A friend introduced this series to me some time ago, and I remembered thinking: Err. Nope. Not reading that. I'm dyslexic to strangely spelled words, that's why I don't like translated works and science fiction (in English) written by Russians. But impending 8 hour bus rides in the south has prompted me to stock up on ebooks, and the third book of Septimus Heap was one of them.
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So anyway, to cut short what would be a long story of how I've gotten myself to read a book with strange English words (you know, the ones that end in e as in 'ende'), Septimus Heap 3 follows the adventure of a Magykal apprentice Septimus Heap. He was tricked into becoming the apprentice of a 500 plus year old Alchemyst some 500 years ago. Yep, he was kidnapped to an ancient time. That's magic, time travelling and alchemy for you. Aside from that, you get an almost substantial ghost of an evil Queen, messenger rats, dragons and adventure all wrapped in a not so neat package (but that's probably my fault, having so many huh?s must be because I started into the series at book 3).
What I like most of the book was that it was funny, engaging (although it had gotten draggy somewhere in the middle) and it tied most of the dangling loose ends. It tackled time travel, but wisely avoided head spinning paradoxes by not providing too much information. Best of all, it tackles Magyk (er, magic) and someone learning how to use it-- and that's probably included in my top 10 favorite literary topics.
As for what I don't like about the book, I mentioned the draggy parts. Aside from that, it had too many characters to keep track of, specially when you're on a bus and you only have a vague idea where you're going. The main characters are very likable, though, and after a while I found myself keeping track of just them.
All in all, it was an entertaining read in a four hour journey, but not something you'd think about all night. Definitely for the 9-12 age group, which I sometimes think I still belong to.
P.S It was good enough to interest me to the rest of the book in the series, and now I'm starting into book 6.
5 comments:
maybe a bit draggy, but i think it is because it is not meant to be read one sweep in four hours.:) i think the book is enjoyable to be finished cover to cover, but not so engaging to go beyond one chapter a night. personally, i am still in chapter 9 and i am on my, what, seventh day of reading it? i didn't even have any idea of the time travelling part yet. i am convinced it is a good book though, because it gets me to read, even reread, every word instead of getting me to skim through paragraph/chapters. interesting things you dont want to miss are introduced here and there (hence, skipping is not an option) and characters are all, so far, adorable.
the feeling of dragginess i think comes from my own expectations. being a children's book, i am not expecting a huge conflict to blow over so i dont find any reason for a big build up, which i think is what is still happening in the chapter i am reading. i just want something to happen already, but so far there is nothing. but then again, i am still on page 40 and this is a 200+ document.
as for the spelling, i really like the spelling alterations. i think language is alive and evolving and it is wonderful that this book sort of liberates kids from being imprisoned in spelling conventions. it may not be the intention, but it strikes me as saying that it is not the form but whether the message comes across that is important :)
i hope we can all read this, and i know i will finish it ( i am getting scared though, since the reviewer said the middle section is the draggy part, and i am not even there yet). it will be so much better to be reading this aloud to a little child, i think that would make the reading experience more exciting, if not faster (as the kid, who will be more engaged and curious, will most likely force you to go into the next chapter).
i'll probably be going back to this review section when i finish it, and i encourage everyone to go and read it as well, so we can discuss all the cute magyky things going on!
-aria
Reading children's book is not childish IMO (in my opinion).It's our way to cope in this ever changing world (and dragging too).
It seems the magic literary genre had become common in the tech-savvy modern world.Some says its a form of escapism from the real world (and some fears). What is your greatest fear in the contemporary world?
Second question is what is "draggy" on the middle section?
third question:what is your idea of romance? or a perfect romance?
marvs, hindi love story yung septimus heap, i was just fangirling
natapos ko na au. oks naman yung mid section, di ko nga napansin na mid na pala. nag pick up yung pace nung napunta na si sep sa past.
pahingi naman nung 4-6 :) kelangan ko pa bang basahin yung 1-2? nakakatamad :)
oks, i will try to answer the first two questions put forward by marvin.
greatest fear in the contemporay world: there will never be any kind of mystery in my life.
as a line in a song says,
"where has all the magic gone
lost behind or lost along
a victim of the pulse of our society
don't you miss the ancient times
the riddles and the subtle signs
a relative perspective on reality"
what is draggy in the middle section: none, the mid section is fun! you know everyone already and you already have a vague idea of the magyk involved, thus, you can read faster and run along the adventure more involved.
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