Serious Series Love: Septimus Heap by Angie Sage

I read the first of this series by accident.  I picked it up years and years ago intending to read the wonderful Half Magic by Edward Eager but I got flustered at the library and couldn’t remember the name of the book.  This was 2005 or 2006 and long before I had a smartphone so I couldn’t just Google it.  So, I grabbed Magyk by Angie Sage because I didn’t want to walk away empty handed.  When I got home and read it I became totally absorbed in the story and immediately purchased my own copy and then I had to wait while she wrote more books!

And write she did.  This seven book series features the family Heap.  The father of this brood is Silas and he is the seventh son.  As Magyk begins his wife Sarah is busy delivering their seventh child after six boys.  If anyone has read any magical books then you know that the seventh son of a seventh son is foretold to be deeply magical.

I don’t really feel that I can tell you much more about the plot without spoiling some delightful moments.  I can say that the series features both strong male and female characters.  Some characters are brave, some are intelligent and many are just pure of heart.

Cover of green locked book titled Flyte with Gold of Embelishments

The cover of a brown book with symbols titled Physik.

A red book with hand stitched binding titled Queste. There are stones and a blue ribbon closure.

An ocean blue book with a potion bottle on the front titled Syren

A dull brown book with a metal box on the cover titled Darke.

A bright red book with a dragon boat on the front and a golden pyramid titled Fyre

I recommended these books to a friend and she was completely thrown off by one detail.  Throughout the books there are words in bold (like magyk or flyte).  I assume the author intended this to have a dual purpose.  First, these are magical words.  Second, (and I am assuming here) it is to be clear to a younger reader that these magical words are purposely spelled incorrectly.  My friend did not care for this at all but it did not bother me one bit.

There are two other books by Angie Sage that are related to the series but not quite included in the timeline of the “Septimus Heap” stories.  The first is The Darke Toad which tells a seperate story of the eldest Heap child.  The The Magykal Papers is an additional fun book that includes maps, journals, and a variety of tidbits about the Castle.

A dark purple book cover with a frog shaped door knocker on the cover. Title is Darke Toad.

A golden book cover with a city set in an oval on the front cover. Title Magical Papers.

If, after you have read all nine of these books you still want more, you can find a glorious treasure trove of information on Septimus Heap’s website.  There you can use the magykal name generator, play magykal anagrams or look up some spells and tips.  You can also see the book trailer for new books by Angie Sage which are all set in Septimus’s world, The Todhunter Moon trilogy.

Angie Sage has created such a complete world for Septimus that when I re-read the books, which I often do, I feel like I am visiting old friends.  I hope you take a chance and check out this series (on purpose).  If you forget the name of the series, just remember, I think they are Magykal.