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Bartimaeus #2
袚谢邪蟹 谐芯谢械屑邪
啸芯褉芯褕芯 斜褘褌褜 屑芯谢芯写褘屑 懈 褌邪谢邪薪褌谢懈胁褘屑 胁芯谢褕械斜薪懈泻芯屑. 袙芯谢褕械斜薪懈泻芯胁 胁 袘褉懈褌邪薪褋泻芯泄 懈屑锌械褉懈懈 褍胁邪卸邪褞褌.
袝褖械 斜褘, 胁械写褜 懈屑械薪薪芯 胁芯谢褕械斜薪懈泻懈 锌褉邪胁褟褌 褋褌褉邪薪芯泄, 锌褉芯褔懈屑 芯褋褌邪械褌褋褟 谢懈褕褜 斜谢邪谐芯写邪褉懈褌褜 褋褍写褜斜褍, 褔褌芯 芯斜 懈褏 斜谢邪谐芯锌芯谢褍褔懈懈 蟹邪斜芯褌褟褌褋褟 屑芯谐褍褖械褋褌胁械薪薪褘械 屑邪谐懈 (锌褉邪胁写邪, 薪械 胁褋械 胁 薪邪褉芯写械 褝褌芯 锌芯薪懈屑邪褞褌). 袧邪褌邪薪懈褝谢褞 胁褋械谐芯 褔械褌褘褉薪邪写褑邪褌褜 谢械褌, 薪芯 械谐芯 褍卸械 褑械薪懈褌 薪邪褔邪谢褜褋褌胁芯, 懈 写邪卸械 褋邪屑 锌褉械屑褜械褉-屑懈薪懈褋褌褉 械屑褍 锌芯泻褉芯胁懈褌械谢褜褋褌胁褍械褌. 袨写薪邪 斜械写邪 鈥� 写褉褍蟹械泄 薪械褌 (褍 胁芯谢褕械斜薪懈泻芯胁 懈褏 胁芯芯斜褖械, 泻邪泻 锌褉邪胁懈谢芯, 薪械 斜褘胁邪械褌), 蟹邪褌芯 蟹邪胁懈褋褌薪懈泻芯胁 鈥� 褏芯褌褜 芯褌斜邪胁谢褟泄. 袗 褌褍褌, 泻邪泻 薪邪蟹谢芯, 胁 袥芯薪写芯薪械 锌芯 薪芯褔邪屑 薪邪褔懈薪邪械褌 褌胁芯褉懈褌褜褋褟 褎芯褉屑械薪薪芯械 斜械蟹芯斜褉邪蟹懈械, 懈 褕械褎 锌芯谢懈褑懈懈 褍褌胁械褉卸写邪械褌, 褔褌芯 褝褌芯 写械谢芯 褉褍泻 褌械褏 褋邪屑褘褏 褏褍谢懈谐邪薪芯胁, 锌芯泄屑邪褌褜 泻芯褌芯褉褘褏 斜褘谢芯 锌芯褉褍褔械薪芯 袧邪褌邪薪懈褝谢褞. 袛邪 褍卸, 胁 褌邪泻芯泄 锌械褉械写械谢泻械 斜械蟹 褋懈谢褜薪芯谐芯 褋芯褞蟹薪懈泻邪 薪械 芯斜芯泄褌懈褋褜. 袠 袧邪褌邪薪懈褝谢褞 薪械 芯褋褌邪械褌褋褟 薪懈褔械谐芯, 泻褉芯屑械 泻邪泻 褋薪芯胁邪 胁褘蟹胁邪褌褜 写卸懈薪邪 锌芯 懈屑械薪懈 袘邪褉褌懈屑械褍褋, 泻芯褌芯褉褘泄 芯写薪邪卸写褘 褍卸械 锌芯屑芯谐 械屑褍 胁械褉薪褍褌褜 袗屑褍谢械褌 小邪屑邪褉泻邪薪写邪...
袝褖械 斜褘, 胁械写褜 懈屑械薪薪芯 胁芯谢褕械斜薪懈泻懈 锌褉邪胁褟褌 褋褌褉邪薪芯泄, 锌褉芯褔懈屑 芯褋褌邪械褌褋褟 谢懈褕褜 斜谢邪谐芯写邪褉懈褌褜 褋褍写褜斜褍, 褔褌芯 芯斜 懈褏 斜谢邪谐芯锌芯谢褍褔懈懈 蟹邪斜芯褌褟褌褋褟 屑芯谐褍褖械褋褌胁械薪薪褘械 屑邪谐懈 (锌褉邪胁写邪, 薪械 胁褋械 胁 薪邪褉芯写械 褝褌芯 锌芯薪懈屑邪褞褌). 袧邪褌邪薪懈褝谢褞 胁褋械谐芯 褔械褌褘褉薪邪写褑邪褌褜 谢械褌, 薪芯 械谐芯 褍卸械 褑械薪懈褌 薪邪褔邪谢褜褋褌胁芯, 懈 写邪卸械 褋邪屑 锌褉械屑褜械褉-屑懈薪懈褋褌褉 械屑褍 锌芯泻褉芯胁懈褌械谢褜褋褌胁褍械褌. 袨写薪邪 斜械写邪 鈥� 写褉褍蟹械泄 薪械褌 (褍 胁芯谢褕械斜薪懈泻芯胁 懈褏 胁芯芯斜褖械, 泻邪泻 锌褉邪胁懈谢芯, 薪械 斜褘胁邪械褌), 蟹邪褌芯 蟹邪胁懈褋褌薪懈泻芯胁 鈥� 褏芯褌褜 芯褌斜邪胁谢褟泄. 袗 褌褍褌, 泻邪泻 薪邪蟹谢芯, 胁 袥芯薪写芯薪械 锌芯 薪芯褔邪屑 薪邪褔懈薪邪械褌 褌胁芯褉懈褌褜褋褟 褎芯褉屑械薪薪芯械 斜械蟹芯斜褉邪蟹懈械, 懈 褕械褎 锌芯谢懈褑懈懈 褍褌胁械褉卸写邪械褌, 褔褌芯 褝褌芯 写械谢芯 褉褍泻 褌械褏 褋邪屑褘褏 褏褍谢懈谐邪薪芯胁, 锌芯泄屑邪褌褜 泻芯褌芯褉褘褏 斜褘谢芯 锌芯褉褍褔械薪芯 袧邪褌邪薪懈褝谢褞. 袛邪 褍卸, 胁 褌邪泻芯泄 锌械褉械写械谢泻械 斜械蟹 褋懈谢褜薪芯谐芯 褋芯褞蟹薪懈泻邪 薪械 芯斜芯泄褌懈褋褜. 袠 袧邪褌邪薪懈褝谢褞 薪械 芯褋褌邪械褌褋褟 薪懈褔械谐芯, 泻褉芯屑械 泻邪泻 褋薪芯胁邪 胁褘蟹胁邪褌褜 写卸懈薪邪 锌芯 懈屑械薪懈 袘邪褉褌懈屑械褍褋, 泻芯褌芯褉褘泄 芯写薪邪卸写褘 褍卸械 锌芯屑芯谐 械屑褍 胁械褉薪褍褌褜 袗屑褍谢械褌 小邪屑邪褉泻邪薪写邪...
736 pages, Hardcover
First published August 23, 2004
1,300 people are currently reading
20.9k people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,467 reviews
August 15, 2021
(B) 74% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: It could do with a more elaborate mythology. Improving on the first book, it's still, for a fantasy, not terribly exciting.
Notes: It could do with a more elaborate mythology. Improving on the first book, it's still, for a fantasy, not terribly exciting.
April 29, 2024
(B) 74% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: New point of view if d茅j脿 vu, a sequel that repeats鈥攂ig loss of lives, a thief survives鈥攕ame notes just different beats.
*Check out progress updates for detailed commentary:
Notes: New point of view if d茅j脿 vu, a sequel that repeats鈥攂ig loss of lives, a thief survives鈥攕ame notes just different beats.
*Check out progress updates for detailed commentary:
February 17, 2024
It would have been plainly good, if it wasn't for Bartimaeus' sarcastic comments. I'm gonna read the third book just to laugh at stupid humans with him.
October 29, 2022
Nathaniel, Kitty and Bartimaeus duke it out!
Having successfully thwarted Simon Lovelace's ill-fated conspiracy in The Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel is "adopted" by Jessica Whitwell, Security Minister in Britain's dark and oppressive government by magic and begins life anew in The Golem's Eye. Recognized as an up and coming hotshot young magician, Nathaniel (known only as John Mandrake to his colleagues) is appointed the youngest ever Assistant to the Head of Internal Affairs and charged with the elimination of the bothersome Resistance. Nathaniel, initially cocky and confident that he can rid the government of this pesky Resistance problem in short order discovers he is up against sterner stuff than he had anticipated.
Deadly sharks, senior ministers in the government intensely angry and jealous of Nathaniel's rising star, circle quickly and close in for the kill as Nathaniel runs into roadblocks and fails to shut down the Resistance as ordered. Kitty and her fellow Resistance members seem uncannily able to thwart Nathaniel's best efforts at every turn. Nathaniel's future and, indeed, his very life seem in jeopardy when a Golem runs on a destructive rampage through London. Everyone except Nathaniel is convinced that the Resistance is behind the unleashing of the Golem and blame quickly falls on Nathaniel for the continuing mayhem.
The fast-paced narrative shifts point of view with every chapter, rotating from Nathaniel through Kitty, the young fiery heroine who lives life on the run with her fellow Resistance members, and Bartimaeus, the acerbic, witty djinni who continues to regale us with his clever, barbed but dead on point observations. Even though Stroud has produced a plot that never flags and pulls us along at an almost breakneck pace, The Golem's Eye is still a much darker, gloomier, minutely detailed and more atmospheric novel than its predecessor. The dominant theme is very clearly the corrupting influences of power, ambition and greed and the reader is left mourning flawed Nathaniel's fall from grace wondering whether he can find the moral strength and intestinal fortitude to re-assert himself as the fine young man we left far behind in The Amulet of Samarkand.
Despite this rather more gothic approach to the story than its predecessor, readers need not worry that Stroud has lost his flair for comedy. Footnotes, while not quite as plentiful as in the first novel, are still a veritable fountain of wit. One scene in particular in which Bartimaeus destroys an incredibly valuable artifact in the British Museum thinking it to be merely a sign with a set of written rules for the museum patrons is laugh out loud hilarious.
The resolution of the plot line revolving around Gladstone's magical staff and the rampaging Golem provide a perfect opportunity for Stroud to bring this particular novel to a close. But it is quite clear that Nathaniel, now reduced to the status of a failing anti-hero, and Kitty, the charming yet resolute young commoner and apparently sole survivor of her Resistance cell will butt heads once again with Bartimaeus who, for the moment, has been dismissed to his spirit world.
Ptolemy's Gate awaits although I'm not sure I can!
Paul Weiss
Having successfully thwarted Simon Lovelace's ill-fated conspiracy in The Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel is "adopted" by Jessica Whitwell, Security Minister in Britain's dark and oppressive government by magic and begins life anew in The Golem's Eye. Recognized as an up and coming hotshot young magician, Nathaniel (known only as John Mandrake to his colleagues) is appointed the youngest ever Assistant to the Head of Internal Affairs and charged with the elimination of the bothersome Resistance. Nathaniel, initially cocky and confident that he can rid the government of this pesky Resistance problem in short order discovers he is up against sterner stuff than he had anticipated.
Deadly sharks, senior ministers in the government intensely angry and jealous of Nathaniel's rising star, circle quickly and close in for the kill as Nathaniel runs into roadblocks and fails to shut down the Resistance as ordered. Kitty and her fellow Resistance members seem uncannily able to thwart Nathaniel's best efforts at every turn. Nathaniel's future and, indeed, his very life seem in jeopardy when a Golem runs on a destructive rampage through London. Everyone except Nathaniel is convinced that the Resistance is behind the unleashing of the Golem and blame quickly falls on Nathaniel for the continuing mayhem.
The fast-paced narrative shifts point of view with every chapter, rotating from Nathaniel through Kitty, the young fiery heroine who lives life on the run with her fellow Resistance members, and Bartimaeus, the acerbic, witty djinni who continues to regale us with his clever, barbed but dead on point observations. Even though Stroud has produced a plot that never flags and pulls us along at an almost breakneck pace, The Golem's Eye is still a much darker, gloomier, minutely detailed and more atmospheric novel than its predecessor. The dominant theme is very clearly the corrupting influences of power, ambition and greed and the reader is left mourning flawed Nathaniel's fall from grace wondering whether he can find the moral strength and intestinal fortitude to re-assert himself as the fine young man we left far behind in The Amulet of Samarkand.
Despite this rather more gothic approach to the story than its predecessor, readers need not worry that Stroud has lost his flair for comedy. Footnotes, while not quite as plentiful as in the first novel, are still a veritable fountain of wit. One scene in particular in which Bartimaeus destroys an incredibly valuable artifact in the British Museum thinking it to be merely a sign with a set of written rules for the museum patrons is laugh out loud hilarious.
The resolution of the plot line revolving around Gladstone's magical staff and the rampaging Golem provide a perfect opportunity for Stroud to bring this particular novel to a close. But it is quite clear that Nathaniel, now reduced to the status of a failing anti-hero, and Kitty, the charming yet resolute young commoner and apparently sole survivor of her Resistance cell will butt heads once again with Bartimaeus who, for the moment, has been dismissed to his spirit world.
Ptolemy's Gate awaits although I'm not sure I can!
Paul Weiss
May 11, 2024
Compulsively readable!
This is our misfit djinni's second installment, and I dare say his antics in this one even tops the first book complete with another friend of his, an insane afrit running amok and causing the usual exasperating mayhem to boot. I'll highly recommend this series to any Fantasy lover. A modern classic work.
2022 Read
This is our misfit djinni's second installment, and I dare say his antics in this one even tops the first book complete with another friend of his, an insane afrit running amok and causing the usual exasperating mayhem to boot. I'll highly recommend this series to any Fantasy lover. A modern classic work.
2022 Read
May 5, 2008
Reviewed by K. Osborn Sullivan for TeensReadToo.com
He's rude. He's surly. He won't hesitate to tell you when your haircut looks stupid. And in over 5000 years, he's seen some bad haircuts. I'm talking about my favorite djinni, Bartimaeus, back in book two of his young adult fantasy trilogy.
THE GOLEM'S EYE is an excellent sequel to the first book in the series, THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND. In the first book, we meet Bartimaeus, an ancient creature of enormous power that can best be described as a type of demon. Unfortunately, he and all of his kind hate the word demon. He classifies himself as a djinni, so we'll just go with that for the purposes of this review. Why annoy anyone who can shoot magical firebolts at you, right? Anyway, Bartimaeus, and other creatures like him, are summoned by human magicians to do their bidding. Needless to say, this forced servitude, or slavery, is not popular with the servants, so they do their best to turn the tables on their human masters whenever possible.
Enter Nathaniel, a boy who is in training to become a powerful magician. In book one of the series, he summons Bartimaeus from the netherworld and an involuntary partnership begins. In THE GOLEM'S EYE, young Nathaniel again finds himself in need of the djinni's aid, so he again turns to reluctant Bartimaeus. This time, a revolutionary group is blowing things up in London, which may or may not be related to a series of unusual occurrences that have the police stumped. Nathaniel feels that his career would take off if he can solve these crimes. But the stakes are high because he knows that his career, and possibly his life, are in jeopardy if he fails.
A key part of THE GOLEM'S EYE storyline centers on the activities of a London resistance group that is fighting to overthrow the magicians' government. Nathaniel's inability to track down these criminals is part of the reason he needs Bartimaeus's help. Of course, the djinni has little interest in helping magicians maintain their dominance. After all, they're the ones who continually force him and his kind into servitude. This conflict of interest makes for some entertaining scenes and conversations.
If you have not read THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND, I strongly recommend you pick that one up before diving into THE GOLEM'S EYE. Technically, you don't have to read the first one, but there is an awful lot of background you will miss if you don't. Plus, it's really fun.
Normally I find myself disappointed in sequels. Somehow they never seem to live up the expectations established by the original. But in this case, I was pleasantly surprised. This book is full of excitement, political intrigue, and humor. Bartimaeus is back with all of his cheeky comments, and there are plenty of thrills to go around. Overall, a great book.
He's rude. He's surly. He won't hesitate to tell you when your haircut looks stupid. And in over 5000 years, he's seen some bad haircuts. I'm talking about my favorite djinni, Bartimaeus, back in book two of his young adult fantasy trilogy.
THE GOLEM'S EYE is an excellent sequel to the first book in the series, THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND. In the first book, we meet Bartimaeus, an ancient creature of enormous power that can best be described as a type of demon. Unfortunately, he and all of his kind hate the word demon. He classifies himself as a djinni, so we'll just go with that for the purposes of this review. Why annoy anyone who can shoot magical firebolts at you, right? Anyway, Bartimaeus, and other creatures like him, are summoned by human magicians to do their bidding. Needless to say, this forced servitude, or slavery, is not popular with the servants, so they do their best to turn the tables on their human masters whenever possible.
Enter Nathaniel, a boy who is in training to become a powerful magician. In book one of the series, he summons Bartimaeus from the netherworld and an involuntary partnership begins. In THE GOLEM'S EYE, young Nathaniel again finds himself in need of the djinni's aid, so he again turns to reluctant Bartimaeus. This time, a revolutionary group is blowing things up in London, which may or may not be related to a series of unusual occurrences that have the police stumped. Nathaniel feels that his career would take off if he can solve these crimes. But the stakes are high because he knows that his career, and possibly his life, are in jeopardy if he fails.
A key part of THE GOLEM'S EYE storyline centers on the activities of a London resistance group that is fighting to overthrow the magicians' government. Nathaniel's inability to track down these criminals is part of the reason he needs Bartimaeus's help. Of course, the djinni has little interest in helping magicians maintain their dominance. After all, they're the ones who continually force him and his kind into servitude. This conflict of interest makes for some entertaining scenes and conversations.
If you have not read THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND, I strongly recommend you pick that one up before diving into THE GOLEM'S EYE. Technically, you don't have to read the first one, but there is an awful lot of background you will miss if you don't. Plus, it's really fun.
Normally I find myself disappointed in sequels. Somehow they never seem to live up the expectations established by the original. But in this case, I was pleasantly surprised. This book is full of excitement, political intrigue, and humor. Bartimaeus is back with all of his cheeky comments, and there are plenty of thrills to go around. Overall, a great book.
October 30, 2016
I was really looking forward to reading this second novel in the Bartimaeus series. I was quite curious to see what it would be like, not just in the sense of the development of the story and the characters, but of the world building as well. I kept wondering how will this world ruled by magicians develop further? I was eager to see what place will our protagonist Nathaniel take in it, will he become like the rest of them (i.e. all the other corrupted magicians)? The world that the author created in the first novel was of great interest to me. In the first novel, I found the setting as fascinating as the story itself. I must say that I wasn't disappointed with how the world building evolved in this one. This sequel was wonderful, an absolute joy to read. Often the sequel disappoints, not being able to retain its original charm, but not this time. It is obvious that the author already had things worked out in his mind because everything seems to flow naturally. This sequel opens up as a mystery novel. Nathanial has to solve the mysterious attacks that are bringing shame to the government. He is utterly engrossed in this task, for his career and his life, depend on his ability to solve the mystery and find the group that is behind these attacks. There are many twists and turns in The Golem鈥檚 Eye and many secrets to be discovered. In fact, the secret identity of the person behind the golem鈥檚 eye is only one of them. This is an excellently plotted novel with enough food for the thought- or at least that is my experience.
If one cares to, one can draw many parallels to our own world, just switch the magicians with modern politicians. The magic could be used as a metaphor for power and money. In this alternative world, the general public doesn鈥檛 have much say in anything. It is understood that the magicians know better and that the commoners should just look after their own business and stay out of magicians鈥� way. In other ways, exactly like democracies in Europe and USA. As far as I can recall, nobody asked us, the European public, would we like to stop trading with Russia? There was no referendum on that subject in any EU country. I鈥檓 not an expert on economy, but one doesn鈥檛 have to be to know that the record high unemployment in Europe is a sign of economic collapse and you don鈥檛 need to be one smart cookie to figure out that a bit of trade would go a long way right now. Likewise, I didn鈥檛 notice that American politicians are consulting the public on the subject of whether it is a good idea to provoke a nuclear superpower into a war? If some politician decides it is time to go to war, that鈥檚 what happens. Nobody asks the public anything. Yes, we get to choose between people serving identical power groups every few years but that doesn鈥檛 amount to much, does it? If it seems to you that this scenario where one small group dominates another larger group seems unlikely, think again.
I swear this real world we live in sometimes sounds more ridiculous than a third-rate fantasy novel. No wonder I feel the need to escape it by reading first class fantasy novels. This novel seems a lot more logical and better thought through than our own 鈥榬eal鈥� world (and the sense of humour is right up my alley, so no wonder I like it so much). I mean there is a logical explanation to why people don鈥檛 rebel against politicians/magicians in this novel, they have a complete control over the schools, the media, the education, every aspect of life. What is the explanation for general public being so passive and believing everything it is told in our world? Golem鈥檚 Eye does give us plenty of explanations as to why this world is the way it is, but this time the dynamics of a narrative are a bit different, it is no longer only about the boy and the djinn, now it there is another character that takes the prominent place. When I wondered, what characters would be a part of this sequel, I didn鈥檛 expect any of the old ones to reappear (I mean at the end of the previous novel, most people surrounding Nathaniel are killed and off he goes to be the part of the elite). I completely forgot about Kitty, a girl that shows up shortly in the Bartimaeus narrative and makes a fool out of him. Well, she turns out to be an important character in this novel and there is a good reason for her introduction for it makes sense not just in terms of the plot but in adding a human dimension to this novel.
You see another thing I wondered about was what the relationship between the boy and the djinn would be like in the sequel. I took it for granted that there will be a relationship between the two of them. I assumed that the boy will, despite promising otherwise, summon the djinn to serve him once again. I was not mistaken, for Nathaniel indeed summons Bartimaeus when he finds himself in trouble. I guess we can give him some credit for at least attempting to avoiding his promise. What make the dynamics of their relationship so interesting in the first one is the fact that Nathaniel is vulnerable to Bartimaeus because the spirit knows his name. In addition, Nathaniel鈥檚 naivety (not to mention young age) made him less like other magicians. However, Nathaniel of Golem鈥檚 Eye, is not a very likeable character. He is only a few years older, but he is very much changed. Bartimaeus still can negotiate with him, because he knows his secret, but the relationship between them is different. Surely, Bartimaeus said some bad things about Nathaniel in the first sequel, but it was obvious that the boy鈥檚 youth got to him and that he felt some sympathy for him- probably because he reminded him of the Egyptian boy, the only master Bartimaeus seems to have respected. Nathaniel does show some sheds of decency that his superiors lack. Nevertheless, everything is different now. Hence, comes Kitty! As the only individual with some moral decency, she is contrasted sharply with all the other鈥檚 characters. This works very well with the premise of the novel that states that magicians are inheritably bad. As I said, I quite liked how the magicians need for power is showed to be pathological in essence. Indeed, I could strike some parallels with 1984, if only there wasn鈥檛 so much humour in this one. Everyone who says anything against magicians is, a priori, considered an enemy of the state in much the same way as described in 1984. So, my initial question of whether this sequel would elaborate on politics, revealing more about the power structures and dynamics of this would, could be answered with yes. There is a lot of serious issues tacked through Bartimaeus sarcasm, from slavery to colonialism. He is notorious for his funny remarks on humans, but this time we also get to see another side of him, the one hidden behind his sarcasm.
What makes this possible is Kitty. The author digresses into past to give us her background. This was also necessary because her story is connected with the plot in many ways. The reasons why Kitty hates magicians so much are quite relevant for the context of her story. In addition, the injustice Kitty suffered from the hands of magicians allows us to understand her actions. Her character development is handled with care. We understand why she is so driven to take revenge. We understand why even when everything seems futile, she doesn鈥檛 stop. Being the moral character she is, makes her invoke admiration in Bartimaeus, invoking him to share his knowledge of history and human societies with her. His discussions and dialogues with Kitty were really interesting and well developed. For me, Bartimaeus was always the star of the story and I was quite happy with his role in this novel. His bond with Kitty seemed quite genuine. All this happens later on in the story (exactly how their paths cross again I won鈥檛 say), but I will say it feels very real and meaningful all the same. The fact that spirits are forced to serve magicians is something we鈥檙e told from the beginning, but the sequel elaborates on it, comparing spirits (djinns and other lesser spirits and beings) with slaves. This sequel made me sympathize with others djinns, not just our charming Bartimaeus but it was through Bartimaeus conversation with Kitty that I realized how much spirits really hate being materialized and how it takes a toll on them.
I think that I said in my review of The Amulet how that first novel seemed (to me) more suitable for young adult and adult audience than for young children because it was quite dark in tone (no graphic description of violence in neither of these two, but there are plotted murders and deaths). However, this one seemed a bit lighter for some reason (even if it discussed serious matters at times) so it might very well be suited for older kids. It could have felt that way because there was a lot of humour in it, in all shapes and forms. Maybe it felt a bit 鈥榣ighter鈥� because Kitty represents imminent if not evident hope for change. Moreover, Nathaniel鈥檚 turn into a 鈥榮erious magician鈥� is not without a sense of comedy. He might be losing his moral compass, but his djinn is there to remind him of it and make fun of him every step of the way. His intellectualism still serves him well, but he seems lame in comparison with Kitty, who is the heroine of this one. That was refreshing- having a girl be a hero for once!
I pretty much liked everything about this one. There were only a few minor things bugging me. One of them was the way that the narration kept switching from first to third person when Bartimaeus would change form. For example, when he would become a cat, the sentence would be- the cat did this or that but then it would return to the first-person narration. Perhaps, this was to give us a better visual perspective of events. It might even serve to enable Bartimaeus to focus on narrating things his way, without having to explain what is he doing on the physical level. This was only a bit irritating at start, soon I got used to it and didn鈥檛 mind it. One thing that I did mind was how na茂ve Nathaniel still was, despite his obvious high intelligence. At a few places, I think he could have been less abashed with what was going on. Apart from that, his character development, with his teenage insecurities contrasted with incredible ambition, was well balanced. Another thing that I felt was lacking was a few good conversations between Bartimaeus and his master. I know that the novel was fast paced and that really wasn鈥檛 much place for it (especially with Kitty鈥檚 past and present life being introduced) but it would have been fun seeing more dialogue between them. Their changed relationship and estrangement did make sense; I was just left wanting a bit more. In this review, I focused mostly on characters and the world building. I know that didn鈥檛 really say much about the plot, but hey I didn鈥檛 want to spoil anything for anyone. That- and truthfully as entertaining as the story itself has been (who doesn鈥檛 like a nice detective story?) that was not my primary field of interest. However, I will comment on the ending. I must say that the climax is really superb and that it all ties nicely in the end. Towards the end, I kept asking myself how will everything get resolved, but actually the ending felt quite natural. All in all, the sequel was more than satisfactory. I expected it to be good, but not this good. In my view, it was perfect.
If one cares to, one can draw many parallels to our own world, just switch the magicians with modern politicians. The magic could be used as a metaphor for power and money. In this alternative world, the general public doesn鈥檛 have much say in anything. It is understood that the magicians know better and that the commoners should just look after their own business and stay out of magicians鈥� way. In other ways, exactly like democracies in Europe and USA. As far as I can recall, nobody asked us, the European public, would we like to stop trading with Russia? There was no referendum on that subject in any EU country. I鈥檓 not an expert on economy, but one doesn鈥檛 have to be to know that the record high unemployment in Europe is a sign of economic collapse and you don鈥檛 need to be one smart cookie to figure out that a bit of trade would go a long way right now. Likewise, I didn鈥檛 notice that American politicians are consulting the public on the subject of whether it is a good idea to provoke a nuclear superpower into a war? If some politician decides it is time to go to war, that鈥檚 what happens. Nobody asks the public anything. Yes, we get to choose between people serving identical power groups every few years but that doesn鈥檛 amount to much, does it? If it seems to you that this scenario where one small group dominates another larger group seems unlikely, think again.
I swear this real world we live in sometimes sounds more ridiculous than a third-rate fantasy novel. No wonder I feel the need to escape it by reading first class fantasy novels. This novel seems a lot more logical and better thought through than our own 鈥榬eal鈥� world (and the sense of humour is right up my alley, so no wonder I like it so much). I mean there is a logical explanation to why people don鈥檛 rebel against politicians/magicians in this novel, they have a complete control over the schools, the media, the education, every aspect of life. What is the explanation for general public being so passive and believing everything it is told in our world? Golem鈥檚 Eye does give us plenty of explanations as to why this world is the way it is, but this time the dynamics of a narrative are a bit different, it is no longer only about the boy and the djinn, now it there is another character that takes the prominent place. When I wondered, what characters would be a part of this sequel, I didn鈥檛 expect any of the old ones to reappear (I mean at the end of the previous novel, most people surrounding Nathaniel are killed and off he goes to be the part of the elite). I completely forgot about Kitty, a girl that shows up shortly in the Bartimaeus narrative and makes a fool out of him. Well, she turns out to be an important character in this novel and there is a good reason for her introduction for it makes sense not just in terms of the plot but in adding a human dimension to this novel.
You see another thing I wondered about was what the relationship between the boy and the djinn would be like in the sequel. I took it for granted that there will be a relationship between the two of them. I assumed that the boy will, despite promising otherwise, summon the djinn to serve him once again. I was not mistaken, for Nathaniel indeed summons Bartimaeus when he finds himself in trouble. I guess we can give him some credit for at least attempting to avoiding his promise. What make the dynamics of their relationship so interesting in the first one is the fact that Nathaniel is vulnerable to Bartimaeus because the spirit knows his name. In addition, Nathaniel鈥檚 naivety (not to mention young age) made him less like other magicians. However, Nathaniel of Golem鈥檚 Eye, is not a very likeable character. He is only a few years older, but he is very much changed. Bartimaeus still can negotiate with him, because he knows his secret, but the relationship between them is different. Surely, Bartimaeus said some bad things about Nathaniel in the first sequel, but it was obvious that the boy鈥檚 youth got to him and that he felt some sympathy for him- probably because he reminded him of the Egyptian boy, the only master Bartimaeus seems to have respected. Nathaniel does show some sheds of decency that his superiors lack. Nevertheless, everything is different now. Hence, comes Kitty! As the only individual with some moral decency, she is contrasted sharply with all the other鈥檚 characters. This works very well with the premise of the novel that states that magicians are inheritably bad. As I said, I quite liked how the magicians need for power is showed to be pathological in essence. Indeed, I could strike some parallels with 1984, if only there wasn鈥檛 so much humour in this one. Everyone who says anything against magicians is, a priori, considered an enemy of the state in much the same way as described in 1984. So, my initial question of whether this sequel would elaborate on politics, revealing more about the power structures and dynamics of this would, could be answered with yes. There is a lot of serious issues tacked through Bartimaeus sarcasm, from slavery to colonialism. He is notorious for his funny remarks on humans, but this time we also get to see another side of him, the one hidden behind his sarcasm.
What makes this possible is Kitty. The author digresses into past to give us her background. This was also necessary because her story is connected with the plot in many ways. The reasons why Kitty hates magicians so much are quite relevant for the context of her story. In addition, the injustice Kitty suffered from the hands of magicians allows us to understand her actions. Her character development is handled with care. We understand why she is so driven to take revenge. We understand why even when everything seems futile, she doesn鈥檛 stop. Being the moral character she is, makes her invoke admiration in Bartimaeus, invoking him to share his knowledge of history and human societies with her. His discussions and dialogues with Kitty were really interesting and well developed. For me, Bartimaeus was always the star of the story and I was quite happy with his role in this novel. His bond with Kitty seemed quite genuine. All this happens later on in the story (exactly how their paths cross again I won鈥檛 say), but I will say it feels very real and meaningful all the same. The fact that spirits are forced to serve magicians is something we鈥檙e told from the beginning, but the sequel elaborates on it, comparing spirits (djinns and other lesser spirits and beings) with slaves. This sequel made me sympathize with others djinns, not just our charming Bartimaeus but it was through Bartimaeus conversation with Kitty that I realized how much spirits really hate being materialized and how it takes a toll on them.
I think that I said in my review of The Amulet how that first novel seemed (to me) more suitable for young adult and adult audience than for young children because it was quite dark in tone (no graphic description of violence in neither of these two, but there are plotted murders and deaths). However, this one seemed a bit lighter for some reason (even if it discussed serious matters at times) so it might very well be suited for older kids. It could have felt that way because there was a lot of humour in it, in all shapes and forms. Maybe it felt a bit 鈥榣ighter鈥� because Kitty represents imminent if not evident hope for change. Moreover, Nathaniel鈥檚 turn into a 鈥榮erious magician鈥� is not without a sense of comedy. He might be losing his moral compass, but his djinn is there to remind him of it and make fun of him every step of the way. His intellectualism still serves him well, but he seems lame in comparison with Kitty, who is the heroine of this one. That was refreshing- having a girl be a hero for once!
I pretty much liked everything about this one. There were only a few minor things bugging me. One of them was the way that the narration kept switching from first to third person when Bartimaeus would change form. For example, when he would become a cat, the sentence would be- the cat did this or that but then it would return to the first-person narration. Perhaps, this was to give us a better visual perspective of events. It might even serve to enable Bartimaeus to focus on narrating things his way, without having to explain what is he doing on the physical level. This was only a bit irritating at start, soon I got used to it and didn鈥檛 mind it. One thing that I did mind was how na茂ve Nathaniel still was, despite his obvious high intelligence. At a few places, I think he could have been less abashed with what was going on. Apart from that, his character development, with his teenage insecurities contrasted with incredible ambition, was well balanced. Another thing that I felt was lacking was a few good conversations between Bartimaeus and his master. I know that the novel was fast paced and that really wasn鈥檛 much place for it (especially with Kitty鈥檚 past and present life being introduced) but it would have been fun seeing more dialogue between them. Their changed relationship and estrangement did make sense; I was just left wanting a bit more. In this review, I focused mostly on characters and the world building. I know that didn鈥檛 really say much about the plot, but hey I didn鈥檛 want to spoil anything for anyone. That- and truthfully as entertaining as the story itself has been (who doesn鈥檛 like a nice detective story?) that was not my primary field of interest. However, I will comment on the ending. I must say that the climax is really superb and that it all ties nicely in the end. Towards the end, I kept asking myself how will everything get resolved, but actually the ending felt quite natural. All in all, the sequel was more than satisfactory. I expected it to be good, but not this good. In my view, it was perfect.
October 22, 2020
芦The Golem's Eye禄
Novel by Jonathan Stroud
@doubleday
@randonhousechildrensbooks
Originally published: 2004
1 The Amulet of Samarkand
3 Ptolemy's Gate
鉅赌
芦袘邪褉褌褨屑械褍褋. 袣薪懈谐邪 2. 袨泻芯 覑芯谢械屑邪禄
袛卸芯薪邪褌邪薪 小褌褉邪褍写
袗-斜邪-斜邪-谐邪-谢邪-屑邪-谐邪 2018
@ababahalamaha
袩械褉械泻谢邪写: 袙芯谢芯写懈屑懈褉 袩邪薪褔械薪泻芯
鉅赌
袨褋褨薪褜 写谢褟 屑械薪械 锌邪褏薪械 屑邪谐褨褦褞...
鉅赌
袩械褉褨芯写 泻薪懈谐 褨 邪褉芯屑邪褌薪芯谐芯 褔邪褞, 泻芯谢懈 褌械屑锌械褉邪褌褍褉邪 褨 谢懈褋褌褟 锌邪写邪褞褌褜, 邪 胁懈薪懈泻邪褦 斜邪卸邪薪薪褟 写芯褔械泻邪褌懈褋褟 褌褍泻芯薪褨 泄 胁锌邪褋褌懈 胁 蟹懈屑芯胁褍 褋锌谢褟褔泻褍.
鉅赌
袨泻芯 覑芯谢械屑邪 - 褑械 褖械 芯写薪邪 褨褋褌芯褉褨褟 锌褉芯 褔邪泻谢褍薪褋褜泻懈泄 袥芯薪写芯薪.
鉅赌
袩褉芯 锌芯褕褍泻懈 屑邪谐褨褩 褨 锌褉芯褌懈褋褌芯褟薪薪褟 褩泄. 孝褍褌 薪械屑邪褦 褉芯卸械胁懈褏 褦写懈薪芯褉芯谐褨胁, 邪谢械 褦 写褍卸械 褏邪褉懈蟹屑邪褌懈褔薪懈泄 褨 谐芯胁褨褉泻懈泄 写卸懈薪 袘邪褉褌褨屑械褍褋.
鉅赌
袙邪褋 薪械 蟹邪褏芯锌谢褞胁邪褌懈屑褍褌褜 锌懈褏邪褌褨 褔邪褉褨胁薪懈泻懈-屑褨薪褨褋褌褉懈, 胁邪褕械 褋械褉褑械 蟹邪锌芯谢芯薪懈褌褜 斜械蟹褋褌褉邪褕薪邪 写褨胁褔懈薪邪 袣褨褌褨 蟹 芦小锌褉芯褌懈胁褍禄.
鉅赌
袣芯谢懈 屑邪谐褨褟 薪械 褌胁芯褉懈褌褜褋褟 谢械谐泻芯 (锌械薪褌邪泻谢褨, 泻薪懈谐懈 褌邪 斜邪谐邪褌芯 褉褨蟹薪懈褏 屑邪谐褨褔薪懈褏 锌褉械写屑械褌褨胁).
鉅赌
袣芯谢懈 薪邪胁泻芯谢芯 褌械斜械 谢懈褕械 胁芯褉芯谐懈 (褋械褉械写 褔邪泻谢褍薪褨胁 薪械屑邪褦 写褉褍蟹褨, 褦 谢懈褕械 胁芯褉芯谐懈, 泻芯薪泻褍褉械薪褌懈 泄 锌褉懈褏芯胁邪薪褨 胁芯褉芯谐懈 褌邪 泻芯薪泻褍褉械薪褌懈).
鉅赌
袣芯谢懈 芯写懈薪 薪械胁褨褉薪懈泄 泻褉芯泻 屑芯卸械 胁斜懈褌懈 (锌褉芯褔懈褌邪胁 薪械锌褉邪胁懈谢褜薪芯 蟹邪泻谢褟褌褌褟 - 斜邪屑 褨 锌芯卸芯胁褌褨胁, 薪邪屑邪谢褞胁邪胁 薪械锌褉邪胁懈谢褜薪懈泄 锌械薪褌邪泻谢褜 - 薪褟屑 褨 褌械斜械 蟹鈥樠椥恍�).
鉅赌
袣芯谢懈 褍 褋胁褨褌褨 薪械 褑褨薪褍褦褌褜褋褟 屑芯褉邪谢褜, 胁褨褉薪褨褋褌褜 褨 写褉褍卸斜邪. 袣芯谢懈 薪邪胁褨褌褜 锌芯薪械胁芯谢械薪褨 蟹谢褨 写械屑芯薪懈 泄 写卸懈薪懈, 蟹薪邪褞褌褜 斜褨谢褜褕械 锌褉芯 褋胁芯斜芯写褍 泄 褋懈谢褍 写邪薪芯谐芯 褋谢芯胁邪 薪褨卸 褩褏薪褨 谐芯褋锌芯写邪褉褨 胁械谢懈褔薪褨 褔邪褉褨胁薪懈泻懈.
鉅赌
笑褟 泻薪懈卸泻邪, 褟泻 褨 锌械褉褕邪 褔邪褋褌懈薪邪 芦袘邪褉褌褨屑械褍褋. 袣薪懈谐邪 1. 袗屑褍谢械褌 小邪屑邪褉泻邪薪写邪禄 屑械薪褨 写褍卸械 褋锌芯写芯斜邪谢邪褋褟!
鉅赌
#锌褉懈屑褏谢懈胁邪褔懈褌邪泻邪
Novel by Jonathan Stroud
@doubleday
@randonhousechildrensbooks
Originally published: 2004
1 The Amulet of Samarkand
3 Ptolemy's Gate
鉅赌
芦袘邪褉褌褨屑械褍褋. 袣薪懈谐邪 2. 袨泻芯 覑芯谢械屑邪禄
袛卸芯薪邪褌邪薪 小褌褉邪褍写
袗-斜邪-斜邪-谐邪-谢邪-屑邪-谐邪 2018
@ababahalamaha
袩械褉械泻谢邪写: 袙芯谢芯写懈屑懈褉 袩邪薪褔械薪泻芯
鉅赌
袨褋褨薪褜 写谢褟 屑械薪械 锌邪褏薪械 屑邪谐褨褦褞...
鉅赌
袩械褉褨芯写 泻薪懈谐 褨 邪褉芯屑邪褌薪芯谐芯 褔邪褞, 泻芯谢懈 褌械屑锌械褉邪褌褍褉邪 褨 谢懈褋褌褟 锌邪写邪褞褌褜, 邪 胁懈薪懈泻邪褦 斜邪卸邪薪薪褟 写芯褔械泻邪褌懈褋褟 褌褍泻芯薪褨 泄 胁锌邪褋褌懈 胁 蟹懈屑芯胁褍 褋锌谢褟褔泻褍.
鉅赌
袨泻芯 覑芯谢械屑邪 - 褑械 褖械 芯写薪邪 褨褋褌芯褉褨褟 锌褉芯 褔邪泻谢褍薪褋褜泻懈泄 袥芯薪写芯薪.
鉅赌
袩褉芯 锌芯褕褍泻懈 屑邪谐褨褩 褨 锌褉芯褌懈褋褌芯褟薪薪褟 褩泄. 孝褍褌 薪械屑邪褦 褉芯卸械胁懈褏 褦写懈薪芯褉芯谐褨胁, 邪谢械 褦 写褍卸械 褏邪褉懈蟹屑邪褌懈褔薪懈泄 褨 谐芯胁褨褉泻懈泄 写卸懈薪 袘邪褉褌褨屑械褍褋.
鉅赌
袙邪褋 薪械 蟹邪褏芯锌谢褞胁邪褌懈屑褍褌褜 锌懈褏邪褌褨 褔邪褉褨胁薪懈泻懈-屑褨薪褨褋褌褉懈, 胁邪褕械 褋械褉褑械 蟹邪锌芯谢芯薪懈褌褜 斜械蟹褋褌褉邪褕薪邪 写褨胁褔懈薪邪 袣褨褌褨 蟹 芦小锌褉芯褌懈胁褍禄.
鉅赌
袣芯谢懈 屑邪谐褨褟 薪械 褌胁芯褉懈褌褜褋褟 谢械谐泻芯 (锌械薪褌邪泻谢褨, 泻薪懈谐懈 褌邪 斜邪谐邪褌芯 褉褨蟹薪懈褏 屑邪谐褨褔薪懈褏 锌褉械写屑械褌褨胁).
鉅赌
袣芯谢懈 薪邪胁泻芯谢芯 褌械斜械 谢懈褕械 胁芯褉芯谐懈 (褋械褉械写 褔邪泻谢褍薪褨胁 薪械屑邪褦 写褉褍蟹褨, 褦 谢懈褕械 胁芯褉芯谐懈, 泻芯薪泻褍褉械薪褌懈 泄 锌褉懈褏芯胁邪薪褨 胁芯褉芯谐懈 褌邪 泻芯薪泻褍褉械薪褌懈).
鉅赌
袣芯谢懈 芯写懈薪 薪械胁褨褉薪懈泄 泻褉芯泻 屑芯卸械 胁斜懈褌懈 (锌褉芯褔懈褌邪胁 薪械锌褉邪胁懈谢褜薪芯 蟹邪泻谢褟褌褌褟 - 斜邪屑 褨 锌芯卸芯胁褌褨胁, 薪邪屑邪谢褞胁邪胁 薪械锌褉邪胁懈谢褜薪懈泄 锌械薪褌邪泻谢褜 - 薪褟屑 褨 褌械斜械 蟹鈥樠椥恍�).
鉅赌
袣芯谢懈 褍 褋胁褨褌褨 薪械 褑褨薪褍褦褌褜褋褟 屑芯褉邪谢褜, 胁褨褉薪褨褋褌褜 褨 写褉褍卸斜邪. 袣芯谢懈 薪邪胁褨褌褜 锌芯薪械胁芯谢械薪褨 蟹谢褨 写械屑芯薪懈 泄 写卸懈薪懈, 蟹薪邪褞褌褜 斜褨谢褜褕械 锌褉芯 褋胁芯斜芯写褍 泄 褋懈谢褍 写邪薪芯谐芯 褋谢芯胁邪 薪褨卸 褩褏薪褨 谐芯褋锌芯写邪褉褨 胁械谢懈褔薪褨 褔邪褉褨胁薪懈泻懈.
鉅赌
笑褟 泻薪懈卸泻邪, 褟泻 褨 锌械褉褕邪 褔邪褋褌懈薪邪 芦袘邪褉褌褨屑械褍褋. 袣薪懈谐邪 1. 袗屑褍谢械褌 小邪屑邪褉泻邪薪写邪禄 屑械薪褨 写褍卸械 褋锌芯写芯斜邪谢邪褋褟!
鉅赌
#锌褉懈屑褏谢懈胁邪褔懈褌邪泻邪
February 2, 2018
The Golem's Eye, Jonathan Stroud, 2003
The Golem's Eye is a children's novel of alternate history, fantasy and magic. It is the second book in the Bartimaeus trilogy written by British author Jonathan Stroud. The first edition was released by Miramax 1 January 2004 in the United Kingdom. 6 million copies have been sold in 36 countries. It was a New York Times best-seller in 2004. The book and series are about the power struggles in a magical dystopia centred in London, England featuring a mixture of modern and ancient, secular and mythological themes.
Characters: Bartimaeus, Kathleen "Kitty" Jones, Nathaniel
鬲丕乇蹖禺 禺賵丕賳卮: 丕夭 亘蹖爻鬲 賵 卮卮賲 賲丕賴 賮賵乇蹖賴 爻丕賱 2014 鬲丕 賴卮鬲賲 賲丕賴 賲丕乇爻 爻丕賱 2014 賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
毓賳賵丕賳: 趩卮賲 诏賵賱賲貨 丕孬乇: 噩丕賳丕鬲丕賳 丕爻鬲乇賵丿貨 亘乇诏乇丿丕賳: 賲丨賲丿 賯氐丕毓貨 賳卮乇: 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 丕賮賯貙 1391貙 丿乇 835 氐貙 賮乇賵爻鬲: 乇賲丕賳 賳賵噩賵丕賳貨 88貙 乇賲丕賳賴丕蹖 爻賴鈥� 诏丕賳賴鈥� 蹖 亘丕乇鬲蹖賲蹖賵爻鈥徹� 2貙 卮丕亘讴: 9789643697518貨 趩丕倬 丿賵賲: 1392貨 賲賵囟賵毓: 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏й� 讴賵丿讴丕賳 丕夭 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 -- 賯乇賳 20 賲
賳丕鬲丕賳蹖賱貙 噩丕丿賵诏乇 趩賴丕乇丿賴 爻丕賱賴貙 丕讴賳賵賳 賲丕賲賵乇蹖鬲 丿丕乇丿 诏乇賵賴蹖 乇丕 讴賴 丿乇 賲乇丕讴夭 賲賴賲 卮賴乇 丨丕丿孬賴 賲蹖鈥屫①佖臂屬嗁嗀� 卮賳丕爻丕蹖蹖 賵 賳丕亘賵丿 讴賳丿. 丕賲丕 丕蹖賳 讴丕乇貙 爻丕丿賴 賳蹖爻鬲. 丕毓囟丕蹖 诏乇賵賴 賲禺賮蹖貙 丕夭 噩賲賱賴 讴蹖鬲蹖貙 禺賵丿 乇丕 倬賳賴丕賳 讴乇丿賴 鈥屫з嗀� 賵 賴賲鈥屫操呚з� 亘丕 丨賲賱賴 鈥屬囏й� 丿蹖诏乇蹖 亘賴 倬丕蹖鬲禺鬲貙 匕賴賳 賳丕鬲丕賳蹖賱 乇丕 亘賴 賴賲 賲蹖乇蹖夭賳丿. 丌蹖丕 丕蹖賳 丨賲賱賴鈥� 賴丕 丕夭 爻賵蹖 賴賲丕賳 诏乇賵賴 賲禺賮蹖 爻鬲 蹖丕 诏乇賵賴蹖 禺胤乇賳丕讴鈥屫� 丿乇 倬卮鬲 讴丕乇 丕爻鬲乇責 賳丕鬲丕賳蹖賱 亘乇丕蹖 讴卮賮 丨賯蹖賯鬲 亘丕蹖丿 亘賴 倬丕蹖鬲禺鬲 爻乇夭賲蹖賳 丿卮賲賳 亘乇賵丿 賵 噩賳 亘夭乇诏貙 亘丕乇鬲蹖賲蹖賵爻 乇丕 丕丨囟丕乇 讴賳丿. 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
The Golem's Eye is a children's novel of alternate history, fantasy and magic. It is the second book in the Bartimaeus trilogy written by British author Jonathan Stroud. The first edition was released by Miramax 1 January 2004 in the United Kingdom. 6 million copies have been sold in 36 countries. It was a New York Times best-seller in 2004. The book and series are about the power struggles in a magical dystopia centred in London, England featuring a mixture of modern and ancient, secular and mythological themes.
Characters: Bartimaeus, Kathleen "Kitty" Jones, Nathaniel
鬲丕乇蹖禺 禺賵丕賳卮: 丕夭 亘蹖爻鬲 賵 卮卮賲 賲丕賴 賮賵乇蹖賴 爻丕賱 2014 鬲丕 賴卮鬲賲 賲丕賴 賲丕乇爻 爻丕賱 2014 賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
毓賳賵丕賳: 趩卮賲 诏賵賱賲貨 丕孬乇: 噩丕賳丕鬲丕賳 丕爻鬲乇賵丿貨 亘乇诏乇丿丕賳: 賲丨賲丿 賯氐丕毓貨 賳卮乇: 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 丕賮賯貙 1391貙 丿乇 835 氐貙 賮乇賵爻鬲: 乇賲丕賳 賳賵噩賵丕賳貨 88貙 乇賲丕賳賴丕蹖 爻賴鈥� 诏丕賳賴鈥� 蹖 亘丕乇鬲蹖賲蹖賵爻鈥徹� 2貙 卮丕亘讴: 9789643697518貨 趩丕倬 丿賵賲: 1392貨 賲賵囟賵毓: 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏й� 讴賵丿讴丕賳 丕夭 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 -- 賯乇賳 20 賲
賳丕鬲丕賳蹖賱貙 噩丕丿賵诏乇 趩賴丕乇丿賴 爻丕賱賴貙 丕讴賳賵賳 賲丕賲賵乇蹖鬲 丿丕乇丿 诏乇賵賴蹖 乇丕 讴賴 丿乇 賲乇丕讴夭 賲賴賲 卮賴乇 丨丕丿孬賴 賲蹖鈥屫①佖臂屬嗁嗀� 卮賳丕爻丕蹖蹖 賵 賳丕亘賵丿 讴賳丿. 丕賲丕 丕蹖賳 讴丕乇貙 爻丕丿賴 賳蹖爻鬲. 丕毓囟丕蹖 诏乇賵賴 賲禺賮蹖貙 丕夭 噩賲賱賴 讴蹖鬲蹖貙 禺賵丿 乇丕 倬賳賴丕賳 讴乇丿賴 鈥屫з嗀� 賵 賴賲鈥屫操呚з� 亘丕 丨賲賱賴 鈥屬囏й� 丿蹖诏乇蹖 亘賴 倬丕蹖鬲禺鬲貙 匕賴賳 賳丕鬲丕賳蹖賱 乇丕 亘賴 賴賲 賲蹖乇蹖夭賳丿. 丌蹖丕 丕蹖賳 丨賲賱賴鈥� 賴丕 丕夭 爻賵蹖 賴賲丕賳 诏乇賵賴 賲禺賮蹖 爻鬲 蹖丕 诏乇賵賴蹖 禺胤乇賳丕讴鈥屫� 丿乇 倬卮鬲 讴丕乇 丕爻鬲乇責 賳丕鬲丕賳蹖賱 亘乇丕蹖 讴卮賮 丨賯蹖賯鬲 亘丕蹖丿 亘賴 倬丕蹖鬲禺鬲 爻乇夭賲蹖賳 丿卮賲賳 亘乇賵丿 賵 噩賳 亘夭乇诏貙 亘丕乇鬲蹖賲蹖賵爻 乇丕 丕丨囟丕乇 讴賳丿. 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
October 14, 2018
4.5 stars
This series is getting better and better and I honestly have no real reason not to give it 5 stars except that I find it really hard to give 5 stars to children and middle grade books, sorry XD
Just please tell me what is better than a morally grey 13 year old boy with a djinni as a servant? You can't can you?
It's so fascinating to see this in a children's book. I usually don't like morally grey characters because I can never see the reason behind their actions. The idea to hurt people and use them even if life did really deal you a crappy hand never really entered my head.
But to see this in a child, it's really interesting.
I can't put it into words. The difference between a grey character having a flashback to what happened to them to be this way and actually growing up with them till they become what they are is huge to me.
And the age makes all the difference too, if it's a younger character I sympathize more but if the character is of a certain age I really have a hard time seeing how certain events can lead them to be the way they become. Especially when they blame others for what happened to them, this always felt so childish to me.
Back to this series. I've heard a couple of reviews mentioning how good of an ending this series has and I can't wait. I sense there's a whole lot more to Bartimaeus's character and I really want to see more, I really like him.
I like Nathaniel and Katty too.
I don't really know what else to say, it seems that all my thoughts scattered away the moment I clicked the I'm finished button XD
This really one of those books I would've loved to read and experience as a child, it's not technically and underrated book but I can't believe it's not as hyped as other books.
This was a highly entertaining read and I recommend it.
This series is getting better and better and I honestly have no real reason not to give it 5 stars except that I find it really hard to give 5 stars to children and middle grade books, sorry XD
Just please tell me what is better than a morally grey 13 year old boy with a djinni as a servant? You can't can you?
It's so fascinating to see this in a children's book. I usually don't like morally grey characters because I can never see the reason behind their actions. The idea to hurt people and use them even if life did really deal you a crappy hand never really entered my head.
But to see this in a child, it's really interesting.
I can't put it into words. The difference between a grey character having a flashback to what happened to them to be this way and actually growing up with them till they become what they are is huge to me.
And the age makes all the difference too, if it's a younger character I sympathize more but if the character is of a certain age I really have a hard time seeing how certain events can lead them to be the way they become. Especially when they blame others for what happened to them, this always felt so childish to me.
Back to this series. I've heard a couple of reviews mentioning how good of an ending this series has and I can't wait. I sense there's a whole lot more to Bartimaeus's character and I really want to see more, I really like him.
I like Nathaniel and Katty too.
I don't really know what else to say, it seems that all my thoughts scattered away the moment I clicked the I'm finished button XD
This really one of those books I would've loved to read and experience as a child, it's not technically and underrated book but I can't believe it's not as hyped as other books.
This was a highly entertaining read and I recommend it.
August 25, 2015
I really liked the first book in the series, but this second one just doesn't match up. I still admire the world-building (a magical system based on good old fashioned demon summoning!) and Bartimaeus himself is still a fun character to read. But Nathaniel has become almost unbearable to read. All the magicians, in fact, read like parodies of arrogant aristocrats. It isn't entirely unjustified, in this world, but it sure isn't fun to read. Sadly, I didn't like the so-called Resistance much more. Now, I'm generally going to be in favor of a small group of dedicated revolutionaries fighting against extreme odds (see: ), but that is not this group. They don't seem to be terribly interested in doing anything other than petty thefts of magical artifacts and minor vandalism, which will do... what, exactly? Also, they were all pretty annoying, too. In fact, the only character I liked at all was Bartimaeus, but not nearly enough of the book was from his perspective. I'm really disappointed, because I do think the world-building is generally very good and the first book was so strong.
March 1, 2014
This hilarious novel is the second in the Bartimaeus Trilogy. The story picks up where the first book in the trilogy () leaves off. Most of the story takes place in London, where the government is made up of magicians. These magicians are all power-hungry, calculating, feckless, craven, jealous, and self-serving to the n'th degree.
The 14-year-old Nathaniel is an up-and-coming magician in charge of security operations in the department of internal affairs. He is blamed for incompetence with regards to two threats; the resistance--a secret society blamed for stealing magical artifacts--and a golem, who is trouncing across London causing major havoc. Nathaniel's personality has changed since the first novel--he is now more power-hungry, and his ethics have taken a bit of a dive, becoming more like those of the average magician. Nathaniel does his best to unearth those to blame for these threats, mostly relying on his captive slave, the 5000-year-old jinni Bartimaeus.
Bartimaeus is a lovable character--saucy, sardonic, witty, brave, fatalistic, and street-smart. His cheeky comments do not endear himself to his master, but they make for hilarious dialog. He is sagacious, and ever mindful of his limits and the limitations of the magicians.
Kitty is a teen-aged key player in the resistance. She is naive, but persistent, resilient, and somewhat resistant to magic. Her high ethical standards (as with most of the others in the resistance) are in sharp opposition to everyone else. Bartimaeus almost takes a liking to her, for her refreshing honesty, courage, and individualism.
Now, I didn't read this book--I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Simon Jones. I must say that Jones is a fantastic reader. His British accents are wonderful, his reading of the crazy skeleton demon is out of this world, and all of the characters come out clearly as individuals. My recommendation is do not read this book--listen to it!
The 14-year-old Nathaniel is an up-and-coming magician in charge of security operations in the department of internal affairs. He is blamed for incompetence with regards to two threats; the resistance--a secret society blamed for stealing magical artifacts--and a golem, who is trouncing across London causing major havoc. Nathaniel's personality has changed since the first novel--he is now more power-hungry, and his ethics have taken a bit of a dive, becoming more like those of the average magician. Nathaniel does his best to unearth those to blame for these threats, mostly relying on his captive slave, the 5000-year-old jinni Bartimaeus.
Bartimaeus is a lovable character--saucy, sardonic, witty, brave, fatalistic, and street-smart. His cheeky comments do not endear himself to his master, but they make for hilarious dialog. He is sagacious, and ever mindful of his limits and the limitations of the magicians.
Kitty is a teen-aged key player in the resistance. She is naive, but persistent, resilient, and somewhat resistant to magic. Her high ethical standards (as with most of the others in the resistance) are in sharp opposition to everyone else. Bartimaeus almost takes a liking to her, for her refreshing honesty, courage, and individualism.
Now, I didn't read this book--I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Simon Jones. I must say that Jones is a fantastic reader. His British accents are wonderful, his reading of the crazy skeleton demon is out of this world, and all of the characters come out clearly as individuals. My recommendation is do not read this book--listen to it!
May 20, 2014
My first thought right after reading the book is that it is filled with temperamental and cocky teenagers, equally self-absorbed, bickering and snotty adult magicians and one Mr. Love guru called Bartimaeus. Which actually is not a bad thing cause he cracks me up.
Yup, ive been doing that quite a lot when Im reading :))
Character For me, they were pretty much 1-dimensional. The magicians are power-hungry, self-obsessed, egoistic, with really nothing to brag about except they could control the Spirits. Most of the time, they come off very easy to manipulate. As what Bartimaeus once said, they are all driven by power and greed. Or you know, something like that.
The commoners, or the people with no magical aptitude, are either stupid or mindless cowards who spend the rest of the book just being told what to do, clueless or cowering in fear from the magicians. But I get that, we must learn to bow down to authorities but they just come off rather too compliant and dull. And if there are actually people who are willing to fight for their rights, they come off too strongly.
Which brings me to the Resistance. what the Commoners lack, the Resistance are abundant of it. Even to the point of being too confident with their abilities that in the end, they ended up being cocky and arrogant themselves but the second book did tackle this one out and accepted the mistakes being made. It was dealt with properly and I liked the closure.
I could sympathize with the characters but I couldn't seem to make myself care for them. The only like-able character for me is Bartimaeus, the others fell kind of flat or annoying. It took me a while to warm up to Kitty and by the end of the book, I came to like her too. But not that much. Just enough so I could stop rolling my eyes during her POVs. teehee.
Aside from all of that, I still enjoyed reading it. The readers get to be introduced to new environments and delve deeper into the story. Like the history of other Empires, the magicians, djinns. More information were being laid out and there were a lot of actions to keep me excited. There were even time when I have to stop reading it cause I can't handle the suspense just like so:
Oh, and by the way, meet Honorius. I couldnt help but imagine him this way :))
But he actually looks like this:
So I am truly grateful that mine turned out to be cartoon/anime-ish than it really is cause I might not have slept last night.
Yup, ive been doing that quite a lot when Im reading :))
Character For me, they were pretty much 1-dimensional. The magicians are power-hungry, self-obsessed, egoistic, with really nothing to brag about except they could control the Spirits. Most of the time, they come off very easy to manipulate. As what Bartimaeus once said, they are all driven by power and greed. Or you know, something like that.
The commoners, or the people with no magical aptitude, are either stupid or mindless cowards who spend the rest of the book just being told what to do, clueless or cowering in fear from the magicians. But I get that, we must learn to bow down to authorities but they just come off rather too compliant and dull. And if there are actually people who are willing to fight for their rights, they come off too strongly.
Which brings me to the Resistance. what the Commoners lack, the Resistance are abundant of it. Even to the point of being too confident with their abilities that in the end, they ended up being cocky and arrogant themselves but the second book did tackle this one out and accepted the mistakes being made. It was dealt with properly and I liked the closure.
I could sympathize with the characters but I couldn't seem to make myself care for them. The only like-able character for me is Bartimaeus, the others fell kind of flat or annoying. It took me a while to warm up to Kitty and by the end of the book, I came to like her too. But not that much. Just enough so I could stop rolling my eyes during her POVs. teehee.
Aside from all of that, I still enjoyed reading it. The readers get to be introduced to new environments and delve deeper into the story. Like the history of other Empires, the magicians, djinns. More information were being laid out and there were a lot of actions to keep me excited. There were even time when I have to stop reading it cause I can't handle the suspense just like so:
Oh, and by the way, meet Honorius. I couldnt help but imagine him this way :))
But he actually looks like this:
So I am truly grateful that mine turned out to be cartoon/anime-ish than it really is cause I might not have slept last night.
May 2, 2022
Seconda avventura per i due protagonisti.
Come gi脿 per il primo libro Stroud ci regala un'altra buona avventura magica che scorre facilmente e ci diverte per qualche ora. Forse inferiore al primo. Il personaggio protagonista rimane sempre il demone Bartimeus che continua a farci sbellicare e il giovincello mago umano che continua a rendersi odioso.
Come gi脿 per il primo libro Stroud ci regala un'altra buona avventura magica che scorre facilmente e ci diverte per qualche ora. Forse inferiore al primo. Il personaggio protagonista rimane sempre il demone Bartimeus che continua a farci sbellicare e il giovincello mago umano che continua a rendersi odioso.
November 2, 2022
This is highly entertaining in that it is fast-paced, unpredictable, funny, and adventurous. This is the sequel to The Amulet of Samarkand, although it's not critical that you read that one first; both are self-contained stories and do not end with big cliffhangers. Like the first book, the story is told from the first-person view of Bartimaeus, the egotistical, condescending "genie," and the magician Nathaniel, who is now 14 and rising to prominence in the British government. This book also introduces Kitty, a "commoner" (non-magician) who belongs to the resistance against magician rule. Much of the book is told from her perspective, starting at the present and going back at times to show her background (like we had with Nathaniel in the first book).
I think the story is set in modern times, but Britain is still a great empire that still rules the American colonies. This alternate history adds to the creativity of the story.
The scene where Bartimaeus meets Nathaniel again is just hilarious. So is the part where Bartimaeus finally meets Kitty, whom he admires when he learns she punched Nathaniel.
All in all, great characters and plot. I had a hard time guessing what would happen next. The writing style itself is very good.
I think the story is set in modern times, but Britain is still a great empire that still rules the American colonies. This alternate history adds to the creativity of the story.
The scene where Bartimaeus meets Nathaniel again is just hilarious. So is the part where Bartimaeus finally meets Kitty, whom he admires when he learns she punched Nathaniel.
All in all, great characters and plot. I had a hard time guessing what would happen next. The writing style itself is very good.
November 2, 2016
螠喂伪 伪蟺蠈 蟿喂蟼 伪纬伪蟺畏渭苇谓蔚蟼 渭慰蠀 蟽蔚喂蟻苇蟼 - 蟺伪蟻伪渭蠉胃喂伪, 魏蠀蟻委蠅蟼 位蠈纬蠅 蟿慰蠀 尾喂蟿蟻喂慰位喂魏慰蠉 蠂喂慰蠉渭慰蟻 蟺慰蠀 蟿畏 未喂伪魏蟻委谓蔚喂. 螣 螔伪蟻蟿喂渭伪委慰蟼, 蟿慰 蟺蔚喂胃萎谓喂慰 蟿味委谓喂 (蟿慰 蟿喂 位苇蔚喂 伪蟺蠈 渭苇蟽伪 蟿慰蠀 蠈渭蠅蟼 蔚委谓伪喂 维位位慰蠀 蟺伪蟺维 蔚蠀伪纬纬苇位喂慰) 蔚委谓伪喂 伪蟺蠈 蟿慰蠀蟼 伪纬伪蟺畏渭苇谓慰蠀蟼 渭慰蠀 萎蟻蠅蔚蟼 - 魏伪蟻喂魏伪蟿慰蠉蟻蔚蟼 (蟺蠅 蟺蠅, 苇蟿蟽喂 魏伪喂 渭蔚 维魏慰蠀纬蔚 谓伪 蟿慰谓 位苇蠅 苇蟿蟽喂, 胃伪 蔚蟻蠂蠈蟿伪谓 伪蟺蠈 蟿慰 蠀蟺蔚蟻蟺苇蟻伪谓 渭蔚 蠈位蔚蟼 蟿喂蟼 未伪喂渭慰谓喂魏苇蟼 魏伪蟿维蟻蔚蟼 蟺慰蠀 萎尉蔚蟻蔚!!!)
螠蔚 维蟻蠅渭伪 伪谓伪蟿慰位萎蟼 魏伪喂 渭蔚蟽伪喂蠅谓喂魏萎蟼 蔚蠀蟻蠋蟺畏蟼, 苇谓伪 蟺伪蟻伪渭蠉胃喂 渭蔚 蟺慰位苇渭慰蠀蟼 渭维纬蠅谓 纬喂伪 渭喂魏蟻慰蠉蟼 魏伪喂 渭蔚纬维位慰蠀蟼 (蟺慰喂慰蠀蟼 渭喂魏蟻慰蠉蟼 未畏位伪未萎.. 喂蔚蟻伪蟻蠂萎蟽蟿蔚 蟿喂蟼 伪谓维纬魏蔚蟼 蟽伪蟼 渭蔚 蟿伪 蟺喂蟿蟽喂蟻委魏喂伪 魏伪喂 伪谓 纬魏蟻喂谓喂维味慰蠀谓 渭苇蠂蟻喂 谓伪 蟿蔚位蔚喂蠋蟽蔚蟿蔚 蔚蟽蔚委蟼 渭蔚 蟿慰 螔伪蟻蟿喂渭伪委慰 未蠋蟽蟿蔚 蟿慰蠀蟼 蟿慰 蟽蟺伪蟽委魏位伪!!)
螠蔚 维蟻蠅渭伪 伪谓伪蟿慰位萎蟼 魏伪喂 渭蔚蟽伪喂蠅谓喂魏萎蟼 蔚蠀蟻蠋蟺畏蟼, 苇谓伪 蟺伪蟻伪渭蠉胃喂 渭蔚 蟺慰位苇渭慰蠀蟼 渭维纬蠅谓 纬喂伪 渭喂魏蟻慰蠉蟼 魏伪喂 渭蔚纬维位慰蠀蟼 (蟺慰喂慰蠀蟼 渭喂魏蟻慰蠉蟼 未畏位伪未萎.. 喂蔚蟻伪蟻蠂萎蟽蟿蔚 蟿喂蟼 伪谓维纬魏蔚蟼 蟽伪蟼 渭蔚 蟿伪 蟺喂蟿蟽喂蟻委魏喂伪 魏伪喂 伪谓 纬魏蟻喂谓喂维味慰蠀谓 渭苇蠂蟻喂 谓伪 蟿蔚位蔚喂蠋蟽蔚蟿蔚 蔚蟽蔚委蟼 渭蔚 蟿慰 螔伪蟻蟿喂渭伪委慰 未蠋蟽蟿蔚 蟿慰蠀蟼 蟿慰 蟽蟺伪蟽委魏位伪!!)
September 20, 2022
Bartimaeus was gold. Loved Kitty's characterization and couldn't wait for her even more significant role in the final. Nathaniel was ridiculous and more a jerk than ever, but I found the development of this naive, lonely teenager kind of intriguing. Mythology element in the series needed more exposure and exploration, especially the history and inner working of the spirit various classes. Writer seriously needed to make less caricatures of the magicians. None of them was distinctive in any way. Sadly, the story in this sequel itself was less exciting, sort of predictable and dull.
October 26, 2019
袛褉褍谐邪 褔邪褋褌懈薪邪 薪械 谐褨褉褕邪 锌芯锌械褉械写薪褜芯褩. 啸芯褔邪 胁 薪褨泄 褦 写械泻褨谢褜泻邪 谐褉芯褌械褋泻薪懈褏 械锌褨蟹芯写褨胁, 蟹邪谐邪谢芯屑 褌械泻褋褌 锌褨写薪褨屑邪褦 胁邪卸谢懈胁褨褕褨 锌懈褌邪薪薪褟. 袧邪锌褉懈泻谢邪写, 锌褉芯 写芯褑褨谢褜薪褨褋褌褜 褌械褉芯褉懈蟹屑褍 写谢褟 写芯褋褟谐薪械薪薪褟 斜谢邪谐芯褉芯写薪懈褏 褑褨谢械泄. 袟胁褨褋薪芯, 褦 泄 褋褞卸械褌懈, 锌褉懈褌邪屑邪薪薪褨 young adult 谢褨褌械褉邪褌褍褉懈: 胁褨褉薪褨褋褌褜 褋胁芯褦屑褍 褋谢芯胁褍, 锌褨写褌褉懈屑泻邪 斜谢懈蟹褜泻懈褏 褌邪 褉褨写薪懈褏 褌芯褖芯.
小褌褉邪褍写 胁 褑褜芯屑褍 褌芯屑褍 褉芯蟹谐褍谢褟胁褋褟 - 褨 泻褉褨屑 褨褉芯薪褨褔薪芯-褋邪褉泻邪褋褌懈褔薪芯谐芯 袘邪褉褌褨屑械褍褋邪 蟹'褟胁懈胁褋褟 斜械蟹褍屑薪懈泄 袚芯薪芯褉褨泄! 袗谢械 卸芯写薪懈褏 褋锌芯泄谢械褉褨胁.
袣褉褨屑 褌芯谐芯, 褨薪褌褉懈谐邪 胁懈褟胁懈谢邪褋褟 斜褨谢褜褕 蟹邪泻褉褍褔械薪芯褞, 邪 褋褌懈谢褜... 袦褨褋褑褟屑懈 小褌褉邪褍写 锌懈褕械 锌械褉褕芯泻谢邪褋薪懈泄 谐芯褉芯褉! 携泻褉邪蟹 写芯 屑褨褋褑褟!
袙 褌械泻褋褌褨 锌褉芯胁懈褋邪褦 写械泻褨谢褜泻邪 锌懈褌邪薪褜, 邪谢械 屑邪褞 薪邪写褨褞, 褖芯 胁 褌褉械褌褜芯屑褍 褌芯屑褨 薪邪 薪懈褏 写邪写褍褌褜 胁褨写锌芯胁褨写褜!
携泻褖芯 卸 谐芯胁芯褉懈褌懈 锌褉芯 "褋胁褨褌 袘邪褉褌褨屑械褍褋邪", 褌芯 褟泻褖芯 泄 锌芯褉褨胁薪褞胁邪褌懈 泄芯谐芯 蟹 袚邪褉褉褨 袩芯褌褌械褉芯屑, 褌芯 褏褨斜邪 胁 褌邪泻芯屑褍 褎芯褉屑褍谢褞胁邪薪薪褨: "小芯褑褨芯谢芯谐褨褔薪邪 胁械褉褋褨褟 袚邪褉褉褨 袩芯褌褌械褉邪". 袩芯-锌械褉褕械, 小褌褉邪褍写 芯锌懈褋褍褦 泻谢邪褋芯胁械 (屑邪泄卸械 泻邪褋褌芯胁械) 褋褍褋锌褨谢褜褋褌胁芯, 写械 褔邪褉褨胁薪懈泻懈 屑邪褞褌褜 胁褋褞 胁谢邪写褍. 肖邪泻褌懈褔薪芯, 胁芯薪懈 薪械芯写胁芯褉褟薪懈, 褟泻褨 蟹薪械胁邪卸谢懈胁芯 褋褌邪胁谢褟褌褜褋褟 写芯 锌褉芯褋褌芯谢褞写褍. 袉 写褨泄褋薪芯, 褔芯屑褍 胁 袪芯褍谢褨薪覒 袙芯谢写械屑芯褉褌 褔懈 覑褉褨薪写械胁邪谢褜写 薪械 锌械褉械屑芯谐谢懈? 袩褉懈褉芯写薪邪 写芯斜褉芯褌邪 屑邪谐褨胁? Please! 袟邪谢褨蟹薪懈泄 蟹邪泻芯薪 芯谢褨谐邪褉褏褨褩 褌褍褌 胁褋械 锌芯褟褋薪褞褦.
袩芯-写褉褍谐械, 小褌褉邪褍写 褉芯斜懈褌褜 芯屑邪卸褨 袨褉胁械谢褍: 褔邪泻谢褍薪懈 胁褔邪褌褜 锌褉芯褋褌芯谢褞写 "锌褉邪胁懈谢褜薪褨泄" 褨褋褌芯褉褨褩, 锌褉芯褋褌芯谢褞写 褖械 泄 胁写褟褔薪懈泄 "锌邪褉褌褨褩" 蟹邪 褌械, 褖芯 褌褍褉斜褍褦褌褜褋褟 蟹邪 薪褜芯谐芯 褌芯褖芯.
袩芯-褌褉械褌褦, 小褌褉邪褍写 锌芯泻邪蟹褍褦, 褖芯 胁 褌邪泻懈褏 褍屑芯胁邪褏 褌芯褔薪芯 胁懈薪懈泻薪械 小锌褉芯褌懈胁 胁谢邪写褨 褔邪褉褨胁薪懈泻褨胁. 袗谢械 褟泻懈屑 胁褨薪 斜褍写械 胁 褍屑芯胁邪褏, 泻芯谢懈 胁褨写褋褍褌薪褟 褋胁芯斜芯写邪 蟹褨斜褉邪薪褜, 褌邪 泄 胁谢邪写邪 薪械 褦 写械屑芯泻褉邪褌懈褔薪芯褞, 邪 褋褌邪薪芯胁芯褞. 携褋薪邪 褉褨褔, 褖芯 胁芯薪懈 胁写邪写褍褌褜褋褟 写芯 褌械褉芯褉懈蟹屑褍 - 褟泻 薪邪褉芯写芯胁芯谢褜褑褨 胁 袪芯褋.褨屑锌械褉褨褩 啸袉啸 褋褌. 袉 蟹 褌邪泻懈屑懈 卸 褍褋锌褨褏邪屑懈. 孝芯斜褌芯 胁 锌谢邪薪褨 芯锌懈褋褍 褋芯褑褨邪谢褜薪懈褏 褉械邪谢褨泄 小褌褉邪褍写 屑邪褦 褑褨谢泻芯屑 锌褉芯写褍屑邪薪褍 泻芯薪褑械锌褑褨褞. 袉 褏芯褔邪 胁芯薪邪 邪卸 薪褨褟泻 薪械 褦 锌褉懈褦屑薪芯褞, 邪谢械 胁懈谐谢褟写邪褦 褑褨谢泻芯屑 锌褉邪胁写芯锌芯写褨斜薪芯褞. 孝懈屑 褑褨泻邪胁褨褕械 褋褌械卸懈褌懈, 褟泻 谐械褉芯褩 薪械 锌褉芯褋褌芯 褉芯蟹谐邪写褍褞褌褜 褌邪褦屑薪褨 蟹屑芯胁懈, 邪谢械 泄 褦 屑邪褉褨芯薪械褌泻邪屑懈 褋芯褑褨邪谢褜薪懈褏 褋懈谢. 孝芯屑褍 褑械 褎械薪褌械蟹褨 褖械 泄 写褍卸械 褋芯褑褨芯谢芯谐褨褔薪械 - 褨 蟹屑褍褕褍褦 写褍屑邪褌懈 褨 锌褉芯 褋褍褔邪褋薪懈泄 褋胁褨褌!
袩.小. 邪 芯褌 褍泻褉邪褩薪褋褜泻懈泄 锌械褉械泻谢邪写 薪械 胁械谢褜屑懈... 袙褨写褋褍褌薪褨褋褌褜 谢褨褌械褉邪褌褍褉薪芯谐芯 褉械写邪泻褌芯褉邪 写邪褦褌褜褋褟 胁蟹薪邪泻懈, 斜芯 锌械褉械泻谢邪写邪褔 褔邪褋褌芯 胁写邪褦褌褜褋褟 写芯 褉褍褋懈蟹屑褨胁, 褌邪胁褌芯谢芯谐褨泄, 邪 写械泻芯谢懈 褨 锌褉芯褋褌芯 锌芯屑懈谢芯泻 (锌谢褍褌邪褦 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸褨胁). 袉 褌邪泻, 芯褎褨褑褨泄薪芯 褌褍褌, 褟泻 褨 胁 锌芯锌械褉械写薪褜芯屑褍 褌芯屑褨, 薪械屑邪褦 谢褨褌褉械写邪泻褌芯褉邪
小褌褉邪褍写 胁 褑褜芯屑褍 褌芯屑褍 褉芯蟹谐褍谢褟胁褋褟 - 褨 泻褉褨屑 褨褉芯薪褨褔薪芯-褋邪褉泻邪褋褌懈褔薪芯谐芯 袘邪褉褌褨屑械褍褋邪 蟹'褟胁懈胁褋褟 斜械蟹褍屑薪懈泄 袚芯薪芯褉褨泄! 袗谢械 卸芯写薪懈褏 褋锌芯泄谢械褉褨胁.
袣褉褨屑 褌芯谐芯, 褨薪褌褉懈谐邪 胁懈褟胁懈谢邪褋褟 斜褨谢褜褕 蟹邪泻褉褍褔械薪芯褞, 邪 褋褌懈谢褜... 袦褨褋褑褟屑懈 小褌褉邪褍写 锌懈褕械 锌械褉褕芯泻谢邪褋薪懈泄 谐芯褉芯褉! 携泻褉邪蟹 写芯 屑褨褋褑褟!
袙 褌械泻褋褌褨 锌褉芯胁懈褋邪褦 写械泻褨谢褜泻邪 锌懈褌邪薪褜, 邪谢械 屑邪褞 薪邪写褨褞, 褖芯 胁 褌褉械褌褜芯屑褍 褌芯屑褨 薪邪 薪懈褏 写邪写褍褌褜 胁褨写锌芯胁褨写褜!
携泻褖芯 卸 谐芯胁芯褉懈褌懈 锌褉芯 "褋胁褨褌 袘邪褉褌褨屑械褍褋邪", 褌芯 褟泻褖芯 泄 锌芯褉褨胁薪褞胁邪褌懈 泄芯谐芯 蟹 袚邪褉褉褨 袩芯褌褌械褉芯屑, 褌芯 褏褨斜邪 胁 褌邪泻芯屑褍 褎芯褉屑褍谢褞胁邪薪薪褨: "小芯褑褨芯谢芯谐褨褔薪邪 胁械褉褋褨褟 袚邪褉褉褨 袩芯褌褌械褉邪". 袩芯-锌械褉褕械, 小褌褉邪褍写 芯锌懈褋褍褦 泻谢邪褋芯胁械 (屑邪泄卸械 泻邪褋褌芯胁械) 褋褍褋锌褨谢褜褋褌胁芯, 写械 褔邪褉褨胁薪懈泻懈 屑邪褞褌褜 胁褋褞 胁谢邪写褍. 肖邪泻褌懈褔薪芯, 胁芯薪懈 薪械芯写胁芯褉褟薪懈, 褟泻褨 蟹薪械胁邪卸谢懈胁芯 褋褌邪胁谢褟褌褜褋褟 写芯 锌褉芯褋褌芯谢褞写褍. 袉 写褨泄褋薪芯, 褔芯屑褍 胁 袪芯褍谢褨薪覒 袙芯谢写械屑芯褉褌 褔懈 覑褉褨薪写械胁邪谢褜写 薪械 锌械褉械屑芯谐谢懈? 袩褉懈褉芯写薪邪 写芯斜褉芯褌邪 屑邪谐褨胁? Please! 袟邪谢褨蟹薪懈泄 蟹邪泻芯薪 芯谢褨谐邪褉褏褨褩 褌褍褌 胁褋械 锌芯褟褋薪褞褦.
袩芯-写褉褍谐械, 小褌褉邪褍写 褉芯斜懈褌褜 芯屑邪卸褨 袨褉胁械谢褍: 褔邪泻谢褍薪懈 胁褔邪褌褜 锌褉芯褋褌芯谢褞写 "锌褉邪胁懈谢褜薪褨泄" 褨褋褌芯褉褨褩, 锌褉芯褋褌芯谢褞写 褖械 泄 胁写褟褔薪懈泄 "锌邪褉褌褨褩" 蟹邪 褌械, 褖芯 褌褍褉斜褍褦褌褜褋褟 蟹邪 薪褜芯谐芯 褌芯褖芯.
袩芯-褌褉械褌褦, 小褌褉邪褍写 锌芯泻邪蟹褍褦, 褖芯 胁 褌邪泻懈褏 褍屑芯胁邪褏 褌芯褔薪芯 胁懈薪懈泻薪械 小锌褉芯褌懈胁 胁谢邪写褨 褔邪褉褨胁薪懈泻褨胁. 袗谢械 褟泻懈屑 胁褨薪 斜褍写械 胁 褍屑芯胁邪褏, 泻芯谢懈 胁褨写褋褍褌薪褟 褋胁芯斜芯写邪 蟹褨斜褉邪薪褜, 褌邪 泄 胁谢邪写邪 薪械 褦 写械屑芯泻褉邪褌懈褔薪芯褞, 邪 褋褌邪薪芯胁芯褞. 携褋薪邪 褉褨褔, 褖芯 胁芯薪懈 胁写邪写褍褌褜褋褟 写芯 褌械褉芯褉懈蟹屑褍 - 褟泻 薪邪褉芯写芯胁芯谢褜褑褨 胁 袪芯褋.褨屑锌械褉褨褩 啸袉啸 褋褌. 袉 蟹 褌邪泻懈屑懈 卸 褍褋锌褨褏邪屑懈. 孝芯斜褌芯 胁 锌谢邪薪褨 芯锌懈褋褍 褋芯褑褨邪谢褜薪懈褏 褉械邪谢褨泄 小褌褉邪褍写 屑邪褦 褑褨谢泻芯屑 锌褉芯写褍屑邪薪褍 泻芯薪褑械锌褑褨褞. 袉 褏芯褔邪 胁芯薪邪 邪卸 薪褨褟泻 薪械 褦 锌褉懈褦屑薪芯褞, 邪谢械 胁懈谐谢褟写邪褦 褑褨谢泻芯屑 锌褉邪胁写芯锌芯写褨斜薪芯褞. 孝懈屑 褑褨泻邪胁褨褕械 褋褌械卸懈褌懈, 褟泻 谐械褉芯褩 薪械 锌褉芯褋褌芯 褉芯蟹谐邪写褍褞褌褜 褌邪褦屑薪褨 蟹屑芯胁懈, 邪谢械 泄 褦 屑邪褉褨芯薪械褌泻邪屑懈 褋芯褑褨邪谢褜薪懈褏 褋懈谢. 孝芯屑褍 褑械 褎械薪褌械蟹褨 褖械 泄 写褍卸械 褋芯褑褨芯谢芯谐褨褔薪械 - 褨 蟹屑褍褕褍褦 写褍屑邪褌懈 褨 锌褉芯 褋褍褔邪褋薪懈泄 褋胁褨褌!
袩.小. 邪 芯褌 褍泻褉邪褩薪褋褜泻懈泄 锌械褉械泻谢邪写 薪械 胁械谢褜屑懈... 袙褨写褋褍褌薪褨褋褌褜 谢褨褌械褉邪褌褍褉薪芯谐芯 褉械写邪泻褌芯褉邪 写邪褦褌褜褋褟 胁蟹薪邪泻懈, 斜芯 锌械褉械泻谢邪写邪褔 褔邪褋褌芯 胁写邪褦褌褜褋褟 写芯 褉褍褋懈蟹屑褨胁, 褌邪胁褌芯谢芯谐褨泄, 邪 写械泻芯谢懈 褨 锌褉芯褋褌芯 锌芯屑懈谢芯泻 (锌谢褍褌邪褦 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸褨胁). 袉 褌邪泻, 芯褎褨褑褨泄薪芯 褌褍褌, 褟泻 褨 胁 锌芯锌械褉械写薪褜芯屑褍 褌芯屑褨, 薪械屑邪褦 谢褨褌褉械写邪泻褌芯褉邪
July 15, 2010
3.5 stars. Bartimaeus is a great character and this is a fast, fun read. That said, I didn't like this installment as much as the first book in the series, , which I thought was fantastic. My reasons are: (1) I thought Nathaniel (aka John Mandrake) was pretty annoying much of the time and sometimes downright unlikeable; (2) I didn't think the author expanded enough on the mythology underlying the story (i.e., the magic system, the histories and powers of the various classes of demons) which I think is very interesting; and (3) I didn't think the scope of the plot was as big or engaging as in the first novel.
Criticism aside, the story is well-written and Bartimaeus, when he is on page, is a ton of fun. I will certainly read the last book in the trilogy and hope that it resembles book 1 more than book 2.
Winner: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for YA Novel
Nominee: Locus Award for YA Fantasy Novel
Criticism aside, the story is well-written and Bartimaeus, when he is on page, is a ton of fun. I will certainly read the last book in the trilogy and hope that it resembles book 1 more than book 2.
Winner: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for YA Novel
Nominee: Locus Award for YA Fantasy Novel
September 16, 2010
THE AMULET OF SAMARKAND & THE GOLEM'S EYE BY JONATHAN STROUD: So I met Jonathan Stroud last Friday, author of the Bartimaeus triology, of which the first two are out: "The Amulet of Samarkand" and "The Golem's Eye." He came to the bookstore I work at in Petaluma, Copperfield's, and was pretty entertaining. He was the classic English guy writing about a doomed England of magic and magicians and the regular people known as "commoners": average English accent from near London area with some clipped Cockney when speaking, but when reading clear, upper class southern England accent; a very ordinary looking guy in a t-shirt and slacks, totally unassuming and seemingly unaware that he's a big famous author who's growing and growing in notoriety.
I was talking to him about how I really liked that in his fantasy books involving magicians being separate and higher in social stature than ordinary people like you and me, Stroud pays more attention to what is happening socially with the paradigm, than just telling a story about a hot-shot wizard doing great things. And he seemed happy to know that I had spotted this in his books. That they took a different direction to most of the kids fantasy books out today involving the Harry Potter character, which has now practically become an archetype.
In the world of the Bartimaeus triolgy, magicians don't actually have that much power. They have all their control and magic from summoning djinn from another world and using them to do magical things, and all the summoning of imps, djinn, and higher level afrits is done through reading incantations from books. So in this world, the magicians really don't have that much power. The magicians control the entire government from Parliament to the prime minister.
And then you have the ordinary people, the "commoners" who are a subjugated people who work in factories and any and all jobs that involve labor. And are meek and always do as they are told, and it comes off as an almost Orwellian distopia. Except there are a few that somehow possess some ability to take attacks from magicians and djinn and not be killed by them and that they are able to see on multiple planes. There are seven planes, humans can only see on the first, and magicians with the aid of lenses can see the first three, while the djinn and afrits are on all seven planes. And this group are known as the "Resistance," as they try to overthrow the magicians and take back control of the country.
And then there's the nebulous rest of Europe in which you have the east consisting mainly of the Czechs who are warring against the English and have been for a long time, but are now at truce.
So it's a very interesting world with lots going on instead of just some tough wizard kid fighting a bad guy. I recommend it to all who want to read a different kind of fantasy.
For more reviews, and author interviews, go to
I was talking to him about how I really liked that in his fantasy books involving magicians being separate and higher in social stature than ordinary people like you and me, Stroud pays more attention to what is happening socially with the paradigm, than just telling a story about a hot-shot wizard doing great things. And he seemed happy to know that I had spotted this in his books. That they took a different direction to most of the kids fantasy books out today involving the Harry Potter character, which has now practically become an archetype.
In the world of the Bartimaeus triolgy, magicians don't actually have that much power. They have all their control and magic from summoning djinn from another world and using them to do magical things, and all the summoning of imps, djinn, and higher level afrits is done through reading incantations from books. So in this world, the magicians really don't have that much power. The magicians control the entire government from Parliament to the prime minister.
And then you have the ordinary people, the "commoners" who are a subjugated people who work in factories and any and all jobs that involve labor. And are meek and always do as they are told, and it comes off as an almost Orwellian distopia. Except there are a few that somehow possess some ability to take attacks from magicians and djinn and not be killed by them and that they are able to see on multiple planes. There are seven planes, humans can only see on the first, and magicians with the aid of lenses can see the first three, while the djinn and afrits are on all seven planes. And this group are known as the "Resistance," as they try to overthrow the magicians and take back control of the country.
And then there's the nebulous rest of Europe in which you have the east consisting mainly of the Czechs who are warring against the English and have been for a long time, but are now at truce.
So it's a very interesting world with lots going on instead of just some tough wizard kid fighting a bad guy. I recommend it to all who want to read a different kind of fantasy.
For more reviews, and author interviews, go to
March 27, 2011
I am so disappointed in Nathaniel. I really am. I just miss the little boy from the first book so much. I have a feeling that he's the necessary collateral damage from the society that he lives in, and I guess that I can understand that not all of the good guys stay good and vice versa, but I really am sad that it had to end in this way.
Well, not end, there is still one more book to go before the ending of this story, but the end of this particular one. I really don't know what is going to happen next, and somehow I don't even want to find out. Whan you get your hopes up this low, I really don't see how they can get back up. But, aside from my sligh negative feelings about Nathaniel, I still think that this is really a book worth reading.
Maybe it's not for little children, like I thought so for the first one, because it deals with slightly subtler and not-as-refined human emotions. I don't believe that this series could actually ever have a happily-ever-after by the fairy tale standards, I believe that the ending was as happy as it could get in the given time. And I have to say that Stroud really made a marvelous job when it comes to the subtlety in this book.
The story is fascinating. Searching for the golem's eye was very interesting from both Bartimaeus' and Kitty's point of view, and their struggles and their small meeting really left me feeling nice. I don't believe any book ever had that nice feeling attached to it. But still, it was pretty dampened by Nathaniel's behavior, because I got really attached to him in th first book. I only hope that everything will be resolved in the next one.
Well, not end, there is still one more book to go before the ending of this story, but the end of this particular one. I really don't know what is going to happen next, and somehow I don't even want to find out. Whan you get your hopes up this low, I really don't see how they can get back up. But, aside from my sligh negative feelings about Nathaniel, I still think that this is really a book worth reading.
Maybe it's not for little children, like I thought so for the first one, because it deals with slightly subtler and not-as-refined human emotions. I don't believe that this series could actually ever have a happily-ever-after by the fairy tale standards, I believe that the ending was as happy as it could get in the given time. And I have to say that Stroud really made a marvelous job when it comes to the subtlety in this book.
The story is fascinating. Searching for the golem's eye was very interesting from both Bartimaeus' and Kitty's point of view, and their struggles and their small meeting really left me feeling nice. I don't believe any book ever had that nice feeling attached to it. But still, it was pretty dampened by Nathaniel's behavior, because I got really attached to him in th first book. I only hope that everything will be resolved in the next one.
July 1, 2017
丕诏賴 賲丿乇爻賴 賲丨賱 鬲丨氐蹖賱 賳亘賵丿 亘丕 蹖賴 賳賮乇蹖賳 亘乇 賲丿乇爻賴 卮乇賵毓 賲蹖讴乇丿賲
賵賱蹖 丕夭 丨賯 賳诏匕乇蹖賲 鬲賲賵賲 讴乇丿賳 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 貙 丕賵賳賲 亘毓丿 丕夭 丕鬲賲丕賲 賲丿乇爻賴 貙 賵賯鬲蹖 讴賴 鬲丕亘爻鬲賵賳 鬲丕夭賴 卮乇賵毓 卮丿賴 貙 丨爻 賲丨卮乇蹖賴 . 禺蹖賱蹖 禺蹖賱蹖 丕夭 噩丕賳丕鬲丕賳 丕爻鬲乇賵丿 賲賲賳賵賳賲 賵 丕夭 夭賵乇 讴賳噩讴丕賵蹖 噩賱丿 亘毓丿 賳賲蹖丿賵賳賲 趩蹖 亘诏賲 (丕賱亘鬲賴 禺蹖賱蹖 賵賯鬲 賴賲 賴爻鬲 讴賴 乇蹖賵蹖賵 賳匕丕卮鬲賲 蹖丕丿賲 乇賮鬲賴 趩蹖 亘賳賵蹖爻賲) 禺賱丕氐賴 讴賴 貙 鬲丕 乇蹖賵蹖賵 亘毓丿蹖 亘丿乇賵丿
賵賱蹖 丕夭 丨賯 賳诏匕乇蹖賲 鬲賲賵賲 讴乇丿賳 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 貙 丕賵賳賲 亘毓丿 丕夭 丕鬲賲丕賲 賲丿乇爻賴 貙 賵賯鬲蹖 讴賴 鬲丕亘爻鬲賵賳 鬲丕夭賴 卮乇賵毓 卮丿賴 貙 丨爻 賲丨卮乇蹖賴 . 禺蹖賱蹖 禺蹖賱蹖 丕夭 噩丕賳丕鬲丕賳 丕爻鬲乇賵丿 賲賲賳賵賳賲 賵 丕夭 夭賵乇 讴賳噩讴丕賵蹖 噩賱丿 亘毓丿 賳賲蹖丿賵賳賲 趩蹖 亘诏賲 (丕賱亘鬲賴 禺蹖賱蹖 賵賯鬲 賴賲 賴爻鬲 讴賴 乇蹖賵蹖賵 賳匕丕卮鬲賲 蹖丕丿賲 乇賮鬲賴 趩蹖 亘賳賵蹖爻賲) 禺賱丕氐賴 讴賴 貙 鬲丕 乇蹖賵蹖賵 亘毓丿蹖 亘丿乇賵丿
October 29, 2019
I didn't enjoy the sequel as much as I would've liked to.
The Golem's Eye picks up a few years after The Eye of Samarkand. Nathaniel John Mandrake has gone from an ambitious wizard with some redeeming qualities to a pompous jerk (think Percy Weasly here!). I was never a big fan of Nathaniel in the first book, I really didn't like him in this one. However, I liked it that Bartimaeus nicely foiled with Nathaniel and found their scenes together absolutely hilarious. Also, adored Bartimaeus's footnotes. Meanwhile, we get newcomer, Kathleen "Kitty" Jones, who's on my list of top 10 best female protagonists. What I liked about her is that she's not the type of character you're supposed to root for but you do it anyway.
In The Golem's Eye, Nathaniel has been appointed the task to stop the resistance movement who's been terrorizing the magician community while simultaneously solving a case regarding a mysterious creature also attacking London. But Nathaniel can't do this alone, leading to him summoning his good ole chum, Bartimaeus- the snarky, sarcastic djinni we all know and love. Yet, Bartimaeus has very little interest in helping magicians resulting in plenty of confrontation with a side of comical footnotes. Meanwhile, Kitty is plotting revenge to destroy the man who ruined her reputation with help from her Resistance group and wreaking havoc upon London.
The plot seemed to drag on and on, however, things started to come together in the second half so that was a plus. However, I didn't really care for the plot so much regardless- this was a very character driven book for me and I was just there for Kitty and Bartimaeus the whole time.
Overall, not a bad sequel. I'll probably wind up reading the third book when my TBR stack gets shorter.
The Golem's Eye picks up a few years after The Eye of Samarkand.
In The Golem's Eye, Nathaniel has been appointed the task to stop the resistance movement who's been terrorizing the magician community while simultaneously solving a case regarding a mysterious creature also attacking London. But Nathaniel can't do this alone, leading to him summoning his good ole chum, Bartimaeus- the snarky, sarcastic djinni we all know and love. Yet, Bartimaeus has very little interest in helping magicians resulting in plenty of confrontation with a side of comical footnotes. Meanwhile, Kitty is plotting revenge to destroy the man who ruined her reputation with help from her Resistance group and wreaking havoc upon London.
The plot seemed to drag on and on, however, things started to come together in the second half so that was a plus. However, I didn't really care for the plot so much regardless- this was a very character driven book for me and I was just there for Kitty and Bartimaeus the whole time.
Overall, not a bad sequel. I'll probably wind up reading the third book when my TBR stack gets shorter.
December 20, 2020
Bueno, bueno. Volvemos a Londres con el (incre铆ble) Bartimeo, el ya adolescente Nathaniel y, adem谩s, conociendo m谩s a fondo a un nuevo personaje que ha resultado ser toda una sorpresa...
Pero voy a ir un poco por partes: Jonathan Stroud ha demostrado una vez m谩s su habilidad escribiendo y creando personajes muy carism谩ticos. En serio, adoro a Bartimeo con todo mi coraz贸n, se ha vuelto de mis personajes literarios favoritos. Y si bien el plato fuerte se lo lleva este genio, Nathaniel me gusta mucho tambi茅n como lo ha desarrollado el autor.
Pero... el personaje "nuevo" que coge protagonismo... lo siento demasiado plano compar谩ndolo incluso con Nathaniel. Aunque se nota que el autor lo intenta, para m铆 no brilla en absoluto de ninguna manera y siento que es un engranaje que ha cobrado un poco m谩s de importancia pero solo sirve para que la trama contin煤e. No lo he sentido "vivo" como pasa con el d煤o Nathaniel y Bartimeo.
La historia que se presenta unos a帽os despu茅s de los acontecimientos del primer libro me parece muy interesante e incluso supera a su predecesor con algunos momentos MUY buenos, de los que m谩s emoci贸n he sentido no solo con esta trilog铆a, sino en toda mi vida como lectora... sin embargo para m铆 pegaba altibajos al llegar a los cap铆tulos (que no son pocos en la primera mitad del libro) del mencionado nuevo personaje (no quiero desvelar el nombre para quien no haya le铆do el libro y fastidiar la sorpresa). Salvo en un par de casos puntuales, deseaba que acabara su parte para volver con Bartimeo o Nathaniel.
Por estos motivos no me siento conforme en puntuar al libro con 5 estrellas (y ojo, a煤n as铆 podr铆a merecerlas) PERO ha conseguido no solo que quiera terminar esta fant谩stica trilog铆a sino que quiera leer m谩s del autor.
Y eso, queridos amigos, es por algo.
Pero voy a ir un poco por partes: Jonathan Stroud ha demostrado una vez m谩s su habilidad escribiendo y creando personajes muy carism谩ticos. En serio, adoro a Bartimeo con todo mi coraz贸n, se ha vuelto de mis personajes literarios favoritos. Y si bien el plato fuerte se lo lleva este genio, Nathaniel me gusta mucho tambi茅n como lo ha desarrollado el autor.
Pero... el personaje "nuevo" que coge protagonismo... lo siento demasiado plano compar谩ndolo incluso con Nathaniel. Aunque se nota que el autor lo intenta, para m铆 no brilla en absoluto de ninguna manera y siento que es un engranaje que ha cobrado un poco m谩s de importancia pero solo sirve para que la trama contin煤e. No lo he sentido "vivo" como pasa con el d煤o Nathaniel y Bartimeo.
La historia que se presenta unos a帽os despu茅s de los acontecimientos del primer libro me parece muy interesante e incluso supera a su predecesor con algunos momentos MUY buenos, de los que m谩s emoci贸n he sentido no solo con esta trilog铆a, sino en toda mi vida como lectora... sin embargo para m铆 pegaba altibajos al llegar a los cap铆tulos (que no son pocos en la primera mitad del libro) del mencionado nuevo personaje (no quiero desvelar el nombre para quien no haya le铆do el libro y fastidiar la sorpresa). Salvo en un par de casos puntuales, deseaba que acabara su parte para volver con Bartimeo o Nathaniel.
Por estos motivos no me siento conforme en puntuar al libro con 5 estrellas (y ojo, a煤n as铆 podr铆a merecerlas) PERO ha conseguido no solo que quiera terminar esta fant谩stica trilog铆a sino que quiera leer m谩s del autor.
Y eso, queridos amigos, es por algo.
December 15, 2011
I really like this book series so far: Its definitely been one of the better things I have read recently. Its consistently entertaining, light in tone, and populated with memorable characters. The plot moves swiftly, and although there are definitely some borrowed elements, I think Stroud manages to be innovative within certain bounds. I was constantly entertained, and I really loved the snarky djinni. I also loved that they added a sympathetic character in this one. Kitty was wonderful. She was clever, strong, and brave. I think Stroud was smart to wait to introduce her in this volume, because it felt like I was finally getting the other side of the story that until this point I had only heard from Nathaniel鈥檚 perspective. It was good to see through a commoner鈥檚 eyes how the magicians affect and control the populace, and how their rule is not necessarily beneficial. This was hinted at before, and Bartimaeus certainly believes this, but it was good to get a clear view of the manipulation that is perpetrated by those in power.
I really love Bartimaeus: I just really love how snarky and funny he was. It kept the tone of the book light, and its nice to read a book that isn鈥檛 steeped in how seriously it takes itself. I really liked the footnotes, as it felt like a callback to Jasper Fforde to me (another book series I liked).
Recommend: Definitely. Its an entertaining read.
I really love Bartimaeus: I just really love how snarky and funny he was. It kept the tone of the book light, and its nice to read a book that isn鈥檛 steeped in how seriously it takes itself. I really liked the footnotes, as it felt like a callback to Jasper Fforde to me (another book series I liked).
Recommend: Definitely. Its an entertaining read.
March 31, 2011
I had mixed feelings about this one. As usual it took awhile to get going, but would have been worth it if the story had flowed a bit more. The plotlines, although neatly wrapped up in the end, felt awkward mixed together. It made sense until the entrance of Honorius the afrit. Emotionally, even though I have MAD respect for believable characters who act like real humans (i.e flawed), it was hard to watch Pennyfeather and his selfishly stupid and inept Resistance movement. And even though Kitty turns out to be undeniably awesome, getting through each of her chapters was a chore, and not very enjoyable, except where they concerned Bartimeaus. As usual, he was the most wonderful thing about the story (I'm sure he'd agree). On the other hand, the introduction of the golem was extremely cool, and the Czech sidelines ... it just got tainted with the whole bit about the Staff and all the political squabbling. Bleh. :-P Still, I am somewhat looking forward to the third, though I imagine it too will be hard to read, since already at the outset, Bartimeaus is suffering. :-( *sigh. 2.5 stars for this one Stroud. Please don't disappoint me again.
March 13, 2022
I love how nuanced all the characters are. They work with what they know and the assumptions they've made, about themselves and others, and their blindspots are understandable and human.
Nathaniel is still behaving like an arrogant idiot, which tracks, since he believes he's very clever and very talented in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, and Kitty has had her eyes opened to the reality of her situation and the way Bartimaeus and other beings are treated. I don't quite remember how the third book went because it's been around 15 years since I last read it, so I'm looking forward to finding out what Stroud does.
Nathaniel is still behaving like an arrogant idiot, which tracks, since he believes he's very clever and very talented in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, and Kitty has had her eyes opened to the reality of her situation and the way Bartimaeus and other beings are treated. I don't quite remember how the third book went because it's been around 15 years since I last read it, so I'm looking forward to finding out what Stroud does.
July 2, 2020
袣薪懈谐邪 胁写邪谢芯 锌芯褌褉邪锌懈谢邪 锌褨写 薪邪褋褌褉褨泄.
笑褨泻邪胁芯 褨 蟹邪褏芯锌谢懈胁芯.
小锌芯写芯斜邪谢邪褋褟 斜褨谢褜褕械 薪褨卸 锌械褉褕邪 褔邪褋褌懈薪邪.
笑褨泻邪胁芯 褨 蟹邪褏芯锌谢懈胁芯.
小锌芯写芯斜邪谢邪褋褟 斜褨谢褜褕械 薪褨卸 锌械褉褕邪 褔邪褋褌懈薪邪.
January 18, 2019
I read the first book in this series a couple of years ago and liked it, but I never got around to finishing the series. Probably should have read it closer together . . .
This was a perfectly serviceable follow up to The Amulet of Samarkand, and honestly I think my 鈥榤eh鈥� reaction to it is mostly on me. The only real criticism I have of the book is that it was too long. This is supposed to be children鈥檚/middle grade book, and it鈥檚 562 pages with pretty small font. I suppose that wouldn鈥檛 matter (coughHarryPottercough) if I were engaged with it, but it just felt like too much. I could have cut 50-100 pages off this thing, easy.
This takes place a couple of years after the last one. Nathaniel is rising in the ranks of the government, and he is still serving as an apprentice to one of the government higher ups. It鈥檚 a pretty toxic environment. Then a mysterious and extremely dangerous magical entity starts destroying magical landmarks and tourist traps, and Nathaniel is tasked with bringing the culprit to justice. Of course, he enlists the 鈥渉elp鈥� of Bartimaeus, and Bartimaeus is not happy about that. The beast turns out to be a golem, and they have to find out who put it together. Meanwhile, we also get a new POV this book, that of Kitty, a young member of the Resistance. We get her backstory, which explains about the Resistance as well, and her storyline begins to entwine with Bartimaeus鈥檚 and Nathaniel鈥檚.
There鈥檚 a lot of really interesting stuff in here about systems of oppression and treasure hunts and miscarriages of justice and trips to ancient magical cities, but I had the hardest time getting through it, for no discernible reason. Bartimaeus is still a fun narrator. I still find it intriguing that our protagonist is so very flawed. I liked the addition of Kitty to the story. The golem was scary. I think it might just be wrong book, wrong time, and I may try again later. Unfortunately, I鈥檓 now reading the third and last book, so hopefully that goes better . . .
[3.5 stars]
This was a perfectly serviceable follow up to The Amulet of Samarkand, and honestly I think my 鈥榤eh鈥� reaction to it is mostly on me. The only real criticism I have of the book is that it was too long. This is supposed to be children鈥檚/middle grade book, and it鈥檚 562 pages with pretty small font. I suppose that wouldn鈥檛 matter (coughHarryPottercough) if I were engaged with it, but it just felt like too much. I could have cut 50-100 pages off this thing, easy.
This takes place a couple of years after the last one. Nathaniel is rising in the ranks of the government, and he is still serving as an apprentice to one of the government higher ups. It鈥檚 a pretty toxic environment. Then a mysterious and extremely dangerous magical entity starts destroying magical landmarks and tourist traps, and Nathaniel is tasked with bringing the culprit to justice. Of course, he enlists the 鈥渉elp鈥� of Bartimaeus, and Bartimaeus is not happy about that. The beast turns out to be a golem, and they have to find out who put it together. Meanwhile, we also get a new POV this book, that of Kitty, a young member of the Resistance. We get her backstory, which explains about the Resistance as well, and her storyline begins to entwine with Bartimaeus鈥檚 and Nathaniel鈥檚.
There鈥檚 a lot of really interesting stuff in here about systems of oppression and treasure hunts and miscarriages of justice and trips to ancient magical cities, but I had the hardest time getting through it, for no discernible reason. Bartimaeus is still a fun narrator. I still find it intriguing that our protagonist is so very flawed. I liked the addition of Kitty to the story. The golem was scary. I think it might just be wrong book, wrong time, and I may try again later. Unfortunately, I鈥檓 now reading the third and last book, so hopefully that goes better . . .
[3.5 stars]
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