Pathfinder

Angie Sage already has a considerable following for her sequence of novels recounting the adventures of Septimus Heap, Extraordinary Wizard. Her latest novel returns to this world. However, there is a new character to meet and follow – Alice TodHunter Moon. As might be expected her adventures are non-stop and full of incident. Indeed, there is almost too much incident requiring a very large cast. However, fans will be more than happy to meet old friends – Marcia, the ghost wizard Alther and of course, Stanley the Message Rat. There are lively new characters – Princess Driffa for one – while the evil Lady and her brother OratonMarr are real villains. Whether already acquainted with this world or meeting it for the first time, there will be satisfaction in realising the story does not stop here – there will be more to come.

Plenty of action, characters who are easily recognisable, magic and melodrama –  this will satisfy young readers who have acquired a high level of reading stamina and need more than a quick read and may be enjoying authors such as Jenny Nimmo, Chris d’Lacey , Rebecca Lisle and Julia Golding.