Thanks to a cruel ghost, Septimus is set up for a quest that no other apprentice has returned from - but not if he escapes the Questing Guards first. Queen Ehteldredda is a fun villain, however. There are plenty of what-ifs with the time travel theme, but the story bogs down in its length and some of the heart is missing in this installment. Meanwhile Pye's mother, Queen Etheldredda, haunts the present and attempts to reclaim the crown from Jenna. Septimus is kidnapped through a magic glass and taken back 500 years to be the apprentice of alchemist Marcellus Pye. It's nice to see Septimus fleshing out as a character, learning magic, and facing his fears.

This installment is just as fun as the first with the same light touch and unique approach to magic. He knows she's been kidnapped and goes after her. Septimus, now apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, seems to be the only one alarmed with his brother Simon, doing the bidding of Necromancer DomDaniel, rides off with Princess Jenna. A wealth of fascinating magical creatures and an intriguing new design for magic make this a delightful, at times exciting, read. With a light touch and gentle humor, she carries readers through this overlong first novel, with some explosions of imagination along the way. This author may have slept through the classes in Story Construction and Character Development, but she was the star pupil in Blithe Spirit. The third has many mentions of an evil queen who has gotten rid of her offspring so she can stay queen forever - Jenna can hear their ghosts crying in the walls of the castle.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide. A menacing shadow follows the ExtraOrdinary wizard. The Necromancer DomDaniel appears as a skeleton. Boys are attacked by wolverines but are saved in time. A bar is deliberately set on fire no one is injured. Sad mentions of a baby thought dead by its family right after his birth. Boy 412 looks back on his tough orphan life in the youth army, where cruelty included making kids go into the woods and fend off hungry wolverines. Another boy almost dies when an evil necromancer 'borrows' his skin. A friendly marsh creature is shot and recovers. Main characters flee a persistent but buffoonish hunter who tracks the 10-year-old princess with a gun. Mentions of an assassin killing a queen and almost killing her infant daughter. Fantasy violence that's not well-described or pervasive.

Angie sage septimus heap