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A review by chamomiledaydreams
Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud
5.0
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
I enjoyed this trilogy very much! The protagonists grew on me rather quickly, and this last book does a great job of completing their character arcs. The pacing caught my attention rather quickly, because it feels as though the first two books in this series spend the last 25 to 35% of the story focusing on the big, climactic event. However, "Ptolemy's Gate" really gets into the concluding action about halfway through. It reminds me of "The Last Olympian," which devotes most of its pages to the final battle to which the previous books build up. In both cases, I was glad to see the action beginning early on, because it meant that there would be more time for resolution.
Unfortunately, "Ptolemy's Gate" does end rather abruptly, despite all the time and attention it gives to the climax. But I forgive the book completely for this, because symbolically, it feels like the right decision (even if it leaves me sad and broken as a reader). "The Amulet of Samarkand" begins with Nathanial summoning Bartimaeus, and "Ptolemy's Gate" ends with Nathaniel dismissing him. The symmetry is worthy of a chef's kiss, and although I wish the characters had happier endings, I cannot deny that it feels right to conclude their stories this way.
Another element in this book that I love is the way the writing style morphs to accommodate and accentuate the story. Bartimaeus' chapters are the only ones written in the first-person and the only sections to feature footnotes. When he and Nathaniel decide to work together in the last half of the novel, Stroud very cleverly merges the writing style for each of these characters. Nathaniel gets footnotes in his chapters and actually responds to them in real time. This is fascinating, because not only do I think this style of writing with footnotes is neat, but it also has a satisfying, in-world explanation: Bartimaeus thinks differently than humans, with multiple thoughts branching off at once, and that is difficult for Nathaniel to keep up with.
Nathaniel's sense of disorientation and Bartimaeus' non-human way of thinking is underscored by the way Stroud describes the Other Place. That was another one of my favorite chapters, since it was equal parts creative and chilling. The moment when Kitty realizes that she's only been present in the Other Place for several seconds, though we as readers have been living in it for several pages, was jarring in the best of ways.
Not only does this series tell a great story, but it explores the unique ways in which literature can function, experimenting with alternating tenses and styles of narration. "Ptolemy's Gate" leaves me wanting more content with these characters but convinced that this series was told just as it was meant to be, in the perfect amount of space. It helps to know that there are gaps in the timeline, adventures that the protagonists had together when the narrative wasn't following them. And I'm certain that if those anecdotes were included more fully in the books, then they would've made me alternate between laughing and crying, too, just like the entirety of the main story did. Kudos to Jonathan Stroud for balancing drama and humor so well and for crafting such a compelling and well-written series!
I enjoyed this trilogy very much! The protagonists grew on me rather quickly, and this last book does a great job of completing their character arcs. The pacing caught my attention rather quickly, because it feels as though the first two books in this series spend the last 25 to 35% of the story focusing on the big, climactic event. However, "Ptolemy's Gate" really gets into the concluding action about halfway through. It reminds me of "The Last Olympian," which devotes most of its pages to the final battle to which the previous books build up. In both cases, I was glad to see the action beginning early on, because it meant that there would be more time for resolution.
Unfortunately, "Ptolemy's Gate" does end rather abruptly, despite all the time and attention it gives to the climax. But I forgive the book completely for this, because symbolically, it feels like the right decision (even if it leaves me sad and broken as a reader). "The Amulet of Samarkand" begins with Nathanial summoning Bartimaeus, and "Ptolemy's Gate" ends with Nathaniel dismissing him. The symmetry is worthy of a chef's kiss, and although I wish the characters had happier endings, I cannot deny that it feels right to conclude their stories this way.
Another element in this book that I love is the way the writing style morphs to accommodate and accentuate the story. Bartimaeus' chapters are the only ones written in the first-person and the only sections to feature footnotes. When he and Nathaniel decide to work together in the last half of the novel, Stroud very cleverly merges the writing style for each of these characters. Nathaniel gets footnotes in his chapters and actually responds to them in real time. This is fascinating, because not only do I think this style of writing with footnotes is neat, but it also has a satisfying, in-world explanation: Bartimaeus thinks differently than humans, with multiple thoughts branching off at once, and that is difficult for Nathaniel to keep up with.
Nathaniel's sense of disorientation and Bartimaeus' non-human way of thinking is underscored by the way Stroud describes the Other Place. That was another one of my favorite chapters, since it was equal parts creative and chilling. The moment when Kitty realizes that she's only been present in the Other Place for several seconds, though we as readers have been living in it for several pages, was jarring in the best of ways.
Not only does this series tell a great story, but it explores the unique ways in which literature can function, experimenting with alternating tenses and styles of narration. "Ptolemy's Gate" leaves me wanting more content with these characters but convinced that this series was told just as it was meant to be, in the perfect amount of space. It helps to know that there are gaps in the timeline, adventures that the protagonists had together when the narrative wasn't following them. And I'm certain that if those anecdotes were included more fully in the books, then they would've made me alternate between laughing and crying, too, just like the entirety of the main story did. Kudos to Jonathan Stroud for balancing drama and humor so well and for crafting such a compelling and well-written series!