Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
3/5
I had high expectations for this book, as almost everybody who love [a:Jonathan Stroud|33467|Jonathan Stroud|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562922774p2/33467.jpg]'s series say the Bartimaeus sequence was wonderful, so clever, original etc etc. And I do agree, and I'll explore more of that later. For Lockwood and Co, it feels instantly at home for me, and it captured me from the start, but with this series I guess I'll need more time for it to grow on me.
(I'll avoid spoilers!)
The world building was original. Firstly, it is set in London, so familiar yet alien in how different the world is to our own, which is one of the reasons I love Stroud's settings. It's hard to write about magic these days and be creative about it. Wands, spells, brooms, magical creatures (looking at you, Harry Potter and the rest that sprouts like mushrooms after rain)... But in this series the magicians weren't actually...powerful, not by themselves. The demons they enslave do most of the work. Actually, all of the work.
Thus allow me to introduce Bartimaeus, the narrator in one POV (the other is Nathaniel's in third person). As someone said, he reminds me of the [b:The Whispering Skull|14059024|The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co., #2)|Jonathan Stroud|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1401303893l/14059024._SY75_.jpg|19694996], all sass and witty comebacks (though after half of the book it gets a little repetitive). As a djinn who had been around doing stuff for kings and great magicians of the past, it was a surprise when he was summoned by a 12 year old, thus dragged along to a whirlwind of danger he never asked for.
For the 12 year old in question, Nathaniel John Mandrake was a precocious boy (now I understand the difference between "precocious" and "mature"), not unlike [b:Artemis Fowl|249747|Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1)|Eoin Colfer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630661894l/249747._SX50_.jpg|1334778], book smart all the way but without the money haha. Both took more than they could chew when they let their ambition ran free. Both had a mother figure they cared for. I could compare them all day but let's move on.
The plot drags, much like this review. The pacing was a tad off, and even at the end part I wasn't too invested, just flipping through the pages to see how it would end, and what would happen. In short, the first half of the book was excellent, the middle a bit drag, the end wasn't abrupt, so that was good, but all in all it was a heck of fun, so I'd recommend it.
PS if you have read his other series, these are my thoughts:
Is Bartimaeus his debut? I'm awed how much his writing style refines over books!
Some descriptions though remind me of the more peaceful flashbacks in [b:The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne|49511423|The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne (The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne, #1)|Jonathan Stroud|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605108730l/49511423._SY75_.jpg|71885581], such as the open road with sun shining and the garden Nathaniel drew the tree in.
Can't wait to meet Kitty Jones!
The coat lollll. One of the main characters must wear a coat that's too big for them at some point.
The girls are badass! Lucy, Scarlett, and Kitty would get along, I think.
Imagine Lockwood and Co having Nathaniel as a client. Ooops. I can imagine how Lucy would describe him:
'A pale, dark haired boy sat straight-backed on the sofa, his tattered coat not unlike Lockwood's, radiating defiance with every claw mark and burns etched on his coat, in his cold, steely eyes. The sight of him unnerved me. A faint scent of incense clung to him, the tang of it incongruous to Holly's perfume in the room. He was a few years younger than me, and much scrawnier, but I instantly knew whoever dared to trifle with him would have to be half witted, very unobservant, or plain stupid.
Lockwood lounged in his usual chair. "Hello, I'm Mr Lockwood, and you are--'
He coughed. "Na--John Mandrake. I have an urgent business to tend to soon, and I demand you to make the most out of my time." His voice was slightly squeaky, which undermined the supposedly assertive effect he hoped.
I sat down and offered him a cup of tea. He refused with a white, thin hand. It was slightly coated with chalk dust.
"Mr Mandrake. Very well. I am a man who prefers to get to the point, so let's jump in straight away. How can we help you?" Lockwood smoothed down his hair and leaned back. Holly adjusted her notebook on her lap. I glimpsed George gulping down a doughnut and looked away, fixing my eyes to the boy. His eyes burned with a determined fire so unusual in the face of a person so young. '
I can't think what he'll possibly request, so let's stop there.
I had high expectations for this book, as almost everybody who love [a:Jonathan Stroud|33467|Jonathan Stroud|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562922774p2/33467.jpg]'s series say the Bartimaeus sequence was wonderful, so clever, original etc etc. And I do agree, and I'll explore more of that later. For Lockwood and Co, it feels instantly at home for me, and it captured me from the start, but with this series I guess I'll need more time for it to grow on me.
(I'll avoid spoilers!)
The world building was original. Firstly, it is set in London, so familiar yet alien in how different the world is to our own, which is one of the reasons I love Stroud's settings. It's hard to write about magic these days and be creative about it. Wands, spells, brooms, magical creatures (looking at you, Harry Potter and the rest that sprouts like mushrooms after rain)... But in this series the magicians weren't actually...powerful, not by themselves. The demons they enslave do most of the work. Actually, all of the work.
Thus allow me to introduce Bartimaeus, the narrator in one POV (the other is Nathaniel's in third person). As someone said, he reminds me of the [b:The Whispering Skull|14059024|The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co., #2)|Jonathan Stroud|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1401303893l/14059024._SY75_.jpg|19694996], all sass and witty comebacks (though after half of the book it gets a little repetitive). As a djinn who had been around doing stuff for kings and great magicians of the past, it was a surprise when he was summoned by a 12 year old, thus dragged along to a whirlwind of danger he never asked for.
For the 12 year old in question, Nathaniel John Mandrake was a precocious boy (now I understand the difference between "precocious" and "mature"), not unlike [b:Artemis Fowl|249747|Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1)|Eoin Colfer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630661894l/249747._SX50_.jpg|1334778], book smart all the way but without the money haha. Both took more than they could chew when they let their ambition ran free. Both had a mother figure they cared for. I could compare them all day but let's move on.
The plot drags, much like this review. The pacing was a tad off, and even at the end part I wasn't too invested, just flipping through the pages to see how it would end, and what would happen. In short, the first half of the book was excellent, the middle a bit drag, the end wasn't abrupt, so that was good, but all in all it was a heck of fun, so I'd recommend it.
PS if you have read his other series, these are my thoughts:
Is Bartimaeus his debut? I'm awed how much his writing style refines over books!
Some descriptions though remind me of the more peaceful flashbacks in [b:The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne|49511423|The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne (The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne, #1)|Jonathan Stroud|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605108730l/49511423._SY75_.jpg|71885581], such as the open road with sun shining and the garden Nathaniel drew the tree in.
Can't wait to meet Kitty Jones!
The coat lollll. One of the main characters must wear a coat that's too big for them at some point.
The girls are badass! Lucy, Scarlett, and Kitty would get along, I think.
Imagine Lockwood and Co having Nathaniel as a client. Ooops. I can imagine how Lucy would describe him:
'A pale, dark haired boy sat straight-backed on the sofa, his tattered coat not unlike Lockwood's, radiating defiance with every claw mark and burns etched on his coat, in his cold, steely eyes. The sight of him unnerved me. A faint scent of incense clung to him, the tang of it incongruous to Holly's perfume in the room. He was a few years younger than me, and much scrawnier, but I instantly knew whoever dared to trifle with him would have to be half witted, very unobservant, or plain stupid.
Lockwood lounged in his usual chair. "Hello, I'm Mr Lockwood, and you are--'
He coughed. "Na--John Mandrake. I have an urgent business to tend to soon, and I demand you to make the most out of my time." His voice was slightly squeaky, which undermined the supposedly assertive effect he hoped.
I sat down and offered him a cup of tea. He refused with a white, thin hand. It was slightly coated with chalk dust.
"Mr Mandrake. Very well. I am a man who prefers to get to the point, so let's jump in straight away. How can we help you?" Lockwood smoothed down his hair and leaned back. Holly adjusted her notebook on her lap. I glimpsed George gulping down a doughnut and looked away, fixing my eyes to the boy. His eyes burned with a determined fire so unusual in the face of a person so young. '
I can't think what he'll possibly request, so let's stop there.
De Harry Potter-vergelijkingen ga ik niet eens bespreken -- jaja, het gaat over een jongetje dat tovenaarsleerling wordt, we weten het. Dit is een reuze vermakelijk boek dat me meer aan Neil Gaiman en Terry Pratchett deed denken dan aan JKR. Ik houd persoonlijk erg van sarcastische, betweterige bovennatuurlijke personages, dus de millennia oude duivel - pardon, djinni - Bartimaeus die wordt opgeroepen door de hoofdpersoon en dankzij hem in allerlei leipe situaties terechtkomt is mij als lezer dus op het lijf geschreven. Ik genoot ook van de rijkelijke referenties aan geschiedenis en literatuur die in dit magische parallele universum een rol spelen (Egypte, Troje en Faust komen allemaal voorbij, op een inventieve manier die hint naar worldbuilding die in de volgende delen hopelijk wordt uitgewerkt).
De twaalfjarige protagonist Nathanial is ontzettend naief, lijdt aan grootheidswaan en is een beetje een idioot, maar je snapt als lezer waar dat vandaan komt; volgens mij praat hij zijn hele leven met geen enkel ander kind. Zijn enige interactie in het boek met een leeftijdsgenoot is een Londense urchin die hem prompt berooft van zijn zelfgemaakte magische artefact. Logisch dus dat hij een sukkeltje is. De volwassenen - vooral de bad guys - zijn wat plat en eendimensionaal; maar dit is een YA boek, dus daar ben ik ook niet zo streng in. Maar voor diepgravende psychologie en character building moet je dus niet hier zijn.
Wat dit boek écht goed en een aanrader maakt is niet de ontwikkeling van de personages, maar de schrijfstijl en dan vooral de manier waarop Stroud zijn magische actiescènes schrijft; het spat van de pagina alsof er een filmscène direct in je hoofd wordt geprojecteerd. Niet lezen voor het slapengaan want je blijft wakker tot het uit is - ja, die fout heb ik zelf gemaakt. Dit, plus humor, plus worldbuilding = een serie die ik op ga snoepen als een zak dropjes.
De twaalfjarige protagonist Nathanial is ontzettend naief, lijdt aan grootheidswaan en is een beetje een idioot, maar je snapt als lezer waar dat vandaan komt; volgens mij praat hij zijn hele leven met geen enkel ander kind. Zijn enige interactie in het boek met een leeftijdsgenoot is een Londense urchin die hem prompt berooft van zijn zelfgemaakte magische artefact. Logisch dus dat hij een sukkeltje is. De volwassenen - vooral de bad guys - zijn wat plat en eendimensionaal; maar dit is een YA boek, dus daar ben ik ook niet zo streng in. Maar voor diepgravende psychologie en character building moet je dus niet hier zijn.
Wat dit boek écht goed en een aanrader maakt is niet de ontwikkeling van de personages, maar de schrijfstijl en dan vooral de manier waarop Stroud zijn magische actiescènes schrijft; het spat van de pagina alsof er een filmscène direct in je hoofd wordt geprojecteerd. Niet lezen voor het slapengaan want je blijft wakker tot het uit is - ja, die fout heb ik zelf gemaakt. Dit, plus humor, plus worldbuilding = een serie die ik op ga snoepen als een zak dropjes.
Okay--ran out of things to read back and had to raid my son's bookcase. Lots of things there that I always thought I'd get around to reading, too! This was a pretty good read, and I will finish out the series. Just not as robust as an adult fantasy, but it is for kids. The djinni, Bartimaeus, was quite the character with plenty of footnotes adding sidebar comments a mile a minute--effectively gave him the rapid fire aura. The boy, Nathaniel was pretty spot-on, too; by turns he was proud, petulant, angry, scared, and sorry. I usually feel that these young adult series can add up to one really good adult book, and this one introduced many characters and laid the baseline for the plot. We'll see what comes next.
boo: fridging or firing the only two sympathetic characters in the book, both of whom are women.
Apart from the two women, everybody in this book is an asshole. Including our boy protagonist.
yay: Bartimaeus, the djinn whom the trilogy's about, is clever and interesting. And possibly the only character in the book worth the time of day.
The setting's a weird mix of Victorian and contemporary. The best parts are when Bartimaeus is interacting with other magical entities. The ending is also odd, in that Nathaniel is lauded for saving the government and doing the honorable thing while the novel's only reliable judge of character, Bartimaeus, slams him for his choice. Twelve is a bit young to be disillusioned by ALL of your leaders, and I'm totally suspicious of TPTB at the end, as B seems to be, but I don't know that a young reader (and this is YA) would know quite what to do with this ending. My answer, if I were teaching this book: be wary of it. But I haven't read the next two in the series yet, so that's only my guess.
At least the set-up for Book 2 promises a strong female character. We'll see if she's still as much a jerk as initially shown.
Apart from the two women, everybody in this book is an asshole. Including our boy protagonist.
yay: Bartimaeus, the djinn whom the trilogy's about, is clever and interesting. And possibly the only character in the book worth the time of day.
The setting's a weird mix of Victorian and contemporary. The best parts are when Bartimaeus is interacting with other magical entities. The ending is also odd, in that Nathaniel is lauded for saving the government and doing the honorable thing while the novel's only reliable judge of character, Bartimaeus, slams him for his choice. Twelve is a bit young to be disillusioned by ALL of your leaders, and I'm totally suspicious of TPTB at the end, as B seems to be, but I don't know that a young reader (and this is YA) would know quite what to do with this ending. My answer, if I were teaching this book: be wary of it. But I haven't read the next two in the series yet, so that's only my guess.
At least the set-up for Book 2 promises a strong female character. We'll see if she's still as much a jerk as initially shown.
Listened to this ya fantasy on Dawn's recommendation, and I did enjoy it: the reader was excellent, and the story is a gleeful, explanation-free "alternate reality" in which magicians rule London and Prague (but not the rest of the world?) while a non-magical Resistance is fighting against them, but there are cars and telephones. It felt a bit like Patrick Rothfuss's books where you just have to dive in and take what you're given.
However, Stroud's characters are mostly unlikable, it's yet another male-centered fantasy world, and by the end the unpredictability began to feel like a deliberate set-up to make me read the other two novels to figure it all out. Well, I don't think I like the people well enough to go through two more books, though I might skim the next one to figure out the grand idea.
And I *don't* feel like we've seen the end of Mrs. Underwood!
However, Stroud's characters are mostly unlikable, it's yet another male-centered fantasy world, and by the end the unpredictability began to feel like a deliberate set-up to make me read the other two novels to figure it all out. Well, I don't think I like the people well enough to go through two more books, though I might skim the next one to figure out the grand idea.
And I *don't* feel like we've seen the end of Mrs. Underwood!
A good portrayal of a morally gray kid protagonist, showing that while he’ll do the right thing, it is not without selfish motivations. While interesting, it does make it slightly harder to be completely rooting for him and invested.
I like that the humor was just there enough to be entertaining and adding to the bleakness of the corrupt world, rather than detracting from the story.
I like that the humor was just there enough to be entertaining and adding to the bleakness of the corrupt world, rather than detracting from the story.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I would give this one 3.5 stars. The beginning was laborious at times and left me moderately confused as to how the magical principles worked and other things (such as wizards are not hidden, in fact they control everything, and that didn't become clear for about 200 pages!) like the footnotes took time to get used too distracting the story flow. However, once events began snowballing the ride became quite quick and enjoyable and just short of me giving it 4 stars flat out. I am excited now to read the other two in the trilogy whereas before I was wondering if the other two would just be time killers.