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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Meh. The end was interesting it just took too damn long to get there and i dispise nathaniel who was the main character so it mad it hard for me to read. Bartimaeus was the only reason i finished
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
This is a nice fantasy book, but definitely aimed for a younger audience; sometimes that doesn't matter (like in Howl's Moving Castle) but I found the protagonist in this book (a very smart but irritating 12 year old) difficult to care for. The smartass Djinni (Bartimaeus) saved the day however, with his chapters. Still, even with the Djinni's commentary and footnotes, I still found myself a little bit bored with the book about halfway through. It's a good book for when you want something light, reading in bed especially is when I want a book like that because when I'm tired I don't focus well on books.
The little brat Nathaniel has a giant head, he knows he is smart, and he is a bit messed up. Who can blame him? He is taken away from his parents when he is 6 years old I think it was, and then put to a strict regimen and expected to learn and read more than most adults in my world. Looking around at the 11 and 12 year olds I see I am struck by how dumb they are, and not sure if this book is unrealistic, or if humans are simply, by the great majority, great meat bags of wasted potential. I know I was a stupid kid, and I'm not so brilliant now either.
Of course, booksmarts aren't everything. Nathaniel is incredibly immature, so he does still come across as a young kid. Well done, author. He looks at things in short-term pictures. He's selfish, cocky, and overestimates his abilities. He directly causes the deaths of his guardians with his foolish shortsightedness (and hurts many other people, in the process). He knows very little of the world beyond his narrow view that he was brought up on. I am, actually, interested to see if the sequels would show him growing up a bit, because the end of book one, he is just as much of a little shit as ever.
The magic in the book is fun. The book is set in the modern world (cars, trucks and things that go), but magic is a part of it. I liked how Stroud didn't make a big deal out of the magic being there; it was simply how it was. There are bigger things going on in the shadows of this book which I'm sure will be built up to in the two following books (for example the commoner rebellion).
I might read the two other books, but it's not really a priority for me. We shall see!
The little brat Nathaniel has a giant head, he knows he is smart, and he is a bit messed up. Who can blame him? He is taken away from his parents when he is 6 years old I think it was, and then put to a strict regimen and expected to learn and read more than most adults in my world. Looking around at the 11 and 12 year olds I see I am struck by how dumb they are, and not sure if this book is unrealistic, or if humans are simply, by the great majority, great meat bags of wasted potential. I know I was a stupid kid, and I'm not so brilliant now either.
Of course, booksmarts aren't everything. Nathaniel is incredibly immature, so he does still come across as a young kid. Well done, author. He looks at things in short-term pictures. He's selfish, cocky, and overestimates his abilities. He directly causes the deaths of his guardians with his foolish shortsightedness (and hurts many other people, in the process). He knows very little of the world beyond his narrow view that he was brought up on. I am, actually, interested to see if the sequels would show him growing up a bit, because the end of book one, he is just as much of a little shit as ever.
The magic in the book is fun. The book is set in the modern world (cars, trucks and things that go), but magic is a part of it. I liked how Stroud didn't make a big deal out of the magic being there; it was simply how it was. There are bigger things going on in the shadows of this book which I'm sure will be built up to in the two following books (for example the commoner rebellion).
I might read the two other books, but it's not really a priority for me. We shall see!
Great children's book. Definitely getting the sequels.
They might make it into a movie, maybe, but I can't imagine it will work well since the characters are a bit morally ambiguous, and it might be harder to explain in a movie. Evem looking at the other reviews for this book you can see that a common complaint is that the characters aren't exactly sympathetic. Also, it would be hard to get the sarcastic footnotes right in a movie.
They might make it into a movie, maybe, but I can't imagine it will work well since the characters are a bit morally ambiguous, and it might be harder to explain in a movie. Evem looking at the other reviews for this book you can see that a common complaint is that the characters aren't exactly sympathetic. Also, it would be hard to get the sarcastic footnotes right in a movie.
I read this story as a novel first and then bought the comic because I was curious to what the story would look like visually. I enjoyed the way the artist portrayed the characters and the presentation of the story and I think it was definitely good overall. I love the details of the book though and I do think some of them are missing, but it's still a great presentation of the story and i enjoyed it.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hilarious, enthralling, and intriguing - excited for the rest of the series