Flyte

Title: Flyte
Series: Septimus Heap, Book 2
Author: Angie Sage
Illustrator: Mark Zug
Narrator: Gerard Doyle
ISBN: 9781419393891
Pages: 532 pages
Discs/CDs: 10 CDs, 11 hours 30 minutes
Publisher/Date: HarperCollinsChildren’s Books, c2006.

In no time at all, Thunder reached the Great Arch. Jenna expected Simon to slow down and turn the horse around to go back to the Palace, but instead he yanked hard on the reins, and the horse veered abruptly off to the left and hurtled down Cutpurse Cut. [...]
“Simon!” protested Jenna. “Where are we going?”
“Shut up!” Jenna thought she heard him say.
“What?“
“You heard. Shut up. You’re going where I take you.”
Jenna twisted around to look at Simon, shocked at the sudden sound of hatred in his voice. She hoped she had misunderstood what he said, but, when she saw the coldness in his eyes, Jenna knew she had heard right. A sharp chill of foreboding jumped through her. (46-47)

Immediately after Simon returns home after almost a year away, without a word to his parents or siblings, he kidnaps his foster-sister, Princess Jenna and races out of the Palace. Simon and Septimus’s parents are reluctant to believe that Simon would do such a thing. Septimus knows better, and sets off to find her in the next two days so she can visit the Dragon Boat before MidSummer Day. Along the way, Septimus finally meets the rest of his six brothers, has to control the Dragon Boat, and discovers that there might be something else going on in addition to Jenna’s kidnapping.

I’m really enjoying listening to this series as audiobook. The only disadvantage of listening to the audiobook, which is narrated quite nicely by Gerard Doyle, is that you don’t get the benefit of the map and the other illustrations included in the opening pages of the book and primarily at the chapter breaks. Upon looking at the printed copy, I’m actually glad that I didn’t read it, because I think the different font used to name spells would have probably proved distracting.

Angie Sage knows how to appeal to her audience, whether it’s the frozen underground ice highways or the naivety of the adults who just can’t accept the fact that Simon has kidnapped his sister, even when it’s staring them right in their faces. Septimus’s discovery of an old friend stretches the story just a little, but the action that comes in fast and furious spurts will encourage readers to make quick work of this second book in the series. Taking place about a year after Magyk, Septimus and Jenna solve their problems with very little grown-up assistance as readers see they have grown up and are acquiring new skills. Mixing magic with action creates a sure-fire hit that will appeal to a wide range of audiences, and make the rather long book fly to the finish. Readers will be clamoring for the rest of the series.

Thirteenth Child

Title: Thirteenth Child
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
ISBN: 9780545033428
Pages: 344 pages
Publisher/Date: Scholastic Press, c2009.

“Everybody knows that a seventh son is lucky. [...]
Nobody seems to think much about all the other sons, or the daughters. There’s nearly always daughters, because hardly anybody has seven sons right in a row, boom, like that. Sometimes there are so many daughters that people give up trying for seven sons. After all, there’s plenty enough work in raising eleven or twelve childings, and a thirteenth child — son or daughter – is unlucky. So everybody says.
Papa and Mama didn’t pay much attention to what everybody says, I guess, because there are fourteen of us. Lan is the youngest, a double-seven, and he’s half the reason we moved away from Helvan Shores when I was five. The other half of the reason, was me.” (1-2)

Eff is the thirteenth child of a group of fourteen children. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son, which is about as magical as a person can get. After the rest of the family gets word of the rumors flying around town about her being unlucky, they move to the western frontier being newly colonized. Eff is terrified about what her unlucky status could mean for her magic, especially after her magic basically explodes from her at a family wedding. But when magical creatures suddenly appear and begin wrecking havoc on the crops, even Eff is surprised by the outcome.

Fans of Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles (I include myself in this category) will enjoy her new book, Thirteenth Child. However, I was a little disappointed with the book’s ending, as there was a lot of build up for one scene of action. It reminded me of Stephenie Meyer’s Breaking Dawn, where the entire book was supposed to lead to one climatic event, and then fizzled into inaction and a more mental display of force than anything else. The character motivations are well detailed though, which makes up for the slow pace. Eff and Lan’s evolution from close twins to seperated from eachother by their gender and magical ability is comparable to what mixed gender sibling groups go through, with each trying to protect the other. Girls who are obsessed with fantasy will gobble this story up.

Magyk

Title: Magyk
Author: Angie Sage
ISBN: 0060577312
Pages: 564 pages
Publisher/Date: Katherine Tegen Books, c2005.

Silas went in with a heavy heart. He saw Sarah surrounded by six white-faced little boys, all too scared to cry.
“She’s taken him,” said Sarah hopelessly. “Septimus is dead, and she’s taken him away.”
At that moment a warm wetness spread out from the bundle that Silas still had hidden under his cloak. Silas had no words for what he wanted to say, so he just took the bundle out from under his cloak and placed her in Sarah’s arms.
Sarah Heap burst into tears. (6)

The night that Silas and Sarah Heap’s seventh son Septimus was born, Silas found an abandoned baby girl in the snow. When the midwife wisked away the dead body of Septimus, Silas and Sarah decided to keep the girl, and named her Jenna. Little did anyone know that Jenna would play a role in a battle between good and evil ten years later. Because Jenna might be the key to overthrowing the man who killed the Queen and the head wizard ten years before, on the same day Jenna was found. With the help of some of the Heaps, the current head wizard, and a mysterious Boy 412 who deserted from the enemy army, Angie Sage begins the series with Magyk.

I have to admit, I sort of predicted the ending. Septimus Heap makes an appearance by the end of the book (I hope that doesn’t ruin the ending for anyone) and I’ve heard from other readers that they expected it as well. There are some wonderful hillarious parts in the story however, especially after they cast a memory spell on the bounty hunter who is chasing him, convincing him that among other things he had pimples as a child. What’s also unique for this book is that the author provides conclusions to the minor characters introduced throughout the story, so we find out what happens to the dishwasher and the messenger rat, among others. She casts allusions to what will happen in the second book, which makes readers anxious to confirm their suspecions and predictions. Two sisters just left as I was writing this at work raving about the audiobook version of it, so be sure to check this series out. I’ll be the first to admit that it is on the long side, but the pages are small and the font is large, and the story just makes it a page-turner.

Just one ironic turn of events, I actually read this book the same week as Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede, both of which deal with the seventh son of a seventh son myth. I’ve never heard of this myth before, so it was a suprise to me. Does anyone else have any other books where the “seventh son of a seventh son” is a plot point?