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itsnotalakeitsanocean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A solid 3 star book. I did find myself skimming a lot of the plot because it went on for a bit too long sometimes. Also the use of snarky in-character footnotes by Bartimeus was good when used appropriately but their overall use throughout the book was a bit excessive.
Re-reading this now, I think I'm a bit too old to properly enjoy this book fully but this would be a good book for a teen who wanted to get into reading darker books without smut or overtly graphic violence.
Re-reading this now, I think I'm a bit too old to properly enjoy this book fully but this would be a good book for a teen who wanted to get into reading darker books without smut or overtly graphic violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Slavery, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Body horror
ptork66's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
lyricallit's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I enjoyed the ride! Very different magic system, and Bartimaeus 's footnotes are amusing and digestible way to understand it. I don't find Nathaniel all that endearing but Bartimaeus is a snarky and clever delight.
I feel bad for Stroud; the publishing industry did him dirty on this. This book gets shelved as a middle grade novel, and it's definitely not a middle grade book. ONE of the two protagonists is a 12 year old boy, but the other is a centuries-old djinni! The structure uses footnotes, the front cover creeped out my own young readers, it's quite long for the age group, and at least one death happens on page, not even including the intensely chaotic "final boss" scene. This is definitely more YA, possibly even adult, fiction.
I feel bad for Stroud; the publishing industry did him dirty on this. This book gets shelved as a middle grade novel, and it's definitely not a middle grade book. ONE of the two protagonists is a 12 year old boy, but the other is a centuries-old djinni! The structure uses footnotes, the front cover creeped out my own young readers, it's quite long for the age group, and at least one death happens on page, not even including the intensely chaotic "final boss" scene. This is definitely more YA, possibly even adult, fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Slavery, Violence, and Death of parent
avsdhpn's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Another strangely addictive read. The story of a djinn and an apprentice magician as they snark back and forth while trying to uncover the mysteries surrounding the named amulet and the magician who has it in their possession. The narrative is split between a third person chapters that focus on Nathaniel and first person chapters from the perspective of Bartimaeus, complete with all his witty self-referential footnotes. Bartimaeus as a character is what makes the book hard to put down.
Very good world building. This almost feels like a cynical answer to Rowling's Harry Potter Universe where Magicians rule over "commoners" (or non-magical folk) in an almost mundane dystopia. Unwanted children are sold to the government to be trained as apprentices to begrudging masters. Magic is not innate to the caster; rather, it takes practice and knowledge to summon demonic spirits to do one's bidding and weave webs of spells to ensure the entities don't double cross them.
Very good world building. This almost feels like a cynical answer to Rowling's Harry Potter Universe where Magicians rule over "commoners" (or non-magical folk) in an almost mundane dystopia. Unwanted children are sold to the government to be trained as apprentices to begrudging masters. Magic is not innate to the caster; rather, it takes practice and knowledge to summon demonic spirits to do one's bidding and weave webs of spells to ensure the entities don't double cross them.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
lomahongva's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Child abuse and Confinement
obviousthings's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I first read this as a kid, & it holds up fairly well. The story is notably well-constructed - nothing is ever made easy for the characters, and from what I remember of the rest of the trilogy, some future character development is foreshadowed in this book. There's a bit of a magical heist element to the story, which is fun, & the footnotes are very funny. I'm not usually one for audiobooks, but I enjoyed Simon Jones's reading of it, and I thought his acting was quite good (and the footnotes are kept in, don't worry).
I would like to note, though, that the way cultures from outside England are incorporated into the worldbuilding is... not particularly respectful, as far as I can tell. Bartimaeus makes a few offhand mentions of places he's been summoned in the past, and some of it comes off as very stereotypical. None of it is really in-depth or relevant to the main setting or plot, though.
I would like to note, though, that the way cultures from outside England are incorporated into the worldbuilding is... not particularly respectful, as far as I can tell. Bartimaeus makes a few offhand mentions of places he's been summoned in the past, and some of it comes off as very stereotypical. None of it is really in-depth or relevant to the main setting or plot, though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Grief
Minor: Body horror and Confinement