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    Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk
    Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk
    Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk
    Audiobook12 hours

    Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk

    Written by Angie Sage

    Narrated by Allan Corduner

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The first book in the internationally bestselling Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, featuring the funny and fantastic adventures of a wizard apprentice and his quest to become an ExtraOrdinary Wizard.

    New York Times Bestselling Series

    “A deliciously spellbinding series opener.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

    “Fun, mystery, and rollicking characters.” —VOYA (starred review)

    “Fluent, charismatic storytelling.” —ALA Booklist

    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. Who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to the Heaps' beloved son Septimus?

    The first book in this enthralling series by Angie Sage leads readers on a fantastic journey filled with quirky characters and Magykal charms, potions, and spells. Magyk is the original story of lost and rediscovered identities, rich with humor and heart.

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKatherine Tegen Books
    Release dateMar 15, 2005
    ISBN9780060840495
    Author

    Angie Sage

    ANGIE SAGE was born in London and grew up in the Thames Valley, London, and Kent. She loves the sea, spooky old houses, and time traveling (the easy way, by reading history books). Angie has created many books for children, including the New York Times bestselling series Septimus Heap and Araminta Spookie. She lives in England. Visit her online at www.angiesage.com and on Twitter @AngieSageAuthor.

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    Reviews for Septimus Heap, Book One

    4/5

    1,827 ratings109 reviews

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    • 5/5
      great book for any age. thoroughly enjoyed the reading by the author

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This book was pretty interesting. Wasn't sure where it was going to go at first. But I was intrigued. Wondering & waiting to hear what was around the next corner. Can't wait to listen to the rest of the series.
    • 5/5
      I found myself quite intrigued by this book. The characters are well developed and interesting. Although some things are predictable there are still enough twists & turns to keep it interesting. A good book for anyone to read.
    • 3/5
      This is an easy and entertaining read, if somewhat predictable. I picked it up because my 10 year old daughter is reading the series. I think she is the intended audience, and she definitely enjoyed the book more than I did. My lack of complete enjoyment was simply the predictability, the writing is good and some parts are even clever. There is a mysterious infant taken in by a family whose 7th son has just died. There is a dead Queen and a hostile takeover of the government. There is, in fact, a lot going on. Some mature themes, assassination, adoption, bad people who want to kill people, icky monsters.
    • 5/5
      Really cute book with a magical take on magic. I particularly enjoyed the shield bugs :)!
    • 3/5
      This was the Free Friday ebook pick of the week from Barnes & Noble. And it's actually something that I wanted to read anyway. Win-win.Update: As others have said -- predictable. Which isn't a crime, but there's plenty of better YA lit out there. I did like the pet rock named Petroc, though one good pun isn't enough to make me continue with the series.
    • 2/5
      The large Heap family welcomes an abandoned baby into their home, little realizing that she is in fact the orphaned princess--now queen--of their land. Eventually the evil that killed her mother comes looking for her, and so the whole family (along with an ExtraOrdinary Witch) goes on the run.

      I could only get 26% of the way through this before I had to give up. I was too annoyed by the twee phrasing ("Silas felt a lurch in the bottom of his stomach, and it wasn't just the barley cake. It was dread.") and capitalization and bolding of every single magical--excuse me, magykal--term. It's written for a much younger audience than YA, so the plot and characters are ridiculously simple. Just no fun for an old fogey like me, but children might like it. It's a little wacky but still retains an essential sweetness of character.
    • 1/5
      Terrible. Relying on virtually every fantasy trope available, this is the most pointlessly formulaic book I've ever read. The phrase, "Don't waste your time," seems tailor-made for this tome.
    • 3/5
      This book did not initially make a good impression with me, mainly because of its plodding prose style. Even children deserve an author who can write elegant sentences, and even my 14-year-old could spot where a fronted adverbial was called for. This feeling was exacerbated by the fact that I was concurrently reading a book by Frances Hardinge, whose writing is a constant delight. I was also underwhelmed by the motif of a villain whose regime imposes Soviet-style utlitarian impersonality, which lacked justification in the plot or setting, and so simply felt tired.Having said that, once I got into the story, I did actually enjoy it. I can live without psychologically complex characters if the settings and the plot twists are entertaining enough. Unlike some other reviewers, I was happy with the long period of suspense during which the reader has guessed who Boy 412 is, but the characters have not (lacking the advantage of knowing the book's subtitle). I didn't find it very much like J.K. Rowling, and thought it closer in feel to Cressida Cowell, though with less slapstick comedy. I liked a number of elements, including the Messenger Rat and the fact that Boy 412's grim training actually comes in handy. I do plan to read on in the series.MB 09-viii-2021
    • 2/5
      Children's fiction; magic/adventure. This might have been better when read vs. heard on audio, I thought the pacing wasn't fast enough (couldn't they figure out the true identity of Boy 412 already?!!?) but it wasn't a bad story, and there were lots of funny moments. Would recommend to HP fans (if they haven't already read it).
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed this middle grade fantasy story. The cast of characters were varied and enjoyable (down to the messenger rat). The story had a humor that kept me reading. The ending was a little predictable, but the humor and characters made it enjoyable, nonetheless. I will definitely continue the series.
    • 5/5
      My family listened to this middle grade classic every night before bed for a week. It was exciting and endearing experiencing this anew through my daughter's eyes. She's 10 years old and she love, love, LOVED it!! I can't express that enough. She was begging for us to start book #2 even though it was waaay past her bedtime when we finished this book. Magyk has it all. There's a unique magical world occupied by all sorts of creatures both helpful and malevolent. There's (PG) action galore with wizards, and ghosts, an assassin and royal drama. There's betrayl, twisty turns and (easily sussed out) character reveals. Overall:This is great fun for bibliophiles of all ages. I can't reccomend this book highly enough. We're off to book #2, Flyte... well, we will be once we get some much needed ZZZZZs.~ Enjoy
    • 4/5
      A promising beginning to a fun series. The Heap family are loving and practical and hopeful. The wizards and interesting. The adventure is exciting. And this book explores the idea of identity and figuring out who you are.
    • 4/5
      Fun children's book. Fun characters.
    • 4/5
      A fun fantasy novel that kids will really get into. Longer review to come.
    • 4/5
      To be honest, when I began this book I wasn't sure I'd like it. I am not at all a fan of spelling magic as "magyk" and I thought that sort of thing would drive me nuts. But then a wonderful thing happened: I fell into the world of this book and didn't come out until I'd finished it, hours later. The feeling of reading it reminded me of how I felt when I was a young adult (or even younger) and discovering fantasy books for the first time. I'm looking forward to curling up with a cup of hot chocolate and book two as soon as I can.
    • 4/5
      I had really high hopes for this book since it was recommended by a friend. I was not disappointed. I did feel it was slightly difficult to follow in the beginning 10 or so chapter's but after that it was smooth sailing. As the mother of 4 I have a feeling these books are going to get alot of use.
    • 4/5
      I love Sage's voice in this. I wish she'd turn the snark up half a degree, but as-is, I'll take what I can get. I wish they hadn't made the parentage issue so obvious, but it's for kids, they probably wouldn't have seen it coming.
    • 4/5
      There's something about the seventh son of a seventh son that grabs my attention, which is just what this book did, lying in a huddle (or would that be a chapter) of books set out for others to pick up at a recent fantasy con I attended. Apparently this is the start of a series, and had the misfortune to come out during the craze involving another boy wizard, thus got kind of buried. But it's got charm of its own, and some lovely characters. (I admit to being thrown a couple of times when locations/descriptions distinctly our own world slipped in there (Roman, Sargasso Sea, etc) I'd assumed another world, or an alternate one, so it knocked the flow back a peg for me.) I also liked that this was not necessarily a story about a boy, or about a girl, but about several different young folk finding their truths and their paths.Will pass this on to a friend who has kids in the target age range.
    • 4/5
      Septimus Heap Series, #1...

      My 9 year old son and I listened to the audio version in the car. It was really good- a lot of fun! He got wrapped up in the story too which isn't an easy thing for boys. The narrators were fantastic though which makes a huge difference! I never listen to audio books with crappy narrators. I can tell in the first few minutes if they are going to be good or not. If they suck, they go right back to the library. : ) But anyways, this one was definitely a success. It had magic with fun spells, assassins on the hunt for a princess, cool characters- animals included and a lot of action to keep everyone entertained. We are looking forward to starting the next one in the series tomorrow.

      "Crazy as a cuttlefish 
      Nasty as a RAT
      Put her in a pie dish
      Give her to the CAT!”
      -Angie Sage, Magyk
    • 4/5
      This was a very fun read! The characters were enjoyable, the action was fast, and the pace was perfect for a book in the YA genre.

      I read some of the other reviews and saw many negative comments about the reading level and pandering style of the author. I don't agree with that at all, and think this is the perfect book to engage the more hesitant readers in middle school grades. At a hefty 500 pages, this type of book is needed to encourage and hook young readers, making them readers for life.

      I am also loathe to read reviews where this is compared to the Harry Potter series. While it is a fantasy book, with wizards and such, this is a totally different story. It cannot be compared, and suffers from the expectation that a comparison with the best-selling series in history invites. This is its own story, with simple and straightforward characters, clear action, and an intriguing storyline.

      Buy this for your middle schooler and get ready for a love affair with Septimus Heap!

      Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      I really liked this book: as you know I had read Book 3 for our tag, and I liked the story so much, that I have decided to read the entire series.

      As "Ordinary Wizard" Silas Heap is on his way home, he finds an infant hidden under a bush in the snow. Upon crossing the gate "Extra Ordinary Wizard" Marsha orders Silas to "tell no one" of his find. When Silas returns home to his wife Sarah he finds the midwife rushing out the door with his seventh son, Sepitums, saying that the baby is dead.... So begins the story of Sepitmus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, Queenling Jenna, the found infant, and the battle to save castle from the Evil Dom Daniel....

      The story has a myriad of colorful and magykal characters: Boy 412, The Hunter, Extra Ordinary Wizard ghost Alther Mella, the Heap family, the Keeper AuntZelda, the Boggart, and the now awakened Dragon Boat. Adventure, suspense, even humor all together for a very good read.
    • 4/5
      An enjoyable and immersive read. The variety of characters and locations really fleshed out the world nicely. The story was fun to follow and I found the good guys relatable. So little time was spent fleshing out the bad guy, he was just vaguely evil in description and actions, very one dimensional. I suppose since this is the first of a series, he was mostly a vehicle to move the story. I actually found the Hunter a better foe than domDaniel.
    • 3/5
      I often found myself thinking how much this book wanted to be Harry Potter, not that the story was derivative it just ached to be something it wasn't. I did tire of all the misspelt words: Magyk, Darke etc as there were times when the pages were littered with them. Once I learned to ignore them I could enjoy the story so much more.

      Magyk, is a pleasant book, easy going and one which would be good to read at bed time to a 10 year old. There were no surprises, for me at least, it's all a bit too obvious. Having said that it is also fun to read and you get through it quick rapidly. All in all I liked it enough to pick up the sequel and read that too.

      So 3 out of 5 is fair enough.
    • 2/5
      Blah. I'm sorry, is that rude? I don't want to be rude. I know I promised I wouldn't keep reading book that didn't fully entertain me, but then there is the problem of that they cost a lot of money when they are audio books. And I have to wait before I can buy a new one. And, it was mildly entertaining enough to sort of want to continue. Sort of. Here's what's wrong:

      First: The point of view problems were horrendous. I never knew who was thinking what and the jumps were disconcerting to say the least. Second, The story was uninteresting. I would just start to think it was going to get interesting when... ug. Third: What was with the end? What the heck was that? A synopsis of all the characters that I didn't even care enough to know were in the book in the first place?

      There was a couple of strengths I felt the author had. There were sprinkles of really good humor. And there were brief moments of really good writing where I felt like the world was real, but for some reason, they were not sustained. I think she has potential to write really good stories as she works on her craft, but I don't want to keep reading until I find out when that happens. And I don't know if I can trust other people because so many people liked this one! I don't get it.
    • 4/5
      Magyk is the first book in the Septimus Heap series. Septimus, a son of a seventh son, pronounced dead on the first day of his life. Well, you don’t have to be a genius to suspect there’s something’s fishy about it, as Sage dedicated an entire series carrying his name! ;)Anyway, it all starts with his birth, which entails an entire series of events. Even though some of them don’t come as a surprise, all the action with here a there a moment to breathe, make it a fast pace read which I enjoyed quite a lot! A magical and rather entertaining story, filled with action and fantasy!
    • 2/5
      my rating of 2 stars is a bit misleading. it was tough for me to decide how many stars because it contains some really great elements but it falls short in many other areas. i also have to say that i did not finish this- i think i saw enough in the first third of the book. but i did not stop because it was horrible... let me 'splain.

      the world described in Magyk seems interesting and comfortable. there appear to be wizards everywhere as a part of everyday life. anyone can be one given enough devotion to study the art of Magyk. the layout of the main city -really a large castle- reminds me of King's Landing in George R.R. Martin's the Song of Ice and Fire but it's only vaguely similar rather than a rip off. the Heap family is reminiscent of he Weasley's from Harry Potter but the author does not have the knack with names that Rowling does. lots of comparisons here, i know. but that's how it seemed to me: very derivative and unabashedly cobbled together from some of the best modern mythology out there. no shame in that since Joseph Campbell taught us that there's really only one Hero and he/she wears a 1000 faces and follows only a few variations of the same journey/adventure.

      to cut to the chase: this book seems like it was written by a small child. "and then this happened and then this; and that person was there; and then a Bad Man showed up..." this is indicative of the story itself unfolds rather than the prose. the writing is fine and even somewhat melodic and fairy tale-ish but the plot and storyline leave MUCH to be desired. without giving too much away POSSIBLE SPOILERS- why would the ExtraOrdinary Wizard fear enough for the princess's life after a military coup by assassination to hide her with the Heap family only to come and find her 10 years later by walking boldly and openly down through the city to retrieve her? also: the princess was hidden with a fairly prominent ex-apprentice of the old ExtraOrdinary Wizard who was killed at the same time by the same assassin that killed the Queen. also: the Heap family experienced the death of a baby boy (Septimus) just in time for the princess to be found and replenish their numbers. now, he did NOT die... and is reintroduced within pages as a hapless tower guard known as "Boy 412." contrivance after contrivance is used to get everyone where they are to be next without thought of any real world consequences, thus i did not care for anyone at all by the time i stopped reading.

      long story short- the plot is not believable even by fairy tale standards. but it was difficult to give this a Bad Review because i think, on one hand, this book would be great to be read to very small children under age 7. much older than this, and i think they'll start to ask some real probing questions like "why didn't Marcia retrieve the princess from the Heap's secretly in some wizardly way?" "why was it so easy for the Heaps to enter the Wizard's Tower?" "why did Marcie have to run from the assassin in the heart of HER OWN TOWER?" too much and not enough. however, it's not so easy to just say "this is for wee ones" and be done because there are certain themes and passages that are pretty harsh- like the assassination of the queen. she's shot through the chest and it describes the bullet passing through her heart and lodging itself in the wall behind her. ugg.

      therefore, i settled on 2 stars instead of 3 - or even 4. some elements are worthy of 4 stars and the overall feel is that of 3 but the preponderance of plot holes cannot be overlooked, therefore, a 2. enjoy!
    • 5/5
      Magyk takes place during medieval times and is about one baby, a boy named Septimus Heap, who disappears at night and another, Jenna, that is abandoned in the woods and found by Septimus' father the same night. During the story, it is discovered that Jenna is a Princess and that assassins are trying to kill her. Septimus' family protects her by moving to Marram Marsh, a land filled with magical creatures, to live with Aunt Zelda, a wizard. I thought this book was extremely creative. The author created a magical world filled with so many details, and clever touches such as rhyming names for all of the characters, that the story truly came alive in my mind. My favorite part was when they found the dragon boat under Aunt Zelda's house and rescued the extraordinary wizard.
    • 4/5
      Magyk is a book that is compared to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, and I honestly don't understand how anybody can do such a comparison considering that Magyk isn't even remotely close to Harry Potter. Angie sage's first book is a remarkable book that contains a magical world that draws its readers into it world and amazing characters that the reader will actually care about. The writing style is simple and it's an easy read for anybody wanting to read a novel. With all the pros though, there must cons, and unfortunately for Magyk, the story is not great and it's too predictable. The story starts out fast then slows down and doesn't pick up until about 2/3's of the way. Also, I think most readers will be able to figure out who Septimus Heap is before half of the book is read. Not only this, but it's really easy to predict most of the events in the book which is unfortunate because it makes the story less interesting. Magyk is a magical book that will entertain readers with an interesting world and characters, but the slow moving story may leave some readers putting down the book and moving on to other magical worlds.
    • 4/5
      Some scary characters, and dark themes at the beginning of the book, horrible monsters, death through gun shot, most characters get redeemed by the end, very impressed with the character growth through out the book. Deals with issues such as adoption.