Magyk

Magyk

Cover art for Magyk by Mark Zug
Author	Angie Sage
Cover artist	Mark Zug (illustrator)
Language	English
Series	Septimus Heap (Book 1)
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	HarperCollins and Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date	March 2005
Publication place	USA
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	564 (+32) (paperback edition)
ISBN	ISBN 0-7475-7820-6 (UK paperback edition)
Followed by	Flyte

Magyk is a fantasy novel by Angie Sage. It is the first book in the Septimus Heap series. The sequel, Flyte was released in March 2006, the third book in the series is called Physik, released in March 2007, the fourth is called Queste, and the fifth is Syren, which will be released in 2009. The book cover is designed after the diary that Marcia made for Septimus, with the Dragon Ring sitting on top.

Plot introduction

Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, is pronounced dead by the midwife on the night he is born. That same night, his father, Silas, finds a newborn girl with violet eyes in the snow. The Heaps take the baby girl into their home, name her Jenna after Sarah Heap's mother, and raise her as their own - from publisher.

Plot Synopsis

The book begins with Silas Heap finding an infant girl in the snow as he returns home with herbal medicines for his wife Sarah. Silas hides her in his cloak and takes her; on the way home, he is told by the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia to raise her as his own, without telling anyone where she came from. As he returns home, the midwife runs out carrying his newborn son, Septimus Heap, pronouncing him dead. Soon after, Silas and Sarah name the baby girl Jenna and treat her as their own child.

Some years later, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand returns and reveals Jenna to be the daughter of the assassinated queen, and takes her away for protection. However, the assassin, called the Hunter, follows them, and along with several of her family members, Marcia, and a member of the Young Army named "Boy 412", Jenna escapes to their Aunt Zelda's cottage in the Marram Marshes. In the marshes, Boy 412 discovers both a glowing ring and his own magykal powers.

Marcia attempts to return to the castle, but is captured by the guards and dungeoned for a month. While she is imprisoned, she nearly dies. Eventually, the Hunter discover where the group is staying and returns to assassinate Jenna, but he is thwarted by Aunt Zelda's freezing spell. They capture DomDaniel's apprentice, who claims to be Septimus, but he escapes and tells DomDaniel of their location.

Aunt Zelda reveals to Boy 412 that the ring belonged to the legendary Hotep-Ra, and that it gives control over the Dragon Boat: as legend goes, Hotep-Ra, the first ExtraOrdinary Wizard, was being pursued by people planning to kill him when dragon became a boat to save him. However, before Hotep-Ra died, he put the boat in a hidden temple. Later, Aunt Zelda tells Boy 412 to go in the cave where he found the ring, and Boy 412 discovers a secret cavern containing Hotep-Ra's temple and the Dragon Boat. Nicko, Jenna, and Boy 412 fly the dragon boat to save Marcia and stop DomDaniel from being the ExtraOrdinary Wizard again. They fly on the boat to DomDaniel's ship and save Marcia.

In the end, Boy 412 is revealed to be Septimus Heap. DomDaniel had ordered the midwife to take Septimus, who was the seventh son of a seventh son and expected to have great magykal powers, but accidentally ended up with one of the boys from the army nursery, leaving Septimus to grow up in the army as Boy 412.

Characters in Magyk

Major characters are listed in bold.

• Septimus Heap : Originally believed to be boy 412 of the Young Army, Septimus Heap is the apprentice to Marcia Overstrand (the Extraordinary Wizard) and the seventh son of the seventh son. He is the protagonist of this series.
• Marcia Overstrand : The current ExtraOrdinary Wizard, she has a pair of special Purple Python-Skinned Shoes and is known for her short temper and immense magical power.
• Zelda Heap : The Keeper in the Marram Marshes, also known as Aunt Zelda.
• Silas Heap: The Patriarch Heap and seventh son of Benjamin Heap.
• Sarah Heap : The Matriarch Heap.
• Simon Heap : 1st son of Sarah and Silas Heap - runs away from his family in order to get married to Lucy Gringe, but doesn't due to her father interrupting the ceremony. Becomes antagonist in Flyte.
• Sam Heap : 2nd son of Sarah and Silas Heap. Expert fisher. lives in the forest with Erik, Edd, Jo-Jo, and the Witches.
• Eric Heap : 3rd son of Sarah and Silas Heap, twin of Edd. lives in the forest with Sam, Edd, Jo-Jo, and the Witches.
• Edd Heap : 4th son of Sarah and Silas Heap, twin of Erik. lives in the forest with Sam, Erik, Jo-Jo, and the Witches.
• Jo-Jo Heap : 5th son of Sarah and Silas Heap. lives in the forest with Sam, Erik, Edd, and the Witches.
• Nicko Heap : 6th son of Sarah and Silas, he loves boats and anything to do with sailing.
• Jenna Heap : She is the Princess, but was raised by the Heaps unknowingly.
• Merrin Meredith : He is the son of a midwife who was captured at birth, believed to be Septimus Heap, the seventh son of a seventh son. He became DomDaniel's apprentice, but never lived up to the expectations, as he was not actually a seventh son. He now lives, very unhappily, with Aunt Zelda.
• Stanley (or Rat 101): The Long-Distance Confidential Message Rat who was fired and later became a Secret Rat.
• DomDaniel : The Necromancer and ex-Extraordinary Wizard. He's the main antagonist in this series.
• Alther Mella : The ghost of the old Extraordinary Wizard, who aids Jenna and Septimus.
• Galen : Sarah Heap's friend in the woods who is a garden witch. She taught Sarah about herbs and plants. When Sarah was younger she met Silas Heap in Galen's garden.
• Maxie : Rightly named Maximillion, this faithful dog that belongs to the Heaps has no real part in the book, but he makes Marcia go crazy mostly at Aunt Zelda's cottage and believes that Silas is top dog.
• Sally Mullin : Sally Mullin runs a Tea and Ale House by the river near The Castle. She helps the others escape from the Hunter by her small boat Muriel but loses her shop to the fire set by the Hunter. She escapes unharmed, as Marcia gave her the keepsafe, and goes to join Sarah and Galen in the woods.

Critical reception

Magyk has received mostly positive and generally praiseful reviews and comments from Publishers Weekly, and The Times who stated that it was 'A real discovery'.

Publishers Weekly also commented:

The author introduces several subplots, summarized rather than dramatized then eventually reveals the real Septimus in a clever, if predictable, turn of events, making way for the next installments. Ages 9-up.

VOYA gave a positive review saying "This first book in the Septimus Heap series is a cheerful, clever offering." However, there were some negative points raised by VOYA commenting the two things about the book that were most annoying was: the lack of a map inside the book and overly coincidental events . Later maps were included in all the books. Maps depicted The Castle as well as the surrounding land in the south up till The Port.

Other reviews from The Daily Telegraph and Kirkus Reviews commented the novel was "Full of hurtle-paced humour" and "A quick–reading, stand–alone, deliciously spellbinding series" . Author Clive Barker also commented that:

Septimus Heap: Magyk is a book full of wonders, charms, and surprises. Beautifully written and richly imagined, it invites us into a world we never want to leave. Marvelous

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books was impressed by the book and said "This first book in the Septimus Heap series is a cheerful, clever offering."

Stefanie Crane of Epinions.com gave the book 4 out of 5 stars and said "Angie Sage has told a fast-paced story with enough originality and touches of her own to make you forget all about that boy who lived, a reference to Harry Potter. I think it’s too bad that this series hasn’t gotten the advertising it deserves, and if you have any interest at all in the plot I’ve laid out above, or if you were a fan of that other series, by all means, give Magyk a try."

Dauntless Media also gave a positive erview saying that "Magyk is a worthy beginning to a fantasy series. There’s enough action and adventure to keep most young readers’ attention throughout its 512 pages, the twist itself is certainly the central character revelation of the book and leads directly to the rest of the series."

Angela McQuay of Curledupkids.com gave an extremely favourable review saying "Magyk is a fast-moving and touching book with plenty of adventure, creatures, charms, spells and bad guys to keep both children and adults interested. Though you don’t get to know the characters as well as you do in the Potter books, there is more action, to keep you turning the pages. Charms and spells are capitalized and written in a different font, making it easier for youngsters to recognize them and also lending a magical quality to the book itself."

Film adaptation

Warner Brothers have bought the rights to produce a film adaptation of the book. Karen Rosenfelt will produce the film, with Sage also serving as an executive producer. The film is supposedly to be released on 2010 or 2011.

Trivia

The author includes a section about the number 7 in the "Extras" section of the paperback edition. This includes a list of hidden sevens. For example:

• There are 49 chapters: 7 times 7 = 49
• Boy 412 (4 + 1 + 2 = 7)
• The Heap's new address: Corridor 223, Room 16 (2 + 2 + 3 = 7, 1 + 6 = 7)
• In Chapter 28 (which itself is a multiple of 7), the Apprentice learns up to 13 times 7. Thirteen is the number that is one away from fourteen, which is also a multiple of 7.
• Rat 101 is used to give "homage" to George Orwell's novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.
• Septimus Heap being the seventh son is a similarity to another character of the same first name and who is also the seventh son in his family in Neil Gaiman's novel Stardust.

External links

• Official Septimus Heap website