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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
I feel like I've been waiting to read this one since I was just a child, and so was pretty disappointed to learn that... I just didn't like it all that much. The audiobook narrator was excellent though.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read half of it in 2021, paused, then read the rest of it in 2025. Still, I surprisingly remembered most of it!
I think it's a very solid story. I really liked both of the main characters, so the dual POVs was great.
Bartimaeus is funny and a little chaotic, although he sometimes drops some random lore absolutely no one asked him about.
As for Nathaniel, he has quite the ego, but I think it's what makes him interesting. There's a lot of potential for his character to grow and have an amazing arc, so I'm looking forward to it.
However, apart from them, and like, Mrs Underwood, I didn't really care for anyone else. Then again, it's not like the plot needed me to.
The relationship between the two of them was fun too, but still kind of surface-level so far. But it's only book 1 so I'm keeping my hopes up (I love the trope of demonic-like entities getting attached to a human they were reluctantly bound to). I really enjoyed how Bartimaeus was leaning towards malicious compliance. I'm a Nathaniel apologist but he still needs to be humbled regularly.
As for the worldbuilding, I'm still waiting to see how that whole resistance thing will go down. We've only seen glimpses of it for now.
Ah, and I listened to the audiobook. That French accent? I could noooot omg. But I suppose being French myself does not help.
I think it's a very solid story. I really liked both of the main characters, so the dual POVs was great.
Bartimaeus is funny and a little chaotic, although he sometimes drops some random lore absolutely no one asked him about.
As for Nathaniel, he has quite the ego, but I think it's what makes him interesting. There's a lot of potential for his character to grow and have an amazing arc, so I'm looking forward to it.
However, apart from them, and like, Mrs Underwood, I didn't really care for anyone else. Then again, it's not like the plot needed me to.
The relationship between the two of them was fun too, but still kind of surface-level so far. But it's only book 1 so I'm keeping my hopes up (I love the trope of demonic-like entities getting attached to a human they were reluctantly bound to). I really enjoyed how Bartimaeus was leaning towards malicious compliance. I'm a Nathaniel apologist but he still needs to be humbled regularly.
As for the worldbuilding, I'm still waiting to see how that whole resistance thing will go down. We've only seen glimpses of it for now.
Ah, and I listened to the audiobook. That French accent? I could noooot omg. But I suppose being French myself does not help.
This was a fun read and Bartimaeus is an interesting character. The world on its surface is very interesting and I look forward to seeing that build in the coming books. The only thing I wasn't wild about was the main human protagonist Nathanial. I just never could get myself to relate or resonate with him. His personality is frustrating (I understand he is still meant to be a child) but even still his reactions and choices were irritating to deal with. Hoping his character is developed more in the coming books and they make him a bit more complex.
Loved it!!! I love snarky characters and boy, is Bartimaeus snarky. Such a good balance to Nathaniel, who is more uptight and stiff and aloof. Loved the world building. Some might think the footnotes are annoying, but I really liked them. Also because Stroud didn't overdo them and only did them when in Bartimaeus' pov. For me, that is just enough to be fun and funny.
Really looking forward to the next adventure.
Really looking forward to the next adventure.
Enjoyable take about two not very likeable main characters. I'll read the next in the series, which i really do unless I find something compelling in the book.
This was a solid 3.75* YA book. I think the concept of magicians summoning demons to do their bidding, Satanic-style, with demons having different levels of power, is a interesting concept. Reminds me a bit of SMT. The book is written in the POV of two main characters: Nathaniel, a 12 year old magician; and Bartimaeus, a something-thousand year old djinni. Bartimaeus is the more interesting of the two--he breaks the fourth wall and speaks to the reader via footnotes, and is generally very fun and snarky. Nathaniel is fine as a main character; he is likeable enough but isn't particularly interesting. The writing is very fast-paced and action packed, which I liked, but I think there could have been more exploration of the magic system as it seemed to be quite basic outside and wasn't particularly elaborated upon outside of the summoning demon stuff.
Enjoyable ! Nathaniel is clearly a kid who doesn’t learn the first time and I’m curious to see where his journey goes. As long as Bartimaeus is there to be incredibly sassy along the way
A young boy, apprenticing to be a magician, gets ahead of himself and learns all sorts of magic before his master deems its time. Of course, there are problems with that. I did love the characters. They were fun and wonderfully self-centered. Magical creatures are like that. This is an enjoyable story.
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
One I've read before, about 20 years ago. Loved it and was struck by different things this time round. A nice easy read