(3/9/2018)
It is not quite often one comes across such a light-hearted medieval fantasy like Physik. The story of the young protagonist “Septimus Heap“ speaks to the inner child within us all. The hardships and misfortunes that carry the young apprentice to the strict yet caring teacher Marcia depicts such a familiar world of a struggling students coming to grips with himself and the world-all so familiar but with a touch of magic. The depicted world of Angie Sage truly comes alive the deeper you delve in the wonderful world of Physik filled with dragons, spirits, seers, magic and alchemy. These elements may be seemingly common to the fantasy world but Angie Sage makes it different by always keeping its readers peering over the edge yet never letting them go of hope. Young Septimus gets caught in contradiction between two disciples of knowledge Alchemy and Magic, starting of as another abrupt peril, the journey filled with humor, friends’ mischief and concern, thrilling villains and of course the foot treading dragon is ripe with hope, emotions and love.
The time phase and story is perfect for youth deciding on majors they should pursue or faced with conflict of interest like a journey of self-discovery .I never read the previous parts of the series but I had no trouble understanding the story which in its simplicity was joyous and reminded me of childhood. Personally, even I a devout skeptic find myself vouching for Physik as a definite read especially for middle to high school students. It is truly an imaginative and hopeful work that may become a part of you through life.