Pssst! Yeah. You. Kimber the Magnificent here. Asking if you can keep a secret, bub? Cuz I’m gonna letcha in on one today. But first ya gotta promise not to tell She Who Must Obeyed, okay? Agreed? Pawsome. Here goes:

One of us – the one with opposable thumbs- started this here Magyk book under shall we say, less than optimal conditions?

 

Via: Library

Pages: 564

Genre: Fiction/Children’s Fantasy

Okay, okay. The conditions were downright lousy. I’m talking ruff here. (Not a typo.) Cuz the one with opposable thumbs started reading this book while waiting for news about a sweet furry face we all know and love undergoing emergency care at the vet. Fur (also not a typo) background, see: The Patient Is Home & Resting Comfortably.

Remind Me…

Remind me to tell Her Momness that starting a new book when her blood pressure is through the roof and she’s smack dab in the middle of a nervous breakdown worrying about Yours Truly probably doesn’t qualify as a stroke of genius. It tends to color our reaction to the book. We’re just funny that way. But you know Mom…!

Doesn’t Remember

She doesn’t really remember the opening chapters much. That BP through the roof thing. And we weren’t really going to review this book after that rough start. But then one of us – the brains of the outfit – told Mom it’s not the book’s fault that I was at the vet’s. So lighten up, Buttercup.

And when I came home later in fine fettle, we decided to give the book a second chance. Here’s Her Momness to tell you about it:

Magyk by Angie Sage is the first book in a major fantasy series, featuring cunning, deception, quirky characters, clever charms, droll wit and quirky humor. Think Harry Potter meets Lord of the Rings-ish thingy. It even has a Boggart and a ring. And a “Message Rat” named Stanley.

Well. Septimus Heap is stolen at birth on the very same night his father, Silas Heap, rescues a baby girl from a snowy path in the woods. The Heaps decide to bring her up as their own. But who is she, and what has become of little Septimus? Ten years later there is a knock at the door, and the truth begins to unfold. It involves Jenna, who turns to be quite a bit more than the seventh Heap child. Meanwhile, assassins and the evil necromancer DomDaniel will stop at nothing to retake the castle and plot their come back. But a Major Obstacle resides in the Heap family. Life as they know it is about to change.

Boy 412 glanced at Aunt Zelda whenever he thought she wouldn’t notice. Of course she did notice, but she was used to looking after frightened and injured creatures, and she saw Boy 412 no different from the assortment of marsh animals that she regularly nursed back to health.

Scene stealers: Petroc Trelawny. Jenna’s Pet Rock. Maximillian “Maxie” the wolfhound. There’s also an ex-Young Army castle guard named Boy 412. Jenna and Marcia the Extraordinary Wizard save him from freezing. Keep an eye on this kid. Cuz there’s more to Boy 412 than meets the eye. Ha!

Maxie paid very little attention to Marcia. He didn’t bother to get out of her way or take any notice of what she said because, in his wolfhound way of looking at the world, Silas was Top Dog and Marcia was right at the bottom of the pile.

Kimber: My kinda canine, if ya know what I mean.

Meanwhile, there’s lotsa “magyk.” Spells and potions. Surprises. Dastardly villains. Clever and courages heroes and heroines. Fantastical creatures galore. It’s a prodigious read, clocking in at over 560 pages. But it moves quickly and there’s also some tongue-in-cheek humor that’ll tickle the average funny bone – even Mom’s!

So although one of us – the one the opposable thumbs – got off to a rough start with this book – we liked it. We’re not going to rate it, however. Doesn’t seem fair when one of us was so out of it in the Discombobulated and Distracted Department at the very beginning. (Hi, Mom.) But give it a chance. And enjoy!