Septimus Heap

I went to the library to get some things for the holiday weekend and saw that book four in the Septimus Heap series, Queste, by Angie Sage, was in the 'New' section. I checked it out and started reading it last night. I was reminded immediately how charming this series is. If you know a child (I would say 9 and up) who enjoys fantasy along the lines of Harry Potter, you may want to consider these books as holiday gifts.

In these books there is a family of seven brothers. As Queste opens, one is lost somewhere in Time and is trying to get back; one (Septimus, who is the seventh son of a seventh son) is the apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard; one has turned bad and has run off to the badlands and is occupying the home of the late Dom Daniel (who was a very dark wizard and gave them all a lot of trouble in the earlier books); and the other four have chosen to leave home and set up camp in a very dangerous forest next to the home of a coven of witches (causing their mother no end of worry). And did I mention that the girl who was raised with them as a sister is really - well I won't say in case you haven't read the other books in the series.

But I will say that one of my favorite characters is Marsha Overstrand, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. She's bossy and head strong, and often doesn't listen when someone is trying to tell her something important - but she knows who she is and what she wants and I often laugh when she's on the page.



The series starts with Magyk, which introduces us to Septimus, the seventh son of a seventh son in a magical family, and his wonderful world. This is a story of two boys switched at birth, a hidden princess, and a host of other characters who all come alive in this well-told tale of getting identities sorted out under difficult situations.


Flyte continues the story and we learn much more about Septimus and his world, and there's even a dragon!






Physik adds to the characters we already know and loses two of them somewhere in Time - which is where Queste begins.





I would highly recommend these books to those who like the world of Harry Potter, whether they're young, or old (like me).