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tonyriver's review
3.0
This had some interesting ideas and characters. This is my first go at a Septimus Heap book and probably not really for me. While I liked the ideas it was just a bit too closely aimed at a young audience.
brandypainter's review
3.0
Pathfinder is a fun book and works well as the beginning of a new series. There are a lot of adventures, great magic, and brave characters. I do feel like I may have enjoyed this slightly more if I had read Sage's Septimus Heap series. I felt like there were a lot of inside jokes and information I was missing and always felt removed from the story as a result. While Tod's story and character were vastly interesting to me, enough time was spent on the characters from the other series that I didn't really feel as engaged as I might have.
empressmolly's review
fast-paced
3.5
Cute. Great way to start a new series in a beloved childhood world.
amalies's review
5.0
Of all the spin off series, continuation series I have ever started, this is my favorite ever. I loved the Sepitimus Heap series when I read them. Absolutely loved them. So, to find out she wrote a trilogy after that series I was excited. I loved that this is a completely new storyline that involves the same main characters. However, the main characters are older and are in the perifory of the story. TodHuner Moon, the main character of this series is a young girl who is about to find out about her magical abilities and how she can use them to save those she loves. She has a very unique way of coming to find her magical abilities and how she comes to use them. The author takes and uses the world she already created in her original books, doesn't overextend herself in explaining about the areas already developed in previous books and lets us see into a new land in this world. I could definitely reread this book again in the future.
booksnorkel's review
4.0
This book was odd. There of course were hints in Syren about how this world that Sage has built could be ours but set so far into the future that it's now the past. So with this installation that theory seems to be holding. Alice TodHunter Moon, has just learned of her people's past. They are a different species than the people we had previously met in Sage's other books. And they are being targeted, stolen by slavers. Sep and Jenna are back too, along with Snori and Nicko, Marcia and Marlo, Lucy and Simon. So many of our favorites are back and in true Sage fashion the stories we read all intertwine together. I found it strange that Alice wanted to be called Tod, and both were used the whole book so you would be comfortable with Alice then it would switch to Tod you'd get comfortable with that, and then both names would be used on the same page..... it was off putting. I did like that we got to see more of the lands around the Castle and the Port I hope this means that we get to explore them further in this series. Strange and odd this book is one for those who have read the Septimus Heap Series and are curious to read more set in that world.
empettersson's review
3.0
I wanted to love this book so bad, you don't even know. It was awesome to be back in this world and all but I think I had way too high expectations. It was good, don't get me wrong, but I just... I don't care about the new characters. At all. I wanted it to be a lot more about the original cast, and hey, I get that the whole thing about it is that we get to meet new characters but I guess I'm not ready to let the old ones "go". I mean, they're in there, but... Not at all as much as I would have liked.
As I said, don't get me wrong, I liked this book. It was good. But it wasn't as great as I had made my mind up about that it would be. The humor is there and it was great to get to know the whole sep-world a little more but in my opinion it could have been so much more. I mean, why did Marcia decide to let go of her ExtraOrdinary Wizard-title? How have Septimus coped with his new responsibilities? How is Jenna doing as Queen? SO many questions!
That being said, I loved to be back in my favorite world of all time and as much as I hoped for something different out of this book, I could never have NOT liked it. These characters represent my childhood, and I will never stop feel the Magyk within them. Even if they turn out to be something different from what I had imagined.
As I said, don't get me wrong, I liked this book. It was good. But it wasn't as great as I had made my mind up about that it would be. The humor is there and it was great to get to know the whole sep-world a little more but in my opinion it could have been so much more. I mean, why did Marcia decide to let go of her ExtraOrdinary Wizard-title? How have Septimus coped with his new responsibilities? How is Jenna doing as Queen? SO many questions!
That being said, I loved to be back in my favorite world of all time and as much as I hoped for something different out of this book, I could never have NOT liked it. These characters represent my childhood, and I will never stop feel the Magyk within them. Even if they turn out to be something different from what I had imagined.
sarahed's review
4.0
This new book from Angie Sage is set in the world of Septimus Heap with new characters. Seven years after the end of Fyre, we meet Alice TodHunter Moon (Tod), learning about her heritage as a Pathfinder. Soon we are pulled into a world of adventure as the evil Garmin take away her friends and then come for her. Many of our old friends from the Septimus Heap books join us for the ride.
The book starts quite slowly and has the feel of a middle-grade read. As the adventure with Tod progresses, it feels simple and straightforward, and things happen a little too easily for my liking. It feels like things are being brushed over for the younger readers.
Once Septimus and his friends come back into the story the plot is taken to a new level, and it becomes clear how Tod's adventure is tied in with the plan of an evil emperor to steal the fabled Orm's egg, a source of power. The latter half of the book is equal to the Septimus Heap books in excitement and pace.
If you haven't read the Septimus Heap books you would struggle with this one, simply because there is a large cast carried forward and you won't have a clue who anyone is, and you won't particularly care about them, not having gone through the history. So as a stand-alone book, especially for younger readers, I don't think it works that well. You must be familiar with this world already to fully enjoy the book.
The book starts quite slowly and has the feel of a middle-grade read. As the adventure with Tod progresses, it feels simple and straightforward, and things happen a little too easily for my liking. It feels like things are being brushed over for the younger readers.
Once Septimus and his friends come back into the story the plot is taken to a new level, and it becomes clear how Tod's adventure is tied in with the plan of an evil emperor to steal the fabled Orm's egg, a source of power. The latter half of the book is equal to the Septimus Heap books in excitement and pace.
If you haven't read the Septimus Heap books you would struggle with this one, simply because there is a large cast carried forward and you won't have a clue who anyone is, and you won't particularly care about them, not having gone through the history. So as a stand-alone book, especially for younger readers, I don't think it works that well. You must be familiar with this world already to fully enjoy the book.
jscarpa14's review
4.0
I loved most of this book, though like always as I'm a person that could see flaws in perfection, there's a few things that bothered me.
One of the things I noted in reading the Septimus Heap series was that more often than not the adults were idiots too wrapped up in their own pride or former teaching to make smart decisions or to trust the children that had proven their capability time and time again. I never liked the way that most of the adults were portrayed as idiots, in fact I can't think of a single adult in the series that was never portrayed as an idiot at some point or other. Now in this series, Septimus, Jenna, Nicko, Snori and Beetle are adults too and like their predecessor adults each has a bit of that clueless about them. Well not so much Snori and Beetle who are more passing background characters than anything else, but Septimus who is extraordinary wizard doesn't even know that someone in his care is kidnapped. He's too caught up in flirting, after being dumped by Rose, the relationship that was just sparking to live at the end of his own series and had apparently ended when Rose decided she was more interested in Foxy, to pay attention to things. Jenna acts almost territorial of Septimus, less like a sister and more like a jealous ex-girlfriend in some scenes. She's dating Beetle, but still her behavior with Septimus is a bit weird. While they weren't nearly as bad as the adults in the prior series I can't help but be concerned that Sage portrays adulthood as in part losing sight of what's important in exchange for more trivial concerns. While we all have a trivial concerns both in childhood and adulthood, growing up doesn't mean becoming an idiot. So I'm kind of hoping there's less of that soon because there are intelligent adults that actually listen to children and consider what they have to say too.
Sage continues on with her this is occurring in a far distant future take on the world she's created. The main character Alice-Toddhunter Moon is part of the Pathfinder people who are descended from what sounds like genetically altered astronauts. They're ostracized by many people because they're different and they guard their secrets closely. I guess I kind of get why Sage decided to date the world in the final Septimus Heap book because of the origin of the people at the center of her spin off series. However, it still seems jarring to me considering how many old fashioned traditions these people have and how little technology seems to exist that this book takes place in a time yet to come.
There was still the issue of contradictions between what has previously been established, but because of the shift in character focus, there weren't as many, or maybe because Sage is paying more attention to her own pre established rules in this series, I couldn't say for sure.
This new series doesn't meander nearly as much or have the charming after passages that tell of what has happened to each character as the series before did, but it still presenting and interesting and enthralling story that I highly recommend.
One of the things I noted in reading the Septimus Heap series was that more often than not the adults were idiots too wrapped up in their own pride or former teaching to make smart decisions or to trust the children that had proven their capability time and time again. I never liked the way that most of the adults were portrayed as idiots, in fact I can't think of a single adult in the series that was never portrayed as an idiot at some point or other. Now in this series, Septimus, Jenna, Nicko, Snori and Beetle are adults too and like their predecessor adults each has a bit of that clueless about them. Well not so much Snori and Beetle who are more passing background characters than anything else, but Septimus who is extraordinary wizard doesn't even know that someone in his care is kidnapped. He's too caught up in flirting, after being dumped by Rose, the relationship that was just sparking to live at the end of his own series and had apparently ended when Rose decided she was more interested in Foxy, to pay attention to things. Jenna acts almost territorial of Septimus, less like a sister and more like a jealous ex-girlfriend in some scenes. She's dating Beetle, but still her behavior with Septimus is a bit weird. While they weren't nearly as bad as the adults in the prior series I can't help but be concerned that Sage portrays adulthood as in part losing sight of what's important in exchange for more trivial concerns. While we all have a trivial concerns both in childhood and adulthood, growing up doesn't mean becoming an idiot. So I'm kind of hoping there's less of that soon because there are intelligent adults that actually listen to children and consider what they have to say too.
Sage continues on with her this is occurring in a far distant future take on the world she's created. The main character Alice-Toddhunter Moon is part of the Pathfinder people who are descended from what sounds like genetically altered astronauts. They're ostracized by many people because they're different and they guard their secrets closely. I guess I kind of get why Sage decided to date the world in the final Septimus Heap book because of the origin of the people at the center of her spin off series. However, it still seems jarring to me considering how many old fashioned traditions these people have and how little technology seems to exist that this book takes place in a time yet to come.
There was still the issue of contradictions between what has previously been established, but because of the shift in character focus, there weren't as many, or maybe because Sage is paying more attention to her own pre established rules in this series, I couldn't say for sure.
This new series doesn't meander nearly as much or have the charming after passages that tell of what has happened to each character as the series before did, but it still presenting and interesting and enthralling story that I highly recommend.
sagramoure's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5