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wrentheblurry's review against another edition
5.0
Closer to 4.5 stars, but I'm so enamored of Bartimaeus that I'm happy to round the score up. I read this aloud to my 12 year old son, who gives it 4 stars (he also is a fan of Bartimaeus).
This prequel to the Bartimaeus trilogy follows a similar style as those books; the chapters alternate between the viewpoint of everyone's favorite djinni, and someone else, in this case, Asmira.
In Bartimaeus, Stroud has crafted one of my most favorite characters. He's intelligent, arrogant, powerful, snarky, and oh so very witty. Sometimes the Bartimaeus books can drag on too long, and overflow with details about the surroundings. In this title, Stroud perfectly walked the line of providing vivid details without making the reader wish that something would just HAPPEN, already.
Bartimaeus' new foil is Asmira, a hereditary guard (as in, her mother and grandmother did the same thing) to the Queen of Sheba. King Solomon has demanded an extreme payment from this Queen, and so Asmira is sent to see about correcting the problem.
I found everything about the book enjoyable, from the set-up of Bartimaeus and Asmira meeting, to their adventure together, to the conclusion. While both my son and I guessed (and correctly, I might add) certain aspects of the ending, it took away none of the delight and surprise. Heck, the whole thing made me want to revisit the second Bartimaeus book, which I gave up on, and finish the trilogy.
I'll have to see about that. For now, I'm happy to savor the joy that is having seen Bartimaeus through another rollicking adventure.
This prequel to the Bartimaeus trilogy follows a similar style as those books; the chapters alternate between the viewpoint of everyone's favorite djinni, and someone else, in this case, Asmira.
In Bartimaeus, Stroud has crafted one of my most favorite characters. He's intelligent, arrogant, powerful, snarky, and oh so very witty. Sometimes the Bartimaeus books can drag on too long, and overflow with details about the surroundings. In this title, Stroud perfectly walked the line of providing vivid details without making the reader wish that something would just HAPPEN, already.
Bartimaeus' new foil is Asmira, a hereditary guard (as in, her mother and grandmother did the same thing) to the Queen of Sheba. King Solomon has demanded an extreme payment from this Queen, and so Asmira is sent to see about correcting the problem.
I found everything about the book enjoyable, from the set-up of Bartimaeus and Asmira meeting, to their adventure together, to the conclusion. While both my son and I guessed (and correctly, I might add) certain aspects of the ending, it took away none of the delight and surprise. Heck, the whole thing made me want to revisit the second Bartimaeus book, which I gave up on, and finish the trilogy.
I'll have to see about that. For now, I'm happy to savor the joy that is having seen Bartimaeus through another rollicking adventure.
franrodalg's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Stroud keeps nailing Bartimaeus sassy voice, and I am pretty sure I would enjoy all these books even more if everything was told exclusively from the djinn’s perspective. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It took me a while to feel any attachment to the other main perspective, and the pacing suffered for it. Some heavy-handed exposition, passages that suddenly jump to omniscient narrator, and excessively wordy dialogue also lowered my enjoyment, to the point that I was foreseeing no more than a 6/10 for a long time. By the climax, however, some particular “plot twist” changed the dynamic and improved my reading experience.
I still hope we one day get some story solely narrated by Bartimaeus.
wormmist's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
4.25
buecherfuechsin's review against another edition
5.0
So witty! Bartimaeus is my favorite literary character.
twowheelsaway's review against another edition
5.0
I did a Bartimaeus re-read... was that earlier this year? Last year? I loved it just as much as I had the first time, and was sad it was, again, over.
I was delighted, then, to find out this prequel existed!
Highlights:
We <3 Bartimaeus. Footnotes, sass, grit, and panache, that's what the best djinn is made of.
Asmira's character arc was surprisingly satisfying.
The middle-end chunk of the book is a really good heist.
Solid foreshadowing that makes the revelations towards the end feel well set up, guessable, but still shocking.
Again, Bartimaeus.
I was delighted, then, to find out this prequel existed!
Highlights:
We <3 Bartimaeus. Footnotes, sass, grit, and panache, that's what the best djinn is made of.
Asmira's character arc was surprisingly satisfying.
The middle-end chunk of the book is a really good heist.
Solid foreshadowing that makes the revelations towards the end feel well set up, guessable, but still shocking.
Again, Bartimaeus.
grace_liz9's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
vorpalblad's review against another edition
4.0
If you read the original Bartimaeus trilogy and need more of the smart aleck djinn in your life, here's your book. Far lighter fare than the trilogy, The Ring of Solomon takes us back three thousand years or so to the reign of Solomon, King of the Israelites, as he works on his famous temple. Bartimaeus starts us off with a a magician amuse-bouche before the humor kicks into high gear.
Stroud doesn't leave us all light and laughs. Asmira, the captain of the guard to the Queen of Sheba, is sent to Solomon's court to find some way of preventing his imminent invasion. Stroud uses the setup to discuss the cost of power, physical slavery versus the slavery into which we sell ourselves, and some other Deep Thoughts. In the end however, the story is really high adventure with lots of laughs that should keep any fan of Bartimaeus happy.
Stroud doesn't leave us all light and laughs. Asmira, the captain of the guard to the Queen of Sheba, is sent to Solomon's court to find some way of preventing his imminent invasion. Stroud uses the setup to discuss the cost of power, physical slavery versus the slavery into which we sell ourselves, and some other Deep Thoughts. In the end however, the story is really high adventure with lots of laughs that should keep any fan of Bartimaeus happy.
b00k_drag0n's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
jholloed's review against another edition
3.0
An odd little prequel to the Bartimaeus series, good, if you liked the others.
You can read before the original trilogy, but I had fun picking it up in Published order, that is after the original trilogy.
Did a good job establishing more of the history of the place, and from a different perspective than was told in the original trilogy. His real relationship with Solomon...only a slave to an advisor...and how much trouble he can get into, while inadvertently doing good and uncovering quite the conspiracy. Sound familiar? :)
It makes me hope for more of our favorite Jinni novels, his impertinent adventures make for a good read.
You can read before the original trilogy, but I had fun picking it up in Published order, that is after the original trilogy.
Did a good job establishing more of the history of the place, and from a different perspective than was told in the original trilogy. His real relationship with Solomon...only a slave to an advisor...and how much trouble he can get into, while inadvertently doing good and uncovering quite the conspiracy. Sound familiar? :)
It makes me hope for more of our favorite Jinni novels, his impertinent adventures make for a good read.