Magyk

Sage, A. (2005). Magyk. (Zug, M. illus.). Katherine Tegen Books. 608 pages. ISBN 0060577312

Primary genre: fantasy

Other elements: friendship, family, politics

Intended reader age: 8 and up

Synopsis:

Jenna loves her life; she loves her bed overlooking the river, her 6 brothers, her magyical parents, and their small untidy house. As Jenna is getting ready to celebrate her tenth birthday however, a number of secrets are revealed one of which is that Jenna is the long presumed dead princess. Nine and half years ago, on the night that her parents lost their newly born seventh son, Sepitmus, Jenna was entrusted to their care. Now the people responsible for her mother’s death know where Jenna is and they want to finish what they started.

Review:

I remember first reading this years ago and checking the cover a number of times. On the cover just above Magyk is the series title: Septimus Heap. It was very odd for me that the series character was killed off in the fist chapter. Of course all of this is revealed later but it definitely threw for me a minute there.

This is one of those books that does not stick with one character only through the whole story. I do believe this story is the story with the great number of perspectives that I have ever read. We experience the story through the eyes of: Jenna, Boy 412, Silas, Sarah, Sally Mullin, Niko, Marcia, Shield Bugs, Dom Daniel, Aunt Zelda, the Apprentice, the Hunter, Simon, Gringe, the Supreme Custodian, Alther, the Thing, the Message Rat, the Dragon Boat, and the Marsh Python (I think I got them all). Considering the number of characters we interact with it was understandable to me why the author decided to cut the other brothers (Jo-Jo, Fred, Erik, and Edd) out of the story. It sounds chaotic when I list all the characters like that, but Sage did an amazing job of keeping the story going. The different perspectives keep the plot moving in a way that could not have been done if the story was only told from one character’s point of view.

I think my favorite aspect in this story was the world building that Sage did, the rules she gave to characters and the world. There are ghosts in this story and I love the limitations that were placed on them. Ghosts have the ability to interact with the physical world but they can only go places where they stepped foot when they were alive. I just liked that idea of however limited you were in life will affect you in the after life. Then there was the rule that they have to stay at the location where they died for a year and a day. I thought this was interesting as well because it essentially gives the ghost the chance to come to terms with their death.

As of right now there are 6 books in the series: Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Quests, Syren, and Darke. Actually, seven if you count The Magykal Papers, which is a collection of letters and journal entries the characters write through the series. The actual seventh, and final last I heard, book will be titled Fyre and is set to come out in April. I have heard people compare the series to Harry Potter and I think the greatest comparison I have seen is between the Weasley’s and the Heap’s. A large, magical family with only one child a girl, who are all easily identified by their distinct physical features.