Book Review: Physik by Angie Sage

Goodreads Summary: When Silas Heap unSeals a forgotten room in the Palace, he releases the ghost of a Queen who lived five hundred years earlier. Queen Etheldredda is as awful in death as she was in life, and she's still up to no good. Her diabolical plan to give herself everlasting life requires Jenna's compliance, Septimus's disappearance, and the talents of her son, Marcellus Pye, a famous Alchemist and Physician. And if Queen Etheldredda's plot involves Jenna and Septimus, then it will surely involve Nicko, Alther Mella, Marcia Overstrand, Beetle, Stanley, Sarah, Silas, Spit Fyre, Aunt Zelda, and all of the other wacky, wonderful characters that made Magyk and Flyte so memorable.
With heart-stopping action and a dash of humor, Angie Sage continues the fantastical journey of Septimus Heap.
Goodreads Rating: 4 stars with over 48,000 ratings
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic
Goodreads Challenge: 6/60
2020 Reading Challenge: #9 Read a book you've had on your "To Be Read" Shelf for more than a year (Find the full challenge here)
Previous Reviews on the Series: Magyk, Flyte

Book Review:

I had actually intended on putting Physik on last year's challenge under a previously abandoned book. I never really got around to reading it though. I started reading the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage back in 2017 and had started this one but I couldn't really get into it. For those of you who have never heard of this series, it follows Septimus Heap, Seventh Son of the Seventh Son and his adopted sister Jenna while they're around ten and eleven years old. Jenna is the Princess of the palace they reside in and Septimus is the ExtraOrdinary Magician's apprentice. 

Upon restarting Physik, it took me a little while to get into. I'm not really sure why that is, but it eventually did start grabbing my attention around 30-40% of the way in. I think the thing I had the hardest time with is that a lot of the book is in Old English because Septimus and Jenna end up back in "Ancient Times".  It makes it really hard to get through. It was interesting, but it just took my brain a while to process the words. It was fitting because the characters were also having trouble processing the antiquated speech.

My favorite part of Physik was definitely Spit Fyre, Septimus's young dragon. Spit Fyre is supposed to find Septimus but is frequently distracted by food, which is relatable. Most of the ghosts are pretty interesting as well. There's a lot of interesting creatures in Angie Sage's world. One thing that I always think is cool in this book is the spells. Pretty much everyone in the castle can use magic. Whenever a spell is mentioned it's in bold. Not really important, but it's something I think is fun.

Story-wise, I liked what I read. I think that the events are going to lead Septimus to be a better Magician and Jenna to be more queenly, but it was very much a middle book to me. I liked it, but not nearly as much as I liked Magyk or Flyte. It's not putting me off from the series, but I also don't feel like I need to rush right into the next book. I think the best way I can describe the series as Harry Potter meets Disc World. I definitely feel like it has elements of both.