 Reviewed by Olivia Rating: High Four Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Time Stops for No Mouse, Harry Potter, the Familiars, and other quirky, fun books that center around great characters. Fav Quote: Synopsis (from Amazon): When Silas Heap unSeals a forgotten room in the Palace, he releases the ghost of a Queen who lived five hundred years earlier. Queen Etheldredda is as awful in death as she was in life, and she's still up to no good. Her diabolical plan to give herself everlasting life requires Jenna's compliance, Septimus's disappearance, and the talents of her son, Marcellus Pye, a famous Alchemist and Physician. And if Queen Etheldredda's plot involves Jenna and Septimus, then it will surely involve Nicko, Alther Mella, Marcia Overstrand, Beetle, Stanley, Sarah, Silas, Spit Fyre, Aunt Zelda, and all of the other wacky, wonderful characters that made Magyk and Flyte so memorable. |  Reviewed by Olivia Rating: High Four Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Times Stops for No Mouse, Harry Potter, the Familiars, and other quirky, fun books that center around great characters. Fav Quote: Synopsis (from Amazon): There's trouble at the Castle, and it's all because Merrin Meredith has returned with Darke plans for Septimus. More trouble awaits Septimus and Jenna in the form of Tertius Fume, the ghost of the very first Chief Hermetic Scribe, who is determined to send Septimus on a deadly Queste. But Septimus and Jenna have other plans—they are headed for the mysterious House of Foryx, a place where all Time meets and the place where they fervently hope they will be able to find Nicko and Snorri, who were trapped back in time in physik. But how will Septimus escape the Queste? |
| My Thoughts: Another great addition to this series! I love how every book brings us deeper and deeper into Septimus's apprenticeship and his "magykal" learnings, and Jenna's queenship. At first, I started this story with a little bit of... uncertainty, because it starts with a completely new character, Snorri Snorrelsen, the daughter of a Northern Trader. She may not seem like a main character, however, she actually has a lot of interaction with the other characters throughout the rest of the books. I think it was interesting how Angie Sage used time travel in this book, with Marcellus Pye and Septimus becoming his apprentice five hundred years back, and Jenna, Nicko, and Snorri going back to look for him. Queen Etheldredda was also an interesting new character, and the association with the Sickeness and the Aie-Aie. However, the way all the trouble starts is not very strong - Silas unsealing a sealed attic room to store his CounterFeet and releasing the ghost of Etheldredda? The story would have been a lot stronger if it had been for a different, more Magykal, "Darke" reason. All in all, great book, interesting idea, and still love the characters! | My Thoughts: I got through this book a lot quicker than the previous one in the series. Queste has a very interesting premise, and I love how Merrin Meredith was brought back into the series seeking revenge on Septimus for stealing his name. I also like how this weaves in with the House of Foryx and Nicko and Snorri, who were trapped back in time. Tertius Fume was a nice addition to the group of enemies Septimus and Jenna have been accumulating, and I like how later, in "Syren," he's back again to try and defeat the Castle. As the story progresses, I really enjoyed revisiting Camp Heap and the Wendron Witches, and Ephaniah Grebe was a fun character to add to the story, too. Angie Sage really makes the most of every character she makes - I'm still laughing over the Meat Cart one of the characters in Magyk made, and how it continues to be an unassuming part of the series. The use of "Things" (dead, ghoulish creatures) when they were inhabiting old characters like Hildegarde was cool, because I never thought that Things would posses much use throughout the series. In the end, the suspense, along with Hotep-Ra, was something I really enjoyed, and seeing Nicko and Snorri again was great, too. Overall, another great book in this series, and I'm interested to see how Angie Sage will continue to use new characters in future books. |
