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Septimus Heap #1-2
Septimus Heap Box Set: Magyk and Flyte
Enter the world of Septimus Heap! This box set contains Magyk and Flyte , the first two books in Angie Sage's internationally bestselling Septimus Heap series. Readers will love the enchanting and humorous adventures of a wizard apprentice and his quest to become an ExtraOrdinary Wizard. New York Times Bestselling Series “A fresh take on the world of magic.”— Child magazine “Readers will be indubitably hooked—worrying, laughing, and gasping over the nonstop adventures of this engaging troupe.” — VOYA (Starred Review) The series follows Septimus Heap, who, as a seventh son of a seventh son, has magical powers. After he becomes the apprentice of the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand, he starts his studies for seven years and a day to become an Ordinary Wizard (or maybe an ExtraOrdinary?). His adventures take place in a fictional world full of secrets and mysteries, a world where rats are messengers and can speak, a world where spells are common and where the dark forces are trying to penetrate.
Paperback
First published November 1, 2007
19 people are currently reading
1098 people want to read
About the author
Angie Sage
63 books3,257 followersAngie 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
April 9, 2013
Wow!! What a fantastic series. I read this to my 8 year old daughter, and I loved it as much as she did. Strong, interesting characters and wonderful story lines. I highly recommend this series.
June 2, 2010
These books have a childesh twist to the magic in stories we've all known since we were kids. Exeptionaly well thought out and wonderful execution of the whole series.
September 17, 2023
The start to an exceptional book series, I love a world rules by magic even though few use it.
September 26, 2017
This series is one of my favourites! I highly recommend these books to people of all ages; if you're a fan of Harry Potter then you'll be a fan of this. I first read it at aged 15 and am still a fan three years later, and my mum loves it as well. It's got magic and mystery, and Angie Sage writes so well it's as if you're actually there living with the characters. This is my go-to series, I've read it so many times and I love it!
May 1, 2019
Love, love, love this character and this world. This is not a copy of Harry Potter. It is its own thing and you can tell. If you like reading about magical worlds, but don't want something that is just trying to be Harry Potter (and failing) read this.
December 12, 2020
Its a great book so far
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2025
Amazing book
March 1, 2016
It's a box set, so... two books, two reviews
Magyk - 4 stars
My sister bought the first three books in this series several years ago. Some people have compared it to the Harry Potter series and can honestly see the comparison: the protagonists are the same age, there’s magic, etc. However, it’s really not possible to say, “This series is better.” Or “That series is better.” They are two very, very different types of books.
I can honestly say that if you enjoyed the Harry Potter series, you may well enjoy this one as well. They have enough in common that fans of one can cross over to the other. Likewise, if you enjoy this series, check out the Harry Potter series, as you may also enjoy that.
Now, I’ll start with the differences, since other reviewers have compared them. The Harry Potter series is a very serious story. It starts with the death of Harry Potter’s parents and the defeat of a dark wizard. The Septimus Heap series starts with the birth of two babies. Yes, there is death and Septimus has a tough time in his growing up, but this series doesn’t seem to focus on that as much as the Harry Potter series did. In short, this series felt more light-hearted to me (at least in the first book).
Now, to get into actually reviewing this story… There are fun little things that may or may not amuse readers. I liked them. Spells and words of power are set apart from the rest of the writing by being bolded and, in some cases, spelled in a non-standard way (i.e. Magyk, Darke). The story starts off a bit slow, but once it’s rolling along, it’s a fun read. Over all, I really liked it (hence the four stars) and I was ready to begin the next book immediately.
The characters were great fun, but there are a lot of them. Even the unlikable ones were enjoyable to read. There are puns all over the place, which might annoy some readers, but I liked it. Clever playing with words amuses me, at least when it’s not taken too far. This book didn’t take that too far for me.
Intelligent readers will be able to pick out who Septimus Heap is long before it’s revealed to the reader (also long before the characters in the story figure it out). Having read a lot of mystery novels, I liked that aspect of this story as well. What really happened to Septimus? Where is he now?
I like the notes at the end of the book regarding magic and what happened to certain characters after they disappeared from the story. Although my book had a preview of the next book, I didn’t read it… since I had the next book in hand and ready to begin.
Review of Flyte - 3 stars
I had a bit harder time getting immersed into Flyte than I had Magyk. The whole thing with Simon really, really annoyed me. I actually liked how that was resolved by the end of the book, however. I’m looking forward to seeing how his relationship with Septimus progresses.
Something I really loved was that this book turned the trope of a “damsel in distress” on its head!
I was really, really annoyed by how Marcia acted in the beginning of the book. Here’s Septimus trying to tell her that the young Queen is in danger and she totally blows him off. The girl has a deadline: she has to visit the dragon boat by Midsummer and she’s missing. You’d think that Marcia would at least be put out by that! I was really glad that the author explained what was going on with her by the end.
Overall, this book loses a star because there were certain parts of it where the characters thoroughly annoyed me. However, I still liked how the story turned out and how the author wove all the pieces together, so it still gets three stars. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, but… that won’t be for a while. I need to take a bit of a break from these characters right now.
Magyk - 4 stars
My sister bought the first three books in this series several years ago. Some people have compared it to the Harry Potter series and can honestly see the comparison: the protagonists are the same age, there’s magic, etc. However, it’s really not possible to say, “This series is better.” Or “That series is better.” They are two very, very different types of books.
I can honestly say that if you enjoyed the Harry Potter series, you may well enjoy this one as well. They have enough in common that fans of one can cross over to the other. Likewise, if you enjoy this series, check out the Harry Potter series, as you may also enjoy that.
Now, I’ll start with the differences, since other reviewers have compared them. The Harry Potter series is a very serious story. It starts with the death of Harry Potter’s parents and the defeat of a dark wizard. The Septimus Heap series starts with the birth of two babies. Yes, there is death and Septimus has a tough time in his growing up, but this series doesn’t seem to focus on that as much as the Harry Potter series did. In short, this series felt more light-hearted to me (at least in the first book).
Now, to get into actually reviewing this story… There are fun little things that may or may not amuse readers. I liked them. Spells and words of power are set apart from the rest of the writing by being bolded and, in some cases, spelled in a non-standard way (i.e. Magyk, Darke). The story starts off a bit slow, but once it’s rolling along, it’s a fun read. Over all, I really liked it (hence the four stars) and I was ready to begin the next book immediately.
The characters were great fun, but there are a lot of them. Even the unlikable ones were enjoyable to read. There are puns all over the place, which might annoy some readers, but I liked it. Clever playing with words amuses me, at least when it’s not taken too far. This book didn’t take that too far for me.
Intelligent readers will be able to pick out who Septimus Heap is long before it’s revealed to the reader (also long before the characters in the story figure it out). Having read a lot of mystery novels, I liked that aspect of this story as well. What really happened to Septimus? Where is he now?
I like the notes at the end of the book regarding magic and what happened to certain characters after they disappeared from the story. Although my book had a preview of the next book, I didn’t read it… since I had the next book in hand and ready to begin.
Review of Flyte - 3 stars
I had a bit harder time getting immersed into Flyte than I had Magyk. The whole thing with Simon really, really annoyed me. I actually liked how that was resolved by the end of the book, however. I’m looking forward to seeing how his relationship with Septimus progresses.
Something I really loved was that this book turned the trope of a “damsel in distress” on its head!
I was really, really annoyed by how Marcia acted in the beginning of the book. Here’s Septimus trying to tell her that the young Queen is in danger and she totally blows him off. The girl has a deadline: she has to visit the dragon boat by Midsummer and she’s missing. You’d think that Marcia would at least be put out by that! I was really glad that the author explained what was going on with her by the end.
Overall, this book loses a star because there were certain parts of it where the characters thoroughly annoyed me. However, I still liked how the story turned out and how the author wove all the pieces together, so it still gets three stars. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, but… that won’t be for a while. I need to take a bit of a break from these characters right now.
July 10, 2014
I remember reading the whole series over and over again in elementary school. I loved the fantasy and mystery of the series, and also it's comedic aspects. When I was in 5th grade, I told my parents that when I grew up, my kid would be named Septimus! Towards the end of the series, my interest fizzled off, but these are great books for children who like the long haul!
August 31, 2008
I know that some great sagas start out slow. This was one of them. By the time I finished Book 1, I was interested, but it took too long to get there. Someday I would like to continue with the books, when I have more time, because I was told they are wonderful.
August 14, 2010
Interesting stories, but not much depth to these books. There are too many story lines going that are hard to follow at times and not much developement of characters. Still a fun quick read (if you can remember who everyone is).
September 15, 2008
These are great! If you like Harry Potter you'll like these. They are similar in theme, but have very different story lines and ideas.
September 23, 2008
Its an awesome book
September 30, 2008
Ok now my teacher read these to me in grade 5 both of them, so i don't really know if this really counts :)
February 25, 2009
These books are a great place to escape to. Septimus and Jenna can always make you really happy.
Read
July 14, 2009awsome book highly recamend it
July 31, 2009
really good books.
August 4, 2009
This is right up the alley of anyone that love Potter!!!!
June 28, 2010
these books were not so amazing.but they were a lot better than nothing.
March 9, 2010
These are good, but a little more juvenille than I expected...but an enjoyable read
September 27, 2010
I loved the way the story went from book to book. The friendships that grew and strenthend as they face each challenge put toward them. They held my attention from start to finish.
Read
June 22, 2011i like the books...i've read the whole series :)))
August 25, 2013
Awesome series!Everyone should read this...not just kids!
September 4, 2015
My grandson loves to read and this is his favorite series. It is well written. The books are exciting but not nightmare inducing for younger readers. He was eight when he consumed all seven books.
June 20, 2020
Wonderful Series
May 26, 2008
Fun light fantasy series
August 5, 2009
Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste. It's a fun series.
Read
December 8, 2012Really liked it. I didn't think really heard about the similarities between this and Harry Potter.
November 15, 2013
Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews