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The fourth book in the internationally bestselling Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, featuring the funny and fantastic adventures of a wizard apprentice and his quest to become an ExtraOrdinary Wizard. New York Times Bestselling Series “Breezy charm, gusts of spectacular Magyk and a buoyant plot combining drama and comedy in just the right proportions.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“The Septimus Heap series remains one of the best outcomes of the young-wizard furor catalyzed by Harry Potter.” — ALA Booklist There's trouble at the Castle, and it's all because Merrin Meredith has returned with Darke plans for Septimus. More trouble awaits Septimus and Jenna in the form of Tertius Fume, the ghost of the very first Chief Hermetic Scribe, who is determined to send Septimus on a deadly Queste. But Septimus and Jenna have other plans — they are headed for the mysterious House of Foryx, a place where all Time meets and the place where they fervently hope they will be able to find Nicko and Snorri, who were trapped back in time in Physik . But how will Septimus escape the Queste?

596 pages, Hardcover

First published April 8, 2008

774 people are currently reading
14270 people want to read

About the author

Angie Sage

64 books3,260 followers
Angie 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.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,209 reviews
Profile Image for Dalia Nourelden.
706 reviews1,138 followers
January 9, 2024
رحلة جديدة ساحرة مع سبتيموس هيب . ورغم حجم السلسلة الكبير إلا انها قراءة خفيفة ولذيذة ومختلفة فى عالم مختلف تجعلني استمتع بها .

هذا الجزء كان حظه معى سئ ، لم اكن بكامل تركيزى معه ، أخذت معه قراءات كانت تخطف كل تركيزى فكنت أذهب اليه كفاصل خفيف فلم أندمج معه بالشكل الكافي الا فى الثلث الأخير حين أصبح بمفرده وأحتل كامل تركيزى .

رغم استمتاعي إلا انى افتقدت الكثير فى هذا الجزء . وكنت اتمنى اشياء مختلفة ان تحدث . افتقدت نيكو جدا فكنت اتمنى لو استغلت الكاتبة المكان الذي به وجعلت جزء من الرواية يدور معه خاصة انه كان سيعطى عالم مختلف و مغامرات جديدة . افتقدت ايضا لافظ اللهب الذي كان له مكانة في الجزء السابق ، كان تواجده ضئيل هنا لكنه قام بعمل رائع في النهاية

فى هذا الجزء كنا مع ميرين وكوارثه ، الغبي كما كان الجميع يناديه ويعتبره . و حقده على سبتيموس الذي جعله يرغب فى الانتقام منه فقام بمجموعة من الأفعال الغبية . كرهت تيرتيوس فيوم وافعاله الشريرة .

أحببت بيتل كان تواجده هذا الجزء اكبر وشارك في المغامرات . كانت ايضا شخصية ايفانيا جريب إضافة جيدة للسلسلة . وستانلى الجرذ كان وجوده لذيذ كالعادة لكنه قليل ايضا .

وكانت الرحلة الاستكشافية وماحدث مع سبتيموس وجينا وبصحبتهم بيتل كانت مغامرة جميلة .
متشوقة للجزء القادم

٢٥ / ٢ / ٢٠٢١
Profile Image for Nick.
Author 21 books138 followers
May 5, 2008
Ok, so I'm always on the lookout for a series I'll enjoy as much as the late lamented Harry Potter. This is not quite it, but it's not too bad, if you're 12 and need a good summer read. Or if you still remember what it was like to curl up on the window seat on a rainy day in July with nothing more to do than to lose yourself in a fantasy novel complete with wizards, dragons, quests, and Stanley's Message Rat Service. My excuse is I have nephews and nieces.... Who need the occasional birthday present....

This is the fourth book in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, and while she doesn't quite have the imaginative originality and brilliance of J. K., she's not bad, and there are some decidedly original touches in the series, which began with Magyk, Flyte, and Physik. Her world is a little cosier than Potter's, though there are dark wizards with evil on their minds. Each volume is a page-turner, and if there are more, well, I'll read those too.
Profile Image for Julie.
1,470 reviews8 followers
May 22, 2008
While I really enjoyed the first three books, I feel that Angie Sage has really hit her stride with this one. Now that all of the characters are firmly situated in their Magykal world, she can focus on certain protagonists without the feeling (as in the third book) that she is including a few vignettes to remind us about the existence of all the various cast members. Once again the short chapters move things along quickly as we ping-pong between different places and characters, but most of the narrative sticks with Septimus, Jenna, and Beetle as they embark on a Queste to find Nicko and Snorri, last seen disappearing 500 years into the past.
Profile Image for سارة سمير .
779 reviews519 followers
March 15, 2021
انطلقنا في رحلة جديدة بين الأزمنة لنجد نفسنا داخل الرحلة الاستكشافيه الفجائية مع سبتيموس هيب وصحبته من الاصدقاء الرائعين جينا وبيتل وايضا مساعدهم ايفانيا الرجل الجرذ

نبدأ مع ميرين ميريديث اساس المصائب بسبب غباءه الشديد وتعنته بعد ان يسرق الخاتم ذو الوجهين لدومدانيال اعتقادا منه انه سيجد عالمه المختلف الملئ بالسحر الأسود
d4a2oyg-621a971b-4bad-4006-9409-ec56260f3ae4

نخرج في رحلة جينا وسبتيموس بصحبة بيتل بعد مروره علي العديد من الأزمات التي تدمر احلامه القادمة بسبب ميرين بالطبع
نخرج للبحث عن نيكو وسنوري في الزمن الآخر والرحلة لإيجاد بيت الفوريكس حيث التقاء كل الازمنة
لتتحول الرحلة للبحث عن نيكو الي الرحلة الاستكشافية التي لا يعود منها احد
نمر بساحرات ويندرون وبالغابه الموحشة وكائنات عجيبه وحراس اغرب وهروب من الكثير والكثير ومخيم هيب الرائع
احببت بيتل جداااا اكثر من كل الشخصيات وتطور شخصية سبتيموس كان رائعا جدا

فكرة هذا الجزء رائعة جدا ولكن كانت هناك اطاله لا فائدة منها ابدا
لم استطع الاندماج بالشكل المطلوب وكانت هناك بعض المعاناه لإتمام الجزء للأسف فكان من الممكن اختصار الكثير من الأحداث
ولكن النهاية كانت مميزة حقا جداااا وانتظر اكمال كل الرحلات مع سبتيموس هيب

شكرا صديقتي الرائعة داليا على تشجيعي ومشاركتي في هذه الرحلات الرائعة
وتحملك للسلحفاه الممثلة في نفسي اثناء هذه الرحلة خصوصا 💖💖💖🌷🌷🌷
Profile Image for Sara Saif.
570 reviews235 followers
October 3, 2017
This is definitely not going to get darker. The tone of the book remains true to its predecessors; light, amusing and juvenile and I think I’ve gotten used to it. It’s funny how in every book, one of the Heaps goes missing and the rest embark on a perilous journey to find him/her. There is a lot going on at first, multiple things are introduced at once, but then they all fall together with ease and things go in a single direction. I have to say, the love the Heap siblings share is absolutely endearing. Jenna, Septimus and Nicko are so frickin’ adorable and they care so much for each other. Particularly how all the older brothers care for their little sister and brother, it just makes me ‘aww’ and wish that I too had heaps and heaps of older brothers.

This was, as usual, a fun book. It added yet more to the world of Septimus Heap and made some exciting revelations.

Profile Image for Jennifer Wardrip.
Author 5 books516 followers
July 15, 2008
Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

The fourth tale of Septimus Heap delivers action, adventure, magic, and a good share of surprises.

The tale begins when Nicko Heap and Snorri, who in a previous book found themselves transported out of their own Time, discover a clue that might allow them to return to their home Time. However, the path home is a tricky one: Nicko and Snorri must find their way to the mysterious House of Foryx, "the place where all Times do meet." Once they are there, the difficulties are not over. Finding and entering the House of Foryx is hard enough, but once they are in, they must wait for someone from their own Time to enter before they will be able to leave and return home.

Meanwhile, the notes regarding Nicko and Snorri's preparations for this journey have survived until Septimus's time, under the care of the long-lived alchemist Marcellus Pye. Using the notes and lists that Nick has left behind, Septimus and Jenna are able to figure out what it is that Nicko and Snorri are attempting, and set off to reach the House of Foryx themselves, so that their appearance might allow Nicko and Snorri to return to the correct Time. However, their plans are complicated by the pernicious ghost of Tertius Fume, who contrives to send Septimus against his will on a Queste from which no apprentice wizard has ever returned.

While the plot rambled in places, I enjoyed the overall arc of the story, and in the end I was glad for the slow development at the beginning which built up to the climax. Sage's characterization was impressive; I got a good idea of the relationships that had formed between characters in previous books, as well as a sense of their internal states and motivations. Her large cast of secondary characters was deftly managed as well.

As a newcomer to the series, getting my bearings was slightly confusing, but after a while I began to understand the backstory better, thanks to the author's hints and insinuations at what had happened before this book. There were still moments when I felt like I was missing out on something--moments where I was sure that the emotional impact would have been greater had I read the previous three books in the series--but overall I was still able to enjoy it, and would recommend it thoroughly.
Profile Image for ade_reads.
317 reviews20 followers
March 1, 2017
Berbeda dengan tiga buku pertamanya yang sangat menarik untuk diikuti, buku keempat ini agak membosankan dari bagian awal hingga sekitaran pertengahannya. Baru deh, beberapa bab terakhirnya mulai asik lagi dibaca. Semoga buku kelimanya bisa sesuai ekspektasi saya.
Profile Image for P.M..
1,345 reviews
July 29, 2010
When "Physyk" ended, Nicko and Snorri were stranded in Marcellus Pye's time. Septimus and Jenna were determined to retrieve their brother Nicko no matter what and perhaps Snorri incidentally. Meanwhile, Merrin Meredith has muddied the waters by creating a Thing which he offloads on Tertius Fume who is just looking for a way to create havoc for Marcia, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Septimus is tricked into accepting a Queste stone from which no Apprentice has ever returned alive. Luckily, Marcellus, who is now living in this time, has given Septimus Nicko's notes which contain a map to the House of the Foryx where they might be able to save Nicko. When the map is damaged, O. Beetle Beetle, Inspection Clerk at the Manuscriptorum, knows just the person (?), Ephaniah Grebe, to restore it. What follows is a journey into the unknown to find the lost ones. I loved this book. Some of my favorite characters have leading roles: Stanley, Spit Fyre, and Beetle. Beetle's sledding adventures are hilarious. However, I am deeply disappointed that there is only one more book in the series.
Profile Image for MountainLaurel.
45 reviews6 followers
April 23, 2008
While this book was good, I didn't think it was as well done as the other Septimus Heap books. The story seemed less developed, without as many of the little details that make everything work out in the end so well and cleverly as in the other books. But I still liked it and I look forward to reading Septimus #5! ...I just hope it's a little more original.
Profile Image for ✨Susan✨.
1,129 reviews232 followers
April 8, 2014
Extraordinary wizards, flying dragons, dragon rings, chanting witches, fairy boats, time travel, talking rats, magical mirrors, trees, sleds, floors, wolf boys, shape shifting cats and questing stones. What more could you want in a fantasy. These are exciting, suitable adventures for young children and adults alike.
Profile Image for Josephine.
Author 4 books79 followers
May 21, 2013
This is my most favorite out of all the books in the series that I've read so far. I love Spit Fyre's humour, it made the book more enjoyable [Merrin's idiocy too, LOL!].

Looking forward to reading the next book! ^_^
Profile Image for Yoosef esmaeeli.
37 reviews1 follower
April 27, 2018
خوب بود فقط هیجانش کم بود . البته تا جلد چهارش خوندم فعلا پرواز و فیزیک از همه قشنگ تر بوده به زودی جلد پنجمم شروع میکنم
Profile Image for τλιϓλ.
1,033 reviews201 followers
October 7, 2021
ومغامرة أخرى انتهت ولازلنا مع سيبتيموس والبقية في رحلاتهم، نتابع مجريات الأمور في عالمهم الغريب العجيب..
كل الشكر لمن قام بالترجمة على هذا النحو الجميل فزادنا استمتاعاً بالمغامرات الرائعة..
حان وقت المغامرة التالية.. فلننطلق..
Profile Image for Abigail McKenna.
874 reviews147 followers
April 15, 2024
honestly, my favorite of the series so far! so many twists and moments that had me like 🤯

sep, nicko, and beetle are my sons I love them so much.

4.5 stars!
Profile Image for Rachel Chizmadia.
35 reviews
June 21, 2025
This was my least favorite book so far. I really struggled to get into the story line and there were large plot holes in my opinion.
Profile Image for Aidan Elliot.
91 reviews
October 17, 2024
I really enjoyed this book, although I will admit to have missing how the house of forex works and it made it harder to get into the ending conflict. It was charming, fun, and the events had proper weight.
Profile Image for Avery (ThePagemaster).
611 reviews91 followers
July 4, 2017
DISCLAIMER: Would have read this book sooner, but a friend of mine paid for my Warped Tour ticket at the last minute and I HAD to go.

Such an improvement over the last book, Physik, where it felt eerily too similar to Prisoner of Azkaban, when it came to the time travel element. Plus, It was boring.

This installment is what the title says, a Quest(e) to undo the events of what happened at the end of the last book. Also, it's a quest until the very end; there's no true bad guy that Septimus and Jenna and the group face off with at the end, but with the introduction of the character Tertius Fume, another ghostly ExtraOrdinary Wizard of the distant past involved in the Darke arts, it did add a darker tone, for a middle chunk of the story.

Plus, there is growth to the characters. You see Septimus try out new Magyk in dire times and even Beetle, who is generally the timid best friend but excels in, basically a library *raises hand*, shows some some stronger development.

At this point, I believe this was where I stopped, originally, with the Septimus Heap series--the first time around. The last three books are unknown to me so....this will be fun :)
Profile Image for Deborah.
52 reviews2 followers
September 29, 2008
This is the fourth book in the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, and I have to say that it's as good as the other three. I enjoy the characters, the settings, the stylistic originalities. It is not a Harry Potter clone, it can stand well on its own. Good story, likable people, cool magic, even a dragon and some ghosts thrown in, with enough chilling "Darke Magyk" to raise the hair on the back of my neck, without being as scary as some of the later Potter books. Nice for younger fans, and I think it would make a great read-aloud series for a family as well.
Profile Image for Filip.
407 reviews34 followers
January 17, 2015
Vždycky, když si potřebuji odpočinout od krutopřísněhustých fantasy s hektolitry krve a YA žánru, sáhnu po dalším díle této série. Tohle je totiž to, co v takovou chvíli potřebuji. I když je pravdou, že celá série je spíše pohádka, ani mi to nevadí - rád se vrátím do těch let, kdy jsem si myslel, že všechno funguje tak, jak chci. Výprava za hrdinstvím byla vtipná, pěkná a pohádková, takže si nemám na co stěžovat. :)
Profile Image for Debbie.
356 reviews5 followers
April 24, 2008
I just love these books! It was witty and kept you on the edge of your seat. It is amazing what kind of creative story lines Angie Sage is able to come up with. I highly recommend it!
128 reviews2 followers
August 29, 2010
AWESOME BOOK!! This is totally my favorite Septimus Heap book. Now on to Syren!
Profile Image for Abigail.
116 reviews
Read
July 2, 2024
hands down one of the best in the series. there's something about the doom of it all, isn't there? the inexorable progression along the Queste until it's too late and they're trapped. and the dynamic between Sep, Jenna and Beetle is perfectly brilliant: two of them are siblings, two are best friends and two can't help their eyes off of each other. they're in it for the long haul, there's no doubt about it.

this book also fleshes out the Castle's history a lot more, going even further back than the events of Physik, to explore the very beginnings. one thing Angie does not do by halves is her world-building, and I delight in it.

while I can't wait for Syren and Darke, I also don't want this to end. this re-read had better not give me a book hangover - there's so much I want to read this summer!!
Profile Image for amineh.
48 reviews
Read
December 1, 2020
یادمه این مجموعه رو خیلی سال پیش( فکر کنم اوایل راهنمایی) خوندمش. اون موقع تازه ترجمه شده بود و تا جلد چهار بیشتر ترجمه نشده بود. و من وقتی که این کتاب رو برای خوندن امانت گرفتم نمی‌دونستم که کامل ترجمه نشده. و کلمات رو می‌بلعیدم که زودتر تموم بشه. =))) و وقتی کتاب چهارم تموم شد و فهمیدم جلد پنجم ترجمه نشده، دینا سرم آوار شد. و نمی‌دونم چرا بعدش هم نرفتم سراغش.
شاید به روزی دوباره خوندمشون ولی اینبار تا آخرش.=)))))
4 reviews
Read
May 15, 2011
QUESTE takes Septimus, Jenna and Beetle in search of Nicko and Snorri, to bring them back from the past. They go to Marcellus Pye, who has remembered some information from his 500 year old memory and provides them with some notes from Nicko and Snorri. The notes say that they planned to travel to the House Of Foryx where all times meet, and there they expected to come back to their time. Jenna takes the notes back with her to the Palace.
In the meantime, Merrin Meredith travels to the Castle in hope of destroying Septimus. He bumps into Jenna who drops all the notes of Nicko and Snorri, they get wet. Jenna goes to the The Manuscriptorium and asks Beetle to help her replace the notes. Beetle then takes her to the restoration specialist Ephaniah Grebe. Ephaniah is a half man-half rat being. He Restores the pages and binds them in to a book, but they still miss one piece, the center of the map to the House of Foryx.
Merrin, in the meantime, takes the job of a scribe in the Manuscriptorium. There he meets the ghost of Tertius Fume, the first Chief Hermetic Scribe. Tertius makes him transfer the loyalty of the Thing to him and assures that he will send Septimus on a perilous Queste. Tertius Fume arrives at the Wizard Tower along with the ghosts of all the previous ExtraOrdinary Wizards and announces that they are about to draw the Queste stone. Septimus feels a Darkenesse inside the urn where the stone is kept and tells that a Thing is there to sabotage the draw. They escape the Wizard tower as Tertius Fume puts it under Siege. But accidentally Septimus takes the Queste stone from Hildegard thinking it to be a safe charm despite what Marcia says about taking charms from strangers.
Septimus, Jenna and Beetle start their journey to the House of Foryx. Sam Heap shows them the way. They eventually reach the House and find Ephaniah near it. He had found the last missing piece of the map but was possessed by the Thing. Septimus, Jenna and Beetle enter the House of Foryx, but accidentally all three of them go inside. There Septimus is taken inside a door by a girl named Talmar Ray Bell and Septimus finds himself face to face with Hotep-Ra, first ExtraOrdinary wizard. In the meantime Jenna and Beetle find Nicko and Snorri and all of them try to escape the House of Foryx. Just as they were about to leave, Marcia and Sarah arrive outside the house on Spit Fyre, so all of them are able to return to their own time.
Profile Image for Lucy.
307 reviews45 followers
June 9, 2011
I found I got through this Septimus Heap book much quicker than the others. It still took a while to get going but the end of the previous book (Physik) felt like much more of a cliff hanger than the previous books in the series so Queste felt like more of a sequel than just another book with the same characters. I wanted to find out what had happened after the last book so I was eager to get going. I was pretty impressed to, I’ve liked the other Septimus Heap books but the series seems to be getting better the further I get into it and I found a big difference with this book. I think this book was a bit more individual, a lot of the time I find the Septimus Heap books could just be any other book about wizards, you know it has everything you would expect from a wizarding novel but nothing that really sets it apart. I found with this novel that it was more like Sage had created another world, the forest and all its contents felt rather original, although there were still sections that were the type of things that are pretty standard to fantasy novels (not that that’s a problem, it’s just nice to have something different).

There was one thing I didn’t like in this book though and that was the sections with Merrin. I can’t say I ever really liked Merrin but I had some sympathy for him and that was pretty much destroyed by this book, and it was more or less uneccersary. I think Sage could have filled his role easily some other way seeing as he was basically there to secure one small plot point. I thought using him to secure that point was actually a little unrealistic and I could think of a few other ways in which it could be introduced without using Merrin.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,209 reviews

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