Scan barcode
vorpalblad's review
5.0
Ptolemy's Gate is the third, final, and best entry in the Bartimaeus trilogy. Taking place three years after The Golem's Eye, Nathaniel aka "John Mandrake" is the youngest government minister with his sights set on even bigger things. The nasty side of his nature has come into full bloom and he's happy to play power politics for no other reason than he can. His power has been propped up by the heavy use of the demon Bartimaeus, despite the fact that keeping the demon in our world weakens him significantly and causes him pain. Finally, Kitty, who is presumed dead, has taken on a new identity and is working for a retired magician, learning everything she can about how magicians work.
Ptolemy's Gate may be a book marketed to middle schoolers, but I would argue that the subject matter of Ptolemy's Gate is the kind of thoughtful, and sometimes painful, insight into the human condition that will resonate with adults perhaps even more than its target audience.
Remember that scene in Harry Potter where Harry dips into Snape's memories and sees his father and godfather bullying Snape and it kind of blows his mind; he doesn't know what to do with the information that his father wasn't this great guy like everyone told him? And now he has to reconcile that maybe things aren't all good or all bad? Ptolemy's Gate stretches that cold, hard reality into a whole novel. This gets deep here folks. Redemption, sacrifice, and empathy are the pillars on which Ptolemy's Gate is built.
This story for middle schoolers is a painfully realistic gift, wrapped up with a bow of humor and fantasy, but don't think this is some esoteric treatise on life. Stroud delivers an intricate plot with evil henchman, underhanded playwrights, disguised demons and government coups, a finale that will not disappoint.
Ptolemy's Gate may be a book marketed to middle schoolers, but I would argue that the subject matter of Ptolemy's Gate is the kind of thoughtful, and sometimes painful, insight into the human condition that will resonate with adults perhaps even more than its target audience.
Remember that scene in Harry Potter where Harry dips into Snape's memories and sees his father and godfather bullying Snape and it kind of blows his mind; he doesn't know what to do with the information that his father wasn't this great guy like everyone told him? And now he has to reconcile that maybe things aren't all good or all bad? Ptolemy's Gate stretches that cold, hard reality into a whole novel. This gets deep here folks. Redemption, sacrifice, and empathy are the pillars on which Ptolemy's Gate is built.
This story for middle schoolers is a painfully realistic gift, wrapped up with a bow of humor and fantasy, but don't think this is some esoteric treatise on life. Stroud delivers an intricate plot with evil henchman, underhanded playwrights, disguised demons and government coups, a finale that will not disappoint.
annikare's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
liketheday's review against another edition
3.0
If I had been reading this book in print, I have to say I might have given up on it. Most of it is wonderful and up to par with the rest of the series, for sure. But somewhere in the last third of the book, Stroud goes off on what seemed, listening to it, to be a long and tedious tangent about the "Other Place" where demons spend their time when not being enslaved. I was interested to know what it was like, sure, but after just a few sentences of description, I was like, okay, I get it, let's move on? Please? There's also a lot of metaphor and meaning imbued into this Other Place, and I would have at least put the book down and walked away after a few pages of that.
read more...
read more...
flammedoudoune's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mehitabels's review against another edition
4.0
"How is this discontent expressed? I detect it in the careful blankness of their features when your police draw near. I see it in the hardness of their eyes as they pass the recruitment books. I watch it pile up silently with the flowers at the doors of the bereaved."
sarahdruhan's review against another edition
5.0
most underrated fantasy series of all time literally over a decade and i’m still not #over it thanks jonathan!
postitsandpens's review against another edition
4.0
I'd forgotten just how much fun this series is. Bartimaeus is one of the funniest characters you'll ever have the pleasure of reading about, and his shenanigans with Nathaniel and Kitty are once again extremely entertaining. Nathaniel's character growth was perhaps the best part of this book, and I also loved getting more of Bartimaeus' back story and learning about his history. I won't say anything else, as I don't want to spoil this series should you decide to pick it up, but if you love middle grade fantasy with a sarcastic, hilarious main character (think of Percy Jackson, and you've got a good idea of just how funny Bartimeus is) you need to read this series. I can't wait to finally dive into Stroud's newest MG series!
ryanpfw's review against another edition
5.0
First and foremost, I love this series. The writing is detailed, and AU is immersive, and it's difficult to pull off a fantasy drama that makes you laugh as much as you do here. It's my understanding the story wasn't fully mapped out from the beginning, but Jonathan Stroud does an exceptional job of concluding the story and all the remaining strands.
I echoed the comments of a friend of mine who commented after reading this series that he couldn't tell if he loved the ending or hated it. There were a few lines that left open the possibility of a continuation, and from where it ended it could truly have used an epilogue or just one more chapter, but the more I think of it, that's the mark of going off leaving them wanting more but not requiring more. I want to see what happens next, but the story works perfectly fine without it.
Five stars. No question.
I echoed the comments of a friend of mine who commented after reading this series that he couldn't tell if he loved the ending or hated it. There were a few lines that left open the possibility of a continuation, and from where it ended it could truly have used an epilogue or just one more chapter, but the more I think of it, that's the mark of going off leaving them wanting more but not requiring more. I want to see what happens next, but the story works perfectly fine without it.
Five stars. No question.