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obviousthings's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I first read this as a kid, & it holds up fairly well. The story is notably well-constructed - nothing is ever made easy for the characters, and from what I remember of the rest of the trilogy, some future character development is foreshadowed in this book. There's a bit of a magical heist element to the story, which is fun, & the footnotes are very funny. I'm not usually one for audiobooks, but I enjoyed Simon Jones's reading of it, and I thought his acting was quite good (and the footnotes are kept in, don't worry).
I would like to note, though, that the way cultures from outside England are incorporated into the worldbuilding is... not particularly respectful, as far as I can tell. Bartimaeus makes a few offhand mentions of places he's been summoned in the past, and some of it comes off as very stereotypical. None of it is really in-depth or relevant to the main setting or plot, though.
I would like to note, though, that the way cultures from outside England are incorporated into the worldbuilding is... not particularly respectful, as far as I can tell. Bartimaeus makes a few offhand mentions of places he's been summoned in the past, and some of it comes off as very stereotypical. None of it is really in-depth or relevant to the main setting or plot, though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Grief
Minor: Body horror and Confinement
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