Reviews

Pathfinder by Angie Sage

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I had a 8 hour trip to visit a friend and picked up the Pathfinder audio book from the library to pass the time. I read the first book in the Septimus Heap series over ten years ago and really didn't remember anything from it. While many of the Heaps from the first series make appearances and are central to the plot of Pathfinder, I didn't feel lost or confused and think this series does a pretty good job standing by itself. I loved the narrator for the book. She did an excellent job with all the voices and characters. The characters from different regions were all given different accents which really helped me picture them. The story was fairly fast paced and action packed and all seemed to come together nicely in the end. I might go back and read the Septimus Heap series because the world and characters that Sage creates is so fascinating!

_kael_'s review

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

Picked this up maany years ago, haven't gotten to trying to read it past the first few pages until now. 1st book of this world that I've read. Idk what to say. I found the entire book boring from start to finish unless there were villains in a scene, where the speed picks up. Spoiler-y review ahead.

I would recommend reading it up to

when Tod left to go to the Wizard Tower

, then skip to the part where

they discussed how "The Ancient Ways" worked for the first time at P. 193

, and then after that, finally skip to

P. 353 "Queen's Council" then read to the very end of the book,

because the book gets veeery descriptive which makes it slow-paced and thick. I don't see the relevance of the overly descriptive parts to the plot majority of the time. It seemed like a beautiful world but it also seemed like the author failed to make the 1st time readers care about it. A lot of characters and terminologies.

I barely saw the importance of Tod, the main character, in the plot. It felt like Marcia was the most relevant character in the book, 2nd the Queen then Snow Princess the next. The last 2 being minor (minimal appearance) side characters. After them, everyone elso who had helped in the mission in the end. Aunt Mitza and the Malevolent Lady's intentions were also unclear.

I disagree with the description saying it is good for first time readers of the world of Septimus Heap. About the humor mentioned and loveable characters, I only found 1 joke funny

(Coconut)

and resonated with 1-3 paragraphs that I liked as a 1st time reader,

like Tod's thoughts about empathy, or when she gets homesick/lonely.

The ending...????? I badly wanted to DNF this 50 pages in already, but gave it a chance. Halfway, I still found it super boring, I found it difficult to continue reading it. I couldn't wait to finish it and sell it, and I was soo thankful when I finally finished reading it. Though it was a veery beautiful book aesthetically. No spine creases, not a "brick book", beautiful artwork by Mark Zug, the covers had embossed parts, and the font suits the theme too. But was it worth it to continue reading/finish a book that I already have a sure feeling that I will dislike it? No. I suggest to just do an immediate DNF. I really tried and thought I'd get something good out of finishing a book I know I'll dislike. Nope. None. My ENG vocab expanded a bit though so that's good ig. I heard that the original Septimus Heap series was better I think, I'm assuming like A:TLA is to TLoK (though I didn't find TLoK this boring), but my experience doesn't really make me want to read Angie Sage's other works. Though I imagine it could be possible that this can be adapted into a film and be better than the books, like HMC, or HTTYD.

My only fave book quote:

"Oh, Ferdie, Oskar," Lucy said sadly. "lt's not that simple. Nothing ever is, believe me." Tod stepped in. "It doesnt matter whether it's simple or not. Sometimes you have to do what you feel is right." She looked at Ferdie and Oskar. "Even if no one else understands." Oskar looked surprised.

Sorry, but this book is really not for me. I wouldn't recommend it to 1st time readers of the Septimus Heap world. If u enjoyed, good 4 u. More power to the creators and supporters. U do u. On to the next book. Hope we all find the good books that we're looking for.

Content Warnings

alatarmaia's review against another edition

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4.0

angie sage strikes again! this is just as lovely as the original Septimus Heap books

_rhian7na's review against another edition

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4.0

tbh though i enjoyed angie sage's usual humour and "what's gonna happen next?" plot i found this start to the continuation of septimus's story to be a little less thrilling than the original series. it is a great book to read regardless and am very curious as to what happens in the next books.

ghumpherys's review

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4.0

4.5 stars. So much fun to go back to the world of Septimus Heap! It seemed like there were a lot of references to people and events from the original Septimus Heap series (certainly, a lot of characters made an appearance) and I'm sure I missed some of the connections because it's been so long since I listened to those books. But I loved meeting the new characters and am looking forward to the next book! Fun magic and great humor, as always. And the new narrator of the audiobook did a superb job as well.

unseenwizzzard's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a great start to a new series that also does a good job building on Sage's previous series. I enjoyed learning about my favorite characters at the Castle but also learning about a completely new type of magyk and new characters.

schnat's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

arberry's review

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3.0

Decent spinoff of the first series. Felt a little more childish in tone than Septimus Heap though, and the writing was more simplistic (although Angie Sage still has a wonderful narrative style). Regardless, this book did do a decent job of expanding the world of Septimus Heap so I can't be too harsh on it. I will probably continue the series to find out what happens to the characters.