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A review by vinpauld
Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud
5.0
My first exposure to the works of Jonathan Stroud was with the excellent The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co. #1). I so thoroughly enjoyed that book, it made me curious to seek out his earlier works. I remember a number of years ago, a book-selling friend told me that the Bartimaeus books were quite good. She would often recommend them to people who were looking for a good read after finishing the latest Harry Potter book. Since that time, this trilogy has been on my ‘to-read’ list, but it wasn’t until after reading The Screaming Staircase that I actually sought them out. A few days after finishing The Screaming Staircase, I found a copy of The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus #1) at a library book sale. Despite its length, it didn’t take me long to read it. Although I didn’t think it was quite as good as Screaming Staircase, I enjoyed it enough to want to read the rest of the trilogy. The next book in the trilogy, The Golem’s Eye (Bartimaeus #2) was even better. It contains one of the single most suspenseful, goose-bump inducing scenes I’ve read in years. It’s a scene describing the robbing of a famous magician’s grave, and if you’ve read it, you’ll know which scene I’m talking about. Ptolemy’s Gate (Bartimaeus #3) finishes the trilogy and expertly weaves together all of the plot elements of the first two books while at the same time giving us more background information on the djinni Bartimaeus and the “Other Place,” the mysterious plane which is the source world of the demons (we even get a chapter set inside the “Other Place!”).
One of Stroud’s great strengths as an author is his ability to create complex characters who grow and change over the course of the book(s). Nathaniel (aka John Mandrake), is a good example. When we first meet him in volume one, he’s a young and scared boy and because of his circumstances, it’s easy to feel sorry for him. Separated from his parents and sold as an assistant to the cold and deplorable magician Arthur Underwood, he suffers one cruel humiliation after another. Over the course of the book he ages a few years and we see his desire for revenge lead him into wrong choices and to harden his once sensitive nature. In volume two (The Golem’s Eye) we find Nathaniel has become a somewhat power-hungry member of the government (even though he’s only around 14) whose job is to root out members of the resistance who are plotting to take down the magician-led government. Through out this volume, Nathaniel is downright unlikable. We see him struggling to maintain his status with his back-stabbing colleagues, all the while trying to control his sarcastic djinni, Bartimaeus. In volume three, without giving away too much, Nathaniel slowly begins to regain our sympathy. I’d have to say that one of the themes of this final book is Nathaniel’s redemption.
I’ve seen a few criticisms by other readers saying that they don’t like the characters. All I can say is that with complexly written characters, there are bound to be times when a reader won’t like them. Complexity means warts-and-all, the good with the bad. Yes, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are at times unlikable, but I think one has to look at the overall arc of the story to see that these are expertly portrayed characters who grow and change based on what happens to them. To offset the sometimes unlikeability of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, Stroud also gives us a character that maintains our sympathies pretty much throughout the story - the character of Kitty Jones. Though she only makes a brief appearance in volume one, she becomes almost the heart and soul of volumes two and three. As Kitty’s fate becomes intertwined with those of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, we watch her change from a somewhat hesitant rebel into a brave young woman willing to sacrifice herself to save others (and no, that isn’t a spoiler). She’s a great character and one whose presence balances out the sometimes negative aspects of Nathaniel’s character.
If there’s one criticism I have about these books, it’s the over-use of footnotes in the chapters devoted to Bartimaeus. In my opinion, many of these notes could have been included in the main body of the story as parentheticals. I especially could have done without the footnotes that were nothing more than sarcastic remarks made by Bartimaeus, most of which I felt were completely unnecessary. For the most part, I felt the footnotes pulled me out of the narrative and slowed down the story.
In conclusion, I’ll just say that I loved these books. Stroud is a writer who knows how to build worlds, create complex characters, and most importantly to tell a complicated story with suspense and a sense of wonder. If you’re looking for a good fantasy series, give the Bartimaeus trilogy a chance.
One of Stroud’s great strengths as an author is his ability to create complex characters who grow and change over the course of the book(s). Nathaniel (aka John Mandrake), is a good example. When we first meet him in volume one, he’s a young and scared boy and because of his circumstances, it’s easy to feel sorry for him. Separated from his parents and sold as an assistant to the cold and deplorable magician Arthur Underwood, he suffers one cruel humiliation after another. Over the course of the book he ages a few years and we see his desire for revenge lead him into wrong choices and to harden his once sensitive nature. In volume two (The Golem’s Eye) we find Nathaniel has become a somewhat power-hungry member of the government (even though he’s only around 14) whose job is to root out members of the resistance who are plotting to take down the magician-led government. Through out this volume, Nathaniel is downright unlikable. We see him struggling to maintain his status with his back-stabbing colleagues, all the while trying to control his sarcastic djinni, Bartimaeus. In volume three, without giving away too much, Nathaniel slowly begins to regain our sympathy. I’d have to say that one of the themes of this final book is Nathaniel’s redemption.
I’ve seen a few criticisms by other readers saying that they don’t like the characters. All I can say is that with complexly written characters, there are bound to be times when a reader won’t like them. Complexity means warts-and-all, the good with the bad. Yes, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus are at times unlikable, but I think one has to look at the overall arc of the story to see that these are expertly portrayed characters who grow and change based on what happens to them. To offset the sometimes unlikeability of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, Stroud also gives us a character that maintains our sympathies pretty much throughout the story - the character of Kitty Jones. Though she only makes a brief appearance in volume one, she becomes almost the heart and soul of volumes two and three. As Kitty’s fate becomes intertwined with those of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, we watch her change from a somewhat hesitant rebel into a brave young woman willing to sacrifice herself to save others (and no, that isn’t a spoiler). She’s a great character and one whose presence balances out the sometimes negative aspects of Nathaniel’s character.
If there’s one criticism I have about these books, it’s the over-use of footnotes in the chapters devoted to Bartimaeus. In my opinion, many of these notes could have been included in the main body of the story as parentheticals. I especially could have done without the footnotes that were nothing more than sarcastic remarks made by Bartimaeus, most of which I felt were completely unnecessary. For the most part, I felt the footnotes pulled me out of the narrative and slowed down the story.
In conclusion, I’ll just say that I loved these books. Stroud is a writer who knows how to build worlds, create complex characters, and most importantly to tell a complicated story with suspense and a sense of wonder. If you’re looking for a good fantasy series, give the Bartimaeus trilogy a chance.