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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
The Septimus Heap books are a series that I have held close to my heart for many years. I read them for the first time as a young teenager and was instantly captured by Angie Sage’s immersive, quirky and vibrant writing style, world-building and characters. When I discovered that she had continued the series in the form of the TodHunter Moon series I was overjoyed, and Sage didn’t disappoint. It’s odd now, having finished the last word of what is (for now, at least) the final book set in this world that I have grown to love - I can’t believe that it is finally over!
I may be biased, as I tend to become much less critical of pieces of media that I hold close to my heart, but StarChaser felt like a satisfactory conclusion to the weird and wonderful world of Septimus Heap. It encapsulated everything that the series has always stood for, with a glittering cast of characters, most getting their well-deserved spot in the limelight. A particular favourite element of mine concerning these books is Sage’s continued tradition of including a few ‘extra bits’ in the final pages, giving characters with the barest fraction of presence in the book a conclusive ending.
Having said this, my main quibble with StarChaser is the fact that some characters (many of whom have played exceedingly important roles in previous books) got barely a look in. The main character I have in mind here is Jenna, who appeared sporadically throughout the book but played no major role. An even worse fate awaited Beetle, who was only mentioned in passing once, and was not heard from again. As this book is supposedly Sage’s last hurrah in the world of Septimus Heap, I expected that some of the old favourites would have returned for at least a minor subplot. I’ve been consoling myself with the fact that this story is part of the TodHunter Moon series, with a very different set of characters at its core (mainly Tod, the Sarn twins and occasionally Septimus), and therefore the likes of Jenna and Beetle are no longer intended to be the main focus.
In short, StarChaser was lovely, if bittersweet. If you’ve read Septimus Heap or TodHunter Moon in the past then you will have a good idea of how StarChaser turned out. It is as bright, funny, quick and clever as ever, and (for the most part) brings the story of the Heaps and Moons to a close. However, that said, I can’t help but hope that Sage will, eventually, pick up the threads of the story of Septimus Heap and Alice TodHunter Moon. It is a wondrous, captivating, immensely colourful world, which I am sure still has many hidden facets left to explore, and until the day that Sage decides to do so, I will continue to wait with patience (and a Septimus Heap book in my hand).
I may be biased, as I tend to become much less critical of pieces of media that I hold close to my heart, but StarChaser felt like a satisfactory conclusion to the weird and wonderful world of Septimus Heap. It encapsulated everything that the series has always stood for, with a glittering cast of characters, most getting their well-deserved spot in the limelight. A particular favourite element of mine concerning these books is Sage’s continued tradition of including a few ‘extra bits’ in the final pages, giving characters with the barest fraction of presence in the book a conclusive ending.
Having said this, my main quibble with StarChaser is the fact that some characters (many of whom have played exceedingly important roles in previous books) got barely a look in. The main character I have in mind here is Jenna, who appeared sporadically throughout the book but played no major role. An even worse fate awaited Beetle, who was only mentioned in passing once, and was not heard from again. As this book is supposedly Sage’s last hurrah in the world of Septimus Heap, I expected that some of the old favourites would have returned for at least a minor subplot. I’ve been consoling myself with the fact that this story is part of the TodHunter Moon series, with a very different set of characters at its core (mainly Tod, the Sarn twins and occasionally Septimus), and therefore the likes of Jenna and Beetle are no longer intended to be the main focus.
In short, StarChaser was lovely, if bittersweet. If you’ve read Septimus Heap or TodHunter Moon in the past then you will have a good idea of how StarChaser turned out. It is as bright, funny, quick and clever as ever, and (for the most part) brings the story of the Heaps and Moons to a close. However, that said, I can’t help but hope that Sage will, eventually, pick up the threads of the story of Septimus Heap and Alice TodHunter Moon. It is a wondrous, captivating, immensely colourful world, which I am sure still has many hidden facets left to explore, and until the day that Sage decides to do so, I will continue to wait with patience (and a Septimus Heap book in my hand).
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
This fell a little flat for me, I suppose nothing will ever be as good as the original series and I just wasn't as invested, and there didn't seem to be anything to worry about, so I didn't really care.
adventurous
emotional
funny
Another fun read by Angie Sage with all of my favourite things.
I loved the Septimus Heap series. Then I read the PathFinder series, and loved that too. This book is the conclusion to the series, and I am so upset. Everything pretty much ended up nicely though. The lapis lazuli was restored, Spit Fyre got a mate, and there were no more secrets in the PathFinder village. However, I have officially decided that I'm going to reread all of it, starting with Magyk.