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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Better than the first book but not enough to warrant the extra quarter star.
Two main problems for me: I like Kitty, I thought she was a likeable new addition, but Nathaniel… urgh, that kid really annoys me… Bartemaeus as always gives me a few laughs. My second problem is the rambling nature of the writing. I find myself getting bored with long descriptions of people walking down streets, explaining lampposts and pavements when I really just want to get to the action. It’s not a bad book, and some of the points made in it are well made (museums, colonialism, etc) but I would have preferred a slightly condensed version.
Two main problems for me: I like Kitty, I thought she was a likeable new addition, but Nathaniel… urgh, that kid really annoys me… Bartemaeus as always gives me a few laughs. My second problem is the rambling nature of the writing. I find myself getting bored with long descriptions of people walking down streets, explaining lampposts and pavements when I really just want to get to the action. It’s not a bad book, and some of the points made in it are well made (museums, colonialism, etc) but I would have preferred a slightly condensed version.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Antisemitism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Gore, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Bartimaeus series is unlike any other children/teen fantasy series I have read and that's a good thing. The Golem's Eye picks up shortly after the events of The Amulet of Samarkand. We know going in that the magicians of London aren't very nice, a ruling class based on one-upmanship, wealth, secrecy and back-stabbing, but it seemed our young hero, Nathaniel, might be guided by his teachers and his djinni acquaintance, Bartimaeus, to be a new kind of magician, a better, kinder magician. Nope. The kid's a jerk.
And that, right there sets this apart from anything I've read for this age group. Bartimaeus himself is his usual zinger-throwing, Rosetta-stone breaking, quick-thinking djinni and his chapters are a joy to read. But we also have a third character here, Kitty, and while her story is important, and feeds into what will be the overarching story of the trilogy, Stroud has to devote a lot of pages to her backstory to catch us up, and it means this book just isn't as engaging as the first.
But read about the djinni, the jerk and the revolutionary, because it's funny, a great magical mystery, and Stroud is writing a larger story with this trilogy, a darker, and yet more redemptive than anything like it.
And that, right there sets this apart from anything I've read for this age group. Bartimaeus himself is his usual zinger-throwing, Rosetta-stone breaking, quick-thinking djinni and his chapters are a joy to read. But we also have a third character here, Kitty, and while her story is important, and feeds into what will be the overarching story of the trilogy, Stroud has to devote a lot of pages to her backstory to catch us up, and it means this book just isn't as engaging as the first.
But read about the djinni, the jerk and the revolutionary, because it's funny, a great magical mystery, and Stroud is writing a larger story with this trilogy, a darker, and yet more redemptive than anything like it.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia, Police brutality, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
bartimaeus fumbling nat will always crack me up istg
The ending had me gripping on to the book, turning the pages feverishly to find out what happens next.... The beginning and the middle seemed a bit lacklustre, however. Certain characters weren't as defined as they should've been. All in all, a decent book but Stroud is capable of better.