This is a great sequel to the first book, Magyk. Even when you're guessing what's coming up next, Angie Sage surprises you by taking the path less beaten. Wonderful book. ( )

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Septimus Heap, seventh son of a seventh son, has settled into his life as the Apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Formerly thought to be only an orphan boy serving in the Young Army, it was quite a shock to the Heap family when they discovered that Boy 412 was actually their youngest son, who they believed had died after childbirth. Now that Marcia Overstrand has taken Septimus back to the Wizard Tower as her Apprentice, Septimus is truly learning how to use the Magyk that flows strongly through his lineage.

Although DomDaniel is believed dead after the wreck of his boat, and, in fact, the end of the first book in the series saw his skeleton sinking to the bottom of the Marram Marshes, not all members of the Heap family are happy to have the prodigal son return. Simon Heap, the oldest of Silas and Sarah's sons, had always hoped to gain the apprenticeship to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. When that goal was thwarted by the reappearance of young Septimus, Simon's anger turned to revenge. After rescuing the bones of DomDaniel, the evil Wizard, from a watery grave, Simon disappeared into the Badlands, much to the worry and horror of his family.

Nearly a year has passed, and Jenna, the Princess who will one day become Queen, is enjoying the quiet, peaceful life in the Palace. She has settled into her life on the Palace grounds, once again happy and secure. Nicko Heap has taken a job at the boatyard; the four wild Heap children are still living in the Forest with Wolf Boy; Septimus is learning the ways of Magyk. All is well until one day when Simon Heap, surrounded by Darkness, rushes onto the Palace grounds upon a black horse and kidnaps Jenna, taking her away to the Badlands.

Simon, who now considers himself to be the Apprentice of evil DomDaniel, knows he must get rid of the Princess, and his brother, Septimus, if he has any chance of returning to the Wizard Tower as ExtraOrdinary Wizard one day. Bent on revenge, he has a plan to get DomDaniel back into a position of power, and it is up to Jenna, Septimus, Nicko, Aunt Zelda, the entire Heap family, and the Dragon Boat to make sure that doesn't happen.

FLYTE is a great follow-up to book one, MAGYK. The Septimus Heap series continues to delight, with its introduction of new characters, intriguing plot lines, and great dialogue. I'm eagerly awaiting book three, which should no doubt continue to entertain! ( )

It would be extremely hard to write a book that was better than Magyk, and in this second book in her series, Angie Sage does not quite manage that feat. But all the same this is an extremely enjoyable story, which again mixes an off beat sense of humour with a wonderful tale of danger, deception, kidnappings, magic, friendship and love.

In this story, Septimus' eldest brother, Simon, is consumed by envy for the younger brother who he feels has stolen his birthright - to be apprenticed to the extraordinary wizard, and consequently he takes matters into his own hands to rectify the injustice.

The story is full of wonderful twists and turns, which leave you hankering after more of everything - except maybe Aunt' Zelda's cooking. ( )

I love the first Septimus Heap book, Magyk, and so I was super excited to read this one. I had just as much fun reading it as I did Magyk, yet I felt slightly disappointed.

The main problem was, I think, that it seemed like the plot started off very quickly, with a lot of movement and excitement and then BAM. Stopped short. And then it never really picked back up again. It felt more like a transition between two events than an event of its own, and though I enjoyed reading it I wanted something a little more.

There is some character change/growth, which was nice, and the various subplots were quite sweet: Septimus meeting the rest of his family, for instance, and the thing with the (dead) Queen and her (alive) husband. The adult characters were pretty much the same, except maybe more annoying because they wouldn't listen to the kids. If they had ever read a Diana Wynne Jones book, they'd know that's a dangerous thing to do.

There are some exciting, action-y parts, of course, plus lots of interesting magic, new characters and places that I grew to love as much as the old ones. I especially liked learning about the people who became friends with the main characters after the first book-- it kept things from getting too enclosed.

However, there were some other things that didn't seem to be fully explored (not yet, anyway. Maybe they're explored in the next few books). Septimus' new, er, "pet" kind of just appears, then doesn't really serve a purpose until the end and yet still seems mostly a sideline thing. Like many other things introduced in this book, it seems like it won't find its place in the narrative until the next book or later.

Overall, it feels very transitory, and somewhat jumbled. Not bad, but not entirely like the first book, either. The parts I liked I really liked, and the parts I didn't were just meh. Still, I look forward to reading the rest of the series and seeing where everything ends up! ( )

A good light read, if not slightly forgettable. The characters pull you in and you ride along with Septimus and Jenna as they try to save the people they love, and themselves, from the dark forces. Add a delightful new pet and the fun just keeps going. Who wouldn't want to fly? ( )