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Septimus Heap #5
Syren
In this fifth book in the Magykal series, Septimus ends up on a captivatingly beautiful island, one of seven set in a sparkling sea. He's stranded there with his badly injured dragon, Spit Fyre, along with Jenna and Beetle. There are some strange things about the island, including a Magykal girl named Syrah, a cat-shaped lighthouse that has lost its Light, and an eerie presence that sings to Septimus—can he escape the persistent call?
Trouble is also brewing for Lucy and Wolf Boy, who have become entangled with some nefarious sailors at sea, and for Milo Banda, Jenna's father, who is harboring a mysterious treasure chest in his ship's hold.
Charismatic storyteller Angie Sage continues Septimus Heap's Magykal journey with more laugh-out-loud adventures, more enchanting charms and spells, and an ever-deepening understanding of the interior life of a young hero.
Trouble is also brewing for Lucy and Wolf Boy, who have become entangled with some nefarious sailors at sea, and for Milo Banda, Jenna's father, who is harboring a mysterious treasure chest in his ship's hold.
Charismatic storyteller Angie Sage continues Septimus Heap's Magykal journey with more laugh-out-loud adventures, more enchanting charms and spells, and an ever-deepening understanding of the interior life of a young hero.
628 pages, Hardcover
First published September 29, 2009
678 people are currently reading
14.3k people want to read
About the author
Angie Sage
180books3,231followersAngie Sage (born 1952) is the author of the Septimus Heap series which includes Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren, Darke and Fyre. She also wrote the Todhunter Moon series, and the Magykal Papers, an additional book with extra information about Septimus' world. She is also the illustrator and/or writer of many children's books, and is the new writer of the Araminta Spookie series.
Angie Sage grew up in Thames Valley, London and Kent. Her father was a publisher. He would bring home blank books that she could fill with pictures and stories. Sage first studied medicine, but changed her mind and went to Art School in Leicester. There she studied Graphic Design and Illustration. She began illustrating books after college. Then she progressed to writing children stories, including toddler books and chapter books. Her first novel was Septimus Heap: Magyk. Angie Sage is married and has two daughters, Laurie and Lois.
Angie Sage grew up in Thames Valley, London and Kent. Her father was a publisher. He would bring home blank books that she could fill with pictures and stories. Sage first studied medicine, but changed her mind and went to Art School in Leicester. There she studied Graphic Design and Illustration. She began illustrating books after college. Then she progressed to writing children stories, including toddler books and chapter books. Her first novel was Septimus Heap: Magyk. Angie Sage is married and has two daughters, Laurie and Lois.
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April 16, 2022
Syren (Septimus Heap, #5), Angie Sage
Syren is the fifth book in the child fantasy Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. It was released on September 29, 2009 by HarperCollins and Bloomsbury Publishing.
The story continues from the previous release Queste and deals with Septimus going to pick up his friends from a distant land. While coming back they are trapped in an island and there they learn of an evil plan to destroy their homeland, The Castle. The rest of the story deals with how Septimus and his friends save their home and destroy the evil coming their way.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه جولای سال2011میلادی
عنوان: سپتیموس هیپ: کتاب پنجم سایرن خبیس؛ نویسنده: انجی سیج؛ مترجم مهرداد مهدویان؛ تهران، انتشارات افق؛ چاپ نخست سال1388، چاپ سوم سال1393، در642ص، شابک9789643697341؛
در کتاب پنجم از سری «سپتیموس هیپ»، با عنوان «سایرن خبیس»، «سپتیموس هیپ» در یکی از هفت جزیره� سحرآمیز، گیر می‌افتد� و به همراهی اژدهایش «آتش آب‌دار»� «جینا»، و «بیتل»، دنبال راه فرار می‌گردند� اما جزیره عجایبی دارد، که یکی پس از دیگری آشکار می‌شوند� روح دختری به نام «سیرا»، که توسط شبحی پلید به نام «سایرن» تسخیر شده، و موجودی عجیب، که برای «سپتیموس» آواز می‌خواند�
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 06/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 26/01/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Syren is the fifth book in the child fantasy Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. It was released on September 29, 2009 by HarperCollins and Bloomsbury Publishing.
The story continues from the previous release Queste and deals with Septimus going to pick up his friends from a distant land. While coming back they are trapped in an island and there they learn of an evil plan to destroy their homeland, The Castle. The rest of the story deals with how Septimus and his friends save their home and destroy the evil coming their way.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه جولای سال2011میلادی
عنوان: سپتیموس هیپ: کتاب پنجم سایرن خبیس؛ نویسنده: انجی سیج؛ مترجم مهرداد مهدویان؛ تهران، انتشارات افق؛ چاپ نخست سال1388، چاپ سوم سال1393، در642ص، شابک9789643697341؛
در کتاب پنجم از سری «سپتیموس هیپ»، با عنوان «سایرن خبیس»، «سپتیموس هیپ» در یکی از هفت جزیره� سحرآمیز، گیر می‌افتد� و به همراهی اژدهایش «آتش آب‌دار»� «جینا»، و «بیتل»، دنبال راه فرار می‌گردند� اما جزیره عجایبی دارد، که یکی پس از دیگری آشکار می‌شوند� روح دختری به نام «سیرا»، که توسط شبحی پلید به نام «سایرن» تسخیر شده، و موجودی عجیب، که برای «سپتیموس» آواز می‌خواند�
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 06/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 26/01/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
January 9, 2024
رحلة جديدة مع الابن السابع للابن السابع وتلميذ الساحرة العظمى سبتيموس هيب . كان هذا الجزء : الحورية افضل واكثر أمتاعا من الجزء السابق وكالعادة تزداد الإثارة والإمتاع مع النصف الثاني من الرواية لكن حتى الجزء الاول كان ممتع .
كنت اعتقد شيئا اخر مع الحورية ففاجئني الكتاب بشكل مختلف لكن اعجبني .
قلقت مع سبتيموس على لافظ اللهب .
شعرت بالحماس والفرحة مع نكو وتواجده على المركب .
عشت المغامرة مع سبتيموس وجينا وبيتل والفتى الذئبي ولوسى .
هذا الجزء بالنسبة لي هو ثاني افضل كتاب فى السلسلة حتى الان بعد الطيران
وطبعا مازلت مع صديقتى الجميلة سارة بنكمل الرحلة مع سبتيموس سوا ❤❤
فات الكتير ما بقى الا القليل 😉😁
١٤ / ٣ / ٢٠٢١
January 6, 2019
Loving this series on Audiobook!
Aunt Zelda picked up a small, pear-shaped gold bottle and placed it very carefully in the palm of her hand. She saw the deep, dark shine of the purest gold—gold spun by the spiders of Aurum—and a thick silver stopper inscribed with the single hieroglyph of a long-forgotten name. She felt a little nervous—the small flask that rested in her hand was an incredibly rare live SafeCharm, and she had never even touched one before.
Marcia’s visit to Keeper’s Cottage to collect the potions for Ephaniah and Hildegarde earlier that morning had left Aunt Zelda feeling very twitchy. After Marcia had left, Aunt Zelda had been overcome by a sudden Sight: Septimus on Spit Fyre, a blinding flash of light and nothing more, nothing but blackness. Feeling extremely shaken, she had sat very still and Looked into the blackness but had seen nothing. And nothing was a terrifying Sight.
After the Seeing Aunt Zelda had been in turmoil. She knew enough about what people called second Sight to know that really it should be called first Sight—it was never wrong. Never. And so she knew that despite Marcia’s insistence that she herself would be flying Spit Fyre to get Jenna, Nicko, Snorri and Beetle, it would actually be Septimus on the dragon. What she had Seen would surely happen. There was nothing she could do to stop it. All she could do was send Septimus the best kind of SafeCharm she had—and this was it.
***
by is the fifth installment of the Septimus Heap series. The stories are exciting, funny, tension filled series that has entertained me from the very beginning. Each book ends with tantalizing cliff hangers that leave me anticipating the next one!
I started these on audiobook and have purchased the complete series already!
's performance adds a higher level of enjoyment that I would miss if reading the books.
I'll be sad when I finish listening to the seventh and last one in the series!
Aunt Zelda picked up a small, pear-shaped gold bottle and placed it very carefully in the palm of her hand. She saw the deep, dark shine of the purest gold—gold spun by the spiders of Aurum—and a thick silver stopper inscribed with the single hieroglyph of a long-forgotten name. She felt a little nervous—the small flask that rested in her hand was an incredibly rare live SafeCharm, and she had never even touched one before.
Marcia’s visit to Keeper’s Cottage to collect the potions for Ephaniah and Hildegarde earlier that morning had left Aunt Zelda feeling very twitchy. After Marcia had left, Aunt Zelda had been overcome by a sudden Sight: Septimus on Spit Fyre, a blinding flash of light and nothing more, nothing but blackness. Feeling extremely shaken, she had sat very still and Looked into the blackness but had seen nothing. And nothing was a terrifying Sight.
After the Seeing Aunt Zelda had been in turmoil. She knew enough about what people called second Sight to know that really it should be called first Sight—it was never wrong. Never. And so she knew that despite Marcia’s insistence that she herself would be flying Spit Fyre to get Jenna, Nicko, Snorri and Beetle, it would actually be Septimus on the dragon. What she had Seen would surely happen. There was nothing she could do to stop it. All she could do was send Septimus the best kind of SafeCharm she had—and this was it.
***
by is the fifth installment of the Septimus Heap series. The stories are exciting, funny, tension filled series that has entertained me from the very beginning. Each book ends with tantalizing cliff hangers that leave me anticipating the next one!
I started these on audiobook and have purchased the complete series already!
's performance adds a higher level of enjoyment that I would miss if reading the books.
I'll be sad when I finish listening to the seventh and last one in the series!
May 6, 2024
المغامرة الخامسه مع سبتيموس والحورية
تخيلت ان تكون الحورية وجودها مثل الأساطير تنادي الرجال والشباب لتقتلهم فقط
لم اكن اتخيل ان قصة الحورية في السلسلة ستأخذ ابعاد مختلفة تماما
مخطط جديد للسيطرة علي برج السحرة والقلعة مرة أخرى ليوقفها سبتيموس مع اصدقائه
ألاعيب جديدة من ترتيوس فيوم الشرير ومواجهات بينه وبين مارشا اوفرستراند تلك المواجهات التي لا تنتهي ابدا
جن واشباح واستحواذ قطط ومنارات وجزء ومراكب والتوأم كرو الأِشرار
ظهور جديد لسايمون هيب مع لوسي بالطبع ودور جديد للفتى الذئبي برعاية العمة زيلدا
سيارا سيارا الحورية وتفاصيل عن استحواذها
شخصية ميار القط كانت لطيفة جدا حارس منارة القط
في المجمل جزء افضل من كل سابقيه بالتأكيد
ومغامرات اكثر واندماج اسرع مع الشخصيات والاحداث
شكرا صديقتي داليا للمرة الخامسة على الرحلة الرائعة السحرية وعقبال المرتين الجايين 💖🌷🌷
تخيلت ان تكون الحورية وجودها مثل الأساطير تنادي الرجال والشباب لتقتلهم فقط
لم اكن اتخيل ان قصة الحورية في السلسلة ستأخذ ابعاد مختلفة تماما
مخطط جديد للسيطرة علي برج السحرة والقلعة مرة أخرى ليوقفها سبتيموس مع اصدقائه
ألاعيب جديدة من ترتيوس فيوم الشرير ومواجهات بينه وبين مارشا اوفرستراند تلك المواجهات التي لا تنتهي ابدا
جن واشباح واستحواذ قطط ومنارات وجزء ومراكب والتوأم كرو الأِشرار
ظهور جديد لسايمون هيب مع لوسي بالطبع ودور جديد للفتى الذئبي برعاية العمة زيلدا
سيارا سيارا الحورية وتفاصيل عن استحواذها
شخصية ميار القط كانت لطيفة جدا حارس منارة القط
في المجمل جزء افضل من كل سابقيه بالتأكيد
ومغامرات اكثر واندماج اسرع مع الشخصيات والاحداث
شكرا صديقتي داليا للمرة الخامسة على الرحلة الرائعة السحرية وعقبال المرتين الجايين 💖🌷🌷
August 24, 2018
This is the fifth of a seven-book fantasy–adventure series featuring Septimus Heap by English author Angie Sage. I haven’t read any other books in the series before, and this was a chance find on the shop-soiled table in my neighbourhood bookshop. What attracted me to the book was the cover, and its somewhat different shape—it’s nearly but not quite a square. I loved the cover art—and the others in the series (one set of covers, in particular) are equally pretty. Septimus Heap is the seventh son of a seventh son, and so as folklore tells us, he has magykal powers. He is apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand with whom he must serve an apprenticeship of seven years and seven days.
The books starts out with two parallel storylines. On the one side we have Septimus Heap who is setting out to fetch his friends Jenna and Beetle, and his brother Nicco, and Snorri (who I think is Nicco’s girlfriend, though I’m not very sure) from the trading post where they have stopped after their previous adventure. Jenna and the others have in the meantime met her father Milo Banda and his ship the Cerys, and have gone on board. Septimus sets off on his dragon Spit Fyre, and on the way back (only Jenna and Beetle have accompanied him), Spit Fyre is injured and they are forced to land on an island where everything is not quite as peaceful and calm as it seems on the surface—there is something amiss in the background. The Island belongs to the Syren, and she is luring more than one person there, though at this point it is unclear why. Meanwhile Wolf Boy is sent by Aunt Zelda to the Port Witch Coven to perform an unpleasant and dangerous task, which he doesn’t know is the first step to being her apprentice. At the Coven he finds Lucy Gringe (girlfriend of Septimus� other brother Simon) has been captured by the Witches. He helps her escape but in getting away they end up aboard a ship, the Marauder captained by the shady Captain Frye, which is setting off on a mission to steal the light from Cattrokk Lighthouse, with a nefarious purpose. Both events end up related to a dangerous plot, and the rest of this about 630-page adventure relates how Septimus and his friends tackle the situation.
I really enjoyed this one despite the obvious drawback of reading a book from this late on in a series. This did mean that I wasn’t quite sure who was who, their backgrounds, what adventures they’d had in the past, how the magyk and such worked, among other things—and not all of those questions cleared up by the time I reached the end either. But the plot itself I thought was very well done—I liked how the author tied all the different plot threads together to create an exciting adventure. I only picked up some clues of what was going on, but didn’t entirely see how the different lines would come together, and what they were leading to. I also very enjoyed the world the author has created—there’s a map of the actual world―but I also meant the other elements—the magyk, alchemy, dragons, and jinnees—as other reviewers have said, not as dark as Harry Potter’s world but very imaginative all the same—there’s the magic of course, and also the legends, and even games (at least one in this one). And speaking of Harry Potter, while there were things one could compare, I liked that this one didn’t have its protagonists on in the Harry–Ron–Hermione as many fantasy series/books following Potter have done. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but it’s nice to see something different too. I liked many of the characters, Septimus himself, the Wolf Boy, Beetle, and Mr Miarr. But while the ExtraOrdinary Wizard may have been female, two of the girls in this, Lucy with her tendency to scream all the time, irrespective of the occasion, and Jenna who seems to rely on her emotions/heart more than her head didn’t come across too well, especially the latter. Syrah on the other hand I liked much better, and a part of her story was very well done—pretty scary when one thinks about it. I also loved Spit Fyre the dragon and Jim Knee (you’ll know who that is when you read the book).
This was a really fun read for me, and I definitely want to read more of the series. Of course, I can’t end this review without writing about the illustrations which I really liked very very much. Those of the characters of course, but my favourite was that of the ship the Cerys, which I though was really beautiful—all her sails and details stood out very well.
This review is on my blog at:
The books starts out with two parallel storylines. On the one side we have Septimus Heap who is setting out to fetch his friends Jenna and Beetle, and his brother Nicco, and Snorri (who I think is Nicco’s girlfriend, though I’m not very sure) from the trading post where they have stopped after their previous adventure. Jenna and the others have in the meantime met her father Milo Banda and his ship the Cerys, and have gone on board. Septimus sets off on his dragon Spit Fyre, and on the way back (only Jenna and Beetle have accompanied him), Spit Fyre is injured and they are forced to land on an island where everything is not quite as peaceful and calm as it seems on the surface—there is something amiss in the background. The Island belongs to the Syren, and she is luring more than one person there, though at this point it is unclear why. Meanwhile Wolf Boy is sent by Aunt Zelda to the Port Witch Coven to perform an unpleasant and dangerous task, which he doesn’t know is the first step to being her apprentice. At the Coven he finds Lucy Gringe (girlfriend of Septimus� other brother Simon) has been captured by the Witches. He helps her escape but in getting away they end up aboard a ship, the Marauder captained by the shady Captain Frye, which is setting off on a mission to steal the light from Cattrokk Lighthouse, with a nefarious purpose. Both events end up related to a dangerous plot, and the rest of this about 630-page adventure relates how Septimus and his friends tackle the situation.
I really enjoyed this one despite the obvious drawback of reading a book from this late on in a series. This did mean that I wasn’t quite sure who was who, their backgrounds, what adventures they’d had in the past, how the magyk and such worked, among other things—and not all of those questions cleared up by the time I reached the end either. But the plot itself I thought was very well done—I liked how the author tied all the different plot threads together to create an exciting adventure. I only picked up some clues of what was going on, but didn’t entirely see how the different lines would come together, and what they were leading to. I also very enjoyed the world the author has created—there’s a map of the actual world―but I also meant the other elements—the magyk, alchemy, dragons, and jinnees—as other reviewers have said, not as dark as Harry Potter’s world but very imaginative all the same—there’s the magic of course, and also the legends, and even games (at least one in this one). And speaking of Harry Potter, while there were things one could compare, I liked that this one didn’t have its protagonists on in the Harry–Ron–Hermione as many fantasy series/books following Potter have done. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but it’s nice to see something different too. I liked many of the characters, Septimus himself, the Wolf Boy, Beetle, and Mr Miarr. But while the ExtraOrdinary Wizard may have been female, two of the girls in this, Lucy with her tendency to scream all the time, irrespective of the occasion, and Jenna who seems to rely on her emotions/heart more than her head didn’t come across too well, especially the latter. Syrah on the other hand I liked much better, and a part of her story was very well done—pretty scary when one thinks about it. I also loved Spit Fyre the dragon and Jim Knee (you’ll know who that is when you read the book).
This was a really fun read for me, and I definitely want to read more of the series. Of course, I can’t end this review without writing about the illustrations which I really liked very very much. Those of the characters of course, but my favourite was that of the ship the Cerys, which I though was really beautiful—all her sails and details stood out very well.
This review is on my blog at:
April 17, 2009
5th book of a seven book series, Warner Bros have brought the film rights and will start movie production as soon has harry potter has finished. Get those signed first editions while you can!
September 25, 2022
This book series is middle grade but that I do believe that it can be enjoyed by people of any age because each installment is filled with amazing characters and fantastic adventures that will make you excited for the next book. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to awaken their inner child and have a great time.
November 18, 2010
Five books seems to have finally gotten to Angie Sage. With the return of the Wizard Apprentice, Septimus Heap, the book seems to have lost quite a lot. Like they say, "sometimes bigger doesn't always mean better." Slow moving, the book took quite a while to get into things. And when it did, oh boy. The usual charm of characters that I hold Sage in pristine for, is lost. I quickly lost my love for the characters. It was heart-breaking. The plot was confusing as well. I wish she had put more into it. Then we lose almost all of the characters that first appeared in the other four books. Again, I was saddened. Hopefully, the next one will hold this series together for me.
November 7, 2021
Am reading this excellent series along with my 9 year old daughter. She is a book ahead, and loves to talk to me about them. Funny, well-written, exciting and well-plotted, a delight for kids and adults alike! Recommended.
May 6, 2024
*4.5 stars
o. beetle beetle is carrying all of his friends' mental well-beings on his tweenage shoulders and I love him for it 🫶
((also the ending is giving "the DM told me to check my inventory before the big boss fight and I found this thing that he definitely forgot he gave me that's going to negate all the tension HUZZAH" and I ate it up tbh))
o. beetle beetle is carrying all of his friends' mental well-beings on his tweenage shoulders and I love him for it 🫶
((also the ending is giving "the DM told me to check my inventory before the big boss fight and I found this thing that he definitely forgot he gave me that's going to negate all the tension HUZZAH" and I ate it up tbh))
March 11, 2017
Wow, setelah merasa agak kecewa dengan buku keempatnya, buku kelima ini makin menarik ternyata... Petualangan Septimus makin asyik dan bikin penasaran. An ever-deepening understanding of life of a young hero. Makin banyak juga bagian yang bikin ketawa-ketawa saat membacanya, terutama bagian-bagian saat Jim Knee muncul, hahaha... kocaakk!. Suka!. Dan, Jenna, aku makin suka juga sama karakternya.
January 29, 2016
At this point, fatigue is setting in, and I feel like this book just wasn't as good as the others. Most of them got off to slow starts, but nothing much happens in Syren for the first 300 pages. There's an awful lot of filler, and for some reason CattRokk has to be described by every single character. Also, the main plot device is getting repetitive - Jenna/Septimus/Nicko is kidnapped or otherwise stick somewhere, the others rescue him/her. Honestly, at this point they should just all be chained together and call it a day.
As usual, once the action really does start, the book kicks major butt. It's just that I waited too long and was somewhat disengaged by that point. Honestly, Sage could have spent fifty pages getting everyone to the island instead of 300, and then let the action begin.
Among the highlights, I have to hand it to the unlikely coupling of WolfBoy and Lucy Gringe - the latter has especially grown on me. And I thoroughly enjoyed Marcia and Zelda butting heads as well. Best part, however, was the very snarky genie, who made me crack up with every line of dialogue. More of him please!
Still, Syren is the low point of the series for me.
As usual, once the action really does start, the book kicks major butt. It's just that I waited too long and was somewhat disengaged by that point. Honestly, Sage could have spent fifty pages getting everyone to the island instead of 300, and then let the action begin.
Among the highlights, I have to hand it to the unlikely coupling of WolfBoy and Lucy Gringe - the latter has especially grown on me. And I thoroughly enjoyed Marcia and Zelda butting heads as well. Best part, however, was the very snarky genie, who made me crack up with every line of dialogue. More of him please!
Still, Syren is the low point of the series for me.
April 21, 2022
Kinda disappointing after Physik and Queste, but I suppose I was judging based on the thickness of the book compared to the others and the title. The Syren hardly plays any role in the plot. I mean, yes she's the one who lures The Cerys over and takes over Syrah but that's it. And Syrah in turn doesn't do anything in this book, and it just makes me want to read more Septimus Heap, the fact that she falls unconsious and doesn't wake up. Septimus's obsession with her is a little annoying, I mean, he hardly knew the girl, and she's five years older than him. It was the same case as Snorri and Nicko. Why can't Angie make her relationships more gradual? And Stanley doesn't show much either. That's a shame.
On the bright side, some new characters I really would like to see more of are introduced here, such as the lazy 'Jim Knee', the jinnee, and Miarr and his futuristic Red Tube, and Skipper Frye and his goons. Plus I'm hoping for more of Ephaniah Grebe and Catchpole, who's great for a laugh.
This series is addictive, I'm glad I picked up on it! Can't wait for Sep Heap #6!
On the bright side, some new characters I really would like to see more of are introduced here, such as the lazy 'Jim Knee', the jinnee, and Miarr and his futuristic Red Tube, and Skipper Frye and his goons. Plus I'm hoping for more of Ephaniah Grebe and Catchpole, who's great for a laugh.
This series is addictive, I'm glad I picked up on it! Can't wait for Sep Heap #6!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2017
I really did. Totally in the flow, I can now sit back, relax and read the madness unfold. The Syren bits legit spooked me out while I was reading them last night. So much that I went to bed scared. Well done, middle-grade book, well done indeed!
I don't know why but I don't feel like explaining what happened in these books. I've been writing uncharacteristically short reviews for them. I will try and undo that here:
So, in the last book Septimus, Jenna and Beetle were trying to get Nicko and Snorri back into their own time. They did and the book ended before all of them could go home. In this one, Septimus and Co. get sidetracked by getting marooned on a Spirit Island. We have three groups: Septimus, Beetle and Jenna then Nicko, Snorri and Milo Banda then Lucy Gringe and Wolf Boy. All go their separate ways do their separate things and then their paths converge.
-I love how Angie Sage begins the book with multiple threads and then all of it slowly and perfectly fits into place at the end. The transition from wtf-is-even-happening to it-all-makes-sense is so smooth I love it!
-I'm a little annoyed that no one has bothered to give Wolf Boy a proper name yet. I mean, come on, it's been years. How hard is it to give someone a name? Instead of being called 409 or Wolf Boy give the guy a real name like Paul or something.
-I've been secretly hoping that Merrin would come back from the darke side but the little weasel remains a giant thorn in the backside till date.
-I've also slowly come to appreciate how badass Marcia is. Like, she's literally the most powerful woman in the Castle with a temperament to match and when she sasses people it makes me happy.
-Can Septimus and Co please age and be 17 or whatever? I like growth in a series both psychological and physical. They all seem to be stuck at 13. Part of the reason I left How to Train a Dragon series is because the repetition combined with the fact that time refused to pass tired me out.
November 29, 2016
Syren is the fifth book in the world of Septimus Heap series and a great one, with a huge page count. I read the paperback edition of the book sometimes switching to Ebook and ended up reading it in five days and giving it a straight five star. This book has been so well written and planned that I can barely find any flaw and its better than the previous books in the series and much like Magyk. Angie extends the Magyk Universe discovering new haunted Islands and introducing new maps and locations to the reader. These locations have a unique climate and changes the mood of characters in the book like Cattrock Light, The Peele, Sand Dunes, Star Island,etc. Also sage introduces two new ship namely Cerys and Marauder in the book and they have a lot of Pirat-ish things in common. The character development is very well and the secondary characters many of them which are new like Jim Knee, Linda, Syrah Stars(My favorite), Miarr, Jack, Theodolite, Barney Pot, etc have been introduced with their own particular story and nature and a fixed behaviour and speech which makes the reader indulge band enjoy these characters heartily. Septimus, Beetle, Milo, Lucy, Wolf Boy, Jenna, Nicko can be considered as a major characters who have grown a lot. Septimus has been awarded his Senior Apprentice and this marks the series coming to its midway. Even the plotlines of Jenna, Wolfboy, Lucy were not at all boring. Here, the author tries to introduce a lot of new things in the magical world skipping all the previously important landmarks and characters like the Castle, Marfan Marshes, Simon, Zelda, Marcia, Silas, Sarah, Merrin. I love the Grim Feeding Part and find it very funny and horrifying at the same time. Even the bind between Spit Fyre and Septimus is clearly and particularly explained in the earlier chapters. There is a a closeness and sometimes argument between the major characters. The Pigeon Post was also excellent. The Syren and the Syarh Syara part is the one which amazes and wonders me in the most in the book. It is delicate and a bit horror and emotional for to reader. Septimus reacts to things and events in the book very naturally. Milos new band and Theodolite's new band in the book is well portrayed. I was very shocked as the final plot was revealed which included that Fume has allied with the Syren to destroy the castle and do blue bluffing Milo to capture warrior Jinnies and transport them through the underground ice tunnels. The ending will be understood by the person who has involvingly read the first four books. The character Jim Knee is the real spotlight as he is dramatic, Humorous, and wary.
I would strongly recommend this book to every Magical Genre reader with a great twist. It involves potions, charms, chants, safeguards, Jinnies, Dragons, Haunted Islands, Spirited Souls, Pirates, Ghosts, Wizards, Cat-Man, And a load of great heroes and villains that will be sure to entertain you. The descriptive Nature of Sage of various locations and landmarks is at the epitome and paramount here, reaching its highest potential and giving the reader a world full of fantasy and beyond imagination and also teaching him about how to interact with people and understand and help them. A truly great and fantastic Read.!!!
Plot
I would strongly recommend this book to every Magical Genre reader with a great twist. It involves potions, charms, chants, safeguards, Jinnies, Dragons, Haunted Islands, Spirited Souls, Pirates, Ghosts, Wizards, Cat-Man, And a load of great heroes and villains that will be sure to entertain you. The descriptive Nature of Sage of various locations and landmarks is at the epitome and paramount here, reaching its highest potential and giving the reader a world full of fantasy and beyond imagination and also teaching him about how to interact with people and understand and help them. A truly great and fantastic Read.!!!
Plot
Read
April 4, 2021This book has frustrated me for years, with its deceitful cover, making it seem like an intriguing book about a mermaid.
However, I always get stuck on the first chapters about Aunt Zelda. On and on it goes about her making a Safety Charm for chapters and chapters before we finally get to Septimus on his dragon, only to abruptly switch to a tedious character named Merrin who meets a tedious genie, then yet another personality-less boy named Wolf Boy who visits some tedious witches who all sound exactly like middle aged adults role playing.
Forcing onwards, into the book's middle (past the perspective of more tedious characters who own a lighthouse, probably based on more adult friends' characters in a role-playing game) and a girl named Lucy Gringe who has nothing to do with anything, finally I get to the part about the Syren, and find it's all of a couple pages.
Then all the character threads are twisted together into a conclusion, but I don't care for any of them. Just like most middle grade and YA series, I get the feeling there's some ulterior motive behind these books that isn't simply "so kids can enjoy it," like Harry Potter.
It seems very much like adults indulging in a commission for their table top characters to be on a library shelf with expensive and disproportionately intricate illustrations, and that turns out to be a boring thing.
Put this one on a document and tried deleting the filler for an experiment. Might just be tweaking other things for a laugh in this one too. (Mark this as the things I'm reduced to when I have no library because of covid restrictions).
However, I always get stuck on the first chapters about Aunt Zelda. On and on it goes about her making a Safety Charm for chapters and chapters before we finally get to Septimus on his dragon, only to abruptly switch to a tedious character named Merrin who meets a tedious genie, then yet another personality-less boy named Wolf Boy who visits some tedious witches who all sound exactly like middle aged adults role playing.
Forcing onwards, into the book's middle (past the perspective of more tedious characters who own a lighthouse, probably based on more adult friends' characters in a role-playing game) and a girl named Lucy Gringe who has nothing to do with anything, finally I get to the part about the Syren, and find it's all of a couple pages.
Then all the character threads are twisted together into a conclusion, but I don't care for any of them. Just like most middle grade and YA series, I get the feeling there's some ulterior motive behind these books that isn't simply "so kids can enjoy it," like Harry Potter.
It seems very much like adults indulging in a commission for their table top characters to be on a library shelf with expensive and disproportionately intricate illustrations, and that turns out to be a boring thing.
Put this one on a document and tried deleting the filler for an experiment. Might just be tweaking other things for a laugh in this one too. (Mark this as the things I'm reduced to when I have no library because of covid restrictions).
December 11, 2023
So much was happening in this book, too much. I felt like I was lost trying to figure out how all the plot lines connected. The Syren bit was terrifying though.
September 15, 2015
Fifth in the Septimus Heap fantasy series for young middle-grade readers and revolving around Septimus, a young magykal Apprentice.
My Take
Syren is a whimsical fantasy sure to appeal to children (and adults, ahem, *she said with a grin*) complete with the gross and the responsible that will make you laugh and worry. I do love a children's story that places children in adult-like positions in which they make decisions, realize truths, help each other, and save the day�*grin*�
That Milo is an obnoxious, bragging man with a need for power and control. It's part of why I had to laugh when Spit Fyre started inhaling their fancy dinner with Milo pulling fiercely on the other end of the tablecloth!
There are some scenes which are confusing, and on second look, stay confusing, yet Syren is fun to read with great visuals from Sage. It's a child's view of life with all the bravery, scariness, and treats a child imagines.
It's freedom, a badly injured dragon, a deserted island that turns out not to be so deserted after all, and the most humongous betrayal. I cannot wait to read Darke , 6, and find out what happens next!
The Story
Septimus ends up on a captivatingly beautiful island, one of seven set in a sparkling sea. He's stranded there with his badly injured dragon, Spit Fyre, along with Jenna and Beetle. There are some strange things about the island, including a Magykal girl named Syrah, a cat-shaped lighthouse that has lost its Light, and an eerie presence that sings to Septimus � can he escape the persistent call?
Trouble is also brewing for Lucy and Wolf Boy, who have become entangled with some nefarious sailors at sea, and for Milo Banda, Jenna's father, who is harboring a mysterious treasure chest in his ship's hold.
The Characters
Port is�
the town where the Heaps and Princess Jenna live and is the home of the Wizard's Tower, the Manuscriptorium, and the Ramblings. Barney Pot has joined the Castle Cubs, a type of Boy Scouts. Uncle Billy Pot tends Spit Fyre. Alther Mella and Alice Nettles are ghosts who live in the striped tent on the Palace grounds.
Septimus Heap, once known as 412 in the Young Army, is the seventh son of a seventh son and an ExtraOrdinary Apprentice under Marcia. House Mouse serves Septimus. Spit Fyre is the dragon he Imprinted in Flyte , 2.
Nicko Heap and Snorri have been hopping through time on their adventures. He's gone from a carefree boy to a sober one who thinks before he speaks. Simon Heap is Septimu's wicked brother who wanted to learn Darke Magyk. Lucy Gringe is his girlfriend who's gone missing ( Queste , 4). Sleuth is his Tracker Ball that Marcia appropriated. Maureen runs the Harbor and Dock Pie Shop. Mistress Sarah Heap is the mother who raised Jenna and the other little Heaps, and she is now in charge of the Palace. Silas Heap is their wizard father, and his arthritic wolfhound is named Maxie.
Princess Jenna and her panther/kitty, Ullr, usually live in the Palace. Domino is her horse. Good Queen Cerys was Jenna's birth mother, murdered some twelve-and-a-half years ago, who now guards the Queen's Room. The bragging Milo Banda is Jenna's birth father, a roguish merchant with a ship, Cerys . Jem is a deckhand with some experience in Physicking and the Darke.
The Wizard's Tower is�
…w the wizards live. Marcia Fusspot Overstrand is the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Hildegarde Pigeon had been possessed by a Thing in Queste , 4.
The Magykal Manuscriptorium and Spell Checkers Incorporated is�
…w Beetle Beetle used to be the Front Office Clerk until he was fired by Jillie Djinn, the idiotic Chief Hermetic Scribe. Ephaniah Grebe is half-human and half-rat and does restorations, when he's not recovering from events in Queste . Romilly Badger is the new Inspection Clerk. Partridge is one of the other scribes. Merrin Meredith, a.k.a., Septimus Heap and Daniel Hunter, is now the very nasty chief scribe who's rarely at work. He had been Simon Heap's apprentice and still has a too-greedy desire for Darke Magyk.
Tertius Fume is a plus-500 years old mean old ghost, one of the Ancients, the former first Chief Scribe, and a seven-day ExtraOrdinary Wizard back in the time of Hotep-Ra, his best friend. Well, former best friend. Tertius was the assassin who tried to kill Hotep-Ra who Banished him. Tertius is also the Ghost of the Vaults.
Aunt Zelda lives in her patchwork dress and the Keeper's Cottage in Marram Marshes outside Port. Wolf Boy has been her Apprentice, her Intended Keeper, really, and Aunt Zelda has sent him off on the Task. Until Wolf Boy, a.k.a. 409, fell off a bridge, he had been Septimus' friend in the Young Army. The Boggart will guide Wolf Boy out of the Marshes.
Jim Knee is the jinnee with his hat of ever-shrinking yellow donuts in the SafeCharm. He's been looking forward to his release from the bottle, but expected a LOT more from Septimus. Before he became a jinnee, he was a turtle trader's fourth wife.
The Ramblings is�
…a neighborhood in Port. Larry owns Larry's Dead Languages where he does translations. Stanley is a Message Rat who has restarted the service and has hopes of the four rescued ratlets: the quiet Sydney, the snuffly Lydia, the confident Faith, and the boisterously silly Edward. Dawnie is Stanley's ex-wife, and he doesn't seem to want her back anymore.
The Marauder is skippered by Theodophilus Fortitude Fry, the former Joe Grub of a family of wreckers, hates women. He was Deakin Lee's first mate on his pirate ship. Jakey Fry is the skipper's much nicer son. Thin Crowe is Fry's other seaman, another nasty and stupid man. His twin, Fat Crowe, is just like him.
Una Brakket is an agent of some sort. Not the good sort, though.
The Port Coven is�
…a group of nasty Darke witches that includes Pamela the Witch Mother, Linda is Pamela's protégé, Dorinda, Veronica, and Daphne. Their cats are bloodsuckers.
Star Island
CattRokk Lighthouse has been�
…manned by Guardians of the Light, a.k.a., the Watchers or Keepers, which, um, somehow bred with cats at some point. The lighthouse is one of four Living Lights lit by an ancient Sphere of Light set to indicate the range of the Syren's Call. Miarr Catt is the last Watcher. His cousin, Mirano, the last of his family, has disappeared. The unlovely Fat Crowe is his co-Watcher.
Syrah Syara is an Apprentice who never returned from a Queste. Julius Pike had been her ExtraOrdinary Wizard. She becomes Syren when she must return to the Peepe, the Dwelling Place of this possessive spirit on Star Island.
The Trading Post is�
…a town for Traders. Harbor Twelve is one of the wealthier ones. Harbor One is one of the poorer. The Pigeon Post Office is quite efficient. Mr. Higgs, the bosun on a ship some 500 years ago, has (had?) a net loft in the Trading Post. The House of Foryx is the Place Where All Times Do Meet in Trading Post territory, the truth of which was revealed in Queste .
An ExtraOrdinary Wizard is the head wizard. There are two types of SafeCharm: regular and alive. The Task involves the Port Coven and the need to be the GrimFeeder. The Grim is a gruesome Darke creature with tentacles who lives in the drains. A ghoul's fool is also known as a phantom's bantam, a specter protector, but the real name is a Spirit's Bondsman, someone who has sold his soul to a ghost. A Possession Wraith is like a ghost but does not keep its shape when it moves.
In today's Port, the Harbor Master is constantly quarreling with the encroaching Honest Joe, a chandler. The Twenty-One Gang is a group of mostly ex-Army boys. A FlashBoard is a magykal skateboard.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a gorgeous tea-stained blue teal background with lots of gilt for the debossed series name, the title, the author's name, and most of the icons including the squiggles and the pitchforks. The metallic corner "reinforcements" are copper aged with verdigris. The object is what saves the day, a gold carved flask with a spiral metal handle and a stopper topped with strange writing sealed with red wax.
The title is but one of the great evils, the Syren, who betrays all.
My Take
Syren is a whimsical fantasy sure to appeal to children (and adults, ahem, *she said with a grin*) complete with the gross and the responsible that will make you laugh and worry. I do love a children's story that places children in adult-like positions in which they make decisions, realize truths, help each other, and save the day�*grin*�
"…possibly not much more intelligent than the average Port fish crate � indeed, there were some Port fish crates that might have successfully disputed that."It's not all roses for that wicked Merrin. For every evil deed, he gets a fright of one sort or another. I keep hoping he gets his! Then there's that nasty, little Linda who scares the pants off me! Now, Jim Knee, he is a crack-up. A jinnee with an annoyed-child attitude who snarks off in his mind and to the Great One, lol.
"…in fact it was down to Spit Fyre's innate ExtraOrdinary Wizard-ignoring skills."There are multiple sub plots in Syren that find Tertius Fume at the center of them all. And Sage is tying together all sorts of loose ends that involve Septimus' time-traveling past as well as why Jenna's father was missing for so much of her life.
That Milo is an obnoxious, bragging man with a need for power and control. It's part of why I had to laugh when Spit Fyre started inhaling their fancy dinner with Milo pulling fiercely on the other end of the tablecloth!
There are some scenes which are confusing, and on second look, stay confusing, yet Syren is fun to read with great visuals from Sage. It's a child's view of life with all the bravery, scariness, and treats a child imagines.
It's freedom, a badly injured dragon, a deserted island that turns out not to be so deserted after all, and the most humongous betrayal. I cannot wait to read Darke , 6, and find out what happens next!
The Story
Septimus ends up on a captivatingly beautiful island, one of seven set in a sparkling sea. He's stranded there with his badly injured dragon, Spit Fyre, along with Jenna and Beetle. There are some strange things about the island, including a Magykal girl named Syrah, a cat-shaped lighthouse that has lost its Light, and an eerie presence that sings to Septimus � can he escape the persistent call?
Trouble is also brewing for Lucy and Wolf Boy, who have become entangled with some nefarious sailors at sea, and for Milo Banda, Jenna's father, who is harboring a mysterious treasure chest in his ship's hold.
The Characters
Port is�
the town where the Heaps and Princess Jenna live and is the home of the Wizard's Tower, the Manuscriptorium, and the Ramblings. Barney Pot has joined the Castle Cubs, a type of Boy Scouts. Uncle Billy Pot tends Spit Fyre. Alther Mella and Alice Nettles are ghosts who live in the striped tent on the Palace grounds.
Septimus Heap, once known as 412 in the Young Army, is the seventh son of a seventh son and an ExtraOrdinary Apprentice under Marcia. House Mouse serves Septimus. Spit Fyre is the dragon he Imprinted in Flyte , 2.
Nicko Heap and Snorri have been hopping through time on their adventures. He's gone from a carefree boy to a sober one who thinks before he speaks. Simon Heap is Septimu's wicked brother who wanted to learn Darke Magyk. Lucy Gringe is his girlfriend who's gone missing ( Queste , 4). Sleuth is his Tracker Ball that Marcia appropriated. Maureen runs the Harbor and Dock Pie Shop. Mistress Sarah Heap is the mother who raised Jenna and the other little Heaps, and she is now in charge of the Palace. Silas Heap is their wizard father, and his arthritic wolfhound is named Maxie.
Princess Jenna and her panther/kitty, Ullr, usually live in the Palace. Domino is her horse. Good Queen Cerys was Jenna's birth mother, murdered some twelve-and-a-half years ago, who now guards the Queen's Room. The bragging Milo Banda is Jenna's birth father, a roguish merchant with a ship, Cerys . Jem is a deckhand with some experience in Physicking and the Darke.
The Wizard's Tower is�
…w the wizards live. Marcia Fusspot Overstrand is the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Hildegarde Pigeon had been possessed by a Thing in Queste , 4.
The Magykal Manuscriptorium and Spell Checkers Incorporated is�
…w Beetle Beetle used to be the Front Office Clerk until he was fired by Jillie Djinn, the idiotic Chief Hermetic Scribe. Ephaniah Grebe is half-human and half-rat and does restorations, when he's not recovering from events in Queste . Romilly Badger is the new Inspection Clerk. Partridge is one of the other scribes. Merrin Meredith, a.k.a., Septimus Heap and Daniel Hunter, is now the very nasty chief scribe who's rarely at work. He had been Simon Heap's apprentice and still has a too-greedy desire for Darke Magyk.
Tertius Fume is a plus-500 years old mean old ghost, one of the Ancients, the former first Chief Scribe, and a seven-day ExtraOrdinary Wizard back in the time of Hotep-Ra, his best friend. Well, former best friend. Tertius was the assassin who tried to kill Hotep-Ra who Banished him. Tertius is also the Ghost of the Vaults.
Aunt Zelda lives in her patchwork dress and the Keeper's Cottage in Marram Marshes outside Port. Wolf Boy has been her Apprentice, her Intended Keeper, really, and Aunt Zelda has sent him off on the Task. Until Wolf Boy, a.k.a. 409, fell off a bridge, he had been Septimus' friend in the Young Army. The Boggart will guide Wolf Boy out of the Marshes.
Jim Knee is the jinnee with his hat of ever-shrinking yellow donuts in the SafeCharm. He's been looking forward to his release from the bottle, but expected a LOT more from Septimus. Before he became a jinnee, he was a turtle trader's fourth wife.
The Ramblings is�
…a neighborhood in Port. Larry owns Larry's Dead Languages where he does translations. Stanley is a Message Rat who has restarted the service and has hopes of the four rescued ratlets: the quiet Sydney, the snuffly Lydia, the confident Faith, and the boisterously silly Edward. Dawnie is Stanley's ex-wife, and he doesn't seem to want her back anymore.
The Marauder is skippered by Theodophilus Fortitude Fry, the former Joe Grub of a family of wreckers, hates women. He was Deakin Lee's first mate on his pirate ship. Jakey Fry is the skipper's much nicer son. Thin Crowe is Fry's other seaman, another nasty and stupid man. His twin, Fat Crowe, is just like him.
Una Brakket is an agent of some sort. Not the good sort, though.
The Port Coven is�
…a group of nasty Darke witches that includes Pamela the Witch Mother, Linda is Pamela's protégé, Dorinda, Veronica, and Daphne. Their cats are bloodsuckers.
Star Island
CattRokk Lighthouse has been�
…manned by Guardians of the Light, a.k.a., the Watchers or Keepers, which, um, somehow bred with cats at some point. The lighthouse is one of four Living Lights lit by an ancient Sphere of Light set to indicate the range of the Syren's Call. Miarr Catt is the last Watcher. His cousin, Mirano, the last of his family, has disappeared. The unlovely Fat Crowe is his co-Watcher.
Syrah Syara is an Apprentice who never returned from a Queste. Julius Pike had been her ExtraOrdinary Wizard. She becomes Syren when she must return to the Peepe, the Dwelling Place of this possessive spirit on Star Island.
The Trading Post is�
…a town for Traders. Harbor Twelve is one of the wealthier ones. Harbor One is one of the poorer. The Pigeon Post Office is quite efficient. Mr. Higgs, the bosun on a ship some 500 years ago, has (had?) a net loft in the Trading Post. The House of Foryx is the Place Where All Times Do Meet in Trading Post territory, the truth of which was revealed in Queste .
An ExtraOrdinary Wizard is the head wizard. There are two types of SafeCharm: regular and alive. The Task involves the Port Coven and the need to be the GrimFeeder. The Grim is a gruesome Darke creature with tentacles who lives in the drains. A ghoul's fool is also known as a phantom's bantam, a specter protector, but the real name is a Spirit's Bondsman, someone who has sold his soul to a ghost. A Possession Wraith is like a ghost but does not keep its shape when it moves.
In today's Port, the Harbor Master is constantly quarreling with the encroaching Honest Joe, a chandler. The Twenty-One Gang is a group of mostly ex-Army boys. A FlashBoard is a magykal skateboard.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a gorgeous tea-stained blue teal background with lots of gilt for the debossed series name, the title, the author's name, and most of the icons including the squiggles and the pitchforks. The metallic corner "reinforcements" are copper aged with verdigris. The object is what saves the day, a gold carved flask with a spiral metal handle and a stopper topped with strange writing sealed with red wax.
The title is but one of the great evils, the Syren, who betrays all.
August 7, 2019
{Rated G} I’m trucking through this series just so I can say I’ve finished it, but I’m finding each book kinda “meh.� I found the first book to be great and all the books thus far have been okay. I can see why kids would love reading about Septimus and his adventures, but as an adult, I’m figuring out that each book has the same ebb and flow and nothing is really progressing the story line. There are still so many things that haven’t been wrapped up nor answered that in previous books felt urgent and important, but it’s almost like the author has completely forgotten certain plots that she has set up. And rather than wrapping them up she’s abandoned the ideas and moved on to another story and never mentioning previous serious plot points again. Super strange to be honest. But, I keep reading the series in hopes that eventually certain things will be wrapped up and answered.
August 21, 2019
Septimus Heap and the whole gang are trapped on an island, where a mysterious spirit sings an enchanted song to lure ships onto the rocks. But there is more going on beneath the surface of the murky waters around the islands of Syren, and only Septimus and his friends can unravel the mystery in time to stop the Darknesse that threatens the Castle.
I loved this 5th book in the series! I enjoyed the character development, the imaginative plot, the twists and turns and surprises, and of course, the wonderful characters.
There's so much depth to the characters, and I love how they interact and argue and understand or misunderstand each other. So many levels of character dynamics happening in every chapter!
There's so much action in the plot, and many incredibly unique magical elements in the story. I love the detailed world-building, that provides the perfect backdrop for this exciting story.
I loved this 5th book in the series! I enjoyed the character development, the imaginative plot, the twists and turns and surprises, and of course, the wonderful characters.
There's so much depth to the characters, and I love how they interact and argue and understand or misunderstand each other. So many levels of character dynamics happening in every chapter!
There's so much action in the plot, and many incredibly unique magical elements in the story. I love the detailed world-building, that provides the perfect backdrop for this exciting story.
February 22, 2024
Trochę się nie spodziewałam, że wciągnę tego grubaska w jeden dzień, ale tak się wciągnęłam, że nie miałam już ochoty szukać czegoś innego. Lektor, którego głos witam z uśmiechem na ustach zabrał mnie w kolejną przygodę - chociaż te tyłowe syreny kazały na siebie dość długo czekać... To jednak najciekawsze dla mnie były chwile dotyczące Spit Fyre'a i Beetle'a. Bardzo spoko okazał się też wątek Wolf Boya i już nie mogę doczekać się kolejnego tomu, bo zbliżamy się powoli do końca i oczekuję czegoś epickiego!
November 24, 2024
This was the best book in the series so far. It had a good mix of interpersonal conflict, mystery, and a good pull of all the elements together at the end. She uses interesting mythological bases for some of her concepts.
I will note that I listened to the audiobook, and for the main Djinn character, the audiobook reader used an accent which may be considered at least insensitive.
I will note that I listened to the audiobook, and for the main Djinn character, the audiobook reader used an accent which may be considered at least insensitive.
February 24, 2019
4.7/5 This series gets better & better 💕
April 5, 2022
Ich habe es nur als Hörbuch gehört und fand es sehr verwirrend, dass es mehrere Gruppen mit gleichen Zusammensetzungen gab. Da wusste man manchmal nicht, in welcher Geschichte man gerade ist. Dennoch ist die Geschichte um Septimus noch immer so interessant, dass ich die Bücher dazu auch noch lesen möchte.
April 22, 2024
Best septimus heap book yet
December 14, 2017
I love the series. But I’m starting to get fed up with the female characters. Particularly Jenna and Marcia. They’re always interrupting with stupid questions, sometimes they’re really dense and don’t realize what’s happening until it’s already happened! In a world of magic, why is it so hard for them to understand that all things are possible?
February 17, 2023
"Barney," she said, "would you like to help me look for a stupid giant banana?"
Barney grinned. "Ooh, yes please," he said.
Het duurde redelijk lang voordat Sirene vertaald werd, dus ondertussen had ik de hoop opgegeven en was ik de reeks maar in het Engels beginnen volgen. Sowieso is hier met die vertaling wel iets vreemds aan de hand: vanaf Queeste heeft Erica Feberwee het overgenomen als vertaalster. Overigens zonder problemen: de kwaliteit bleef even goed. Je moet medelijden met haar hebben, want waarschijnlijk heeft ze van haar voorgangster een lange lijst gekregen met allerlei termen en begrippen en hoe die te vertalen. De wereld van Septimus Heap is rijk, maar dat heeft soms dus ook zijn nadelen... Overschakelen naar een andere taal in het midden van de reeks is wat dat betreft niet altijd iets negatiefs: dat is het moment waarop je moet gaan uitzoeken welke termen in het Nederlands en het Engels bij elkaar horen. En het zorgt ervoor dat je nogmaals beseft dat die hele Magiekterminologie echt wel goed vertaald is!
Het begin van het boek heb ik altijd redelijk verwarrend gevonden. Het start eigenlijk bijna direct na het einde van Boek 4, maar in de proloog en hoofdstuk 1 worden er een paar tijds- en ruimtesprongen gemaakt tussen enkele personages, zonder dat er veel uitgelegd wordt. En heel erg duidelijk is dat niet, want je moet vooral interpreteren en tussen de regels doorlezen. Heeft de auteur hier misschien zitten knippen omdat het verhaal anders te lang werd? Meer uitleg had in elk geval wel gemogen.
Maar daarna gaat het verhaal weer verder zoals we dat gewend zijn. Het is nog nooit zo spannend geweest. Er gebeurt heel erg veel, en zowat de hele tweede helft van het boek (dat zijn dus 300 bladzijdes) dienen als één grote aanloop naar het einde. Dat is dus heel lang, maar geloof me: het verhaal valt echt nooit stil. Een knap staaltje schrijfwerk!
Er zitten véél personages in. Dat was je al gewend natuurlijk, maar hier wordt het echt overdonderend. Naast de gebruikelijke opdravers - Septimus, Jenna, Beetle enzovoorts - krijgen we ook een aantal mensen aan de zijkant die nu aanwezig zijn maar nog altijd wel hun (kleine) rol spelen - Marcia, Zelda, Simon, Merrin, Snorri enzovoorts - en een aantal oude nevenpersonages (waarvan we sommige al een paar boeken niet meer gezien hebben) die nu pas echt hun potentieel bereiken - Wolfjong, Lucy, Milo - én dan nog een hele resem nieuwe personages - Syrah, Miarr, Fry, Jim Knee... Het zijn er letterlijk tientallen. Dit is Game of Thrones voor kinderen. Wees blij dat je vier boeken tijd hebt gehad om aan iedereen te wennen, want nu kun je wel gemakkelijk volgen. Als dit het eerste boek was geweest, had je niet geweten waar je het had. Ongelooflijk hoe Sage erin slaagt iedereen te laten opdraven, hen dan ook van belang te laten zijn, én zorgt dat alles mooi in elkaar past.
Lezers die op dit boek zaten te wachten, zal waarschijnlijk iets opgevallen zijn: de (Engelse) titel Syren en de naam van Syrah Syara... daar is duidelijk iets mee. Ook wat Tertius Fume betreft viel dat te verwachten - over beide dingen krijg je in Boek 4 al een paar zoethoudertjes. Het is goed om Queeste en Sirene vlak na elkaar te lezen, want dan ga je veel meer doorgetrokken rode lijnen zien. Sowieso slaagt de auteur er altijd al in om een hoop kleine vermeldingen in het boek te proppen - van gebeurtenissen en 'personages' (soms alleen maar vaagjes met een beschrijving in het boek) - en dat valt hier nu extra hard op.
Boek 5 heeft 628 bladzijdes, dus er zit veel in, natuurlijk. Je zou denken dat het té veel is, dat het wel érgens moet stilvallen, maar ik kan je verzekeren: dit boek is net een tornado.
8,2/10
Barney grinned. "Ooh, yes please," he said.
Het duurde redelijk lang voordat Sirene vertaald werd, dus ondertussen had ik de hoop opgegeven en was ik de reeks maar in het Engels beginnen volgen. Sowieso is hier met die vertaling wel iets vreemds aan de hand: vanaf Queeste heeft Erica Feberwee het overgenomen als vertaalster. Overigens zonder problemen: de kwaliteit bleef even goed. Je moet medelijden met haar hebben, want waarschijnlijk heeft ze van haar voorgangster een lange lijst gekregen met allerlei termen en begrippen en hoe die te vertalen. De wereld van Septimus Heap is rijk, maar dat heeft soms dus ook zijn nadelen... Overschakelen naar een andere taal in het midden van de reeks is wat dat betreft niet altijd iets negatiefs: dat is het moment waarop je moet gaan uitzoeken welke termen in het Nederlands en het Engels bij elkaar horen. En het zorgt ervoor dat je nogmaals beseft dat die hele Magiekterminologie echt wel goed vertaald is!
Het begin van het boek heb ik altijd redelijk verwarrend gevonden. Het start eigenlijk bijna direct na het einde van Boek 4, maar in de proloog en hoofdstuk 1 worden er een paar tijds- en ruimtesprongen gemaakt tussen enkele personages, zonder dat er veel uitgelegd wordt. En heel erg duidelijk is dat niet, want je moet vooral interpreteren en tussen de regels doorlezen. Heeft de auteur hier misschien zitten knippen omdat het verhaal anders te lang werd? Meer uitleg had in elk geval wel gemogen.
Maar daarna gaat het verhaal weer verder zoals we dat gewend zijn. Het is nog nooit zo spannend geweest. Er gebeurt heel erg veel, en zowat de hele tweede helft van het boek (dat zijn dus 300 bladzijdes) dienen als één grote aanloop naar het einde. Dat is dus heel lang, maar geloof me: het verhaal valt echt nooit stil. Een knap staaltje schrijfwerk!
Er zitten véél personages in. Dat was je al gewend natuurlijk, maar hier wordt het echt overdonderend. Naast de gebruikelijke opdravers - Septimus, Jenna, Beetle enzovoorts - krijgen we ook een aantal mensen aan de zijkant die nu aanwezig zijn maar nog altijd wel hun (kleine) rol spelen - Marcia, Zelda, Simon, Merrin, Snorri enzovoorts - en een aantal oude nevenpersonages (waarvan we sommige al een paar boeken niet meer gezien hebben) die nu pas echt hun potentieel bereiken - Wolfjong, Lucy, Milo - én dan nog een hele resem nieuwe personages - Syrah, Miarr, Fry, Jim Knee... Het zijn er letterlijk tientallen. Dit is Game of Thrones voor kinderen. Wees blij dat je vier boeken tijd hebt gehad om aan iedereen te wennen, want nu kun je wel gemakkelijk volgen. Als dit het eerste boek was geweest, had je niet geweten waar je het had. Ongelooflijk hoe Sage erin slaagt iedereen te laten opdraven, hen dan ook van belang te laten zijn, én zorgt dat alles mooi in elkaar past.
Lezers die op dit boek zaten te wachten, zal waarschijnlijk iets opgevallen zijn: de (Engelse) titel Syren en de naam van Syrah Syara... daar is duidelijk iets mee. Ook wat Tertius Fume betreft viel dat te verwachten - over beide dingen krijg je in Boek 4 al een paar zoethoudertjes. Het is goed om Queeste en Sirene vlak na elkaar te lezen, want dan ga je veel meer doorgetrokken rode lijnen zien. Sowieso slaagt de auteur er altijd al in om een hoop kleine vermeldingen in het boek te proppen - van gebeurtenissen en 'personages' (soms alleen maar vaagjes met een beschrijving in het boek) - en dat valt hier nu extra hard op.
Boek 5 heeft 628 bladzijdes, dus er zit veel in, natuurlijk. Je zou denken dat het té veel is, dat het wel érgens moet stilvallen, maar ik kan je verzekeren: dit boek is net een tornado.
8,2/10
November 16, 2020
*3.5*
Hi, just popping in to write a quick review for this book.
That's it. That's the review.
....
Okay, I'm kidding. This book was so ridiculously fun. It is a fantasy world where both serious and completely out-of-nowhere elements mingle in a way that is just charming.
Also, Simon is my child and I love Lucy to death. I really do hop Simon gets a redemption arc in the next two books, because I truly don't remember a singe thing that happens in both of them.
I'm also pretty sure I never read Fyre. I mean, who does that? Read the first six books in a series and never gets to the last one?
That's fucking unbelievable.
Finally, I just want to say that I wish Beetle and Jenna will have a cute little relationship in future books. Now, before you come for me, saying they are like 12 years old, if I remember correctly, there is a huge time jump in Darke. So I think they will be older somewhere in that book.
Anyway, you don't care about my ridiculous theories. The important thing is: Syren was way better, in my opinion, than Queste and Physik. The plot didn't take too much time to be set-up, the action was constant and the intrigue was actually interesting. I could not give it a full 4 stars, just because my enjoyment was not quite there. For me, Syren didn't hold the same feeling Magyk or Flyte did.
But. I'm getting quite hyped for Darke, because I have no clue what's going to happen.
And that's exciting.
I'm out.
Hi, just popping in to write a quick review for this book.
Aunt Zelda let him go. "Well I think that narrows the field," she muttered. She took hold of Barney Pot's hand. "Barney," she said, "would you like to help me look for a stupid giant banana?"
Barney grinned. "Ooh, yes please," he said.
That's it. That's the review.
....
Okay, I'm kidding. This book was so ridiculously fun. It is a fantasy world where both serious and completely out-of-nowhere elements mingle in a way that is just charming.
Also, Simon is my child and I love Lucy to death. I really do hop Simon gets a redemption arc in the next two books, because I truly don't remember a singe thing that happens in both of them.
I'm also pretty sure I never read Fyre. I mean, who does that? Read the first six books in a series and never gets to the last one?
That's fucking unbelievable.
Finally, I just want to say that I wish Beetle and Jenna will have a cute little relationship in future books. Now, before you come for me, saying they are like 12 years old, if I remember correctly, there is a huge time jump in Darke. So I think they will be older somewhere in that book.
Anyway, you don't care about my ridiculous theories. The important thing is: Syren was way better, in my opinion, than Queste and Physik. The plot didn't take too much time to be set-up, the action was constant and the intrigue was actually interesting. I could not give it a full 4 stars, just because my enjoyment was not quite there. For me, Syren didn't hold the same feeling Magyk or Flyte did.
But. I'm getting quite hyped for Darke, because I have no clue what's going to happen.
And that's exciting.
I'm out.
September 16, 2020
The last time I read was ten years ago and I’ve just reread and finished it again. I feel that the first four books are very addictive. I finished each of them in just a couple of days or even in one night but I really feel the difference reading Syren. This book continues right after from the previous book, Queste. It’s incredibly slow for the first half of the book, there is nothing but a boring transition from Queste. The plot is clearly not well-written and unplanned. There is interesting material brought up at the beginning that seem to be very important but it’s being used as a silly and useless material at the end. Many things have not wrapped up or left unanswered. Some characters lost their own charm that I really adore from the first four books. But I manage to enjoy reading again after the boring arc. The second half has the same vibes from previous books which is somewhat addictive and engaging. Some mess from the first half is still haunting in the second half but can be neglected. It could be better if Angie used many good materials (e.g. back story of all islands) instead of the slow and boring story at the beginning.
April 8, 2019
Reading it after years, I liked it more than I did before. But I still find Jen's behavior quite annoying. She used her princess authority way too much when she was practically useless and kept going about Milo and how Sep was obsessed with his magyk and training when Sep was trying hard to save them all.
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