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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book took me a long time to get into and in the end, despite finishing it, just wasn't for me. The plot had potential, but the characters felt very one-dimensional and it fell flat for me. Even though Bartimaeus is the narrator, in order to incorporate Nathaniel's perspective the whole book felt like it was told in third person. The perspective of Bartimaeus, the djinn, included far too many footnotes, which I find extremely annoying. The footnotes were jarring and disruptive to the narrative, at times taking up half the page, and were not well incorporated. I will not be continuing on with this trilogy and would be hesitant to recommend it.
I have read this book (and trilogy) over and over again since I first discovered it years ago. If you love magic and sarcasm this series will be everything you want in life. Absolutely love it.
This books is just full of my personal genre kryptonite: Demons? Yes! Djinn? Yes please! A sarcastic narrator with total disregard for the fourth wall? Sign me up!
The comparisons to Harry Potter are pretty apparent from the outset, but I think all boy magicians will be held to the Harry Potter standard, and this novel really stands out on its own. For one I think this book is proof that you don't have to like the characters to like the books. Nathaniel is basically the worst, he makes terrible decisions and does terrible things and is kind of a brat, BUT I think that's what makes it an interesting book. It's interesting to see how a character who is surrounded by terrible people makes bad choices and how he handles the crummy set of cards he was dealt.
Bartimaeus is also kind of despicable, but so funny and I really enjoyed his chapters. The character has a very unique and sardonic voice that I really enjoyed.
The comparisons to Harry Potter are pretty apparent from the outset, but I think all boy magicians will be held to the Harry Potter standard, and this novel really stands out on its own. For one I think this book is proof that you don't have to like the characters to like the books. Nathaniel is basically the worst, he makes terrible decisions and does terrible things and is kind of a brat, BUT I think that's what makes it an interesting book. It's interesting to see how a character who is surrounded by terrible people makes bad choices and how he handles the crummy set of cards he was dealt.
Bartimaeus is also kind of despicable, but so funny and I really enjoyed his chapters. The character has a very unique and sardonic voice that I really enjoyed.
Terrific. Intend to reread someday soon. Stroud is a near-genius at this stuff.
It is the first novel in the Bartimaeus Trilogy. Nathaniel is a magician-in-training and is apprenticed to a stodgy old magician who doesn't appreciate his talents. Nathaniel decides to summon a demon to get revenge on the ruthless magician Simon Lovelace. The demon he summons is Bartimaeus, who is quite full of himself. The story switches between Nathaniel's and Bartimaeus' point of view. It is a thrilling read and will be fun for fantasy lovers of all ages.
Thoroughly enjoyable! I wasn't sure that I would ever grow to feel sympathy for Nathaniel or an interest in seeing him succeed, but was very happy to be brought over to his side by Stroud's funny, insightful narrative. The setting is very interesting: it grapples with a lot of the questions of power and institutional corruption that Harry Potter hints at but never fully engages. It tells the story of the powerful while firmly on the side of the powerless, though at this point we're only seeing hints of what I assume will be the real struggle for justice. I am intrigued and will certainly be reading the following books.
This is some great world-building and genuinely funny dialogue. It is clever and engaging and once the middle hits, you won't want to stop. Although the middle is interesting, it also hits a strange point. I found myself waiting for the main character, Nathaniel, to do something, but found that it was a lot of waiting for the grand finale. But maybe the issue is that Nathaniel isn't the main character. I also found there were a few threads that were never explained. It seems like it was building up to something but never did. Maybe it'll be explained in the later books. The ending was great and I stayed up late finishing it. Would recommend.
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated