Product Description

The seventh son of the seventh son, aptly named Septimus Heap, is stolen the night he is born by a midwife who pronounces him dead. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across a bundle in the snow containing a new born girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take this helpless newborn into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this myster ious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #176380 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-01
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 576 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Fantasy fans on the younger side of Harry Potter will find a good jolt of action, mystery and humor in Corduner's light and swift reading of this magyk-filled adventure. Infants switched at birth, spell casting, Brownies, boggarts, dastardly villains and wizards add lively scenery and action throughout. Though a broad cast of characters threatens to become unwieldy, Sage's smooth storytelling pace and Corduner's assured, inviting voice keep things on track. Sharp listeners will have young Septimus Heap's fate (and that of Jenna, adopted by his family) figured out before recording's end, but will still enjoy the ride. And since Septimus is the gifted-by-birthright seventh son of a seventh son, and this is the first in a planned trilogy, listeners are left with the anticipation of more to come. Ages 9-up (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8–A wide cast of characters battle the forces of Darke Magyk in a well-realized world of fantasy. At birth, Septimus Heap is carried away for dead, and his father, Silas Heap, is entrusted with a baby girl. When the villainous Supreme Custodian tries to assassinate the now 10-year-old Jenna, who, it turns out, is the daughter of the murdered queen, the girl flees to the Marram Marshes along with some family members, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, and a young army guard known only as "Boy 412." Pursued by the servants of the Necromancer DomDaniel, and aided by an engaging array of magical beings, they finally prevail in a satisfying and fairly exciting conclusion. Despite the hefty length, the novel is quite easy to follow. Many creative magical elements, such as the deliciously repulsive Magogs, add to the fun. Frequent point-of-view shifts give a well-rounded picture of the multiple plot threads and add many opportunities for light humor. On the other hand, with so many characters represented, it's hard to feel strong empathy for any of them. Jenna, the Queenling, and Boy 412, in particular, nearly emerge as full-blooded individuals at times, but neither quite stands out as an engaging hero. Villains are well drawn and varied, and most are more comical than truly menacing. The ease with which a once-formidable enemy like the Hunter is finally dispatched, however, detracts a bit from the eventual triumph of the protagonists. Overall, this is a fine choice for fantasy readers looking to delve into a new world with lots of magic, plenty of action, and a few neat surprises.–Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
This is a book listeners will not want to end. A marvelous, magical tale of wizards, witches, and a stolen princess brims over with fantastic creatures. Allan Corduner brings it all to life with charm and fun. Trumpets and violins take listeners in and out of each disc and help create a feeling of epic grandeur, and Corduner ekes out every bit of humor and adventure with perfect timing and wonderfully realized characters. He evokes the mischievous, the cranky, the amazed, as well as gives the main players real emotions. Listeners will be laughing and scrambling to get to the next disc. D.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Looking foward to the next book
I really liked this book. I'm looking forward to the next one.

Kindle version.

A Magykal Book
I loved this! The content was amazing, the idea of it was... Incredible! I really, really liked this book! I liked how the author spelt alot of the words diffrently than usaul. One of the most Magykal books I have ever read. Don't think it will be even CLOSE to Harry Potter! It is so far off! Good book! I enjoyed it very much!

Not the best book ever, but a very worthwhile read!
I actually ended up enjoying this book quite a lot!
It took me a few more chapters than I would have liked to "get into" the story and the characters, but after a while I found that I did feel invested. I liked the distinct personalities of the characters, and how consistent they seemed to be.
It also took a while to understand the magical world. Two parts to this: one, being the good vs. evil statuses and people, how things came about, and what it all meant. I still feel ther...more I actually ended up enjoying this book quite a lot!
It took me a few more chapters than I would have liked to "get into" the story and the characters, but after a while I found that I did feel invested. I liked the distinct personalities of the characters, and how consistent they seemed to be.
It also took a while to understand the magical world. Two parts to this: one, being the good vs. evil statuses and people, how things came about, and what it all meant. I still feel there is more to it all though, and perhaps these areas will be explored in the later books. Enough came across, however, for the story to unfold as it should have. The second part is how magic works in Septimus Heap's world. I think I got a pretty good understanding by the middle of the book though, so again, it didn't bother me too much. (I still can't decide if the bolding of every magical word was cool or annoying).
All in all I thought the book was written pretty well, and the plot flow was good. It's told from multiple perspectives, which makes for a bit jumpy read sometimes, but pretty much the transitions are smooth. The ending was satisfying, and good. Though a few things were left unresolved, I'm assuming it's for the following books. Hopefully.
There were some things that very young children, or very sensitive children, might be upset about (mainly relating to cute woodland creatures who... we're not entirely sure what their fates end up being). But overall it's a very "G" read (or maybe PG). There is one part at the end that's pretty unsettling, but the fact it's rectified makes it less so.
A few character traits were somewhat irksome, but again, I'm hoping that the author delves into these in the next books (this book did a good job, so I'm trusting that the author will continue in a similar fashion).
Some things were predictable, but others surprising. And at the end of the book is an interesting collection of "whatever happened to" certain characters, "instructions" for various charms, etc.
I'd recommend this book to fans of other "young adult" fantasy, and while I'm not as in love with the book as certain others in this genre, I did find it a very fun read!