأحداث والأماكن ومن الممكن في الزمن أيضا

الشخصيات مميزة جدا وكثيرة أيضا.. أهمهم بالطبع بطل سلسلة الروايات كلها وهو "سبتيموس هيب" الفتي المميز والإبن السابع للإبن السابع لـ"سايلاس وزوجته سارة هيب" وموقعة في العائلة هذا هو ما جعله مؤهلا بشكل كبير جدا أن يكون خليفة الساحر الأعظم وتلميذه المباشر
هو أيضا سيد التنين والأمهر في تعلم السحر بشكل سريع والتمكن من تنفيذ جميع التعاويذ السحرية

الشخصية التالية هي "جينا" وتتمحور الأحداث والمشاكل كلها حولها .. هي إبنة ملكة البلاد التي قتلت يوم ولادتها وتركتها وحيدة بدون أهل ليربيها "آل هيب" وسط أبنائهم لتتعلق بإبنهم الأكبر "سايمون" وتحتمي به دائما قبل أن يتغير

الشخصية الشريرة الرئيسية في الرواية هي شخصية "سايمون" الأخ الأكبر لـ"سبتيموس" والذي يفضل ممارسة السحر الأسود بعد أن فقد حلمه في أن يصبح تلميذ الساحر الأعظم ويحل مكانه بعد وفاته ويكرة أخيه الأصغر "سبتيموس" جدا ويغار منه ويتمني ان يتخلص منه سريعا ولذلك يتجه للظلام ليصبح تلميذ "دومدانيال" بدلا من "مارشا" الساحرة العظمي

هناك أيضا الساحرة العظمي "مارشا" وهي التي تعمل علي تدريب "سبتيموس" وتلقينه كل ما تعرفه من سحر ولكن في نفس الوقت تعاني من ذلك الظل الذي يتبعها ويزداد قوة ووضوح كل يوم دون ان تعرف كينونته أو سبب وجودة ولذلك تبدأ في بناء واقي الظلال وهو الجهاز الذي من المفترض أن يخلصا منه تماما

هناك ايضا "نيكو" أخ أكبر لـ"سبتيموس" وأخوته الثلاثه الذين يعيشون سويا في الغابه ومعهم الفتي الذئبي والذي كان أحد زملاء "سبتيموس" في جيش الشباب ولكنه اختفي أثناء التدريبات وتحول لفتي ذئبي فيما بعد
وساحرات ويندرون الذين يسيطرون علي الغابه ويعيش معهم ويتشرب منهم طريقة الحياه ابناء سايلاس هيب المتبقيين



أيضا العمة "زيلدا" والتي تقوم بدور الحارسة علي مركب التنين وهي أهم مركب موجودة لإرتباطها بالملكة دائما وضرورة زيارة الملكه لها كل عام في يوم منتصف الصيف وهو اليوم الذي حدثت فيه المشكله عندما خطف "سايمون" أخته "جينا" الأميرة قبل أن تذهب للمركب ليوقف هذا الطقس من أن يتم.



في المجمل أعجبتني الرواية جدا وكانت بدايتي مع هذا العالم الجميل حتي حمستني العزيزة داليا علي اكمالها للنهاية
شكرا داليا علي المشاركة المتميزة والتشجع 🌹🌹

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable book by Sage. I wasn't quite as enthralled with the second book as I was the first (some of the inventiveness and cuteness seemed lacking just a smidgen) but it was still a good story.
I felt it continued the story and plot well, holding fairly true to the characters and flavor of the first book.

I only have a few... not complaints... but rather things that weren't quite up to 5 stars:
I'm still awaiting further explanation of the magical world (though as it's only book two, I'm not too concerned). I think it's all there, it's just not entirely explained and I think it would be very interesting to learn.
A few times I feel Sage has her characters act too young for the rest of their actions. Yes, the cast mainly consists of people under the age of 20, so it makes sense that they would act "young," but sometimes it seems a little out of place (but, not often enough for it to be distracting overall).
Finally, (and yes this is super picky!), a few character traits were a tad annoying: i.e. how unbelieving the Heaps are to one of their son's actions, or how it appears that telling someone what to do firmly is all it takes to be a leader. I'm pretty sure that those weren't the intentions Sage had in mind - I'm guessing that she was trying to show more the undying love of a parent, and that leadership comes with maturity not age, but I'm not sure that it came off quite as well as some of her other messages.

I was very pleased by some of the new characters and the growth of some of the others. I give Sage credit for not manipulating a plot to get her where she needs to go. She seems to have things well set up and a good idea of where the overall story needs to lead. The book isn't very predictable (happily) in most cases, and I was very curious to see how the story unfolded and it kept my interest to the end. I'm anxious to read the third book, so that's always a good sign.:)

It's another nice fantasy story and it doesn't feel like a rehash of many of the other ones. Worth the read!:)


****

Review pending...

'm quite curious to read the second book in this series. I hope the quality continues.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so happy to report that I enjoyed the second book almost as much as the first one. Gives me a lot of hopes for the future instalments. It's not only the story that is magical, it has some very pretty art work that really adds to the magical reading experience. Makes me remember why I love a good middle grade

[Pat the Book Goblin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun! I think I was a bit gracious with giving the first book three stars but this one definitely earned the four I gave it! I really enjoyed the action, characters and story!

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 of this charming series. Man, I wish this series had been around when I was a kid. Instead, it’s my generation who’s writing all these great kid (and adult) books.

Most of the trouble in this series is caused by Simon Heap, the oldest of the seven brothers. Ah, the heartbreak. It’s full of adventure and humor and heart; a wonderful modern fairy tale. I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s a satisfying sequel.

The books did not like being stared at. They shifted about and one or two of the larger, more hairy ones emitted low, threatening growls.

Language: Clean
Sexual Content: None
Violence/Gore: Mild
Harm to Animals: None
Harm to Children: Endangerment
Other (Triggers): Ghosts (mostly friendly), family dysfunction

[✨Susan✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun series, I love how all the characters are so perfectly original and surrounded by a wonderful story that just keeps getting better with each book. It is fantastic how there is always new magic in so many avenues of Septimus's young life. Dragons, wolf boys, ghosts, magic all wrapped up in generations of splendid wizardry. Gerard Doyle's individual voices are so good that it is easy to forget that it is just one person. An excellent, clean story for all ages that moves along at just the right pace to keep it captivating and exciting. Looking forward to the next book.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

quirky, most definitely something new to the children's bookshelves. these books show a lot imagination and creativity. dark with light humour in between the nasty bits. i like the way angie sage also uses the phonetic spellings of 'magykal' words to show a distinction between the norm and the wizards. her World is full of adventure, surprises and humour.

[Vonette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first book, and rated it 4 stars because the characters were so three dimensional. I could really understand their motivations and believe in their personalities. This second book struck me as being put together more hurriedly than the first one. There were a lot of "holes" in the story (why do we never see into Marin's thoughts again after he leaves with Simon? Or even have any clear idea if he DID leave with Simon? why is so little mention given to the fate of the dragon boat at the end of the book? why doesn't it occur to Jenna to ask Septimus to fly her to Aunt Zelda's on his dragon rather than go to the rat office? why is so little explanation given of the identity of the shadow? why was that whole meaningless section about dragon droppings put into the climax of the story?) I imagine some of these issues will be expanded upon in the next book, but they still could have been handled better in this book so the reader does not feel that things are abruptly dropped in or skipped over without explanation. Also, the characters were not handled as well in this book. Simon is one-dimensional. It would have been more believeable for me if he had some ambiguity about what he was doing. There should have been some lingering feelings for his family that he had to struggle against. As it was, his character was so annoying that I actually wished the author would kill him off. It also seemed to me that his parents should have had SOME doubts about Simon's character, given his history. Instead, they seem to trust him blindly despite having many reasons not to. As a parent, I love my children, but I also know them well enough to recognize their weaknesses and faults. How did Simon's parents manage to miss such glaring ones?

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

🌟🌟🌟 3.5 stars

[Kasia (kasikowykurz) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kompletnie nie podobała mi się ta część, zupełnie inna od pierwszej. Cieszę się, że już za mną i mam nadzieję, że następne będą lepsze!

[Nastaran · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5✨

اوایلش می‌خواستم کتاب رو نصفه رها کنم چون برخلاف اینکه شخصیت‌هارو دوست داشتم جریان داستان برام جالب یا هیجان‌انگیز نبود. اما تصمیم گرفتم تمومش کنم و داستان بهتر شد، به نظرم نویسنده توانایی اینو داره که یه داستان کاملا هیجان‌انگیز و نفس‌گیر بنویسه اما توی این کتاب اینکارو نکرده.(البته که بعضی فصل‌ها واقعا خوب بودن) هرچند که در انتهای کتاب می‌تونیم رشد شخصیت‌ها و داستانو ببینیم و شاید این انگیزه‌ای باشه برای ادامه دادن این مجموعه و همراه شدن با شخصیت‌ها توی ماجراهاشون.

[ade_reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makin seru. Keren!

[Atharva Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the second book of the Septimus Heap series, Flyte we see Septimus as the apprentice to Marcia. This book is budding with a whole new lot of secondary characters, a lot of them, playing their role in the Magykal world. Then, there's the Dragon Spit Fyre to which I looked forward to and then there's Simon Heap, the betraying cousin of Jenna who ressurcts Dom Daniel, villain of the previous book. This book is not as quite as upto mark as the first one and I really miss the Marshes and the atmosphere there. The first half of the book is great, totally great but after it it begins to fade a bit. Simon can be considered from now on as a major character. Obviously, Angie Sage is an expert in character development and human anatomy and understanding and conveying the reader the emotions of young Children. I liked the captivity part of Jenna(The Chocolate Charm, especially) but after half the book it gets dull, though Septimus remains interesting. Also recruiting the Ex villain again just in the next book is not very cool. New charms, books, creatures, Magyk methods, Castle places, Characters are a major improvement in the series. Sage is very particular about parentage, in this book Jenna's father is revealed as Septimus' was in the earlier book. Mysteries keep unfolding every where and its really nice to see and experience TBS characters grow and improve their abilities. I hated the Dragon Boat Part and those misleading boat repairs. I loved the captivity, Shadow, Escape, Into the Forest, Discovering Boy 409 A.K.A Wolf Boy, Banishing Simon, Destruction of Dom Daniel Parts. Interesting and mysterious book. Strongly recommended to Magyk readers. I notice that Sage focuses many times on unnecessary points confusing the reader, especially in the early chapters, but still it was worth a 3.5 out of 5. Check the plot:-
When Simon kidnaps Jenna, Septimus goes out to search for her. He is assisted in his search by his friend Beetle. But Jenna runs away from Simon's observatory in The Badlands and makes her way towards The Port. Eventually Septimus is able to rescue Jenna with Nicko's help from the Port but they are tracked by Sleuth, Simon's tracking ball.

They make their way to the Marram Marshes where they take the Dragon-Boat from Aunt Zelda's cottage and fly her to the Castle. But they meet Simon, flying in the sky. Simon drops a huge Thunderflash on the Dragon-Boat and it drops over Jannit Maarten's Boatyard. Septimus, Jenna and Aunt Zelda are able to revive her through the Transubstantiate Triplet spell.
Septimus is also in search of the long lost Flyte charm. He finds the separated charm and unites it along with the small arrow Flyte charm that Marcia had given him. Eventually he is able to fly and even warns Simon never to harm Jenna again. Also, the rock that Jenna gave him at Aunt Zelda's cottage turns out to be the egg of a dragon and eventually it hatches. Septimus absolutely adores the dragon and names him Spit Fyre. The dragon for some strange reason identifies Marcia as his mummy, much to Marcia's annoyance.
Septimus also rescues Marcia by identifying the shadow that has been trailing her. He also finds out that the ShadowSafe Marcia is developing contains, unbeknownst to her, the bones of destroyed Necromancer DomDaniel, which, once reassembled, try to kill Marcia. With Septimus's help, Marcia is able to Identify him and he is once again destroyed.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one, maybe even a little bit more! I loved getting to know all the characters better and being able to learn more about Angie's world. I, once again, fell in love with her writing and I particularly noticed, and loved, how she gave everything a "voice". Even the stove and coffeepot in the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's kitchen had minds of their own. It was very fun to read those passages, in particular.

The only thing that could be a negative was that this book did feel a little filler-y to me. Nothing really seemed to happen plot-wise. It was all more character growth, which I'm totally fine with actually! I think it may be why I prefer this book, slightly, to Magyk.

But yeah, loving this series so far, and I can't wait to start reading the next one!

[Lori Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

first read June 17, 2008, second reading 2013, with my ten year old.

These books are addictive! I won't add more than I had a "woah!" moment when I saw the picture the illustrator had drawn for Marcia Overstrand -- I'd pictured her all along as an older, heavier wizard! Boy was I wrong!

Cool book, great series -- on to book three!

Lori Anderson

Lori Anderson:The Store
Lori Anderson:The Blog

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review that I posted as a comment in May 2012 because I was a Goodreads noob back then. Now updated to show as an actual review:

An enjoyable read :) Many of plot twist that didn't become apparent to me until just before I read them :P And at the back of the book with the "What happened Before..."s was fun to read :D It's nice to know how the minor characters came about, something you don't always get to know in books :)

[Masoome · Rating 3 out of 5]

کاش کمتر سانسور شده بود فقط -_-

یه جاش داداش دختره دختره رو می دزده با خودش می بره یه جا، یه دختره که پسره رو دوست داره می گه چرا اونو برده منو نبرده!
بعد اون دختر اولیه دختر ملکه س اما داداشاش نیستن...

[Kasi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Proud to say I have officially overcome my reading slump 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

[Labeba Salameh · Rating 3 out of 5]

كلا يا احبتي هذه الكاتبة لم تحصل على محرر جيد
مازالت تضع الادلة قرب الافصاح عن مضمونها بصفحة او صفحتين ما زالت تمهد للأمور المثير بطريقة مملة أيضا
ومازلنا نستكشف معها عالمها ضبابي التفاصل وكأنه حتى اللحظة غير مكتمل لديها وغير واثقة من تشكيله
من يسوق للكتاب في عيني حتى هذه اللحظة هي الرسوم البديعة التي تملء الكتاب و القصة الجيدة وإن كانت مصاغة بطريقة مستفزة
في هذا الجزء يعود سيبتم��س هيب ليغدوا تلميذ الساحرة الكبرى مما يشعل الغيرة في قلب أحد أفراد الاسرة
و الاميرة تبدأ باكتشاف موروثها من والدتها فهي ليست مجرد فتاة عادية
واكيد تعود قوة الظلام تحاول السيطرة من جديد مستغلة مشاعر الغيرة في عائلة هيب
شخصيات جديدة وكثيرة و أساسية تظهر في هذا الجزء أيضا
لن نصل الى خاتمة واضحة لكل شخصية كما حل في الجزء الاول تتكشف لك كقارئ العديد من الخيوط لكنها تبقى معماة عن أبطال القصة.
نعم ساتابع السلسلة حتى اللحظة متمسكة بقرائتها

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

I relate to Simon because if I was the oldest of not 7, but 8 siblings, and my youngest brother (who I just found out wasn't dead!) stole my dream job from me, I too would turn evil.

[Avery (ThePagemaster) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 Stars

Despite a star drop from the first book, Flyte is still just as entertaining as Magyk was. Re-reading this series, you pick up on things that sped past you the first time.

Flyte shows more magic(Magyk), Charms, spell books. And Dragons! In this one, Simon Heap, the oldest of the Heap sons, is still salty because Septimus Heap is now the Apprentice to Marcia Overstrand--but not him. So, he decides to go rogue(for reasons I won't explain, due to spoilers) by kidnapping Jenna. Septimus and Nicko adventure to save her and things ensue. Meanwhile, Marcia Overstrand has a "Shadow" following her around, causing emotional and physical strain on her, as well as those around the Wizard Tower.

As I mentioned before, the Magic/Magyk is more focused in this series, showing off more spells and more charms that do certain things, like flying, reverse, identify, curses, etc. With Septimus and Nicko exploring to rescue Jenna, it opens the world more than the first book did, which mostly took place at Aunt Zelda's house.

There were moments, also, where Flyte sets up for the third book and further; first, as a hint, then a little more obvious in some places, which fishtailed the story a little. But overall, it's still a thoroughly enjoyable series, devouring this 500+ page book in a matter of a couple of days.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flyte picks up Septimus' story a year later than when the first book of the series ended. It's really Jenna's story, too, as we learn more about the Princess. In this one, Simon Heap (Septimus' older brother) is the villian as he kidnaps Jenna, attacks the Dragon Boat and tries to bring back Domdaniel, the evil Extraordinary Wizard. Good continuation of the series and nice introduction to more characters that I expect we'll see going forward. These are nice books for young adult readers - pretty clean but dramatic.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit slower/less awesome than the first book. It seemed like the entire book was just made up of people not believing anything Sep said, which was frustrating. At some point, someone somewhere has to believe you. I just didn't understand the blindness everyone turned to everything Sep said.

It was nice seeing Sep visit his brothers and see the return of a few of the characters from book 1. Overall, I enjoyed it.

[Aidan Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flyte was a good children's book filled with interesting povs. The main story had many twists and turns and the title of the book takes on a new meaning through the book. The wit and humor is still good, but it is very much good and bad, and those who want to be one or the other. Overall numerous and a good read.

[Abigail McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4.5 stars
Septimus, Jenna, and Nicko Heap, my beloveds 💕

[Kathy Davie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second in the young adult fantasy series, Septimus Heap. In Flyte, young Septimus takes off on his own to rescue the young Princess Jenna when his brother, Simon, kidnaps her. For no one will believe that Simon isn't just taking her for a ride on his horse. Turns out that Simon is incredibly jealous of Sep's position as the Assistant to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard and fully intends to oust Septimus by the use of Darke Magyk.

Lots of fun, exciting, and scary adventures for both Jenna and Septimus with the ex-Messenger, now Secret Rat; escaping with the dragon boat; the new baby dragon, Spit Fyre; the Ice Tunnels; and, battling with Simon time after time.

Zelda's help comes in very handy in unexpected ways while Marcia, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, proves to be extraordinarily self-obsessed and unaware of anything that's happening around her. Although that's not to say that, Jenna and Septimus are necessarily bright in several of their adventures...with Simon on the attack, why on earth would they all ignore him when one of them is hurt. Surely with their existing experience at least one of them would have the smarts to keep on eye on Simon!?? Then when Simon is flying after them when they are on the dragon boat and Jenna uses the magnifying glass she stole from him when she was Simon's prisoner...and she uses it to great effect...why does she crumple face down to the deck when Simon goes on the attack? Why not keep using the magnifying glass?? Duhh...

Except for a few places where the characters act, well, out-of-character, I enjoyed this installment of the series and although Sage has not provided any tension about the future, I am looking forward to what she cooks up with the hints she has dotted throughout the story.

[Chrissy (The Every Free Chance Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why did I pick this book: I read this book because it is Book 2 in the Septimus Heap Series. When I read a series, I usually read the entire series, unless it is absolutely horrible. So far, this series isn’t horrible.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes. I enjoyed it more than the first book, Magyk. (See my review of Magyk here.) I was more used to the “misspellings” and the capitalization . . . it still got a bit annoying, but as I said, I was used to it this time around.

The story moved faster, and the characters were just as enjoyable if not more so. I really liked the scenes with the Dragon Boat. They were written in such a way that I felt like I was there watching the adventure unfold just like Aunt Zelda. I was also excited to meet the new characters: Beetle, Wolf Boy, and Milo Banda. They are all welcomed additions to this cast of characters.

One of my favorite parts was when Sarah Heap told the ExtraOrdinary Wizard how it was going to be when she requested a visit from her son, Septimus. That scene just made me giggle . . . you don’t mess with the Mom. We see this same frank attitude from Sarah at the end of the book as well. Sarah is not a prominent character in this or the last book but I enjoy her.

Would I recommend it? If you liked the first book, Magyk, then, yes, you should read this one.

Will I read it again? I don’t think that I will read this series again for the sake of reading it. This may change when I read the remainder of the series. I will probably read it again when my kids are old enough to read it so I can discuss it with them as they read it.

[Janie Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a magycal read this was. I had read this years ago and it seems like I took so much more away from it this time. I am so very glad that I decide to come back to this series. I really loved visiting with some of my favorite characters again and meeting some new ones.

Angie Sage adds the perfect amount of magic to this story. It allows her readers to become totally immersed in such a beautiful world where magic is real. And as I read it, I can really feel like the magic is real in our world as well. Reading this, I also found myself wondering what it might be like actually having a dragon, or the ability to fly. This is one of the reasons why I love this series so much.

In this story we revisit with all of our favorite characters. Septimus and his entourage must fight the evil that exists here. And Septimus must also come to terms with his brother Simon and his prospects of becoming an apprentice to his own Extra-Ordinary wizard. The story gives it's readers plenty of magical action and excitement. I look forward to moving on to the next installment, Physik.

[Jack Purcell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still entertaining, but I think the first in the series is still a better read. Not a lot of emotional character development and my feelings towards the characters really all stem from the developments in the first book.

One thing I’ve noticed is that there isn’t a ton of explanation as to why something that happens is possible. I feel like in similar stories there is some dedicated background or research into what’s physically realizable. Instead, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it plays into a kid’s imagination, the reader sees the characters escaping harrowing situations due to some unforeseen ability or magical property that the reader couldn’t have known about. I suspect this is the case for many kids’ books, especially ones with magic like this series and Harry Potter, as kids are more willing to suspend disbelief entirely.